Toronto Retrospective

Posted on August 26, 2012 by murray

I heard that the “east” has been having a hard time of it since the economic downturn of 2008. I don’t see any sign of hard times in Toronto. The city looks like it is booming. There are dozens of new high-rises being built, the streets are crowded and in Eaton’s Centre, there are few people that are not carrying shopping bags.

The attendance at the numerous festival happenings about town is impressive.  The concert we attend is sold out at a cost of around $100/ticket. The buskerfest is elbow to elbow as we walk down Front Street. There are also numerous free events whose attendance did not necessarily indicate an economic boom, but most surely showed the local lust for life.

As I prepared to travel to Canada’s second largest city, I had read and heard several generalizations about it and its people. For some reason, there is a perception that Torontonians believe their town is the centre of the universe. After our stay, I do not think that perception holds true. The citizens we encounter are truly proud of their city and willing to help us get to where we are headed, but they seem to have their feet firmly on the ground.

Toronto is also portrayed as a world class city. I guess it is by size and amenities, but the general populace has remained extremely polite and low-key. Typically Canadian, I suppose. In the long run, I found Toronto to be very similar to my home city of Edmonton, only with 200% more people. The drivers stop and wait for pedestrians and the pedestrians stop and wait for walk lights. There aren’t many cities in the world where this happens.

Other personality traits of Torontonians that hold them different and probably more Canadian than other big metro areas of the world are the casual dress of most of the people on the street. The only “suits” visible to us were near the court house. The slow pace of the city is also noticeable. Debbie and I walk at a reasonable pace but in megacities around the world there are always folks that rush by us.  Not here. People moved along the sidewalk with intent but did not carry a head of steam. Riding the escalators in most of the world’s big cities you stand on the right and walk on the left, yet in Toronto, the folks stand on both sides as they do in Edmonton.

The big city of TO shines when it comes to the harmony in the life of all the different cultures that make up the mosiac of Canada.

The lack of auto use at least in Toronto proper is truly impressive. People walk, they don’t seem to think anything of walking blocks to their destination. Not so in Edmonton where the auto is supreme and people jump into the car to go 2 blocks for a litre of milk.

And bikes. There are 1000’s of bikes on the road every day. The riders are not particularly talented riders but the bikes and cars ebb and flow along the road in a co existence, it is not  that way at home where there are a good number of drivers that would just as soon steer riders and their bikes into the ditch. The car traffic is not fast so the bike riders seem to move somewhat seamlessly in the traffic.

Commuting to work on a bike is a normal situation. The ample number of bike stalls located outside each office building are maxed out with workers’ bikes during the day and eerily empty at night.

Bike rack made of a large bike chain spelling Kengsington

Bike rack made of a large bike chain spelling Kensington

A not so nice big city trait that Toronto has acquired is high bicycle theft. A bike store owner told us that of 6 bikes he sold on Wednesday, 2 of them were to folks that had their bikes unceremoniously removed from their possession.

I really enjoyed our short foray to one of Canada’s outstanding cities. I am forever learning that the generalized impressions of places and their people are not remotely close to reality. The most prominent characteristic of Toronto is that it is Canadian. The people are casual, easy going, friendly and polite. All of which combine to make Toronto one of Canada’s world class metropolises.

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Friday in Toronto

Posted on August 24, 2012 by debbie

The plan for today is to walk south towards the water and east towards the St Lawrence Market and then circle around and about.

As we walk towards the Distillery and the St Lawrence Market, we notice a definite lack of traffic just off downtown. I thought big cities have traffic congestion everywhere! I guess not. We stroll past St James Cathedral and marvel at its hugeness. It was built in the late 1800s. We find ourselves in the Distillery District, a former distillery refurbished and converted into shops, galleries and restaurants.There are outdoor displays of art available to everyone in the laneways.

From there we walk along The Esplanade towards the St Lawrence Market. Tree lined streets with parks, playgrounds, schools and housing give the impression of a small town within sight of the towering financial district monoliths.

