Outlook is one very friendly town

Outlook Tourism plans to welcome GASP cyclists with enthusiasm and style when we arrive on July 24. The town will organize a barbecue along the Skytrail, billed as "Canada's Longest Pedestrian Bridge", at 3000 feet long. It's one of the highest, too, a former railway trestle spanning the South Saskatchewan River that flows 150 feet below.

The town plans to have the Skytrail's founder come out and speak with the cyclists, explaining the history of the bridge and the town's efforts to turn the structure into a unique tourism attraction after the railway pulled out.

Everyone in town will be invited to the barbecue. The food will be donated, allowing the event to be turned into a fund raiser for the health region.

While visiting Outlook previously, I walked out onto the Skytrail bridge at sunset, as flocks of Canada Geese flying down the valley soared inches over my head. It was a marvelous experience that I hope to repeat during GASP 2009.

Our campsite, in the regional park, is situated right below the bridge.

It should be a lot of fun!

Daniel Behrman

"The world lies right beyond the handlebars of any bicycle."

Daniel Behrman, The Man Who Loved Bicycles: The Memoirs of an Autophobe. Harper's Magazine Press (1973)

Maps and Route Planning

While tracing out various cycling routes the other day, I found this topographic map service available from Natural Resources Canada. It's part of their Atlas of Canada series.

• Toporama – Topographic Maps, Atlas of Canada

NRCan's online topographic maps, example:

Welcome to spring: What's your most magical cycling moment?

Spring officially arrives today and it's beginning to look as though March could go out like a lamb. After this winter, it couldn't come soon enough!

While doing some research for the GASP tour, which I note will mark it's fifth anniversary this summer, I was reminded of the first time I visited Unity, where we will arrive on day four of GASP 2009.

It was a mid-summer weekend in 1996, and I was teaching a CAN-BIKE course for staff of the health region.

On Saturday, we wrapped up the first day of the course and I returned to my hotel room for a short break. Coincidentally, I happened to be in town on the same evening that local merchants were conducting a "midnight madness" sale. The stores were going to remain open until late into the evening. Some of them moved merchandise out onto the sidewalks to display.

The town had recently completed a "Main Street" upgrade, one of those infrastructure projects funded by the federal government. The downtown streetscaping had been revamped: wide, brick sidewalks, nostalgic lamp standards, upgraded storefronts. I had noticed earlier in the day that every street corner had bicycle racks.

I wandered onto Main Street just around sunset. The late-day sun cast a golden light on everything it touched, complemented by an azure sky overhead. For some reason, a marvelous magenta light bathed the entire scene, bringing normally cold, dark shadows to a life of their own.

But most amazingly, in that magical light at that mysteriously still time of the day, were the bicycles. Bicycles everywhere. People were riding bicycles down the street, gathering from the residential neighbourhoods surrounding the town centre. There were boys and girls on mountain bikes. There were dignified adults on three speeds. There were people of every age and size on bikes of every kind, old and new. They were walking bicycles on the sidewalks, strolling leisurely as they gazed in the store windows. Every bike rack was full, each bicycle neatly inserted and left unlocked as its rider wandered off to inspect the merchants' displays. In response to tiny notices I had seen earlier reminding people not to park bicycles against buildings, where they might block access for pedestrians and others who needed mobility assistance, not a single bicycle blocked anyone's path, so fastidiously were they tucked into their parking spaces. There had to be 300 or more of them downtown that evening, in a town of 2500 residents.

It occurred to me that you couldn't get a scene like that in a Disney movie.

Unity celebrates its centennial in 2009, just two weeks before our visit during GASP.

So, what do you remember as your most magical bicycling moment? Tell us in your comments, below.

Saskatchewan's changing touring tastes

The 1990s were an exciting time for cycling in Saskatchewan. More people were buying bikes than ever before, and many of those people were joining cycling clubs. Clubs were springing up in small towns, while cities with existing clubs found themselves with a bewildering array of groups to join. BMX gained a popularity not seen in years. Randonneuring, kind of like touring, but without the comfortable accommodation and the fancy food, was attracting a lot of Saskatchewan cyclists.

Touring was changing, especially as mountain bikes became more popular. Mountain bikers treat touring as more of a destination activity: hang the bikes off the back of the car, drive to a popular resort or wilderness area, then spend your time perfecting your technique riding circuits of trails. Touring traditionalists preferred the call of the open road, using their bicycles much in the same way as some generations remember the family vacation: pack everything into the vehicle (in this case, your bike) and go explore the towns and sights along the highways and back roads for a week or longer. Still, it wasn't uncommon to see mountain bikes laden with gear being pedalled down the province's highways, or the occasional touring bike on a wilderness trail.


