Day 66 Portage la Prairie to Winnipeg.

No Pictures today Itinerary JDRF

So the promise was to meet the guys at Headingly at noon some 80km away, so we aimed to get on the road by 7:30am. The noise of rain and swishing tires was our constant companion during the night so we were a bit slow getting started but sometimes things go well and this morning was one. We were on the bike in drizzle just after 7am and passing Timmie’s with a fleeting thought of some hot coffee and a breakfast muffin.

We waited for a Prairie train to cross the road loaded with containers from China on its way to the east and the homes of unemployed Canadians. We cross the TCH bridge and made a decision to use it as all the traffic was leaving Winnipeg, and as visibility was reduced, we opted for the noise and the wide shoulder, rather than use the guys recommended route along the 26.

We sped along for the first 35km on a beautiful new shoulder of jet black asphalt, which with the rain on it gave the impression riding over a big black hole. As we’ve said before, all good things come to an end, and so did this, with 5km of shoulder construction which meant that we had to ride on compressed shale covered in a thin layer of tar. Before we got to Headingly we had 5km more of this to ride. Fortunately the TCH route was 12km shorter than we would have ridden on the 26, so we arrived at the appointed restaurant very early, very wet, and very dirty. We warmed up on soup and under the blow drier in the washroom, while waiting for the lads who duly arrived at the appointed hour. We had lunch then proceeded to Neil’s house lead by Neil and Ken, Bob acted a rear gunner and sweeper, did I mention a cold beer?

Everyone collected for supper at Len and Pattie’s , and 3 hours of fine conversation.

Average 18.7kph,

Height climbed 100m,

Today’s distance 88km,

Total Distance 4756km

Sorry no pictures today, it was just too wet and nasty. A great day none the less. Two days in Winnipeg R&R.

I think that’s all the news that fit to Blog. We had a very nice Night, night and slept like logs.

Day 65 Holland to Portage La Prairie

PIctures Itinerary JDRF

The weather forecast was for cool temperatures and intermittent showers so we forwent the early start and had the best breakfast of the holiday. Marginally cool for bare feet in the sandals, but we sucked it up and got underway before 9am. Luxury. We met Nicholas from Montreal who was riding to Brandon, and nearly there. Congratulations my friend.

The wind is still from the NW which kept our speed in the high 20's all the way to St Claude, where we stopped and had a BLT sub, and some really good coffee at the Esso on the corner. We had a chat to a Milk Tanker driver who told us to beware of rare idiots who insist on overtaking him when he slows for bikes and puts on his four way flashers. We'll remember that.

We turned north into the wind and followed the all but deserted 240 towards PLP. With 20km to go it started to rain and we donned our Gortex. 5 minutes later we were in a deluge which kept getting stronger until finally we were biking through a wall of water, complete with cold wind.

Quite fun really.

It stopped after about 20 minutes and the sun came out, where upon the front chain came off. I made the decision to delay tightening it until we got to Portage la Prairie, this turned out to be a mistake.

We chatted with several nice folks in Tim Hortons, and sat out another sun shower drinking hot chocolate, but then as we were leaving the car park the chain came off again, much to my personal embarrassment. So I fixed it then.

The Hi-Way Motel seemed like a good place to stay,and we discovered that Robert and Claire ( the other tandem pair we met at North Sydney) were there two nights ago. Go Team!

Boston Pizza is close so that's it for tonight's dinner. PS: Good it was too.

Average 21.5kph

Todays Climb 10m

Today's Distance 82km

Total Distance 4668km

I think that's all the news tht's fit to Blog, Night, night.

Day 64 Souris to Holland

Pictures Itinerary JDRF donor site

We had a good breakfast at the hotel and found out we could Blog so spent an hour catching up. All was not lost last night as we went into the Legion and had a beer with Candy a delightful lady who kept us entertained till bedtime..... But that was yesterday.

Today we were late on the road, but the wind was good and we climbed the first hill of the day out of town in fine style, albeit was only about 1%. It was "sweater on" cool as we passed

through mainly arable farmland with lots of trees, (didn't know we would miss them so much).

We saw our compliment of hawks and other unidentified raptors, and a little stoat, or weasel perhaps.

It was a landscape of changing colors, and very large trucks loaded with mostly oilfield equipment. There is a new pipeline being laidbut in general the drivers took the time to see we were safe.

We shared 10km of first class new roadway and hard shoulder with these behemothsand it just shows that Mr Doer can make things happen, if he wants.

We got to our appointed destination so early and the wind was sooooo favorable that we decided to do the extra 20 miles to Holland and take a motel as there was heavy rain clouds collecting and dropping the occasional spot on us.

So that's how we got to the Hollander Hotel.

We have excellent directions from Len, Bob, Ken and Neil for the route into Winnipeg on Friday.

We feel really special, with all the effort they have taken.

So on my second beer, I think that is all the news that's fit to blog.