The Esplanade, Toronto

The Esplanade

On to St Lawrence Market to buy a picnic lunch to eat down by the lake. The Market has fresh fruits, veggies, meats, deli items, baked goods and numerous eateries. One of my first sights was whole sun-dried tomatoes wrapped around sticks of provolone cheese. Do I need to say more??

With lunch in hand, we walk towards the water and Lake Ontario. We find a shady spot along the boardwalk and plunk down on the grass to devour our chicken parma sandwich (Murray’s) and sushi (mine) and watermelon.  the breeze coming off the water is cooling. It feels good to take off our shoes and sit for awhile to watch the boats, planes and people go by.

Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario

Mariposa Cruise Line offers a one hour tour of the Toronto Harbour and at 1:30 we find ourselves sitting on the top deck of the Oriole ( a Victorian-style riverboat) about to shove off from the pier. For $20 pp, it is a very nice way to see Toronto from a difference viewpoint. The boat also takes a short tour through the islands just off the harbour. Swans, herons, geese and yachts are all spotted and Debbie’s feet are rested.

Toronto's skyline

Toronto’s skyline

Our last official stop is Union Station, with tall stone pillars outside and tiled cathedral ceiling inside.

At the end of the day we munch burgers and fries at a funky 50s diner called Johnny Rockets where the staff dance exuberantly to R E S P E C T every half hour.

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Dead Can Dance

Posted on August 24, 2012 by debbie

Who? That is the response to my statement, ‘We are going to Toronto to see Dead Can Dance’. You Tube them to get a better idea as to what they do.

When we heard that the band Dead Can Dance was getting back together and embarking on a world tour it was a forgone conclusion that we were going to one of the concerts. It was just a matter of how far we would have to travel to take it in. For a long time we have lamented the fact that we had missed seeing them play when the band was together in the mid 1990’s. The concert lives up to the anticipated wait.

One of the first things I notice has nothing to do with the band whatsoever. It is the audience. I have been to concerts in quite a few different cities and the audience reactions are quite different. In Edmonton the audience for the most part sits and watches the performance, in both Calgary and Vancouver, you pay for a seat but you spend the entire show standing. Being from Edmonton I do not understand or appreciate having to stand but as they say, ‘When in Rome.’ I am delighted to note that in Toronto the audience remains seated to enjoy the music. The one thing that is annoying is people are still finding their seats 20 or 25 minutes into the performance. I think arriving late does not show the proper respect to the performers. Except for a few weird comments like ‘I love you Lisa’ the audience was extremely polite.

The sound guys did their job. We sit quite close to the stage (9 rows back) and it is reasonably loud for the genre of music but it is very clear and discernible. I do have trouble understanding the words to the songs sung in English by Lisa Gerrard. For the most part this doesn’t matter because most of the songs are not in English so the vocals are just sounds that blend into the entire scape of the song.

I notice something that listening to the band on CD has alerted me to but it was actualized by seeing them live. The music Dead Can Dance plays is a compilation of many layers of sound. Each band member plays a repetitive part and each part is inserted into the composition. Each layer is interesting in itself but together the result is mesmerizing.

As expected with a world class band the musicians are impeccable. The two percussionists that play such an integral part in this band are flawless. They provide a backdrop of sound for the others to work around. The two key board players do double duty as back up singers. The key boards add a plethora of sounds that would normally require several other musicians as well as the more expected piano and organ pieces. The lady (sorry I did not get the names of the back up crew) has a voice that most lead singers would die for and her role is to enhance the vocals of Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry.

I have never really understood the use of the light show part of concerts. Most of the time the lights have little to do with the music, run off in their own direction and are more of a distraction than anything else. The lights at this concert do change but I find they enhance the performance rather than distract from it. The lighting is not very active but more of a stage set providing a backdrop and scenery with which the music interacts with rather than competes for the attention of the audience.

The playlist is a mix of the songs newly crafted for this tour and some of the old songs with which the audience was more familiar. The new music is good but did not touch the nerve that the older ones did. The first few notes played of a familiar piece and shivers would run through the body in expectation of what is to come. The songs are picture perfect and everyone in the audience sits perfectly still until each piece is played out.

