unexpected help

unexpected help

I am camped at a rest stop just east of Piapot, Saskatchewan. This is the furthest east I have ever been. The last time I was in Saskatchewan was the day Terry Fox died, nearly a quarter century.

I made a few adjustments today, putting the backpack on the rear rack and the tent, mesh bag, sleeping bag and mattress on the trailer. That took some of the load off the trailer wheels and made things a little easier. I think that once I get the new wheels I will start to really put the miles on. I might even start approaching that hundred-miles-a-day goal I originally set for myself.

Earlier today I was at a visitor information center just north of Maple Creek, and this old fella started chatting with me. His name was Joe, a retired guy from southern California on his third trip across Canada. He was very interested in my bike trip. Anyhow, after chatting with me for afive or ten minutes, he pulled a 50 dollar bill out of his picket and gave it to me, just like that, saying that he'd like to help me. I could have been knocked over by a feather, it was completely out of the blue. I didn't know what to say to him - I'm fairly sure my mouth was just hanging open. I managed to stammer out a "thank you". Yer darn right I took the money; I spent half of it right away, on a pack of smokes and a big lunch at a restaurant about 1 km away. Then I came back to the visitor center for about half an hour, and rearranged the trailer load as I described above.

Before rearranging that load, I had had the backpack on the trailer with everything else. That just caused too much friction on the trailer wheels, a constant drag. Combined with very strong winds blowing across the highway, it made the first 15km I went today seem like a constant uphill. The contrast afterwards was like a shock, it was SO much easier.

So, now here I am in a hollow next to the the rest stop, protected from any winds (unlike this morning, when my tent nearly blew down). To the north of me is the Transcanada highway, and to the south is a train track. A few trains have gone by since I set up camp, thier sound somewhat muted by the ditch I'm in. How appropriate to hear trains going by as I lay here reading Atlas Shrugged.

Tomorrow I will tear down and pack up very soon after I wake up, and not have breakfast until I reach Sidewood or Tompkins. I'm running low on methyl hydrate, so I don't want to use the camp stove for pancakes until I get a second and possibly 3rd bottle. That 50 bucks Joe gave me will go a long way, if I use it right.

Hopefully by the time I get to Regina my old landlord will have returned my damage deposit to my mom. That will help enormously; that and not staying in any more hotels.