Day 27

Looking back at fifty, I realize that Day 27 was a celebration of how far we’d come—not just in distance, but in physical grit. We biked from Moose Jaw to Regina, and the distance felt almost trivial. It turns out the formula for getting into shape is simple: kill yourself every day for two weeks, and if you survive, the Prairies become a breeze. Even those "crazy retirees" were still a few days ahead of us, likely fueled by sheer willpower (or as I joked then, Viagra).

I spent the afternoon playing tourist while the others hit the library. I found my way to the Royal Saskatchewan Museum just in time for National Aboriginal Day. Watching the First Nations dancers was incredible; I remember noting how neon materials were starting to replace traditional feathers in the costumes—a vibrant mix of ancient culture and modern spirit. I eventually hunted down the group at what felt like the only internet cafe in Regina.

The land was finally doing what everyone had promised: flattening out. It was very flat. We could see the Regina skyline hours before we actually reached it—a cluster of towers appearing on the horizon like a mirage in the heat. Tomorrow is a rest day, a chance for our muscles to knit themselves back together before the long push toward Winnipeg.

We wake up to sunshine! Three times in five days; perhaps our luck is improving. As we ride through Moose Jaw, I start to wonder if I can hear my bike making a strange noise. My first thought is that it is the same noise that I heard back in Fort Langley which likely means my rear hub is acting up again. But I continue onward.

The ride to Regina is very uneventful. The wind is from the northwest but is not quite as strong as yesterday. The highway runs directly east and the land is absolutely flat. With nearly no trees to be seen, the horizon is unobscured and stretches like a long, straight line for three hundred sixty degrees. We were able to see Regina clearly from at least twenty-five kilometres away.

In Regina, we are staying with my cousin Ruth. On the outskirts, the wind became so strong that it was excruciating to ride against, so we zigzagged through the city hoping the trees and buildings would act as a windbreak. Fortunately they did. Wendy and I headed to the library to enter our journals online while Blue went to the museum. We eventually regrouped at Ruth's for supper and spent the long, warm summer solstice evening having drinks on a patio.