At most concerts by the time the band has played for an hour or an hour fifteen I have  seen enough and it is time to leave. Dead Can Dance plays for one and a half hours straight, and comes back for 3 encores, they play for 2 hours and I am still willing to listen to more.

It’s been a long time coming but it was worth the long distance trip to watch a concert that we never expect to see. I’d do it again at the drop of a hat.

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Day 2 Toronto

Posted on August 23, 2012 by murray

Another day of walking the streets of a big city. North west is the direction of the day.

Breakfast for me is the cold pizza that we had left over from last night. Debbie opts for a power bar and 2 hash brown potato paddies from MacD’s. We’re only walking so that should fuel us for a while.

We start north along University Ave., rather a bland walk lined by mostly institutional buildings of the hospital variety. The focus to North, visible for many blocks, is the Provincial Legislature Building.

Ontario Provincial Legislature Building

Ontario Provincial Legislature Building

It is an older building of course constructed of reddish coloured sandstone, nice but not overly impressive. Only the lobby is open to the public to wander in. One may be able to hook up with a tour but self touring is not permitted so we have to suffice with a peek of the interior.

K from Torino, Italy is wandering through Queen’s Park at the same time we are. I presume he is a tourist and strike up a conversation. He is in Canada to run the Quebec City Marathon. He uses marathons as an excuse to travel to far away places and take in some of the sites. I ask how many marathons he has run and I’m astounded at the answer, 114, in the last 13 years. I guess he is not questioning whether or not he will finish.

Around the corner is The Royal Ontario Museum, ROM, again an older structure but with a world renowned addition designed by Daniel Libeskind. It is impressive and makes for a considerable amount of ‘curb appeal.’ I don’t know if curb appeal is necessary for a museum but ROM has it.

Royal Ontario Museum

Royal Ontario Museum

The fee for entry is $25 per person and neither of us enjoy museums that much so we skipped a trip to the inner sanctum and continue our walk along another well known Toronto thoroughfare, Bloor St. in search of the shopping landmark known as  Honest Ed’s.

Ed Mirvish opened a discount emporium in 1948 and it has expanded into a warren of mini stores all connected by short corridors and small flights of stairs in such a random manner that it is impossible to know exactly where we are in relation to the outside. Our only hope of exiting is to find a sign that indicates a way out and follow it. We did not end up on the street from which we entered but to us it just provides an unplanned start to the next stage of our adventure.

Just outside Honest Ed’s on the west side is a street with a few bars and few stores. While resting on a bench in the shade I spot  Lapierre Bicycles of Toronto. We haven’t taken the time to stop into a local bike store so now is the time. We take a wonderful 1/2 hour to talk to the salesman, bike tech, cleaning person, owner, only person that works there guy. He is a real bike person married to another real bike person and has a cozy little store that seems to be doing OK. I hope he makes it work. If you live it Toronto and you need a bike, this shop on Markham St. just south of Bloor is a great place to start.

Our planned circuit takes us through a residential district south of Bloor St. on our way to Little Italy. The shops that line the two main streets, College St. and Dundas St., that traverse Little Italy are full of interesting shops and restaurants. The residential area between is a little worse for wear but still worth the walk.

Our stomachs are whining and it is time for lunch. The Kensington Market area has a diverse selection of eating establishments. We stop at a Hungarian Thai place, The Hungary Thai. Weird as it sounds, I think the Hungarian owner realized that Thai food would sell better than Hungarian food and after all one has to make a living. He was an attentive waiter and the food was tasty.

The Art Gallery of Ontario is the last scheduled stop of the afternoon. There is a show of “140 of the drawings Picasso kept for himself” are on display for 3 more days and we thought we should see them. Twenty-five bucks to enter and see the Picasso show. Canadian governments should take a queue from their European counterparts and subsidize the hell out of such things as museums and art galleries to make them affordable for ALL to see.

