Indian Head, SK - 143km

I often like to say that an opponent isn't bested until you respect them fully. Well, prairies, you have earned my respect. The roads are impossibly long, the winds spell ruin with every effortless twist and the sun is unyielding. Yet there is a peace to it all. The green pastures and wildlife in them are a beautiful thing to see in the morning.
Having said that, we are now ready to slay these plains.

One can't hope to complete this trip without a plan of action (besides "go east"). Jan and I have constant strategy brewing. First, we check the wind direction and hourly weather forecast to see what our timing needs to be like. Next we pack and eat. Every day is like unpacking and repacking your luggage for a big trip, so we have found ways to optimize. On average it takes us just under two hours from wake until complete tear down and ride off. Shaving off ten minutes of that time through packing organization adds up. On the road we map out our locations and likelihood of hitting re-supply spots. It sounds dry but these elements are fun as an ongoing challenge ;)

In terms of progres - today we cranked our way through another huge distance. We even got to go through Regina! At that point it was time for a big lunch so it worked out perfectly. By the time we hit the trail again the winds had changed, making the remaining 3 hours a brutal push. I definitely recommend watching the tour de France and taking note of their weary faces when they go uphill or into a headwind for a long time. That's us (minus the godly strength that they bring) We think that we will be out of Saskatchewan in another couple days!

Finally I should mention that we ran into a pair of girls on the road who were cycling from Calgary to Charlottetown and were in the midst of fixing a tire. These were some super handy and experienced gals. As we rolled up they smiled and cheerfully announced "don't worry, if there's any metal to be found on the side of the road, we rolled over it!" While trading stories they fixed a rear tire all without our help. And boy did they have *legs*. When I told them they had *real* cycling legs, they happily added they were cross country ski legs too. And this very Cycling trip will make their third big tour in Canada to fully say they've made it coast to coast. Also, for proof that you don't need the very best in gear, one of the girls was sporting a bike that she had been riding for almost 20 years, since she was quite young. She pointed out that one of the only problems was really that they don't even make certain parts for it any more! We wished them many days of luck with the tires as they sped off in the tail wind.