Blaine Lake to Spiritwood
The wind had calmed by morning. I cooked my own breakfast, the first in a while. Later, though, I stopped at the Blaine Lake Cafe for a piece of Saskatoon berry pie.
I must be in the parkland now, because there are hills again.
60 fairly standard kilometers into Shell Lake for lunch to finish highway 12. A man on the golf course suggests I stop for the night at Little Loon, another 80km away. That would be a long day, but I was feeling good. Spent some time in the town, which was really a golf course (with carts parked at the Co-op and general store). The mechanic from the bike shop had suggested staying out of the midday sun, and I wasn't in a hurry to go anywhere.
I got half way to Little Loon, to Spiritwood. There I ran into the RCMP Musical Ride. Not literally, but it was starting in an hour across from their campground. So I stayed. I had missed them by a day in Yorkton, and I had no idea what their schedule was. Even if I tried, I don't think I could have planned meeting them this well.
Five dollars got me admission. Everybody from Spiritwood and many more from the surrounding area were there. I think that this was a special ride, though, dedicated to two police officers that died last year. They had a pre-ride program which included the Spiritwood Singers, who first sang the Spiritwood song, and then reeled off a couple songs about Saskatchewan. That is something that you would never see back home. Any song about Ontario would have to originate from Toronto following some arts council grant.
The ride itself was fairly photogenic. I got a decent replica of the fifty dollar bill pose. Watching that one routine, I had vague recollections of seeing it before, but I don't remembere ever going to a ride in the past.
The other cool thing (although not so fun to drive through) that I saw today were bug tornados. They are pillars of bugs that rise like smoke for hundreds of feet in the air. I tried to photograph them as well, but they didn't turn out.
Stats:
Distance: 98km
Max Speed: 41km/h
Avg Speed: 18km/h
Time on Bike: 5h28m
I must be in the parkland now, because there are hills again.
60 fairly standard kilometers into Shell Lake for lunch to finish highway 12. A man on the golf course suggests I stop for the night at Little Loon, another 80km away. That would be a long day, but I was feeling good. Spent some time in the town, which was really a golf course (with carts parked at the Co-op and general store). The mechanic from the bike shop had suggested staying out of the midday sun, and I wasn't in a hurry to go anywhere.
I got half way to Little Loon, to Spiritwood. There I ran into the RCMP Musical Ride. Not literally, but it was starting in an hour across from their campground. So I stayed. I had missed them by a day in Yorkton, and I had no idea what their schedule was. Even if I tried, I don't think I could have planned meeting them this well.
Five dollars got me admission. Everybody from Spiritwood and many more from the surrounding area were there. I think that this was a special ride, though, dedicated to two police officers that died last year. They had a pre-ride program which included the Spiritwood Singers, who first sang the Spiritwood song, and then reeled off a couple songs about Saskatchewan. That is something that you would never see back home. Any song about Ontario would have to originate from Toronto following some arts council grant.
The ride itself was fairly photogenic. I got a decent replica of the fifty dollar bill pose. Watching that one routine, I had vague recollections of seeing it before, but I don't remembere ever going to a ride in the past.
The other cool thing (although not so fun to drive through) that I saw today were bug tornados. They are pillars of bugs that rise like smoke for hundreds of feet in the air. I tried to photograph them as well, but they didn't turn out.
Stats:
Distance: 98km
Max Speed: 41km/h
Avg Speed: 18km/h
Time on Bike: 5h28m