Day 16 - Gull Lake to Moose Jaw!

Friday, June 2, 2017

Thar She Blows!

Woke up to a gusty morning, but the gusts were from the west!  Today was going to be a MONSTER day!!  Ritchie and Caroline were flying and we had to hustle to catch up.  By the time we got to Swift Current to pick up Caroline (she was there for half an hour), Ritchie had already left to take advantage of today's wind.

Instead of saying "BIG SKY" today (although it was),  my phrase for today was "Still Not Flat!"

I have grown up being told that the prairies were flat and boring.  They are still definitely not flat.  I expected flat as a pancake.  Not so far!...........and definitely Not boring!  Whether its all the Prairie Dogs running around, or just the grasses dancing in the wind, there is always something to see.  Another beautiful part of the country!

These are the modern day grain elevators.

Big Sky!  Not flat!

One of the few breaks he took.  Okay, starting to look flat!

That's a full size helicopter on the weather vane!.......maybe qualifies for a "Big Stupid Thing"

This is Joel.  He's from Toronto.  We passed him on the road and then he caught up to us while we waited for Ritchie.  He is riding from Vancouver to Sydney, Nova Scotia and plans to arrive there on July 1!!!
He is travelling a little lighter than us!

We offered him food and drink, but all he wanted was a little air for a slow leak he had.  He is raising money for Cancer.  Go Joel! Safe Travels........ Here is his website https://www.wheresjoel.com

This was shot in Chaplin, Sask.  It looked like piles of snow there, but it is actually the purest form of Sodium Sulphate in the world.  What's it used for you ask?

Sodium sulphate is sold for use in powdered laundry deteregents, glass making, textiles, modified corn starches, carpet deodorants, Kraft pulp mills and mineral feeds for livestock. 

Here's Ritchie riding through the Sodium Sulphate area.

With the tailwinds he was reaching over 70 kph!!

A whopping 226.8 km today.  Amazing!!

And look at the speeds.  Max. Speed 71.6 with an avg. of 41.1, now that is boogying!!

We made it to Moose Jaw and stopped at a bike shop to get his bike's gears adjusted (maybe he burned them up!😀), before picking up supplies and heading to Prairie Oasis Campground for the night.

An amazing day!