Today is Day 31 of The Road To Valour. It was planned to be the longest day of the ride so far.

We left Gull Lake and started our long day’s journey to Lone Eagle Motel in Herbert, SK.

On today’s ride I was joined by:

Ernie MacDonald

In one of my videos, I talked about the vast Prairies that seem to stretch on forever—and today was exactly that. Kilometre after kilometre, the horizon never seemed to get any closer. And what made this an even longer day was the wind! The route was planned west to east to take advantage of the prevailing winds. However, today, the prevailing winds failed me. Winds were out of the south-east 28+ kph and gusting to 46 kph. By the time the day was over — so was I!

Technically, Day 7, from Princeton to Lake Country, was longer, but that was only because of a last-minute route change. Day 28, from Rolling Hills to Medicine Hat, also ended up covering more distance due to a series of detours. As planned, however, today stands as the longest scheduled day of The Road To Valour to date.

Stops along the Way

Stop 1

I guess that there really any stops (of significance). Given the amount of wind that we were facing, there were a lot of breaks. There was one long stop — in Swift Current. It was just about midday and we were ready for lunch. Without wanting to leave the highway, we found a Husky House Restaurant. It would do.

As soon as we got seated, an elderly couple next to us, Lorraine and Ted Findlay, asked where we were headed. We explained that Hebert was the destination for the day and that Winnipeg was the overall destination. We got the normal response — Winnipeg, why Winnipeg? Do you live there? After explaining the reason for The Road To Valour, Lorraine handed me a $20 donation to WWC. Shortly after that they decided that it was time to leave.. Shortly after that, the waitress came by to refill our coffees and said that the Findlay’s had paid our bills. The magic of this trip keeps on happening.

Then back on the road again. The wind hadn’t died down and if anything was even stronger. Eventually we pulled into Hebert and the day of torture wound down.

Im just waiting for the real Saskatchewan shows itself. THat’s the one that is flat, has long straight roads and where the winds blow strong from the west. Not tomorrow, because the forecast is for heavy rain and more wind in the face.

Riding The Road To Valour