Day 45: Humboldt, SK -> Canora, SK

Date: Thursday, June 29, 2023
Start: Humboldt, SK (Canalta Hotel)
End: Canora, SK (Municipal Campground)
Distance: 203km

We woke and went for breakfast, which consisted of eggs, sausages, cereal, bagles, omlettes, fruit...it was a real buffet!  I loaded up on calories and enjoyed the time with Aunt Rhonda and Uncle Jim.  When we were done eating they packed up and hit the road.  They're bound for PEI and still have quite a few days of driving in front of them.  We hugged, snapped another picture, and say our goodbyes...except this isn't the last time we will see them on this journey.  They'll show up again when I visit them in PEI later in the trip.  Not so much goodbye as "see you down the road!"

Importantly, Aunt Rhonda gave me some snacks she had made for me!  These energy balls are going to be very important for the next week!  I'll use them to keep me fueled up and running fast.  Thank you again for these Aunt Rhonda and Uncle Jim!

I watched them drive off felt another hollow ache inside.  I'll see them again, but until that time I'll be alone again.  This next section of the trip - Manitoba and Northern Ontario - are going to be the longest I will go without seeing anyone I know.  Still, I smiled for the time I got to spend with them and knowing I would see them in probably less than two months.

I went back to the hotel room and finished off two blog posts.  I had told Uncle Jim that when I fall behind they start to weigh on me and I get anxious about them.  That's when Uncle Jim coined the term "Getting blogged down."  I feel like an idiot for not having thought of it myself!

When the posts were done I had another shower, packed, and hit the road!  The wind wasn't bad today, and might have even been a slight tailwind...so I wanted to see how far I could get.  I had chosen three possible destinations for a short, ideal, and long day.

It turns out the road was VERY flat this day, and what little wind there was was coming from behind me.  This allowed me to put on some speed and really keep my momentum.  Like the previous day, there was a lot more water and FAR more trees.  I have to imagine the trees kept the wind from getting too strong.

It was a kind of Groundhog Day (the movie) for biking today.  I would see a grain elevator on the horizon, bike towards it for 30 minutes, and then enter a small town.  Then bike out of it.  Then bike for an hour.  Then see a grain elevator on the horizon...and over and over.  That might sound boring, but I really enjoyed it.  These hulking old ruins are actually very well maintained and they're absolute landmarks.  They're also totally out of proportion with the everything else in the area.  In a place where houses and building rarely seem to get past two stories, these grain elevators seem like skyscrappers.  Everything about farming out here is bigger.  The machinery, the fields, the infrastructure.

I passed town after town.  All of them quaint.  The first one I stopped in was Watson, SK which claims to be home to the first Santa Clause Parade.  It celebrates this with this giant Santa statue, and the telephone poles all have Christmas themed banners.  At any moment I expected Jack Skellington to pop out singing about his amazement.

I grabbed something to drink and came outside to be chatted up by Ben, who asked about my trip and told me about his touring Papua New Guinea on motorcycle in the 70s.  He was a good guy and I enjoyed talking to him!

I biked out of town and still had 53km to my minimum goal for the day: Wadena.  Again, the groundhog day feeling kept repeating.  I loved every minute of it!

Here's a big 'ol goose statue in Quill Lakes, SK.

Here I am with a look of determination to do big distance today.

Here's a canola field that was a FAR brighter yellow than all the rest!

Eventually I reached Wadena, SK...home of Pamela Wallin (a newscaster who was eventually appointed to the Canadian Senate where she got into some hot water for expenses she charged the tax payer).  It was another quaint town and I immediately found their bakery.  There I had a macaroon bar and a mocha boston creme donut.  And I tell you that donut might now be the top contender for best donut of the trip.  The mocha cream filling was pitch perfect, and I made a point of thanking the baker as I left!

I biked down the road to a park where I ate lunch.  Salami, crackers, cheese.

Fueled up, I decided that I might be able to make my long distance goal for the day: Canora, SK.  That would mean about 200km for the day but the wind was now at my back and I was getting between 25-30km/h on the flat stretches (which was almost the entire way).

Groundhog day kept up: Kuroki, Margo, Invermay, and Rama.  I noticed that all of the towns in this area seemed to also have a Ukrainian church.  I'd have to look into that later!

I spent the day listening to Pebble In The Sky by Isaac Asimov.  Not his best, but it was the only audiobook I could find that I could take out from the Calgary Public Library without having to join a wait list.

I pressed on and averaged 25km/h for the last four hours.  Over the entire day I averaged just shy of 23km/h.  My fastest day yet!

I rolled into Canora at about 8pm.  It was getting late, but I was in a bad place physically.  I needed something to eat and found The Dairy Bar where I ordered a fruit smoothy with whey powder.  It was SOOO sweet, but it was EXACTLY what I wanted!

From there I went to a gas station and drank a Bio Steel and a chocolate milk.  I then went to the town campsite, setup my tent, got eaten by mosquitoes, and made dinner.  I showered and ate, going to bed at around 10pm.

It was a LOOOONG day!  But I learned growing up that you have to make hay while the sun shines, and it was nothing if not sunny this day!  I felt bad that I didn't get to go into or visit some of the small towns I passed, but I did enjoy the ride all the same.  Saskatchewan has treated me real well so far.  I'm close to the border now, and I'll be sorry to have it behind me.