Day 7
Time: 8 hours, 45 minutes
Kilometres: 447.5
Weather:
Yorkton: Mostly cloudy, 22 C at 9:15 AM
Swift Current: Raining, 12 C at 5 PM
Last night I prepped my self and the bike for rain. I had all my rain gear in the hotel room and my riding clothes. Everything was packed on the bike overnight except my toothbrush and computer. I did all this because I know that when there is a chance of sever thunderstorms (as they were calling for) the storms usually go off with a bang in the heat of the afternoon.
I had the best night's sleep of the trip. I now know the difference between staying at a $70 a night hotel and a $100 a night hotel. They had a strict no noise policy in effect from 11 PM to 9 AM. Three or four 20-something boys were very loud in the area after 10 PM and they were told to leave (thankfully). As the night was off to a promising start, I didn't even put my earplugs in - and I didn't need them.
I had a quick breakfast in my room and pulled out of Yorkton at 9:15. the sky was overcast, but at least it wasn't raining. I put on all my rain gear except for my rain-0ff gloves, which I prefer not to ride in unless necessary. I rode through Yorkton and then headed south on Highway 10 towards Regina. In front of me was blue sky, but to my right, well off in the distance, were black clouds. I could see rain falling from the clouds and I planned to out race the storm to Regina.
In about half an hour I was riding under blue skies, but I could still the rain off to the north. Fortunately, the storm stayed away from me as I rode southwest.
I've always remembered the big, huge skies of Saskatchewan from when I drove through it 18 years ago. It was just as I recalled. You can see for ever. I still disagree when people say the Prairies are flat. They are rolling hills, much like Southern Ontario farmland. In Southern Ontario, we have the Niagara Escarpment as the main feature, while is Saskatchewan, they have rolling hills and beautiful valleys. Fort Qu'appelle and the Qu'Appelle Valley were breathtaking.
Bridge construction slowed traffic to a crawl as I descended into the valley. The Qu'Appelle river was very wide and the area was alive with water birds, including a group of four white pelicans which flew almost right over me. The ribs of the valley is what made the the area even more beautiful. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a good photo, so I've stolen this one from the Internet:
There was hardly a cloud in the sky, but the the day was heating up quickly. It was only 10:45 and the temperature was at 30C. I stopped in a Dairy Queen (my first of the trip) and then continued towards Regina.
Not long after leaving Fort Qu'Appelle, the sky in the west started to get cloudy. By the time I'd reached the junction of highways 10 and 1, I knew it would be foolish of me to stop in Regina. I wanted to see the RCMP museum and the changing of the guard at 12:30. I knew if I stopped that I would get stuck in some unpleasant weather. Perhaps I'll be able to see some of Regina on my return trip.
Here's a map of where I went during the first part of the day:
On the Saskatchewan licence plate is the catch-phase "Land of Living Sky." Watching the sky move is mesmerizing. I could see a solid storm front. The line in the sky is perfect. On the far side of the line was a small line of cumulus clouds.
Behind them were towering cumulus monsters. I watch the thermals push
the clouds higher, while the underside of the clouds grew darker. It was a fantastic sight to see.
I was keeping an eye on the storm but also keeping an eye open for towns. I didn't want to get stuck on the highway (the speed limit is 110, and I get nearly run over when I do 120 - I'm slow compared to others) in a downpour. My timing was perfect. As I pulled into the "Pilgrim Centre" in Caronport (just west of Moose Jaw). I'd been heading towards the storm for just over an hour. So I guess that means I saw it about 110 to 125 kilometres in the distance.
I hung out at the Centre for about an hour (it had a Husky gas station, Subway restaurant, and a convenience store). It was hardly raining when I left, but I decided to put on my rain-off gloves just incase ... and I was about to need them.
The sky cleared up quickly, but again, in the distance I could see storms. Just after Moose Jaw the landscape changed from gently rolling hills full of crops to ranch-type land. It was much more hilly, with lots of marshes. I saw a red-winged blackbird for the first time since leaving Ontario.