The Last Heritage Ride

The Great Saskatchewan Heritage Bicycle Tour made a final appearance in 1996, following a three-year absence. Starting in Rosetown, the cyclists rode to Biggar, Kerrobert and Kindersley before returning to Rosetown.

With the Heritage Tour gone, organizers began looking for an early-season event that had more appeal for destination-oriented cyclists.


Provincial Bike Festival

The Provincial Bike Festival in Fort Qu’Appelle debuted on the last weekend of May, 1997. Similar to an immensely popular Spoke Festival held in conjunction with the town of Qu'Appelle's "Capital for a Day" celebration twelve years earlier, cyclists began gathering at the Echo Valley Conference at Fort San on Friday night. Staff lit a huge fire for a marshmallow and wiener roast, while cyclists selected their rooms. Lightning silhouetted the hillsides and thunder echoed in the distance as they gathered around the fire to hear plans for the weekend’s cycling. The following morning dawned sunny and fresh after the previous night's rain, and the cyclists enjoyed riding under fair weather for the next two days.

One trip took cyclists through the scenic Qu'Appelle valley, then south to Indian Head for lunch before returning them through Qu'Appelle. Everyone got back in time to ride to downtown Fort Qu’Appelle for ice cream. Some even had enough energy for a ride around the lake before returning to the conference centre for supper. That night the group shared cycling stories, including tales of old heritage tours, around another bonfire.

The bike festival continued into the new millennium, alternating between weekends near the Victoria Day holiday.

Still, cyclists longed for the kind of adventure that could only be found on a longer trip, not during a weekend.

For more information about Saskatchewan's long and colourful cycling history, check out Pat Rediger's 2001 book, Riding with the Wind: The history of cycling in Saskatchewan (ISBN 0968196543 / 9780968196540 / 0-9681965-4-3), avaiable from the Saskatchewan Cycling Association or your local library branch (in Regina, in Saskatoon).

Helen Keller

"Toleration is the greatest gift of the mind; it requires the same effort of the brain that it takes to balance oneself on a bicycle."

Helen Keller

Druid's connection to cycling (and a darker past)

Druid, a railroad town on the GASP 2009 tour route between Kerrobert and Herschel, has a round about connection with Saskatoon's cycling community. Back in November, I was speaking with friend and fellow BikeE rider Cas Wolan (not the famous medical pioneer, Dr. Cas Wolan, the younger Cas Wolan) about our proposed tour route.

"My aunt's from Druid," Cas reminded me.

Cas' grandfather, Stephen Rogal, emmigrated from Poland, taking work with the CPR in 1911. It wasn't long before he became station agent and section foreman, responsible for a stretch of rail line around Druid, on the Moose Jaw to Macklin branch line.

Cas' aunt, Frances Weber, Rogal's daughter, lived in Druid. She owned the general store there from 1947 to 1963. Even at its peak, in 1911, Druid's population never exceeded 50 people. Nonetheless, the town supported the general store, a three storey hotel, a boarding house and a livery stable.

But Dodsland expanded to town status, while Druid faded away. The town's earliest land holder decided to develop Dodsland. Druid's fate was pretty much sealed when the courthouse, originally planned for Druid, went to Plenty, instead.

There's not much left of Druid these days. Cas' grandmother's house is still there. It's pretty much the only original building left in the town.

Frances Weber, who is in her 90s and now lives in Saskatoon, recalls the Orange Order parades that used to take place. The area has a darker past. In 1926, the Ku Klux Klan, centred in Moose Jaw, drew much support from throughout the region. Aunt Fran still remembers the KKK activity and vandalism perpetrated against local Catholics.

Update (3:47 p.m.): The Biggar Museum & Gallery contains a controversial exhibit depicting the history of the Ku Klux Klan in that town. The exhibit tells the story of a community affected by the Ku Klux Klan in the late 1920s. Remember, folks: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." (George Santayana , U.S. philosopher and poet, 1863-1952, from Life of Reason, Reason in Common Sense, Scribner's, 1905, page 284.)

Update (4:51 p.m.): Although the senior Cas Wolan became known for his work in kidney transplants and urology ("If you can't pee, call T [Manuel Ty, Dr. Wolan's partner]. If your kidney's swollen, call Wolan," he used to say), he was also an early pioneer of Canada's public health care system. While working as a young medical practitioner in Swift Current, Dr. Wolan was a member of the committee that set up Canada's first regional public health demonstration area. Perhaps on a future GASP tour we can visit the birthplace of public medicine.

