Day 21 – Winds from Everywhere (Regina to Grayson SK)

Today started out ominously with a flat front tire from a tire cut last night. Not the nicest way to start the day. We headed out east from Regina into a strong head/crosswind, which made for a tough slog for the first 30 miles. The scenery changed from flat prairies to mildly rolling hills with some wooded areas on the side of the roads.

After about 40 miles we dropped into the Qu’Appelle River Valley into the town of Fort Qu’Appelle where we stopped at the local A&W for a break (and a root beer and coffee at 10:00 A.M.) Today starts a stretch of 5 days of fairly long rides of approximately 100 miles each as we move out of Saskatchewan, quickly through Manitoba and into Ontario.

The ride after Fort Qu’Appelle was on rural roads through some fairly small towns, but the sun came out, the wind shifted to a tailwind, and the scenery was spectacular.

We were met in our destination town of Grayson by Ryan, a 11-year old kid on his bike. He had designated himself as the town greeter, and was very excited to see all of us. He even managed to win a race into town. My mileage upon entering town was 98.5 so I asked Ryan if he would give me a guided tour of the town to take me over 100 miles for the day – he came through in spades. I got to see the Fire Hall, a house that burned down last year after being hit by lightening, his school, the house where the janitor lives, the mayor’s house - he is selling it and moving into a bigger place, he owns the local meat market which is the largest building in town – the trailer where the bus driver lives, the hotel/bar and the reception hall.

Once we had clocked in over 100 miles, Ryan took me back to the field where our campsite is, and even helped me carry my gear over and pitch the tent. Quite the five-star reception!!!

Dinner tonight is local sausage, which will be great after the long day’s ride.