Welcome to our new follower, we hope you enjoy our story.

Thanks to commenters, as usual you provide the feedback we need to stay concise.Lol

Average 24.2kph,

Height climbed 100m,

Todats Distance 108km,

Total Distance 4586km

Day 63 Redvers to Souris

Pictures Itinerary JDRF

Really cool last night and there was heavy dew on the tent and the grass. Packed up very efficiently and after a quick chat to Terry, we ate a good breakfast at the Three Brothers Restaurant and were on the road before 8am. The wind was still from the north, but it was

helpful this morning and together we propelled the tandem along the road at a very good rate. At 22km we took a picture of the miniscule Manitoba sign,and said goodbye to Saskatchewan’s friendly people, courteous drivers, colorful fields and the big skies and the hawks that live in them

.

Manitoba has soft shoulders which are quite unridable, sometimes there is a 10cm drop from the asphalt, so we hope that the drivers make allowances. I think it’s about time Manitoba came into the 21^st century and paved the shoulders like everywhere else in Canada, and, changed the name of the Province to make it gender neutral to Personitoba. Lol

There may have been a store at Pipestone, but it was off the road, and too early. It turned out to be the only place where we could pick up drinks. Fortunately, the wind and gradient were so good to us we did not need anything until we got into Souris. We stopped in at “The Rock Shop” and the lady there is very capable and pleasant and she phoned around and arranged for us to have a room at the Souris Motor Inn. No Internet in our room, but there was in the bar. Unfortunately we didn’t find out until we were about to leave. In spite of what they tell you there is no Internet at the Deli in town called the Forbidden Flavors unless you have an account with MTS whoever they are.

We had a quick shower, then took a stroll to the suspension bridge of world renown, it really is aptly named, “The Swinging Bridge.”

JDRF news: if you click on the JDRF link, it now takes you straight to ronandmarge’s donation page. There is a thermometer and all. However, the number on the thermometer is not the real total, so don’t be put off by that. I’m sure it will be fixed.

Average 24.7 kph

Height climbed 100m (-150m),

Today’s distance 112km,

Total Distance 4478km . We will be in Glenboro’ tomorrow.

That’s about all the news that’s fit to blog, Night, night.

Day 62 Stoughton to Redvers

Pictures Itinerary JDRF

So we did as planned and had a good breakfast before getting on the road about 7:30 am. The wind was strong from the north, but not as damaging as yesterday. The road was essentially flat with very small undulations. The shoulder had been sprayed with tar, and I did not know how slippery this was so stayed on the road. The traffic now is much denser than we have gotten used to, but, it seems to come in packs made up of pickups and VERY large oil industry trucks with 5 or 10 minutes between.

It was not long before we came across a work crew improving the road, and after negotiating that, it was excellent shoulder all the way to Redvers.

We stopped for lunch in Carlyle A&W, staff excellent, and the burger and root beer too. The wind strengthened, but fortunately backed to the east a little and gave us a help for the last 45km into Redvers. We found out the Oilmen have taken all the hotel rooms, so once again we were forced to camp in a splendid site, with great showers for a magnificent $10.

Restaurants were close and affordable, so we are happy little puppies. Look at Margie’s smile

under the horse statue.

Coming back from the Three brothers restaurant, we stopped and chatted to a fellow camper called Terry, from Guelph, who is on a motoring/biking holiday. We passed a pleasant ½ hour and as the evening cooled said farewell. In bed by 8:00pm.

I think that’s all that’s fit to Blog, Estimated 108km tomorrow as we cross into the province of unpaved shoulders.

Average 22.7kph,

Height climbed 100m,

Today’s Distance 101km,

Total Distance 4366km.

That's all the news tht's fit to Blog, Night, night

Day 61 Weyburn to Stoughton

Pictures Itinerary JDRF Donor site

We had a tardy start today with only about 65km to do (on our “Rest day.”) We took the breakfast in the motel. I snuck out a banana, and we got on our way just before 7am. The landscape changed today, more trees and scrub, but still lots of arable land. The oil industry has taken over, there are lots of well heads to be seen near the road, and several have gas flares.

We agreed that the air had an unpleasant, rancid tang that we had not noticed before today. The roadway was also in poor condition and often the shoulder was un-rideable. Fortunately the traffic was still light, and very considerate, though it was the most we have seen for over a 1000km.

There was a strong wind from the north and a gently rising road which made the actual 71km more difficult for us than we had anticipated and we were ready for lunch when we got to Stoughton. We met up with a couple of young Montrealers, Jean-Phillip and Simon, who were going from Vancouver to Montreal. Somewhat quicker than us I have to admit. They came across as very nice guys and a credit to their families.

All the motel rooms were occupied by Oilmen, who as a group are very unfriendly folks, but as a guy from the Canadian Forces we met this morning pointed out, “Just because you have an unpleasant job, it doesn’t mean that you have an unpleasant manner.” There is no feeling here of sour grapes because we had to camp. The site was excellent, good showers and nicely shaded, and free.