As with most art and art shows the majority of the pieces do not interest me, but there is always one or two that stand apart. The two Picasso pieces today were “Man with a Guitar” a cubist piece of muted colours that to me embodied the essence of what most people think of as a ‘Picasso’ and a black and white study entitled “Sacre Coeur” depicting a famous church in Paris. Both these stopped me short and I had to pause to take them in.

The gallery also has an extensive collection of its own, a good part of which is on permanent display. The floor with the Canadian artists takes up most of our time with its many paintings by the likes of The Group of Seven and Emily Carr. The other section we find interesting is the 20th century artists with some great pieces by the Impressionists.

Our feet are sore and its time to head back to hotel for a siesta in preparation for the raison d’etre of this Toronto foray, the Dead Can Dance concert tonight.

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Next Stop, Toronto

Posted on August 22, 2012 by debbie

On Sunday we were in Lethbridge. Today is Wednesday, so it must be Toronto!

We are up early this morning to catch our 8 am flight to Toronto. Everything goes off without a hitch. We even time the express bus into downtown Toronto perfectly. And here we are!

We check in, have a quick lunch and dump our bags, the head out for a walk. For lunch we walk around the corner from the hotel and find the UN of restaurants. Down Dundas, east of Chestnut there are Sushi, Caribbean, Thai, Mediterranean, Vietnamese, Fresh Choice restaurants all in one short block.  We chose the Sushi and Bento Restaurant. The staff is super friendly, from the waitress, who noted we were from out of town, to the owner who held the door open for us when we left. The Rainbow Roll is plump full to bursting with goodies, we are offered miso soup on the house and are given an extra piece of sushi. What a wonderful way to start our stay in TO.

We wander down Dundas with the intention of going into the Art Gallery of Ontario. When we get there, it is crowded, very crowded. After all, it is almost 4 pm.  There is a Pablo Picasso exhibit on that ends on Sunday. We hum and haw at the $25 price tag and walk out. We will return first thing in the morning when the crowds are not so large (hopefully).

We stroll down Dundas east towards Bathurst , Chinatown Toronto style. The signage is a combination of Chinese and English sort of like Hong Kong but the street scape is definitely North American. At Bathhurst we turn south towards Queen West. The areas called West Queen West and Queen West are where the hip stores are popping up. We stop into a furniture store and wish we would win the lottery.

Ontario College of Art and Design

Ontario College of Art and Design

We stumble onto a building we have seen in “Architectural Record” magazine, so we detour down the street to see if we can go into it. It is the Ontario College of Art and Design. The architect expanded the building by creating a box supported by “pencils” over top the existing structure. It is very cool!

I thought Toronto would be very cosmopolitan, in style and dress. But as we walk, I notice that the people here do not dress any different that the folks at home. Shorts, baggy tees, flip flops, short dresses, flat shoes. There are just a few more of them.

Toronto City Hall

Toronto City Hall

We walk and walk and stop at City Hall and Nathan Phillips Square. We happen on the start of the gathering that is being held in memory of Jack Layton.  Missed Dallas Green and Martin Sexsmith! Both of whom played for free as part of the gathering.

Toronto's Old City Hall

Toronto’s Old City Hall

The Old City Hall is a commanding building rising against the modern world. The old brick buildings, whether they are houses or commercial buildings, are what makes the street landscape fascinating for me. They seem so much older that the buildings in Edmonton. The brick is dark brown to dark red colour. The detail in buildings such as The Bay building is incredible.

Flatiron Building

Flatiron Building

We wander until our feet begin to tell us it is time to find supper and head back to the hotel. We eat at the Taste of Mediterranean on Dundas and have pizza. We accidentally order a pizza that is much too large and so we have breakfast too. Murray is plotting out tomorrow while I write this. See you tomorrow.

CN Tower

CN Tower

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Homeward Bound

Posted on August 21, 2012 by murray

The longest drive day of our 5 day tour of the “flatlands” is the homeward leg. Five hours by the fast roads. The route most people will take from Lethbridge to Edmonton. Highway 3 west to Fort McLeod and then north on Highway 2. Debbie and I do not particularly like Highway 2 and all the traffic so unless we are in a hurry, which since we are retired is not often, we scour the map for alternate routes. The smaller roads are a little slower but a lot more interesting and we travel through towns that we know the name of but have never visited. Like Vulcan, Alberta, home of a world renown Star Trek conference.

