Day15 - Still in SK!

I awoke a little later than I would have liked, but given the previous night`s activities I can`t say that I was terribly surprised.  Down to breakfast and the room was jam-packed with some highschool team.  The food looked kind of scary so I downed a couple of glasses of OJ (look Ying, Vitamin C!) and then went back upstairs to pack up.  I had heard that there was a farmers market in town, and figured that I might get something good there.  I packed up my gear, cleaned my drivetrain (finally!) and relubed, and was on the road a little after 10:00. 

The farmer`s market was disappointing, so I rolled out figuring I`d just find a bakery or a cafe as I left town.  The route I had selected didn`t cooperate too well so I ducked into an A&W for a quick breakfast before I hit the highway - Hwy33 SE to Hwy13E - back on the Redcoat Trail. 

The day had dawned cool and overcast, with favourable winds.  I made good time, and the rest day really had helped.  My ankle was still bothering me (though not extremely so), but my butt felt AWESOME and my overall energy level was the highest it had been in recent memory.  Stranglely, my lower back was kind of sore.  That's new (for this ride) and I had a knot in the upper middle of my right calf.  Oh well...  I rolled along enjoying a hearty tailwind and stopped a few times for fuel - but never did find a good place to eat a proper lunch.  The funny thing about a lot of these tiny prairie towns is that they shut down completely for long weekends.  I think I was lucky to find a fuel stop in what was described to me as "a big town - they've got a thousand people there".  I was also offerred a ride to said "big town", where the driver I had stopped to chat with told me there was going to be "a big party with a beer garden and everything".  I politely declined, though thanked him for the offer and was once again on my way.

My tailwind disappeared in the latter part of the afternoon and I realized that I was farther than I had thought from the MB border.  There's also precious little right near the border.  I decided to pull the plug in Carlyle.  I was eyeing up a potential campsite in a park near a church by a small creek and decided to stop at the gas station for some recovery fuel.  Before I had a chance to swing a leg over I was ambushed by vampires.  I knew the bugs would get worse as I got closer to MB but I hadn't been expecting them to be this aggressive!  I was on a concrete pad, far away from any grass, trees or water.  With that I knew that my spotted campsite would leave me a litre short come the morning, so I took refuge in the only motel in town (the Bates Motel). 

I'll roll across the border in the morning and see how far into MB my legs can take me.

Stats:

Total Elapsed Time: 8:30
Actual Ride Time: 7:36
Distance Traveled: 204.92km
Avg Speed: 26.9kph
Max Speed: 38.7kph


I've never bought a Klondike "Giant Cookie" before, but DAMN - this thing is a meal!

These things are everywhere.  I assume they're pumping water, but I don't really know...