About 4:30 we went back to the café at the cross roads for supper, then messed about until we retired at 20:00h. The café opens in the morning at 7am, so we will have a lie in and take breakfast there.

Unfortunately there is no WiFi in town that I could access.

Average 18.2kph

Height climbed 100m

Today’s Distance 71km

Total Distance 4265km (only about 3000kmleft!)

That's all the news that fit to blog. Night, night

Day 60 Ogema to Weyburn

Pictures New Itinerary JDRF

We were awakened by the muffled sounds of Betty and Mark decamping around 5:00am. So on the basis that we should get up and get on the road before our brain knew what we were up to, we got up and put the kettle on the “trusty gasoline stove” to make tea. We ate cold pizza from last night, which was actually delicious, and then got into pack-up mode. We are now very good at it as for years we have honed our skills in the game of competitive packing which occurs when we camp with our friends, Tim and Dot. I think it is true to say that we give them half an hour’s start to make it interesting. Lol…..

Betty and Mark were very good, but at the risk of blowing our own trumpets, we snuck in and beat them to tightening the last strap.

We did the first part of the ride with our new friends,

Betty taking honors for fastest (I think she was a little stung by coming second in the first event of the day, lol) while Mark, Ron and Marge enjoyed the morning which could not have been more perfect, immersed in delightful conversation about the state of the world. At 26km they turned and headed south to catch a train home to California, while we sped onward. We saw several large hawks and a large bird with white under the wings which we thought was a Golden eagle, a couple of deer sat in the shade of some trees and watched us pass. Trees are more plentiful hereabouts, but it is a Dutch Elm disease zone so there are frequent signs along the road

advising against the transportation of wood out of the area. One intersting fact is that Weyburn is the biggest inland collector of grain.

We stopped at 55km for our lunch, made up of more cold pizza and grapes, then the final push to Weyburn which we entered about 10:30 am. Our easiest days ride so far. I think that this was due to no significant wind and the 150m descent. We stopped off at DQ for large strawberry milk shakes as now shade temperature was 33C according to my new watch. Then we went over the road to find a room at the Weyburn Inn. In short, totally disinterested staff, only a smoking room that would not be available till 15:00h, and a rip off price. Thank you, but no thanks. So we retraced our steps and got excellent service and a great smile from the Kims at the Circle 6 Motel.

I have to admit that I was cranky when we got into town due to being hungry. I have mentioned before about the effects of tailwinds which make you work too hard because the bike feels sooooo good. Apparently so do long down hills. The milk shake fixed the problem and I became my soft and gentle, cuddly self once more.

Canadian Tire, and Wal Mart hereabouts do not stock inner tubes with Presta valves, even though they advertise what they do sell as “Universal.”

Good news is that our friends in Winnipeg have found 2 fold up tires for me. Thank you Len, Bob, Louie and all the folks that made that happen.

Average 22.8kph,

Height climbed 100m ( -160m) ,

Today's Distance 88km

Total Distance 4194km

That’s all the news that’s fit to blog. I have posted a new Itinerary so all you organized people please change your “Favourites” to the new address. Night, night.

Day 59 Assiniboia to Ogema

Pictures JDRF

Last evening, we went for supper with Mark and Betty and found their company both stimulating and delightful. They are experienced travelers and river rafters, so there were lots of stories about places that we would like to go. Still we were in bed by nine, so we didn’t get into too much trouble. They plan to go to Ogema too.

The forecast for today is “another Hot one,” so we were up with the sun and eating muesli like it had gone out of style.

The road today was rolling with 50m dips, definitely

not flat, one ascent up to a railway bridge was quite

steep and had us down in the 7kph range.

We passed more standing water, even two large lakes, and many water holes. The fields are not so dry, and there is more sense of order here. We learned that the purple crops are flax, and the

yellow is sweet smelling canola.

We finally rolled into town just after 11am, and took lunch at The Rolling Hills Restaurant and had roast beef and mash. It was very good too, then after 3 cups of coffee we headed for the Regional Campsite, just outside of town. This is another delightful place and very good value for $15. Good showers and very shady sites. The water though has a lot of dissolved minerals which makes it not nice to drink, so we relied on a beer donated by Betty and Mark, who arrived about 3pm. Pizza for dinner and there will be enough for breakfast and lunch tomorrow.

We turned in ready for a cool night, and an early start. Mark and Betty have a hundred miles (160km) to do tomorrow to catch a train home and are preparing to get up by 5am.

Average 22 kph,

Height climbed 400m,

Today’s distance 84km.

Total distance 4106km

Day 58 Kinkaid to Assiniboia

We woke up in the night very cold, and had to close the flaps of the tent. However, I could not get back to sleep after that and tossed and turned until 5:30am.

