6 August - Sharing the shoulder

Maple Creek to Swift Current 143km (2402km total).

I left with a damp tent and no cooked breakfast but the day started well with no significant headwind!! The Prairies are beautiful and I don't think my photos do it justice. The colours, the sky, the smells. The wind swirled around and sometimes I would look down to see my speed much higher than I thought. At 11:50 I pulled off the road at an ice cream stand, there is not too much to break up the ride and I had read about this place in several blogs!! It said it would open at 12noon so I found a spot in the shade and exchanged text messages with some friends. By 12:30 I decided my run of bad luck with food was continuing as no-one had shown up. 

I was riding along keeping to the far right of the shoulder minding my own business when a small truck pulled along side me with lights flashing and a guy shouted at me to get off the road as there was a very wide load coming. Fortunately there was a gravel side road up ahead and I just had time to pull in and grab my phone to get a picture. Although I was a little annoyed at the way the guy shouted at me it was probably the biggest thing I had seen on the highway so far. As the day progressed I realised the people of Saskatchewan have a lot of big stuff to move around!! Most of it due to farming I presume, there were at least 6 or 7 other wide loads going the other way and 2 more passed me safely. I should point out I have been really impressed with the truck drivers up to now, they move into the left lane to give me space when they can and seem pretty respectful.

I also shared the shoulder with a lot of insects today, not sure if they were locusts or crickets. Some jumped out the way when they heard me coming, some didn't and I would hear them crunch as I rode over them but I honestly couldn't dodge them, there were way too many. Some jumped on me or my shoes and hitched a short ride. Some miraculously made it through the spokes of my moving wheels, I think some got stuck in the spokes briefly and then spat out!!

There has also been a significant increase in the road kill on the shoulders, some identifiable, some less so. And I really hope I am nowhere near when a truck blows a tire because that sure seems to create a lot of debris that also litters the shoulder. 

All in all it was a solid day on the bike and I made it to Swift Current in good time to spend the evening with Sarah, a Warm showers host. Whilst my tent dried outside I had an amazing shower and Sarah cooked up some dinner. I really enjoyed her company and conversation. 

The (very) wide load.

A curve in the road!!

I have been trying to capture a good train shot for a while, this one isn't great but I enjoy seeing the trains.