Day 11- Deception and Counting Cars

What a whirlwind tour! We left B.C., entered Alberta, flew across Alberta and on Day 11 entered Saskatchewan. But I have to say, rather than Sask. branding itself as a province of friendly people, it should be considered the most deceptive province in the country. With the other provinces you pretty much know what you're getting (B.C.- mountains, P.E.I.- potatoes, lobster and Anne, for examples) but when you think about Saskatchewan, you think of acres upon acres of wheat fields and flat lands (watching your dog run away for 3 days), but that's not my experience with this place. No sir, it's sure not flat and we haven't seen any wheat fields to speak of! Within 10 k's of getting into the province we had the longest climb we've had since leaving B.C.! And it has rolling hills everywhere. Maybe that's why we saw a sign describing the area we were going through as "badlands"- "miserable" would have been more appropriate! Don't let them deceive you- this province is not flat! And certainly not boring. There are some lovely and interesting places to see, and well worth a trip but don't come expecting things to be flat!

So, what do you do when you're biking through a province with no mountains and that relies on rail transportation to get its goods where they need to get? Well, you count the cars on the trains, that's what! I counted one train that had 172 rail cars and 5 engines. I've never seen a train that long before!

We spent the night at a campground in Gull Lake and met a guy and a girl who are hitching from Vancouver Island to St. Johns. They've been at it since April. They've been taking their time and working along the way. I tell you, what kind of a way is that to see the country!? Don't they have any focus, the way we old guys do? Or maybe they just think that they should relax and enjoy the moments. Just wait till they mature and realize that that's no way to get things done!

Day 12- Experiencing Grace

We had an epic day today! We had strong winds at our back the whole way and managed to bike 227 k's! Yes, that's 227 k's in one day and with no tows from any unsuspecting vehicles and no bungee cords involved! We averaged 32.7 k/hr. Not bad for old guys eh?

Even though you're screaming along at that incredible speed (Tour de France material, all of us!) and working very hard (no laughing!) I still like to read the wording on the sides of the trucks (speaking of trucks, they have some really long trucks here! Some are pulling 2 trailers, each 53 feet long and I even saw one that was pulling 3 shorter trailers!). I saw one today that struck me. It was a Grace Truck Lines truck. And the wording on the side of the truck said "Experience Grace". I thought that was really cool for a lot of reasons. It's a great way to get attention but a wonderful way of expressing a cool idea. We should all look to experience, and acknowledge, grace every day. Even if you are not of the Christian mindset, showing grace (unmerited favour) to people every day, and often throughout the day, is a tremendous way to live your life. And if you are of the Christian faith, or considering having a look at it, then consider the grace that has been shown to us by the God who loves us so much that he sent us his son, Jesus, to show us how we can live a life that is completely fulfilling and live in a relationship with the God who did that.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy a day of amazing grace tomorrow! And may the wind be at your backs- that's what we're hoping for!

Warren