Arriving in Vulcan we are greeted by some strange words that interpreted to English mean ‘Live long and prosper.’ An adage well know to Star Trek aficionados. On the highway is scale model of the Starship Enterprize and when Debbie spots it she lets out a squeal. Something only a true fan would do I guess.

We go in search of an alien ship landing pad, something I had thought was in Vulcan. After a short tour of the town and no sight of the landing pad we opt for a stop at the visitor information and Star Trek fan building. It is strangely constructed to resemble a star fleet space ship. The people inside are very human like and extremely friendly. Worth a stop if you are driving by.

Vulcan's Tourist Information Office

Vulcan’s Tourist Information Office

A little further up the road, Three Hills to be precise, we are in need of lunch and again choose the local Chinese food restaurant, The E & W, to dine. There is not much else open and since church had just been dismissed it is one crowded place. The buffet is the drawing card and again the food is quite tasty.

From Three Hill north we have traveled Highway 21 before and the drive is uneventful but very pleasant. All the while I am gloating over the fact that we did not have to run the gauntlet on Highway 2 on a Sunday afternoon, midsummer.

I am fortunate to live in an area that is easily accessible to a diverse geography. I live on the prairies. Where the sky is more than 180 degrees of the everyday landscape. Edmonton is a short 3 hour trip to some of the best mountains this world has to offer and a very long days drive from the eastern shore of the Pacific Ocean. I have been exposed to all of these since I was a very young child.

Even though the Rocky Mountains are completely awe inspiring I was not aware of how grand they are until I was 20 years old. One ordinary day I met a group of people from eastern Canada and all they could talk about was “How long will it take us to drive to the mountains tomorrow?” From that day I started to LOOK at the mountains and to this day I am a dangerous driver in those mountains as I spend more time looking up than at the road.

It is even harder to see how magnificent the prairies are. I did realize they were special around the time I went to school in Vancouver. I would return home for Christmas or for the summer and as soon as I descended the mountains’ eastern slopes I would realize how BIG the sky actually is. This time as we drive through Saskatchewan and Alberta I notice how spectacular that ordinary terrain really is.

The crops are ripening and the diverstiy of colour and how the colours are all of the same palette is very obvious. The yellow gold of the wheat and barley, the green of the hay fields and the huge vegetable fields, the dark coloured soil of the summer fallow fields, the blue and green waters of the swamps, lakes, creeks and rivers, and the orange gold colour of a crop we have yet to identify, lie side by side as if painted by some modern artist.

Every one of the above mentioned areas have their own texture, the wheat with the tuft of fuzz that tops the plant moves with the wind and has a soft pillowy look, the yellow-green canola field looks rough and brierish. The water changes with the amount of wind from glass smooth and mirror like to rough and bumpy with white caps. The corn is tall and barrier like and the range land, a natural type of growth, is rough and untidy.

The other amazing quality is how the man made imposed geometry fits and flows over the natural undulation of the landscape. The prairies are not flat. There are spots where one can see for miles, many, many miles, but that is usually from some high point and you are looking from above. There are few abrupt or extreme changes in elevation but for the most part the prairies roll along mile after miles of subtle but definite changes in elevation.

Man of course doing what man does has imposed a geometric square grid over the entire southern 1/2 of Alberta and Saskatchewan and it creates a very interesting pattern. Of course no grid is perfect and the pattern changes slightly when traveling through areas that are irrigated. The squares enclose a circle that touches all four sides but leaves the corners, the areas not irrigated, to natural growth – this produces an more intricate pattern. They did this just to keep people like me entertained of course.

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Lethbridge, Alberta

Posted on August 20, 2012 by debbie

Yesterday, M&G toured us around Lethbridge’s important sights.

We started out at the Farmer’s Market where we bought goat cheese and raspberries. Geoff was saying that it was crowded, but the crowd was a drop in a bucket compared to the Strathcona Farmer’s Market crowd in Edmonton.

