Canada Coast to Coast Part 3

Canada Coast to Coast Part 3

The Prairies –Kenora to Drumheller

Kenora to Brandon – 440km, 31, 5th July
By this point, I had been on the road for 19 days, had ridden over 6300km. I had passed the halfway distance somewhere on the shores of Lake Superior but my planning for today’s ride told me that this would be the day I would pass the centre point of Canada, just east of Winnipeg.

Manitoba

About 50km west of Kenora, exactly seven days after crossing into Ontario, I crossed into Manitoba. The trees were becoming shorter and less dense, the lakes less frequent, the land flatter and the skies bigger. Then suddenly after 150km, I was in the prairies. Rich agricultural land with bigger skies. I had read that in Manitoba you can watch your dog run away for three days. At last, I was free from the fear of moose jumping out in front of me. For the next couple of days, F-150s and semis were the main danger! For this part of the ride, TCH was the only real option.

After stopping at the centre of Canada sign, it was swiftly round Winnipeg, stopping only for petrol, and on to Brandon, my only stop in Manitoba. I had planned to visit a Mennonite village at Steinbach but decided to chop it when replanning the route. Brandon’s appeal was purely convenience. There is a small commonwealth aviation museum which I visited. It was one of the bases used to train pilots during the war. Better than the flight museum at Gander NL but not by a huge amount.

The reviews of the downtown hotels were suggested a particular drug problem at the downtown hotels, so I booked into a place on TCH, found somewhere to eat and turned in early.

Brandon to Moose Jaw – 460km, 26, 6th July
I had seen some places of interest along the trail for the day that I decided were worth deviating from the TCH for. At Virden MB, I found the discovery well of the Manitoba oilfields. At Elkhorn, a huge grain elevator.

Saskatchewan

120km west of Brandon and I crossed into Saskatchewan. I took a detour to the swinging bridge at Wolseley which was scenic enough but a bit tenuous as a tourist attraction. The recommended bakery at Indian Head was poor, only takeaway and only pastries!

Pressing on across the flat expanses, I stopped at Balgonie for petrol and food. The sky was becoming leaden. The day before I passed Winnipeg there had been very severe flooding and it looked like thunderstorms. I agreed with a biker heading south that it was time to pull on the waterproofs. Neither of us fancied our chances of staying dry.

Both north and south of highway 1 the sky was black and after Regina, the last 60km felt like riding through a tunnel. Heavy rain on either side and spectacular lightning flashes. Somehow, I arrived in Moose Jaw, bone dry and very hot in my waterproofs.

I had booked a hotel downtown and was parked up by 1:30 so that I could find somewhere to watch the Canada vs Scotland rugby match, live from Ottawa. The first hurdle to overcome was that Main St was closed for a festival, so I parked up and made my way to the hotel on foot and got directions to the car park. The festival was fun, and no one could believe that just north and south the apocalypse was in full swing! My room wasn’t ready, so I explored the festival and went in search of a pub showing the game. After a pint at the Bobby’s Place, the Scottish pub (no sign of Bobby from The Clansman), it was back to the hotel to watch the game and relay the scores to Baltimore where it wasn’t showing on TV. After the game and a walk about town, I had dinner at Rosie’s Place on River St, good food and excellent beer. On the way back to Grant Hall Hotel, I stumbled across a wall mural commemorating two Dambusters pilots from Moose Jaw. Robert Alexander Urquhart, killed during the raid and Ken Brown who was the last surviving pilot when he died in 2002. What are the chances of two dambuster pilots being from the same small town in Saskatchewan?

If you are ever in Moose Jaw, avoid The Crushed Can!

Moose Jaw to Maple Creek – 426km, 32, 7th July
A day of Saskatchewan prairie busting!

Moose Jaw was where I caught up with my original schedule and looking back on it, I relaxed a bit more into the ride. Maybe also because I was only three or four days from Calgary and knew from my 2022 trip that I could get the bike to Vancouver airport on time and without pushing it. I now had some weather contingency which I knew I might need in the mountains.

I was expecting the Saskatchewan prairies to be expanses of wheat fields. What I wasn’t expecting was gently rolling pasture and cattle ranches, much less for it to be punctuated by salt lakes. The smaller ones, around Chaplin, were completely dried up white saucers but by Morse, there were bigger ones like great inland seas. By Herbert, the grain elevators had reappeared but there was still no sign of the wheatfields, just endless pasture. Most of the way, the wide central reservation of the TCH had been cut for hay, was bailed and waiting collection.

After a couple of failed attempts at coffee (even on TCH, most places are closed on a Sunday) good old Tim Horton’s in Swift River came to the rescue! There I shared brunch with a couple heading north from the USA on their Harley (of course).

Although I was staying the night in Maple Creek, which I arrived at around midday, I wanted to visit Fort Walsh 45 minutes south. South of Maple Creek, SK-271 rises from the Prairie and gently weaves its way through rolling hills, becoming more twisty as it climbs into the Cypress Hills with hairpin bends through the wooded escarpment before reaching Fort Walsh on a plateau.

