Distance: 162 km
Elevation: 275 m
Date: August 29, 2022
I woke up at 8 AM. At first I had issues with the soft mattress but I eventually I slept well.
After I caught up on messages, social media, and my blog, I enjoyed a “free” hotel breakfast. Not great but a welcome change.
I had a chat with the Philippine lady at the reception. She was in Canada since two years together with her husband who worked the night shift.
She explained to me the immigration process. It was relatively straight forward. You could become a Canadian citizen within 3-4 years. Each province could launch special programs to attract foreign laborers. E.g. Saskatchewan has reduced the language requirement for new immigrants to become more attractive to them.
By 10 AM I was on the road again. Today there was no wind and the temperatures rose quickly.
The road was totally flat. Sometimes the area was so flat up until the horizon that you were convinced you could see the curvature of the earth.
Over the last days the number of insects has grown substantially. The shoulder was covered with black beetles and grasshoppers. The air was full of little flies and in the evening the mosquitoes would come.
Unfortunately, the beetles and grasshoppers were conditioned to jump uncontrollably into the air when I was approaching. They popped against my paneers, were kicked away by my spokes or landed on my legs.
Also, they directly ran into my driveway so it was impossible not to run over them. Every now and then there was a “crack” to hear. It was a little creepy.
What was also disturbing was the amount of roadkill here. So far, I had nearly seen any. Today I counted two dead deers and a goat in the curb.
Other than that, there was not much to see so I focused on pedaling. Around 2 PM I had done close to 100 km and reached Rosetown.
There was a campground but I felt it was too early to stop for the day. It was about 100 km more to go towards Saskatoon so I gave it a go.
In the afternoon the wind picked up coming from North. That was not good.
It was hot, there was no shadow and the wind was coming from sideways. This slowed me down by at least 10 km/h. And I was getting tired quickly.
There were no villages on the way, no gas stations, shops or anything.
I was getting tired to a degree that I was starting to make mistakes. This can be dangerous when oversized trucks overtake you.
After 160 km I reached a small place called Delisle. They had a gas station and an “hotel” as well as a “restaurant”. The owner was from Pakistan who had immigrated in 2017 and bought the place in 2020 when it was closed because of Covid.
The rooms were neither clean nor pretty and the washroom was shared. The bar was a place were the locals met to drink, gamble and chat. However, it was inexpensive and I liked it instantaneously.
I asked for some Pakistan food and got a special dish with a recipe from home which was really good.
I had a chat with some locals who wanted to know why I was here. People here either worked in Saskatoon, in farming or in one of two potash mines. The guys bought me a beer. Sweet!
By 9 AM I went to bed but I used my sleeping bag just to be sure.
