I woke up this morning to the beautiful sound of silence; the wind had finally died during the night. Once I ventured outside my tent I was a little cold and my fingers felt numb in the pre-dawn chill, but I was just happy the wind was gone.
As soon as I began riding I could feel the difference from yesterday. It felt as if I was floating down the road after the previous day's nightmarish winds. I took the exit for the highway 7 to Saskatoon, and I was on my way.
I felt like I was making amazing progress as I glided down the road without resistance past endless golden fields of low cut wheat. I wish I was here in the fall to see the harvest time crops; these fields would be very impressive then. My fingers and toes are still cold as the sun slowly gains strength as it rises. Meanwhile I continue to make great progress.
I passed through a couple "towns" that Stacey described to me from his own trip, where there is only a grain elevator and a house or two. That is all it takes to be considered a town on the prairies. Interesting.
By 10 AM I had already reached the small town of Delisie, 40 KM outside of Saskatoon, so I decided to stop for an early lunch. While I ate my sandwich, an older gentleman passed by on his bike, and asked me about my trip. When he found out I was from Fredericton, be became pretty enthused. It seems his whole family is from St. John. This led to a hard to follow 30 minute long tale of his entire family history, right down to family reunions and his days working for Air Canada. He was very nice, but I did want to continue biking. I was eventually free to go, but couldnt help but chuckle at the event.
I continued on my way, and I began to notice more and more signs of flooding. Fields, fences, and telephones poles were submerged and there were tons of bugs swarming around many of these areas. My favorite was a road that ran parallel to the highway on my way into Saskatoon. It had flood waters on either side, leaving only a narrow strip to drive on, creating the illusion that the vehicles were driving across the water itself.
Saskatoon is much bigger than I expected, and after a week of passing through towns that only had a gas station and a bar, or less, I was happy to be around a more populated area for a little while. Navigating the city proved pretty easy, and I was at Brittany's family's apartment by 1 PM. I showered and set my gear out to dry, and then it was time to drive to her parents' house in Prince Albert for my day off.
They fed me a fantastic meal, and I met a few family friends down at Original Joes. I also got a car viewing if the city of Prince Albert. They requested that I inform everyone, specifically Ryan Steeves, that Prince Albert is not completely flat and vacant. As it happens, since I left the Trans Canada Highway there have been quite a few hills, and this area does have some trees and a few major rivers. It turns out the famously flat area is near Regina, and I wont be heading there on this trip.
Today was a pleasant day, and I look forward to relaxing tomorrow. It has been an exhausting ride since Calgary, and I am pretty sore.
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