Random Thoughts On The Road!

This post is for our ride on Wed June 18th From Moose Jaw to White City.

Today started out with very strong headwinds and quite a surprisingly lNeverong hill East of Moose Jaw. I took a picture at the top showing the darkness in the distance. A darkness that translated into hail and stinging rain. Head down, peddling into a 30k wind, your alone with your thoughts.

Cars are afraid to travel alone on the freeway. They always travel in packs.

People driving the Trans Canada Highway only eat bananas. I see several dozen peels on the shoulder each day.

When birds want you to go away they take aim and poop on you. Birds nesting along the highway have done this to me a couple of times now.

I thought rumble strips on the shoulder were annoying until riding on expansion joints in the road every twenty-five to one hundred feet. When moving at a good speed you don't notice them but at 9-13k/hr it's thump, thump.........thump, thump as your two wheels pass over them.

I was hungry at about noon and came upon "Chubby's Bar and Grill". I was tired of doing 9-13k in the wind driven rain and decided to save the two foot long "Fuel Rods" I picked up at Subway for tonights dinner. I walked in and started talking with a group of four young guys at a table all wearing high vis gear having a beer and a burger. I found out they are part of a drilling crew but really didn't find out if they were on a break or just dress that way all the time. The conversation lead into what are you doing with all that money your making. Two of them had houses rented out, one was busy buying "Toys" and the other was just making it payday to payday. They were in their late twenties, early thirties and were doing ok except for the nervous guy with the unlit smoke in his fingers. The other three laughed when they said he couldn't make it to his next cheque. Kind of sad. I asked if they were going to do this the rest of their working lives and they said no "Bleeping" way. All four of them said they wanted to get started on an apprenticeship for a  welding ticket but none had made any steps towords that.

Speaking of the "Boys", as I was riding along I spotted a small suitcase on the side of the road. I turned around to check it out. I opened it up and had to laugh because it was empty save for some toilet paper and the remains of what you would use it for. Made me think of the four young guys heading off to work down the Trans Canada and the driver telling them he's not stopping.

The fairing they put on the underside of the trailers the transport trucks pull sure reduces the push then pull of the air wash as they pass by.