Aerial view of GASP 2009 route

View the GASP 2009 route online at Bikely.com. You can download the route as a GPX file for your GPS or as a KML file for Google Earth.

GASP 2009: July 18 - 25
Saskatoon, Biggar, Wilkie, Battleford, Unity,
Kerrobert, Herschel, Rosetown, Outlook, Saskatoon
Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

The Great Saskatchewan Heritage Bicycle Tour

In 1982, Virginia Hatch and Bill Stewart, inspired by bicycle tours they had seen elsewhere in Canada, formed the Wascana Freewheelers Bicycle Touring Club. By 1983, the couple, along with Noreen Hetherington, Sue Bland and a handful of friends, began work on a novel Saskatchewan bicycle tour.

Virginia's work at the Saskatchewan Museums Association inspired her to organize a tour that featured visits to the province’s museums. From that gathering of cyclists and their ideas sprang the Great Saskatchewan Heritage Tour, an annual trip during the Victoria Day weekend that continued into the 1990s.

“There is so much history out there that it was just sort of fun to be able to go to all these museums and talk to people,” Virginia told members writing a history of cycling in Saskatchewan. “Many of the cyclists are interested in history. They weren’t aware of all the museums we have. Saskatchewan has more museums per capita than any other province. There’s over 200. We tried to organize a break stop at a museum and try to get the local people that work in the museum to contribute chocolate bars and that sort of thing.” (Source: "Riding with the Wind: The history of cycling in Saskatchewan," by Pat Rediger, 2001.)

The first Heritage Tour took place in 1983. More than 30 cyclists showed up on a spring morning in front of the Regina Plains Museum and joined a police escort out of the city along Highway 11. The group overnighted at Strasbourg, some camping and others in the hotel, then continued the next day to Watrous before finishing at the Bessborough Hotel in Saskatoon on the third day.

Batoche or Bust

The 1985 Heritage Tour commemorated the centennial of the Northwest Rebellion, cycling from Regina to Batoche. Doug Hendrickson began a short story entitled, “Batoche or Bust: Or How I Learned to Stop Crunching and Learned to Spin”, later completed by Robert Stedwill after Doug died suddenly in a skiing accident. Doug described spending several days packing equipment that included a tent, sleeping bag, extra clothing and rice cakes.

The tour began at the Saskatchewan Legislature in Regina and the scene upon Hendrickson's arrival was one of “organized confusion”. Equipment was being placed in trucks and then taken out as riders wanted to take out or add a few things to their packs. Bikes were leaned against trees and light standards, television crews were interviewing organizers and groups of cyclists could be spotted talking to each other about the upcoming trip.

Members of the provincial government offered to prepare and serve breakfast to the thirty-one participants. The riders listened to speeches from various dignitaries and collected their red T shirts and tour packages. After several false starts to satisfy the local media, the group pedalled out of the Legislative grounds with a police escort. . . .

Craven marked the first stop of any duration. The local bakery had just finished producing a batch of donuts (four for a dollar) and numerous cyclists stopped by to feed their sweet tooths. . . .

Strasbourg marked my first introduction to what was to become a familiar experience as the tour progressed; most small Saskatchewan towns have a museum of one form or another, of which they are rightfully proud. The good people running the Strasbourg museum laid on coffee and fruit for us out of the goodness of their hearts. . . .

At breakfast the next morning, Hendrickson’s tour leader Phil Klein encouraged the group to get to know one another. He took the initiative by introducing himself to other cyclists by saying, “Hi, I’m Phil.” It was not long before other riders began mimicking him and introducing themselves as Phil. It was a joke that would continue for the rest of the tour.
(Source: "Riding with the Wind: The history of cycling in Saskatchewan," by Pat Rediger, 2001.)

The tour continued on through Cymric, Govan, Nokomis, Lanigan and Humboldt, over gently rolling hills and breathtaking scenery through Dana, Cudworth and Wakaw, before rolling to its conclusion at Batoche. All along the way, they visited each museum, camped or stayed in hotels. At Wakaw the riders enjoyed a banquet in the local hall, followed by presentations of awards to riders. The camaraderie of the trip made close friends of people who mostly had been strangers just three days earlier.

That was a busy year for touring. Fourteen cyclists took part in a Lake Diefenbaker Heritage Ride later that summer, departing from Central Butte for an overnight stop in Elbow, where they camped at the school yard and used the school facilities. From there, they crossed Gardiner Dam, stayed at Coldwell Provincial Campground, crossed the ferry at Riverhurst, where Kathy Saunders met them with watermelon and beverages. After a brief rest, the group finished their tour back in Central Butte.