The mornings here are really beautiful, with the birds singing and the shades of light at dawn…… So up we got and started to break camp and have breakfast at the same time. Believe it or not it is now organized chaos and things happen in a very orderly way. We were on the road about 6:45am. Cool, fresh, blue, gold, smooth road, whine of tires, crickets jumping up in front of the bike and hitting me with surprising force,

long periods of solitary occupation of the road, train horn repeating in the distance, coming closer and passing us with a wave from the driver, the smell of canola, a field of purple, a lone cow in a large field, a sore butt, were some items from a world of impressions.

We stopped for lunch along the way leaning the bike against a sign post, cheese and tomato sandwiches, apple and cold water, only 28 km to go.

First impressions of Assiniboia are not pleasant, it is dusty and busy, and industrial, but as you enter the town it changes and except for the beer being expensive, it has a certain charm. After much dithering about, we chose the New Moon café for lunch, Chinese, my Ginger beef was good, Marge took the Smorg.

We took a room at the Franklin Motel and met two American Bikers, Betty and Mark from California. Leo, one of the boys last night, had mentioned them. As soon as we started talking an official car pulled to a stop and the officer got out purposefully and said to Betty that she was being ticketed for wearing a helmet.

It turns out the locality has a positive ticket and if the officer sees something good he/she hands out a ticket. In this case Betty became the recipient of a Tote bag.

That’s all the news that’s fit to Blog, or that you can stand I’m sure. Another successful day on the Grand Tour.

Please remember JDRF, and give if you can.

Average 22.1kph

Days Climb 150m

Days Distance 78km

Total Distance 4022km

Day 57 Shaunavon to Kincaid.

The guy in the next room must be big and dirty because he took a long time to shower. The good news is that he got us started 45mins early than the alarm and we were on the road well before 7:00am. There was a couple of steepish hills , but generally rolling. We ran into 5km of good gravel road, which brought some

memories back, but all went well. Several little places had grain silos, but really nothing much more to report before the lunch stop in Cadillac where we ate cold pizza on the church steps.

More trucks on the road in the afternoon with mixed loads, half oil industry related, the rest

of it was agri business. Some were very large.

At 95km the two shops where we could buy cold drinks were closed for lunch, so we sucked it up and pushed on to Kincaid.

The day was warming up nicely as we got into Kincaid (named after an engineer on the railway) and photographed the two grain silos and went into the general store and chatted to Trudi the librarian, Cindy the Mayor

and Debbie. We were soon set up for tenting by the lodge, and wifi-ing from the library.

Note that official camping and the hotel are closed in this community.

Dinner was taken in the local bar, which is doing ok in a converted church. We spent our evening there talking with the local lads. It was a very enjoyable time but we drank too much. Had to get up in the night.

Weather for tomorrow is going to be hot, so it will be another very early start..

Average 21.8kph,

Daily climb 300m,

Daily Distance 116km.

Total Distance 3944km

Pictures

Day 56 Rest day in Shaunavon

Well are we or arn't we?

Do you want to?

It's not that, it is that I'm so tired I might fall asleep part way.

How about a cup of Coffee?

Why not, then we'll decide whether to get up or not.

OK.

Thus started the day which turned into a rest day when we decided we were going to.

We were talking about going for breakfast at Chequers.

We have decided it will be Kincaid tomorrow starting early. Today just another day in the sun.

We had a long chat with Edna, the maid, and showed her photos of the last three days. Nice lady.

Ate cheese and biscuits, chocolate milk, and very juicy grapes.

Read an old joke about a strawberry.

All in all beautifully boring day.

That's all the news that's fit to Blog. The action starts again tomorrow at 5:50 am.

Thanks for the great encouragement from our Commenters, it's always good to know someone thinks you're funny.

For Hayley's web site click http://www.hayleywickenheiser.com/

Day 55 Eastend to Shaunavon (Home of Hayley Wickenheiser)

We had very high winds during the night, and we were glad we had chosen a sheltered spot, but in spite of that we slept well, and the bruises were not so painful to lie on, although that could have been du

e to the Motrin. We timed our departure to coincide with the opening of the grocery stores, as we needed bananas and snacks which we could not buy yesterday as stores were closed on Sunday. What with poor cell phone reception and Sunday closing, this is a truly civilized part of the world.

One small hill of a few meters then we were up onto the prairie and rolling along better than we have done for many days although that does not mean much.

We were in Shaunavon before 11:00am having passed through a much more populated area with farms and ranches and while there is agriculture everywhere the new money is in oil. This is exemplified by the first two motels we tried being full. The tourist offi

ce is beautiful, and there are some exhibits there worth seeing, but it is overstaffed by young women who do not understand their job requirements.

We got well fed at Chequers Café, then essentially retired to our room to catch up with the blog etc.

The dining room at the Kings Hotel bar is more than good, and the waitress,

Penny, is a joy to watch as she works her magic on 40 men away from home with pazzaz and control.