I was keeping my eyes on two storms: one to the left and the other to the right. I couldn't really see the one of the right, but I knew it was there. Over the tops of the large hills, I could see the mushrooms of distant cumulus clouds. These suckers were big!
The storm to my left was going to break first, but I was fortunate and it missed me by some distance (I really can't judge distance on the Prairies, but I would guess it missed me by about 5 kilometers). The storm to my right was really getting interesting and the more I was thinking "Oh, wow, this looks so cool!" I also knew "Oh, wow, this is really not good."
Since my stop at Caronport, another rider and myself passed each other a few times. He is a faster rider than me, but he also stops more often, so I would pass him while he stopped.
I knew that this storm was going to be a whopper when I was that the second line of thermals were dark blue. I love watching weather, so I knew I was in big trouble and needed to find shelter as soon as possible. In my rearview mirror I saw the other rider had caught up with me. In front, the storm was now sending down forks of lightning. The next town was only a couple of kilometres away. I pulled on the throttle.
Huge gusts of winds hit me from the side ... one even pushed me slightly into the passing lane. Within 10 seconds the wind picked up and down came huge globs of pelting rain. I didn't last long - maybe 30 seconds. There was a white camper van in front of me. If it wasn't for the camper, I wouldn't know which way to steer. I couldn't see a thing. It was time to pull over even though there was no shelter in sight.
I pulled off as far as I could onto the hard shoulder. Behind me, the other rider had also pulled over as well. I planned to leave everything on the bike and head down into the ditch at the side of the road. But when I looked back, I saw that the motorcycle behind me had gone over. I ran over to the rider, who was picking himself up from the shoulder. Together we picked up up his monster bike (it is the Yamaha version of a Honda Gold Wing - I would guess around 900 pounds without luggage). He pulled out a tarp from under his passenger seat and we hunkered down under it in the grass to wait out the storm.
We were there for about 30 seconds when a woman lifted up one end of the tarp. She was in a car and pulled over behind the other bike. She invited us into her car to ride out the storm. I wasn't about to wait for another invitation, and quickly jumped in the back seat of her car. We sat there, making small talk for about 15 minutes while the wind outside rocked the car back and forth.
She was from Regina and on her way to Lethbridge. The other rider, who I couldn't understand very well because of his thick German accent, was returning home to Lillooet, BC from a ride through Ontario.
It was really nice of woman to pull over and give us shelter. I know in the big city that sort of thing just doesn't happen. It's every person for themselves. What a shame we've lost that trust in others and the willingness to help others.
When the rain lightened up, I was the first one out of the car. I didn't want to overstay my welcome. I don't mind riding in normal rain, and that is what the storm had turned into. I asked the other rider if he needed an hand with anything (there was a broken off piece of something-or-other from his bike on the ground, and he still had to fold up the tarp). He said he was fine. I was quickly back on the road and searching for Swift Current.
I hadn't gone more than a kilometre when I saw the turn off to Waldeck. I'm glad that I didn't know how close I was to a turn off or I may have tried to push for it. So, my riding lesson for today is: Turn off to the shoulder when it gets too bad. I don't need a town to be safe.
About 10 minutes later I pulled off the highway and into Swift Current. It was still raining as I unpacked the bike. At least all the bugs from the Prairies have been blasted off the bike in nature's car wash. I didn't bother putting the cover on the bike as I'm hoping it was stop raining tonight and give my bike a chance to dry out. I don't want to trap all that moisture under a cover. Meanwhile, my hotel room is littered with drying clothes. It's supposed to rain again tomorrow afternoon, but hopefully not in such a dramatic fashion.
Sorry there aren't any pictures, but I was a bit too busy to take the rain cover off of my tank bag to get the camera. By the way, the rain cover doesn't work. The contents of that are hung out to dry. Here's a full map of the days ride:
