Day 23 - Chaplin, SK to Regina, SK

Day 23 – June 5, 2

Start Time: 6:00 am (delayed due to fog to 7:15)

Stop Time: 4:00 pm

KM Travelled: 154.4 km

Elevation: +399/ - 498 m

Special Stuff: Celebrating each of our unique journeys, Big blue skies and fluffy white clouds

I get up at my usual time and am eager to get on the road. I must accept that this morning’s coffee is a cold one. I don’t want to alarm the neighbours with “that biker” using a camp stove outside. Cold coffee is my emergency drink. For some, it’s standard, but for me, well, it’s not my favourite.

I am careful with my water this morning as my hosts hesitated when I asked if the water was okay to drink. I fill my 3 main water bottles with old water from bottles 4 and 5. Then I fill bottles 4 and 5 with tap water and add drinking water treatment tabs to them. This is a first for me – better safe than sorry with an upset stomach.

In dawn’s first light, I see blue sky with some clouds. I put on my short riding pants and sunscreen. At 5:30 I notice a change in the weather. Fog has rolled in. I’ve ridden in fog before, so it does not concern me much…but I am aware that there are limits with the fog and I need to be prepared to make a ‘go’/ ‘no go’ decision.

After I ensure the unit door is tightly shut to keep the badgers out, I approach the highway. I hear traffic, but I don’t see it. I get to the highway, position myself in the meridian between the twinned lanes, and observe the situation. There are 3 big rigs pulled out at the rest area (concern #1), there are two cars pulled out at the Chaplin Nature Centre (concern #2). I can hear the vehicles on the highway, but I cannot see them until they are about 200 meters away (concern #3). I decide this is a ‘no go’ situation – it’s not safe for anyone to have me on the road. I find a seat at a picnic table at the Chaplin Nature Centre and reassess the situation every 15 minutes. A beautiful sports car (looks like Ferrari) pulls into the parking lot shortly after I sit down – I feel this confirms my ‘no go’ decision. After an hour and 15 minutes, the fog is much less dense and everyone mobilizes to leave, including myself.

Delaying the start to my day is of course annoying, but I am comforted by the fact that the wind will be turning in my favour later in the morning.

Along my ride I’m on the lookout for ducks as we have a family member who is a duck hunting guide – which I find to be rather interesting. I feel like am scouting for ducks to take their picture – not an easy task. I find a few, but they are gone before I can get my phone out. As I’m ‘duck hunting’, I hear this new noise on my bike. I ride faster in hopes that it will go away – no luck. An investigation reveals that my back fender is now rubbing on my tire. Why now? I do not know. I use my MacGyver skills and Jerry rig a solution by using my little bungee cord to pull it up off the tire (second time this bungee has come to the rescue).

After several hours of riding, I get to the Caronport gas station to buy some snacks and to fill up my water bottles and switch out the treated water in bottles 4 and 5. In Caronport, I have two interesting encounters. First, I meet a young man with a Terry Fox shirt on who started in Newfoundland and is hitchhiking across Canada – he is raising funds for cancer research. He’s currently with a driver who is taking him to Red Deer- the driver tells me the young man is “famous” as he’s on the news and has raised $80,000 so far. There are so many ways to cross this country.

The second encounter involves a connection with my youth. As a young person I participated with a church youth group in our neighborhood. After high school graduation, many would go to bible school for a year. One of the popular ones was Briercrest. As I am standing by my bike eating away, a nice looking transport van pulls up with “Briercrest” written on the side! (I’m completely floored.) I look a few times to see if I can catch the driver but I have no luck. I start to head off again when I notice the driver fueling up the tank. We have a nice chat for a few minutes – “90 years and still operating” she says. She wishes me well on my journey.

Ideally, I want to make it to Regina today, but I take some time for a rest and to do a thorough check in at the Wendy’s restaurant in Moosejaw. Everything looks and feels good, so I continue on.

Just past Moosejaw, the landscape changes to be more flat and to have more trees (aka shady resting spots if I need them). The sky is blue and filled with big fluffy clouds. Even though I’m roasting hot, I find myself taking deep breaths and feeling the immense beauty of this place.

Today’s ride I’ve had a few supportive honks from passers-by on both sides of the highway. Many have bikes on the back of their vehicles. It gives me a little lift in my ride (as long as they don’t honk right beside me and scare me). I have a very special honk after I left Moosejaw. It comes from one of two Briercrest vans that pass me – I’m sure it was the lady from the Caronport gas station. It fills heart to know someone ‘knows’ me here. ❤️

I get to Regina at 3:45 and the Days Inn sign calls out to me like a beacon – I know the day is almost done! But, I have a problem, there is nowhere to cross the road. I consider ‘jay-riding’ across when a vehicle pulls over and the driver asks if I need a hand. They let me know the route I need to take to get to the hotel. I arrive at the hotel at exactly 4:00 and I’m grateful to get a room for 2 nights. Again, no problem bringing my bike into my room (Days Inn is a great hotel for bikers.)

The heat has taken it’s toll on me and I’m beat. I head over to Ricky’s Restaurant for dinner. I’m thankful that tomorrow is a rest day. The hotel has tonnes of kids here for baseball and soccer – they are having a blast running around and having fun - as they should be.

The lights go out at 9:00 when put in one earplug (so I can still hear the fire alarm) and roll over to a deep, sound sleep.