That’s it for today, All the News that’s fit to Blog. Night, Night.

Average 19.5kph,

Todays climb 150m,

Todays distance 38km

Total Distance 3828km.

Note that I will no longer record total height as it is too much trouble to set the machine, ie I keep forgetting. If you are a stats person the average height climbed is just about 1/3% of distance travelled.

Day 54 Sandy and Lorne’s to Eastend

Additional

Pictures

We gathered in the kitchen for coffee and toast and a last chin-wag before getting on the road around 7:45. The gravel road to Consul was mainly downhill and the surface was relatively easy on the nerves to ride. It was a perfect day, cool and bright and clear all the way into Consul. Marge was pointing out the various birds and other fauna, happy that our spell of gravel was coming to an end. I have to admit, my butt was sore from the vibration from the road, and having to use back up shorts which are not as well padded as the ones I have been using, so I was fixated on a soft seat and another cup of coffee.

The sun shone on the Consul Grain silo now at the end of the rail line,

it also shone on the gas station, the motel and the diner which were all closed because it was Sunday. We had plenty of water, but snack food was in short supply after two long days, so we shared the last of the cherries, one each, and started off to Eastend 72kms away, where we decided to end our day.

The wind was blowing strongly from the north, which reduced our speed to about 10kph going north, but it was of no matter when going in our predominantly eastern direction. We had one hill of about 150m to climb then nicely rolling all the way. The area is made up of different colored clay hills,

each of which has its industrial uses, so there is still extensive mining, and there are outcrops of brilliant white everywhere. The ride into Eastend, famous for its T-Rex museum, finished with a long 6% downhill to the Riverside Motel where we camped under a tree, and were treated like returning heroes when the Owner found out we had just cycled the 501. We put up the tent, shopped and ate steak and fries followed by the famous rice pudding at Jack’s Restaurant, and then I put my head down and slept all afternoon. It was hot and very windy. Marge did a little laundry and watched the local cats

Ron getting ready to get his head down .

Our average speed tells the tale of fatigue; at 16.5kph this comes across as a difficult stage, it was not, even with the unhelpful wind. Fortunately, tomorrow will be a short day to Shaunavon. We’ll see how we feel then and maybe take another rest day.

We had a rum toddy before bed at 8:00 and were asleep before 8:05. Better than Sominex.

Average 16.5kph,

Today's climb 350m,

Today's distance 90km.

Total Distance 3790km.

Day 53 Dusty and Veldas to Sandy and Lorne’s

We knew that the ambient would be in the 30’s today so we made a special effort to be up early and get out on the gravel. Dusty came and waved us off about 6;45am. We were entering the most sparsely populated part of the ride so we knew we had to be careful. The area became very arid with no surface water, and ranchland gave way to scrub populated by hawks, deer and ground squirrels. We made it to route 41 and ate lunch among free range cows and horses and cactus. The cattle grids are called Texas gates round here and it was not too much of a stretch to see Roy Rogers or the Cisco Kid ride on up. But they didn’t, in fact nothing did in either direction for most of the rest of the day. As the sun rose the temperature rose with it and after 2pm, our water was so warm it made you gag to drink it. We bummed a couple of bottles of ice water from one of the very rare passing motorists who thought we were crazy. We pushed on to the border and the paved road, only to find a 100m of it before it turned back to dirt as well, however without the ridges of Alberta and a few more farms.

To say the least we were very tired by 75km and with another 25 to do to Consul we knew we were not going to do it. Our rest stops were being taken every 2km. We found some shade under trees and uncoupled the tandem from the trailer then laid the bike down by the side of the road, we took out the ground sheet and had a long siesta in the shade. After about an hour a lady stopped her truck, as she later explained “to look for the bodies,” when Marge popped her head above the fence and said hello. Once more to cut a long story shor,t she invited us to stay in her house and have Saturday evening supper with her family. Deep thanks to Sandy, Lorne and Kent for making us so welcome, your generocity and kindness were and are most appreciated.

Average 12.6kph,

Todays Climb 300m,

Today's Distance 86km,

Total Distance 3700km

Day 52 Milk River to Dusty and Velda’s

Can you believe it? Another beautiful day. We started off with a strong tail wind which propelled us along the asphalt so that we made the beginning of the gravel road in a little over 2 hours for 53km. Unfortunately, our high speed caused us to have a little tumble and we fetched up only 50m onto the dirt. What was not apparent was that the road had been newly graded and covered in practically spherical river stones the size of marbles. These has been ridged by the traffic which made a perfect tandem trap and we had a front wheel wash out which thumped us down pretty hard, but, we must have slowed a lot as we slid along very little, limiting skin damage to only a few square centimeters between us. It did very effectively knock all the wind out of us too, but not for very long, as my excellent memory for dialogue brought back the first 40 or so words from the opening of Four Weddings and a Funeral. Unfortunately there was absolutely no one around to appreciate my soliloquy, which was probably just as well. After a little while and some pain digging out the gravel, we straightened the handlebars and continued on our way, (Did I mention the double tot of medicinal rum to ward off shock?)