The Perogy Pedal

In 1987 the Saskatchewan Heritage Ride celebrated its fifth anniversary with the Perogy Pedal. A record 51 riders left Yorkton after a tour of the Western Development Museum and St. Mary’s Ukrainian Catholic Church and lunch at St. Mary’s Cultural Centre. They spent their first night at Good Spirit Lake, then continued through Canora and Mikado, enjoyed lunch at the Doukhobour Museum in Veregin, rested at Kamsack and then camped at Duck Mountain. Day three took the cyclists to Benito, Manitoba, then on to Arran, Pelly, Norquay, Hyas, Stenan, Sturgis and Preeceville. The last day of the weekend trip took the cyclists through Buchanan, Springside, White Spruce, Orcadia and finally into Yorkton.

Each Heritage Tour was memorable in its own way, adding to the lore of bicycle touring in Saskatchewan. The 1988 tour, with 43 participants, continued the journey from Batoche to Waskesiu and back, via Prince Albert and Shellbrook.

The 1989 tour took 43 riders from Craven, starting with a breakfast of cinnamon buns and a visit by Mayor Art Wolf, to Watrous and back.

Some riders stopped at Duval, which featured a pool hall, bowling lane and general store all in one building. This group enjoyed nineteen cent popcycles and bowled for only sixty-five cents a game. The riders camped at Govan that night and many ate at the local hotel. . . .

The wind had picked up the next day and the sky looked ominous. The first stop was at the Nokomis museum, where they also enjoyed muffins and juice. Lunch was provided further down the road by the sag wagon. The riders then braved the fierce winds to the Manitou District Park, where they had supper and set up their tents. When supper was over, most riders walked or rode to the nearby mineral spa for a dip in the waters. They finished the evening by dancing up a storm at Danceland.

The riders ate breakfast at Paul's Place in Watrous and then headed to the Simpson museum. Riders ate lunch at the museum grounds and then rode to the campground at Arm River. The riders were responsible for their own supper that night, and many enjoyed a helping of spaghetti prepared by Brian Fergusson and Jeff Niebergall. After warming themselves up at a campfire, the riders hung a tricycle shaped pinata filled with candy to the rafters of the cook shack.
(Source: "Riding with the Wind: The history of cycling in Saskatchewan," by Pat Rediger, 2001.)

At the start of the eighth annual Great Saskatchewan Heritage Bicycle Tour, in 1990. The group gathered at Chaplin, where they toured the sodium sulphate plant, learning how the salt was captured and refined. The group continued through Central Butte for a picnic lunch with the wind pushing them to an early arrival at Douglas Provincial Park

The tour committee whipped up a hot stew with fresh bread and Ron Keall added a bit of his Louisiana hot sauce to the mix. Jean Louis Desrosiers managed to get a roaring fire started in the middle of the campground and this was where most of the group spent the evening. Some people got a little too close to the fire and their shoes started burning!
(Source: "Riding with the Wind: The history of cycling in Saskatchewan," by Pat Rediger, 2001.)

The tour continued on to Outlook, returning to Chaplin via the Riverhurst Ferry and an overnight stop at Palliser Regional Park.

Heritage Ride celebrates 10th anniversary

The 10th Annual Great Saskatchewan Heritage Bicycle Tour celebrated its “Return Trek to 'Toon Town”. The tour retraced the route of the first ride from Regina to Saskatoon, with some of the original club founders along for the trip.


Too much of a good thing

The 1993 Heritage Tour started in Tisdale, and looped through Nipawin and Choiceland before returning south through the Wapiti Valley and Melfort. Eighteen riders took part in this event, which would prove to be the last one of its kind.

Although an annual weekend tour early in the season had fallen out of favour with cyclists, there was growing interest in longer tours during the summer. We'll take a closer look at those tours, the next stage in the evolution of the GASP tour, in a later post.

For more information about Saskatchewan's long and colourful cycling history, check out Pat Rediger's 2001 book, Riding with the Wind: The history of cycling in Saskatchewan (ISBN 0968196543 / 9780968196540 / 0-9681965-4-3), avaiable from the Saskatchewan Cycling Association or your local library branch (in Regina, in Saskatoon).

A worldwide boom in bicycle tourism

I thought I'd take a moment to share some insights on bicycle tourism, through the following independent reports. I know that travel trade readers look for this stuff.

