2 Provinces Down

I'm updating today from Swift Current Saskatchewan.. and let me tell you, Saskatchewan is not flat. This is actually a pretty sizeable town supposedly supported with ranching and oil which I will whole-heartedly believe as we have seen a lot of oil rigs in the last few days.

We crossed the provincial border in the cypress hills which have really been the prettiest thing since the mountains. There have been a lot of farms and cows and pretty much nothing else the past few days. A little tough to handle after the always changing landscapes of the mountains. However, I do give credit to the Prairie skys, they are absolutely amazing.

Last night we camped just within the city after going for Dairy Queen and groceries. The night before we stayed in Tompkins at a really nice small campground. Camping in the priaries is really cheap, which is awesome. We also went for our celebratory "finished a province" beer at the local watering hole in Tompkins and learned that their local school only has 3 different grades. Unfortunately we also discovered that Saskatchewan still had smoking in public places. It seems so foreign and strange these days! It was a really small place. Funny enough, Piapot was the town beforehand and they actually have a Piapot pride parade every year. With a population of 54 we wonder who actually watches the parade??

We still have been super lucky with weather- it seems to be the question we get asked most by our parents. The day going into Tompkins we had the most amazing tail wind practically all day long. You barely had to pedal to travel at speeds that averaged in the 30's. The other days on the priaries have been a bit more hit and miss. Our first two days out we had patches of tailwinds, crosswinds, headwinds and even swirling winds. I swear, big black clouds create their own winds in this province. So those days were a bit longer. The days with tailwinds we usually get into town early enough to do some grocery shopping and really set up camp before the sun sets, but the first two days with wind we didn't get into camp until sunset. The first day was partly because we stopped at this SWEET bike shop- Bow Cycle in Calgary to buy some extra parts we needed. My entire bike is made of carbon fibre- which is sweet for racing or pleasure riding purposes.... but it cannot handle the different stresses of carrying weight. So my parents helped me find an aluminum seatpost there and left it for me to pick up on our way through since they had to go through Calgary a day earlier. With the aluminum seatpost I am able to carry a bit of the weight on a seatpost rack that would otherwise be on Neil's trailer. But if you are bicycle-enthusiast... check out this shop if you are ever in Calgary because it was THE COOLEST shop I have ever seen.

Yesterday on our way into Swift Current I was riding with Amy when we noticed some deer down in a valley to our right and they started taking off and practically leaping through the fields so I raced up to Neil to get him to notice them. We watched them run through the fields to our right for a while and then noticed that they were heading towards the road (it's a 4-lane divided highway in this area) so we stopped to make sure we didn't run into them. There were 5 deer- and they all just leaped over this fence. I have never seen an animal jump like this before. They seriously looked just like reindeer always do in movies about Santa Claus. Neil and I couldn't have been more than 20 ft away at the time. It was amazing.

Also in Swift Current our group is separating ways. So far we have traveled 2 provinces, 2 time zones and over 1700km together. But from Swift Current Amy is going to try to catch her friends, a group of bikers she was originally going to bike with, or tag onto another group. Fact of the matter is, convocation is looming and with weight and no support vehicle, Northern Ontario is a very daunting ambition. Lets face it, the bug potential is enough to scare any sane person away. As a result, Amy has decided that it is best to hang back and try to make it to Winnipeg if possible before convocation with another group, and let Neil and Kate go ahead and tackle the great Ontario North. Lets hope they come out with a greater pecentage of their bodies free from bug bites than covered with them. (Note: the change in writing style is a clear indicator that Kate has surrendered the keyboard, albeit temporarily, to Amy for this section...) Anyway, for those friends of Amy's reading this blog, once I figure out whats going on in a few days, I'll try to update people. I'll likely not start another blog, but who knows? Besides, none of you can escape me (unless of course you boycot your email accounts or redirect my emails, either of which I sincerely hope you do not do!).

Alright, this library only has an hour allotment for internet time- new pictures are up though, I will caption them as soon as I can!