This time at a very much slower pace, we progressed for the next 30km or so, before a passing car stopped and asked if we needed any help. We told them the story and the lady of the car bandaged up my elbow which had been leaking somewhat. We never got Florence’s real name but may she have a blessed life. Just as she was finishing her ministrations, Joey and Joe, father and son ranchers, arrived on a 4 wheeler and asked if they could be of assistance. To cut a long story short, they showed us a potable well, and arranged to have us camp at one of their friends 15km up the road. Thus aided we got on our way with a lot more confidence.

The road continued to be very tricky to negotiate, imagine trying to ride over a pile of ball bearings, so the going was both tense, and slow, and we were barely able to keep up 12kph with any sense of security.

Fortunately for us the temperature was only about 27’C so while we were very tired when we made Dusty and Veldas by early afternoon, we were not in danger of heat exhaustion.

After a chat with Velda, we spent the rest of the day sitting on the porch of an old abandoned house, in the shade, drinking tea and cold well water. When Dusty came home, we were invited in to have supper cooked for us by Velda who provided us with beef sausage, potatoes a green salad. She had done a good job and nothing could have tasted better. Later, Dusty’s Dad came round and supplied ice cold beer and bottles of water. Nectar indeed. We spent the evening talking of Ranching inthe area, and that next week there will be a big celebration of all the families who have been in the area for a 100 year. Dusty is also a train buff and has a lot of books and material on the railway system in Alberta which at one time was very extensive.

Replete with good food and conversation we retired and slept like logs till morning. We were only wakened once by a choir of coyotes singing to us from close by. We send very heart-felt thanks to Joe and Joey and Velda, Dusty and Ray.

Average 16kph,

Todays climb 300m

Total Height TBD

Todays Distance 104km,

Total Distance 3614 km

Day 51 Cardston to Milk River

Up and out of bed full of the joys of being 62. So after doing a few knees bending, back stretching and allowing the escape of gas from various orifii, I was able to make and enjoy a breakfast that would kill a younger man. We were on an almost deserted road before 8am, and making our way up a deceptively unflat road. I had Marge check to see if we had a flat, but after about 15km kilometers we were warmed up and over the top of the 150m rise in no time. Definitely Ranchland, that’s what Marge said (and she has a degree in geography you know.) Lots of different types of beef on the hoof, brown ones and black, and even a scrap yard to brighten up the scene as we undulated our way up to Del Bonita, which consisted of a post office-general store and some abandoned wooden buildings, where we chatted to the lady there and got some background on the place. There’s not much doing now though, except it was starting to get hot.

The further east we went the drier it became, but what rivers there were, flowed very fast. The riding was relatively easy however. There was a fair amount of farming, wheat, sweet smelling canola, and other cereals but, after a 100km we were getting to the end of our ride we were both a little irritable with fatigue and then found that we had to do a 4km detour to get passsed some road construction. The upside of this was that we got some good shots of a couple of grain silos This is one:

In Milk River there is a very nice campsite called “Under 8 Flags” and there is a plaque explaining why it is so aptly named.. First it was French, then Spanish, then French, part of the USA, then British, then under control of the Hudsons Bay, then Britain again. The last two flags are the Ensign from 1946, and the Maple Leaf. We found a really nice campsite and put up the tent. Sausages,mash and peas and carrots, with a couple of cups of tea and lots of superb cherries.

Tomorrow is the start of the dirt, I hope I sleep well.

22kph, average

Today’s climb 350m,

Total climb

Today’s Distance 117km

Total Distance 3510km

Day 50 Cardston Rest and Re-tire Day

Today the sun is shining and everything is right in heaven. It happens to be my Birthday and so as a special treat I got up and made Marge a cup of tea. She was delighted. We picked up the tyres from Jim, Thanks Jim, and went for a little walk round town. The air was so clean and clear it was like looking at a Panasonic Plasma TV.

I did some research on JDRF with the aim of trying to make it easier for donors to donate on line, and posted that yesterday, but just to underline it, the address they ask forafter you have entered "ronandmarge" in the "In Honor of "option is to send a card to us, that's all. I contacted them and told them not to send us anything, so donors can put whatever in there. Their own address would be the easiest.

We are on the website, there is a potted history of our exploits, we looked much younger then. You can, if you have a surfeit of time on your hands,find us by using the web search function for ronandmarge.

We are going into the wilds of Alberta tomorrow, and we may very well out of contact for the next 4 or 5 days so dont worry if you see no new posts.

I looked up the statistics on the blogs readership, and to my pleasant surprise in the last 30 days we have 1100 readers who spent nearly 4 minutes per visit on the site. Thanks for that encouragement, and thanks to all the folks that comment and send us emails. We really enjoy them.

