Climbing flat mountains to Caronport

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.
-Bob Dylan, "Blowin' in the Wind"

So, how quickly can a group of cross-Canada cyclists make it across the Prairies?

Well, the answer is blowin' in the wind. With tailwinds, you never really have to work very hard to make great time, so it's easy to push a lot of distance. Of course, we would know nothing about that, and the headwinds we've encountered are slowing us down and making us earn every click on the odometer.

The night on top of the birdwatching tower was pretty fantastic. It was a perfectly clear night, and with no big urban areas nearby, the stars were out in full force. It was really beautiful to see, and the first time we've been able to see them that well so far on this trip. It was, however, quite cold with little protection, so we had to bundle up in our sleeping bags. Even as we woke to a perfectly sunny sky it was chilly, but it warmed up quickly and we got on our way.

Today we experienced probably the worst winds to date, 25+mph right in our face all 95km to Caronport. It held us to a pace comparable to our days climbing through the mountains, even though we were on flat ground. Worse, winds like that are really draining because we have to work to stay stable in it, making for a tough ride today.

Along the way, we stopped in Chaplin to pick up some lunch. The Prairies are full of small towns, and it has been a real eye-opener for the five us to see how few big cities there are in Canada. "Real" Canada lies in the small towns where everyone knows everybody else. Everyone is really friendly to us, asking us where we're going, where we're coming from, what we're raising money for, etc. One guy today in Chaplin went on and on about land he used to own near Tofino, which he leased out to the big mining companies. He also worked in Vancouver and was approached by an Englishman who laid out twenty $100 bills to get him to talk about making a deal for the land. We don't know how much of it was true, but he was sure willing to tell us all about it. Apparently about 5 groups come through every week in these parts making the cross-Canada trek. We will soon pass a group who are WALKING across. Might take them awhile.

After our long day, we finally made it to Caronport, and were met at Briercrest by Tracy. She gave us a tour of the buildings, and showed us to our dorm rooms. We got a free Subway dinner and any drink from Starbucks, and tomorrow we'll enjoy a free breakfast from their cafeteria before talking to two groups of their high school students in the morning. Should be an interesting experience! We should also be getting a phone interview with Regina's Big Dog 92.7FM afterwards, which they'll air later on. Unfortunately we will be busy during their morning show.

Tomorrow we'll head into Moose Jaw to get some new chains, before heading into Regina later in the day, but the winds are supposed to be bad once again, unfortunately for us! We'll take our next rest day there before continuing on.
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