Regina to Neudorf

Dawn(from Fredericton) Terri and I setting our for the day with our Tour du Canada look. Our white faces might look funny but we know we are well protected from the sun.
Beautiful canola fields and the their sweet smell accompanies us on our ride today.
Beautiful flax fields that from a distance look like a lake.
A texas gate not unlike the one I fell off my bike on when we were coming out of Lake Louise. Fortunately the bike fell on me and between me and the panniers, my bike came out of it with no damage.
Stephanie from Fredericton and John from Toronto took part in the face painting at the Motherwell Homestead.
I am on the upper porch of the Motherwell home.
Terri is relaxing on the veranda. Somehow the clothes and the hat don't match.
Mike (hidden by the branch), Terri, Terry (from Vancouver Island) and Dawn are strolling down lovers' lane.
Dawn, Terri and I on the porch. I couldn't figure out how to rotate the picture. Mike?? any ideas??
The French Connection, Renee Liese from Montreal and Sylvie from Quebec City met on this tour and ave become good friends in a short period of time.
Maybe when I get older I will have to switch to this bike.
Having dinner at the casino with Juanita from London and Renee Liese and Sylvie.


Our rest day in Regina was not unlike others. We did laundry, cleaned our bikes, got organized for the next series of rides. As I was on breakfast duty the next morning, I got the potatoes for hash browns ready and filled all the supplies for cereal, sugar etc. We also worked on the blog and it has been great to have access to the internet on our rest days.

After we got our work done we took the free shuttle to the casino. After spending a mere $10 on the machines we went to a bike store in the area and then had dinner in the casino. They had a great buffet. The shuttle took us back to camp with a stop at the drugstore.

Our next days ride was to Neudorf. You can see us with our Tour du Canada look. There is a special sunscreen with zinc that protects you more from skin cancer. It goes on white and really blocks everything. It makes it hard to wash your face at the end of the day but if it protects, then it is worth it.

It was a gorgeous sunny day and not too hot as we had a gentle breeze. The colors of the day were gorgeous, the canola fields, the flax fields as well as the many other grains we saw. Very little climbing today and I was glad to be able to get some speed. We enjoyed our break at Dairy Queen. You could tell it was Saturday as people travelled the secondary route we were on in a hurry to get to their cottage. It was the rudest traffic we have had thus far. We did appreciate the sweet smell of the canola fields. We were told it smells sweet in the field but when it is harvested it is a very unpleasant pungent odour.

We took a recommended side trip to the Motherwell Homesead, a recreation of the pioneer days in the prairies. As it was Saturday, there were lots of activities going on for the children. We opted for tea and a tour of the Motherwell home. He was born in Perth, Ontario and came to Saskatchewan as a young child. He was instrumental in organizing the farmers and he himself became Agriculture Minister.

The group dynamics are interesting to watch on a trip like this. You get to know people fairly quickly when you are put in close contact and with the contraints and demands placed on us each day. You learn habits and can usually predict who will be in camp first. There is some stress in the morning as the galley crew feeds the troups and most of the riders now want to be on the road earlier but the two staff have up till 8 am to get their breakfast. It makes it difficult for the galley crew especially if it is a long day. We are finding ways to be efficient in the packup to ward off some of that stress. Most of us agree the most stressful part of the tour is the galley duty. Coming in to camp at the end of the long day only to have to cook is not the greatest. The menu is fixed for us and sometimes changes are made that make it very trying. Also to get up extra early to start the porridge and whatever else is makes for a stressful start to the day. The crews work well together to put on the best meal they can.

Our camp for this night was in a small town that I am not sure will be there in ten years. There appeared to be very little activity on what seemed to be the only main street in town. Shops appeared closed for good. The arena we stayed at was very dated and I did not see anyone in the town except for who was on our trip.
The nice part was we got to use the showers and the kitchen for cleaning of our dishes.