That's all the news that's fit to print today. Thank you

Day 49 Waterton Park to Cardston

After getting ourselves straightened out from the extreme yoga positions required to enter the tent in the rain and keep our bedding dry, we lay awake for some time being assailed by the heavy rain on the tent. Modern technology is amazing one thin layer keeping out all that water… A long time after we dropped off it stopped and became a thin drizzle. How do I know this? Well I think it was that third cup of coffee that did it, but now the yoga had to be employed one more time in reverse to get out of the tent. You guess the rest. When morning came, the sun showed its face and we ate and chatted with the boys as they readied themselves for a mountain

trek, and we our journey to Cardston.

A helpful wind, a partly cloudy sky but chilly air had us decked in Polar fleece and socks as we headed down (!) the valley and away from the mountains. The road was in fact rolling which kept our average speed down, but not too hard.

The rear tire I had put on yesterday was somehow out of round, so we were going along in an imitation of riding a horse, bumpity bump, so we made the decision to change it and use one of the tyres I had bought last night at Pats. All was smooth again. We stopped halfway at the Mountain View Café for a charge of hot chocolate and a muffin, then it was easy biking into Cardston.

Unfortunately, it did start to rain so that was the end of photos for today.

Once in Cardston, we called in at the Pro-Shop and met Jim, who had some tyres but not the quality we wanted, so he rang up a shop in Lethbridge 100kms away and organized to have what we wanted delivered tomorrow. Can’t say too much about the time and trouble Jim was prepared to take to make sure we got what we needed.

The first motel we applied to had absolutely no room for bikes, their loss, so we went up the road to the Outpost and took a suite for less. Excellent. We fed well, caught up on the blog, and of course retired early.

18.5kph Average,

Todays Altitude Gain 450m

Total Altitude Gain 23450m

Todays distance 57km.

Total Distance 3393 km

The Itinerary can be found by right clicking and "Open in New Tab": http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=rqh-YnkugHVLcYf0I3fj3Fg

Some folks have complained about the JDRF’s requirement for ronandmarge’s address when donating on line. I have researched other options which may be easier. (Seebelow) and asked them to make the address data optional.

You can also make a donation by calling JDRF at 1 877 CURE 533 / 905-944-8700 ext. 0, or e-mail us atdonate@jdrf.ca, or send a cheque made payable to: Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation 7100, Woodbine Avenue, Suite 311, Markham, Ontario . L3R 5J2

Day 48 Pincher Creek to Waterton Park

Please note this blog entry is out of order for some reason I can't fathom. The chances of meeting Janice where astronomical!

After the thunderstorm, we had a partially sunny morning and a continually rising road. The temperature dropped and dark clouds gathered ominously in front of us.

We passed some Texans going the other way. They were on a 900 mile tour in 7 days, and even though they were sagged, it sure sounded tough to us.

To our surprise we slowly got up to 1345m which is very close to the Crows Nest elevation, only to find a railway bridge traversing the road. This was much tougher than anticipated. To make things even more interesting, a stiff headwind and a fine drizzle had joined our party. At halfway, we stopped at the Twin Butte Restaurant for a burger,and were about to leave when this silver haired lady accompanied by two friends, asked if we were the owners of the tandem outside in the now pouring rain. She said that when she had done this route it had been very tough. I asked her to sit down, and Marge asked if her name was Janice Kenyon. She looked stunned.

So for the next hour we chatted happily with the lady from whose book we had based our route, and whom we had gotten to know well from her daily log of her trip across Canada in 2004. A truely magical moment.

Our reverie was short lived as we went outside, and dressed up for the last 30km into Waterton. A passing cattleman offered to take us to the camp in his truck. We were soooooo close to accepting but got refused to his amazement, got on our rusty steed and pedaled off into the rain.

Not long after, our rear tire blew with the sound of a rifle shot. It had only done 300km, so it was a little surprising. Off with the bags and trailer and we set to to change it with the tire Andrew had brought with him. (Did I mention that?)

We were now down to a single emergency spare, and were a little tense as we rode in complete solitude in the pouring rain.

As I’ve said before all good things come to an end and we made it safe into the Park and met Andrew and Jon for a cup of high test hot chocolate and a cookie. Thus fueled we tooled round Waterton to try and find a Hotel/motel to stay in with no luck. Everywhere was booked up, except camping.

The rain abated for just long enough to get our tent erected, then we went into town for dinner in Andrew’s car. (Not really for those of you with detailed minds, we used plates, cutlery, and as close a facsimile to a restaurant as Waterton in the rain can provide.)

Getting back into a tent, on our return, when it was throwing it down with rain was quite an art, if one does not want to bring in gallons of water. I would like you to picture this, two 60+ year old farts trying to make themselves into pretzels so that their bed stays dry. Smile if you can.