We stopped for a view of the railway bridge across the coulee. It is the longest steel trestle railway bridge in Canada and was built in the early 1900’s. It is very impressive, both at a distance and close up.

We walked down to the Oldman River in the park below the bridge.  Lethbridge is very fortunate to have such an extensive park system running through the coulee along the river. There are trails for walking, running and biking.

We got a few views of the University of Lethbridge. Architecturally, it is stunning as it is nested between two hills. The building was designed by Arthur Erikson, a very famous architect.

University of Lethbridge

University of Lethbridge

We headed back to M&G’s house for lunch and to hide from the heat.  Chatted the afternoon away. To celebrate all our birthdays we went for supper at O-Sho Japanese Restaurant and had our fill of sushi.

Lethbridge is a small city but has all the amenities one needs. G says his commute time is 8 minutes. That is from the burbs to the heart of downtown. A trip that big city dwellers could only dream of. We did miss a couple of sites, the Japanese Gardens for one, and Whoop-up Days for another. We’ll pick them up on our next visit. I noticed a couple of nice campgrounds while we were sight seeing, the city would be a good stop on a tour of southern Alberta, so if you are in the neighbourhood be sure to stop in.

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Heading West

Posted on August 18, 2012 by debbie

August 17, 2012

I am not sure what it is about sleeping outdoors, but we rolled out of the tent at almost 9 am this morning.  It’s cool in the shade so I have my usual 5 layers on. As we munch down breaky, we decide to go for a hike instead of a ride this morning.

Reesor Lake is literally at the end of the pavement located in the east end for Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park. It is a really pretty setting. There is no beach but if the number of fishers is any indication it must be good for fishing and looks as though you could paddle a canoe or kayak, although power boats are not an option. The campground is small with only about 40 sites. There are a few  ‘’walk-in” sites, one of which we stayed in. It is a super place, but there is not much to do but loaf.

Part of the TransCanada Trail system runs through Cypress Hills. There is about 15 – 20 km of trail through the park.  We hike a few km out from Reesor Lake towards Elkwater Lake. It is a climb right from the start, but not too hard and we set a steady pace. There are cow tracks in the dried mud and we ponder whether the cows were going up or down. After passing through a “cow gate” we arrive at the top of the hill, the meadow is flat across the top.

We walk for a bit and catch glimpses of the surrounding landscape which reaches to infinity as the horizon melds with the sky.

Murray on the TransCanada Trail

Murray on the TransCanada Trail

The trail is 2 tracks wide and carries on through the meadow for as far as the eye can see.  Deciding we do not need to go further we head back. This trail system would make a great 2 day backpacking trip with fairly easy terrain to cross and a camp spot at about ½ way.

Next stop, Medicine Hat.  It’s here we find a lunch spot, WIFI and a place to swim.  We stop at the tourist information and procure a map with which we locate a park for a picnic lunch.  We take a spin through downtown to see the old center and the early 20th century buildings. We are on the lookout for a coffee shop that might have WIFI. The downtown is a little sparse on such amenities so we head north to the Medicine Hat Family Leisure Centre with a swim being on the agenda. The facility is basic but is pleasant enough and luckily they have free WIFI, a pool and a shower.  Murray sits in the foyer and posts to the blog and I go for a short swim and a much needed shower.

With a clean me we head west to Lethbridge to visit G. and our daughter M. Highway 3 is only two lanes but there is a little more interest than the Trans Canada. M’s directions through Lethbridge are perfect and we arrive at their new house without any detours. A big hug is waiting for mother and daughter!

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Good Bye Saskatchewan (for now)

Posted on August 17, 2012 by murray

August 16, 2012

I hear rustling in the tent, take off my sleep mask and I’m shocked at how bright it is in the tent. It’s morning and Murray is stirring, eager to get up. I lay in my sleeping bag until I hear him getting breakfast started.

Diefenbaker Lake

Diefenbaker Lake

It is a glorious day, the sun is shining, there is no wind (yet), the water in the lake is quiet, and the occasional fish jumps and makes a splash. As we eat breakfast we decide to go for a 30 km ride from the campground back north on the route we drove down yesterday. We choose that direction just in case the wind is again blowing from the NW once we get up out of the river valley.

As we ride up the long hill onto the flat prairie, we discover the wind is actually blowing from the SW, but not too hard. I ride in Murray’s draft the whole way so we can keep the pace high.  The truckers and the traffic in general must not see very many cyclists as they all give us a wide berth, to a vehicle they move over completely into the oncoming lane. Very gentlemanly of them! We turn around at the 20 km mark and head into the wind looking forward to the downhill rush into the campground. The downhill thrill is over much too fast and we are back at our campsite.

Pack up and head to Swift Current to find a coffee shop with free WIFI. We end up at the Urban Ground Coffeehouse, a great place with funky modern décor and music to suit the taste of any hard-core folk music festival attendee. Murray has hot chocolate and I have iced tea. We post the first post and are off.

The drive to Cypress Hills Provincial Park (on the Alberta side) is along Hwy 1.  A totally boring road kept in immaculate condition but solely constructed for making time. It is so boring we are reduced to making up goofy stories about the cows, horses and sheep that we see along the way.  Did you know that Saskatchewan is home to the very rare Saskatchewan Resting Cow? (I’ll leave it at that)

We land our mobile campsite in Reesor Lake Campground. A small but very cozy campground with only about 40 sites. The road is like driving a rally car route up down, eeee, right left, zig zag, oooo, up down. We are at elevation and it is getting too cold for my fingers to work on the keyboard. Goodnight.

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Saskatchewan Riding

Posted on August 17, 2012 by debbie

August 15,2012

The weeks of house renos and a taxing weekend at the Edmonton Folk Music Festival have taken their toll. We could not keep our eyes open last night and finally surrendered at 9pm. We arose promptly at 7am this morning. That is the third night we have slept 10 hours, but what better place to do it than in an open air venue like a tent.

Our intent is to pack up and then ride a few km. before setting out south. The skies are not looking conducive to a ride and the wind is howling.  Good for blowing away mosquitoes but not so good for riding. It is not as if there is a sufficient wind break along the highway to give some shelter. We decide to nix the ride.

Debbie on Battleford XC ski trail

Between The Battlefords, mid North Saskatchewan River is a very large island easily accessible from Battleford. There is a network of hiking trails on the island and we thought we might go for a walk. The trails are marginal for hiking but Debbie realizes that they are laid out as XC ski trails in the winter. Not having been here in the winter we can only guess but we both think that if they are properly maintained they would be wonderful to ski on.

We manage to survive the onslot of mossies and return to the car with our blood dip sticks showing almost full. After a short car tour of The Battlefords we hit the road.

As we leave town I realize the wind is coming from the NW and we are headed due south. For those of you that do not ride a bike this means that if one of us gets on our bike and the other drives and plays ‘service vehicle’ we can do our entire ride with the wind, and remember the wind is howling.

At Biggar, the home of world champion curler Sandra Schmirler, we stop for lunch at The Biggar Regional Park. A pleasant little park with a picnic area and campground. The towns and villages in Sask. seem to have such facilities.

I decide I am going to ride with the wind. I have been watching the shoulder, it looks fine, and the traffic on the highway is minimal. After changing my clothes I climb on my bike and start to ride. Once I am on my bike I realize how strong the wind is. I click through the gears and I spin out in all the gears in my small chain wheel and have to shift up to the big chain wheel  before I reach 500M. I warm up in 53/19, I ride 40 km over hill and through dale without using my small chain ring once. It was fast, very fast, for a recreational ride. At 43km I had averaged 36km/hr. I love riding with the wind.

Murray on the highway

Murray on the highway

When I stop Debbie hops on her bike. She has the same wind with the same affect.  It is an exhilarating ride. Debbie averages 30+ km/hr on her bike. We both agree the rides were a great idea.

We park our tent in the Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park on Diefenbaker Lake. Have a much needed supper and wander down the shore to spy on a group of pelicans lazing on the water. No rain. Another early turn in.

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