Days 21-26

Day 21 June 19th - Loydmister to Battleford.
Adam dropped us off where we finished yesterday which was at the "Welcome to Saskachewan" sign. We left out a story from when we were in Edmonton. Basically, the same night that Adam lost his wallet, he also injured his foot. Today he finally went to the hospital to get it checked out. While he was there, we literally flew on our bikes with a super strong tail wind. We rode 140km in 6 hours to Battleford. We found the David Laird campground on the east end of the city. Jordie cooked wholewheat maccaroni and tomatoe soup for dinner (Jordie's special). That's when we got a phone call from Adam. He decided to rejoin us since he was unable to work. His foot is indeed broken in two places. Unfortunately his foot was too swollen to put a cast on. He was asked to return on Friday to put one on. So he is with us until Thursday night.


Day 22 June 20th Battleford to Saskatoon
We left the David Laird campground and started making miles with great weather and the wind at our backs. We made 75km to Radison for lunch where my cousins (Lawny, Daryl and kids) met us. Daryl rode with us the remaining 65km to Saskatoon. After making it through the city we threw the bikes in the back of Adam's truck and showered up at a nearby pool. Auntie Helen reserved a table at the Blue Diamond reastaurant. We were amazed at the Burgess turnout. There must of have been at least twenty relatives that showed up for dinner. It's so nice to receive such positive encouragement. After many goodbyes and a few family pics, (Cory send me the pics in the parking lot) we made our way to Jordan's cousin Penny's place for the night. We stayed up late visiting since they had a lot to catch up on.


Day 23 June 21st Day of Rest
We grabbed a bacon & egger at Subway and made our way to where we left off at the eastside of the town. the late start didn't help with the wind situation but we faced the cruelest head wind of the trip thus far. After a couple of hours of battling, and pedaling at what seemed as a crawling pace, we decided to wait out the wind and found a 4-H clubhouse parking lot where we blew up our matresses and napped the afternoon away. We tried again around 4 for an hour but the riding became very discouraging, so we set up camp in Clavet. Adam had to leave us to have a cast put on his foot in Loydminster. Rice with a can of tomatoe soup was on the menu for tonight.


Day 24 June 22nd - Saskatoon to Lanigan. With lots of rest from the day before, we broke camp at 4:30am to try and beat the winds. After a flat tire and some consistent head winds, we ate sandwiches in Plunkett. We were feeling pretty tired but a phone call and encourgement from Rick Hansen perked us up for the afternoon ride. We went searching for somewhere to refill our camel packs and came across some friendly Saskachewan folk who invited us in for some ice cold water and a break from the heat. We also enjoyed some watermelon that the neighbor provided. We continued on to Lanigan and arrived around 3. There was a pizza joint which claimed to have the largest single slices of pizza going and it was just what our stomachs were craving. We phoned Adam and received the exciting news that he will be joining us for the remainder of the trip - meaning all the way to Halifax! We found a campsite in town beside the local golf course. Jordie went straight for the shower and Dan set up the tent. We pedalled into town to do some laundry. We were in bed by 8 and Adam found us shortly after midnight.


Day 25 June 23rd - Lanigan to Elstow
We got a fairly early start again to try to beat the winds. Unfortunately, they were against us again. Also, the skies were looking pretty dark. Jordie uncovered her major fear of thunderstorms (she is definitely her mother's daughter). We rode parallel to a major storm all morning, but we stayed dry. At lunch, Adam told us about the tornado warnings. We decided to keep riding until it got ugly, which was in Elstow. Adam was right there to pick us up. There were no campsites around so we checked in to the Willie's Tavern hotel in Foam Lake. Of course there was a bar downstairs that we paid a little visit to. Timmy, the bartender gave us some cool Kokanee hats as souvenirs. Also, the owner of the bar bought us a round of drinks. It was a neat little bar.


Day 26 June 24th- Elstow to Yorkton
We ate granola with apple juice for breakfast while recapping the night before. After checking out of the Tavern Hotel we shuttled back to Elstow where the storm stopped us from reaching Foam Lake. The weather finally smartened up and we were once again blessed with the winds from the west. We sailed 80km in 2.5hours before lunch. The remaining 50km's proved to be much more difficult as the Prairie storm engulfed us. We arrived in Yorkton at 1pm, set up camp and made our way into town for supplies and food to keep us going for the next few days. Campfire burgers were on the menu for dinner.