That’s all the news that’s fit to print except that we suffered no permanent injuries. Night Night.

15.5kph Average

Distance 60km

Total distance 3336km

Altitude Change 700m.

Total Altitude Change 22974m

Day 47 Fernie to Pincher Creek.

So, today we made it into Alberta after climbing the Crow’s Nest Pass. We had left Fernie after a full breakfast at about 8:30 am. Cool sunny morning perfect for climbing. We stopped for coffee in Sparwood and the mandatory photo opportunity of the biggest truck in the world, then onwards and upwards to the border with Alberta.

The gradient was gentle and the road had a wide shoulder. It topped out at 1358 m and of course, we expected the usual drops on the other side, but

this did not happen, the elevation stayed close to 1320m for miles. We passed glacial lakes with their distinctive blue colours and the great landslide at Frank,

where half a mountain descended, burying road and railway many meters deep in rock, and dirt. There is a sign which states that the rockslide is a protected area and no- one is allowed to remove stones. It just seemed a little funny at the time seeing as how there was so much debris. We pushed on to Pincher Creek having decided that we would reduce tomorrow’s ride, and take the benefit of the weather. We finally passed into ranchland and followed the Cowboy Trail into Pincher Creek. There are two very good things about Pincher Creek, one is the Pizza at the King Chinese Restaurant, and the other is the Veterans Memorial Campsite.

Nice facilities and a great lady Warden who had lots of stories to tell us, and keep us amused, until we fell into bed about 8:30pm. There was a dry (for us) thunder storm during the night which was very spectacular, it was enough to wake Marge, I never heard a thing.

PS: The Tourist Information is also world class. When they found we were doing the crossing, they cheerfully donated a flag to the cause. Now we have 7, one for each Province we have passed through.

Please don't forget about the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, all donations are welcome. If you donate on line, it asks for our address, put any address in so long as you fill in the blanks. I know it's a bit silly, but "ronandmarge" is enough. Thanks.

I think that is all the news that’s fit to print for today. Night, night.

18.7 kph Average speed

Distance 119km.

Total Distance 3276km

Altitude Change 650m,

Total Altitude Change 22374 m

Itinerary http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=rqh-YnkugHVLcYf0I3fj3Fg

Day 46 Fernie Rest Day

This was a great day today in every respect. We overslept, over-ate, did laundry, read magazines, had a nap, welcomed Jon and Andrew bearing gifts of altimeter and spare tire. We ate at the Curry Bowl. Mmmmm. Wrote blog. Great day looking forward to Crows Nest Pass tomorrow. Met lots of nice folk on Bikes. That’s all the news that’s fit to print. Night night.

Day 45 - Cranbrook to Fernie

Late start this morning due to the time change, and it being very cool. We had our usual breakfast, supplemented by fried potatoes and coffee from the hotel lobby. Once under way we progressed very well averaging well over 25kph for the first 50km. It was pretty flat and we had a very helpful tailwind. Our only stop was when Ron had to cover his pretty little toes due them freezing off.

The road had a good shoulder but was quite busy with plenty of trucks, and these things are so aerodynamic now that there is only a little bow wave as they pass but they can add 3kph to our speed. We had this dilemma, be sucked along, or deafened.

The blahs of yesterday disappeared as the sun melted the mist and the temperature became more comfortable. we were treated to some beautiful vistas of cloud and mountain, which Marge tried valiantly to capture with the camera. We stopped at 60km and ate lunch sitting on a grassy bank listening to invisible trains squealing through switches, and waving at folks in cars as they passed.

We stopped for a coffee in Elko and met up with Gracie and Matt who are doing the Great Divide on unicycles. (20+ miles a day.) The café there has a shredded truck tire which was attacked by an upset Grizzly. Mmmm.

The vista closed in quickly as we rode slightly down hill through a gorge by the side of the railway and the Elk River, then shot through a tunnel at full power with eyes on the mirror. Once again there was no problem as the road was empty in both directions.

The legs were now starting to get a little heavy, but we were soon in Fernie’s suburbs looking for a Timmy H’s. The town has changed unbelievably since we were last here, and so we asked for help from a passing young lady with two beautiful dogs and a 8month old baby. Her name is Cat, and helped us get our bearings and did a great job of being an ambassador for the town.

Cutting things short, the RV park in town is a little ratty, the weather forecast was for unsettled, we had two days here, so booked into the Raging Elk, a HI where we got a double room with private bath for 60$/night, reserved for Andrew and John coming in from Calgary tomorrow, and had a chat with the very helpful Sadie.

Later we met up with Bron, Darren, Hannah and Gracie, a very nice family from Melbourne AU. Spent the evening yakking, and retired at about 11:00 pm. That’s all the news that’s fit to print. Nigh,night.

Picture

21.5kph average

Distance: 100km
Total Distance: 3157km
Alt change: 450m
Total Alt change: 21724m