Other than being a point of interest that jumped out of the guidebook along an otherwise featureless section of the route, there was no real reason to visit but I’m so glad I did. The road up had been a beautiful break from riding the prairies and would have been a reward in itself but the Fort itself was idyllic. If I had done any research, I would have known that it had been the place the Royal Canadian Mounted Police bred their distinctive black horses and that Sitting Bull and the Lakota had settled nearby following the Battle of Little Bighorn. It’s beautifully set in a hollow surrounded by wooded hills. Life there was brutally hard but today you can get a decent lunch! I was told of a very good brew pub in Maple Creek, so I set of north again in good spirits and enjoyed the beautiful scenery.

I stayed at the very comfortable Cobble Creek Lodge where the receptionist insisted that I should visit the Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, and I took from her insistence that it would be a mistake not to visit! I added it to the plan for the next morning, settled into my room, cleaned up and headed out into Maple Creek, pop. 2000.

Rafter R Brewing Company was 450m from the hotel and closed. It was still Sunday! 500m further on, the Jasper Lounge and Liquor Store was the only place in town open. I asked if they could do a salad with my meal, and they came up trumps with a really fresh mixed salad. It was a welcome break from fried carbs and protein!

Maple Creek to Drumheller – 483km, 35, 8th July
Bright and early, I headed south again but this time on SK-21 to Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park (it extends into Alberta). The petrol station wasn’t yet open, but I had 84km range for the 62km round trip. The scenery on the ride was similar to the ride up to Fort Walsh the day before. I blagged a free pass to the Park and rode around the lake before heading back to Maple Creek. I had 30km of fuel for the 31km ride, the ride up into the hills had guzzled more gas than I counted for! Both visits to the Cypress Hills were worth it, they are a beautiful change from the prairies.

I arrived back at the petrol station in Maple Creek just as it opened at 9am, with 5km range. Ten minutes later, I was heading west on TCH again and, after 40km, into Alberta. The last two days had seen a strong southerly, making overtaking lorries especially interesting. I had worked out that it was best to wait until the lee of a hill to slip past them. Top biker tip!

Alberta

An hour from Maple Creek lies Medicine Hat and thanks to the time difference, I arrived at about the same time I had set off! It was time for a quick fill to make sure I had the range to make it to Drumheller on my chosen route. I also made sure I bought a sticker. It had been an ambition to stop here since I had first seen the road sign for Medicine Hat from a taxi on my first trip to Calgary and wanted to go.

Forty km later, it was time to turn off TCH and onto AB-884, north towards Jenner. Today’s enroute destination, Dinosaur Provincial Park in the Alberta Badlands. Dinosaur Provincial Park is not signposted from the Saskatchewan side so the ride along long straights was punctuated by stops at each junction to compare satnav and Google Maps directions. Neither of them would agree and the satnav didn’t have the Provincial Park at all!

Eventually, I arrived at the park. The ride down the canyon walls was epic on the unsealed road.

After lunch at the park, Google Maps and the satnav continued to be unhelpful however Drumheller is signposted from the park and the route suggested is classic Albertan landscape. Rolling hills, cattle ranches and oil wells with glimpses into the Badlands and a quiet road made an excellent afternoon’s ride along AB-876 and AB-570. Just before dropping down into the valley in which Drumheller sits, I measured one straight of 44km, but that afternoon had seen a few over 20km! Once down in the valley, the Badlands scenery is amazing. It really has to be seen to be believed, especially the Hoodoos. I had been told to look out for them, but nothing can quite prepare you for them. It is an alien landscape, very sci-fi!

It was by this time, mid-afternoon, approaching the heat of the day and while taking in some fluids at the Hoodoos Hydration Station, I got talking to some bikers who recommended I head up the 11 Bridges Road to Wayne and The Last Chance Saloon. It is a short but well worthwhile detour to make for the road and bridges alone. On the way up, I passed a biker taking photos at the side of the road. I have to admit that I hadn’t taken as many photos as I could along the trip. It was about the ride to me. I have so many of the images etched on my mind’s eye. After I got off the bike, the biker from down the road appeared. He shouted over to me that he had come to say hello. He had recognised my bike from the parking at Kakabeka Falls just outside Thunder Bay and just as soon, he was off again.

It was 4 in the afternoon and (as my father had often warned me) I was in The Last Chance Saloon. I was hot and sweaty and with 14km of twisties still to ride, all I could have to drink was an alcohol-free beer. If only I had known, I would have had the perfect comeback! Just don’t tell anyone what I had to drink in The Last Chance Saloon!

I rolled into Drumheller around five in the afternoon with the sweat running out me. I found the quirky wee boutique Heartwood Hotel, run by a friendly Japanese family. The very kind receptionist offered me a beer and in return, I turned my beautiful room into a laundry, using Air Canada parcel tape as a clothesline! It was laundry day again.

With everything clean, except the poor bike, I headed out to the Valley Brewing pub in the sweltering evening humidity. Aircon, a choice of craft beer and good craic but no food as usual in a Canadian brew pub.

Drumheller – 32km, 34, 9th July
It was six days after my last day off, and I had crossed two time zones and ridden 2,444km. The next riding day would see me in the Rockies, and I wanted to be fresh for that.

The Royal Tyrrell Museum and The Atlas Coal Mine took up most of the day, but you wouldn’t really be missing anything if you didn’t visit! Other than that, I rested fed and watered myself, reworked my final run to Victoria and got ready for a day on the road.

 

 

 

 

 

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