240 miles
Total around the world bicycle miles 23,073 (37,132 km)
July 17, 2016
The riding days continue to be wet with the winds changing throughout the day. Andee rides ahead, finds a good campsite and sets up out tent. It is such a pleasure having her accompany us. Of course the cooler with food, drink, and beer is very welcome. That will go away soon though and it will be back to noodle soup, beans and tuna soon. The Canadian campsites have minimal facilities unlike the camping we did from Blaine Washington through California. Most of the sites on the Pacific coast have electric and water in all, not just the biker, sites. In Canada the sites are more rustic but beautiful, full of trees, and most cheaper. With tailwinds we have long days and take more breaks with headwinds.
Lunches have been fun as we explore very old “one horse” towns with interesting diners and old (most over 100 years old) hotels. The food has been fine along with all the very friendly people. Andee spends her days chatting up a storm with the locals and visiting museums. She can go anywhere and feel right at home. Jocelyn and I are doing the sweat work but her research and finding us places is so much more.
July 19, 2016
Andee came through again the last few nights. We had wanted to spend two nights in Regina in order to backtrack to the tourist town of Moose Jaw. She found an Airbnb host in Regina where it was so much cheaper than a hotel/motel. Sarah and Curt’s home had lots of space for us and a good back patio for our bikes plus we enjoyed their two dogs Oscar and Felix. We took a day off of riding to visit Moose Jaw which has the bootlegging tunnels made famous by Al Capone during prohibition. These tunnels provided a place for him to transport whisky to trains headed to Chicago. Al Capone loved Moose Jaw and called it “Little Chicago”. After driving around a few more tourist areas we bought two cans of waterproofing spray for our tent as it has leaked in heavy rains. Monday afternoon was spent applying this silicone spray and more maintenance on the bikes as there is always something that needs fixing.
Tuesday morning, we took off and ended up in Indian Head, Canada. We love exploring these small towns whether it be for lunch or the night. Andee is so comfortable everywhere while “on point”. She met a lady in Indian Head that invited us to camp in her and her husband’s backyard. We readily accepted and Linda’s husband John showed us the way to their home that was built in 1885. Since the weather was looking stormy again we were invited inside. Hail storms are really bad here this time of year. We moved our gear inside then drove north to explore the local lake country and a nice restaurant for dinner. Back at the old house we explored further before settling into a very nice evening. As I often say, this trip is about the people you meet. Last night two strong storms rushed by dropping large and small hail. This is the typical nighttime prairie weather in summer when the days are hot and humid.
