In the beginning there were clouds of snow geese. In the end there were clouds of blackbirds. In the middle there were clouds of bugs.
And in the evening there was a most spectacular meal and company.
For most of today we rode near the Quill lakes – a critical bird habitat – which would explain the snow geese, hawks, blackbirds and even bald eagles. But that was the only real entertainment on a day of relatively dull road riding through miles and miles of rolling fields broken by occasional copses of trees and ponds. It’s pretty and benign, and the road is good, but it doesn’t help the time pass. So we think of the mysteries of the road.
Like … why is every paved road cracked right across every 10, 15 or 20 metres?
And you’ve heard of the McDonalds index. We’ve decided every Canadian town has a Tim Hortons radius. It’s not always Tim Hortons but their cups are the most ubiquitous litter we have seen over more than 3,000km so they get the name. The radius is determined by the time it takes to drink the cup of takeout coffee and toss it out the car/truck window. Close to town are the small cups, then the medium and finally the extra large which can apparently take up to 50km to consume.
Outside the Tim Hortons radius, Bud Light takes over – probably because they travel by the six pack.
Distance also stretches (or shrinks?) in this flat landscape of straight roads. We would mark a grain silo for a rest stop thinking it was about a kilometre ahead. Five kilometres later it was still a kilometre ahead …
Today’s 96km brought us into Foam Lake to be treated to an amazing Ukrainian dinner from Elyssa Kaufman’s 90-year-old mom-in-law. The most special experiences on the Trail have been due to the people we have been lucky enough to meet and spend time with.
And the calories will do us well on tomorrow’s 120km into a promised headwind.
Today’s distance: 96km on Treaty 6 land
Today’s climb: 209m (a few little hills)
Total distance: 3,277
#transcanadatrail
Trans Canada Epic 