Day 29

Looking back at fifty, I remember the feeling of leaving Regina with Ruth—a brief, familiar presence before the vastness of the Saskatchewan plains took hold again. We’d picked up a recommendation for a B&B in Wolseley, which turned out to be our saving grace. I remember noticing Shayne’s trailer tire had gone flat midmorning; it’s funny how those small mechanical details stick in your head decades later—the worry about how long he’d been dragging it through the heat.

We stopped in Indian Head for a quick lunch, seeing the buffalo rubbing stone and wondering about the herds that used to roam where we were now pedaling. The highlight of the day, though, was the race against the sky. We could see the transport trucks coming toward us, drenched in spray, and we knew the onslaught was coming.

We hit Wolseley just as the sky opened up—a total deluge that soaked us to the bone in minutes. Between the wind and the rain, it was almost impossible to stay oriented. That "Backroom" at the B&B felt like a sanctuary after the disorientation of the storm. Sometimes the road provides exactly what you need, exactly when you're too wet to go a meter further.

It is cloudy and there is a slight breeze from the west. Ruth rides with us part of the way through the city. We run into a cyclist who is just leaving Regina and is also bound for Winnipeg; it looks like he is carrying far too much gear. Around midmorning Blue notices that the tire on my trailer has gone flat. I am a little concerned about how far I may have travelled on a flat but no damage appears to have been done.

We stop for lunch at a gas station diner in Indian Head. The ride is very uneventful until the sky behind us starts to get darker and darker. There are flashes of lightning making all of us nervous being out on the wide open prairie. Passing transport trucks have rainwater streaming off of them, leaving us in a wake of spray. Just as I catch up to Blue and we enter into Wolseley does it start to pour. The wind reaches incredible speeds.

Between the wind and the rain, it is impossible to ride and it is very disorienting. By the time I get to the gas station, pushing my bike, the downpour has eased to a drizzle. Since we are quite wet, we make the decision to stay in Wolseley at a bed and breakfast. I discover that my rear bike wheel has gone flat at some point during the downpour. I manage to walk my bike to the B&B and we decide to fix it tomorrow.