Day 23 Regina to Neudorf16 Jul 2006
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Can't have enough pictures of canola fields
OK - Why have this information sign ??
The Fort - interesting entrance sign
| DAY 23 REGINA TO NEUDORF DISTANCE TRAVELLED 131.6 km RUNNING TIME 5 hrs 56 mins AVERAGE SPEED 22.1 km/hr DISTANCE PLANNED 131 KMS TOTAL TIME 8 hrs 05 mins Another nice sunny day - temperature got to a high of about 26 degrees. This was to be a relatively easy terrain day with a few exceptions for valleys ( hills) . However the west winds were not cooperating & we were faced with a very strong headwind & side winds ( at 9 & 10 o'clock) all day. We also had a late start (0845) because we were on gallery duty ( breakfast) . That worked fine because Jim , Margot & I drafted the whole day which helped considerably working against the winds . Due to the direction of the winds , our draft was not a single straight line , but rather we were offset at about 3- 4 o'clock at the side of the back wheel of the rider in front. Our route took us over quiet rural roads ( very few vehicles ) and followed hwys 1 , 10 and 22. As we moved east from Regina there was a subtle change in terrain with the addition of more & more trees and shrubs growing naturally. Canola is still a brilliant yellow colour in many of the fields . We passed through the Qu'Appelle Valley again ( we had past it north-west of Regina) - this time the home of Fort Qu'Appelle . We asked our French Canadian travellers for a translation of Qu'Appelle, & all we could come up with is that it is a proper name . We stopped in the tourist bureau in the town & learnt the name is a French translation for the Cree word "catabuysepu" meaning "the river that calls" .The flags at the bureau were straight out to the west indicating the head winds that we were facing . Another interesting village & sign we passed was Balcarres . We decided to take the recommended optional tour ( we three we the only ones to do this) to a Parks Canada Heritage Site - The Motherwell Homestead - William Richard Motherwell ( 1860-1943) after graduating from the Ontario Agricultural College claimed this homestead in 1882 called in Lanark Place ( his home & the College was in Lanark County in Ontario) . For the rest of his life he worked for the benefit of the western Canadian farmer. In 1901 he co-founded the Grain Growers Assoc, & in 1905 became Saskatchewan's 1st Minister of Agriculture & promoted scientific framing practices. In 1922 he entered federal politics & served for over a decade as the Federal Minister of Agriculture. The site was to highlight a prairie farm in the early 1900s - interesting history , heritage homestead house but very overrated as a place to visit - considering an hour detour over a gravel road - we learn as we go !!! Neudorf is an interesting little town with a typical prairie main street - a very wide main street with commercial and housing ( wide enough to let a wagon & horse(s) turn in the street) . We camped at the town park , next to the arena ( sand floor in the arena - no artificial ice - real ice when it is cold enough which is essentially early Nov till late March) . We camped next to the building  and had the luxury of using the canteen stoves , burners , hot fryers and BBQs do supper & breakfast. The highlight in this town was the homemade Neudorf sausages - made yesterday - they come in sections of 2 to 3 feet in length and we cut them up & BBQ them - The Aussies were the galley crew & introduced us to a great variation in BBQ sausages - as they were nearly cooked , the sausages were sliced along the length and smoked oysters were place in the cuts - a little more cooking & they were delicious - also had mashed potatoes .. Breakfast , next day, was reheated sausages and pan fried mashed potato cakes - an excellent start to the next day. Another short night after the hard day of riding in to the wind. Everyone in bed quite early. We have decided that we need to buy some hockey sticks. Why? After NHL games you always see hockey players in TV interviews in the dressing rooms & they are most often riding stationary bicycles - so we thought that after cycling for a day we should play hockey... ( too long on the road you say ??) |
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