• Tourism New South Wales, Australia, reported in 2008 that more than half a million visitors tried a pedal-powered tourism experience the previous year, an increase of 18.5 per cent. Desire for a healthy lifestyle and greater awareness of the environmental impact of activities fuelled the burgeoning interest, Tourism NSW said, adding that cycling had become a growing niche in the tourism market. Cycle tourists stayed longer, did more and spent more while on holiday when compared with other tourists, making them a great source of income for regional economies.Cycle tourists stayed on average 5.1 nights, whereas all other types of tourists stayed an average of 3.5 nights. They engaged in an average of six activities during a trip compared with three activities for total tourists.
• A study by La Trobe University on all rail trails in Victoria, Australia, estimated a regional economic injection of $51 (Australian dollars) per person per day. According to data from Bicycle Victoria's Great Rides and Bicycle NSW's annual Big Ride (which can involve up to 8,000 cyclists or more), cycle tourers spend approximately $59 per day. Cyclists visiting the Mundaring Recreation Trails in Western Australia inject as much as $10 million per year into the local economy.
• This report from Australia's Sustainable Tourism CRC reminds us that bicycle tourism is not about the bicycling; it's about all the things that cyclists do off their bikes.
  
• This Tourism Yukon report shows the potential of bicycle tourism to that region.
• This report from Sustrans, a sustainable transport charity, describes how bicycle tourism has made an impact in the UK.
• Cycle Tourism Research Summary compiled by Alberta Tourism, Parks, Recreation & Culture.

What the experts say about bicycle tourists

Forget the spandex-clad, dumpster-diving, homeless long-hair hippie bum image that people seem to associate with the bicycle tourist.

Here's what the travel industry says about people who tour by bicycle:

• Touring cyclists are well educated (49% have university degree).
• They make a decent living (83% earn over $50,000 per year).
• They tend to be empty-nesters (70%), couples who no longer have children living at home.
• They mainly are older adults (66% are 35 to 54 years old; 20% are 55 or older).
• On average, bicycle tourists travel 15 days/year, often done over two or more trips.
• They like to stay at bed-and-breakfasts, hotels, motels or well maintained campsites.
• They spend an average of about $120/day, making them a more lucrative tourist clientele than average tourists, who spend less than $60/day.
• They travel mainly on quiet rural roads.

By the way, about 2000 cyclists tour through Saskatchewan annually.

Quick Links

Events listed by Tourism Saskatchewan, taking place during GASP

• Saskatchewan Farmers Markets, various locations.
• Meewasin Valley Centre Sunday events.
• Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan Festival, Saskatoon.
• Siege of Battleford, Fort Battleford National Historic Site, Battleford.

Saskatchewan's long history of bicycle touring

Back in 1913, the bicycle had been around for about half a century (not counting the walking machine, which had been around for some time before that). Saskatchewan's roads were little better than horse trails and cow paths. This didn't prevent one settler from trekking across the country to homestead near Maple Creek, travelling with only a handful of clothes and his bicycle. He remarked that he had put more than 3,000 miles on his bicycle during his first year on the farm.

Consider the earlier exploits of legendary Jack Hitchcock, who homesteaded near Birsay. He was born in 1870 in Quebec, and his quest for adventure led him to western Canada in 1894.

One of his greatest passions was building and riding bicycles. He rode many miles across the open west and his own cattle range provided many opportunities for riding. He also enjoyed motor bikes and in 1924 he rode a motor bike with a side carrier from Massachusetts to Birsay. It was no easy task considering the deep-rutted and dusty roads of the day. Hitchcock died on June 22, 1962, in Saskatoon.
(Source: Riding with the Wind: The history of cycling in Saskatchewan, by Pat Rediger, 2001.)

By the 1930s, cycling had become a very popular pastime, especially in the Prince Albert region. A July 10, 1933, newspaper account relates the story of Saskatoon cyclists Bill Kerr, Harvey Haid, Vincent Woodhead and ski champion Ross McMillian, who arrived in Waskesiu after a two day trip.

Lorne Mack of Regina described how cyclists in those days would sometimes hold a blanket between two riders and let the wind blow them along. They could reach about 45 km/hr without pedalling!

During the 1960s, cycling had gained enough enthusiasts to support the formation of cycling clubs in Regina and Saskatoon.

The 1970s are described as the "second cycling boom" (the first began in 1895). Organized cycling really took hold then, giving rise to the Saskatchewan Cycling Association and the growth of clubs throughout the province. Clubs organized excursions to Jasper, Banff and Waterton Lakes national parks, as well as cycling trips throughout Saskatchewan.

That decade was also remembered for "Cycle Canada '76", a cross-country ride to the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. Cyclists starting from the eastern, western and southern borders of the country all converged on Montreal, timing their arrival for July 20, 1976, the first day of Olympic cycling events. The event was organized for ordinary Canadians of every age and interest, rather than high performance athletes. About 5,000 riders participated. The Saskatchewan segment brought out people from all over the province, and not just cyclists. Towns and cities acted as hosts and set up events ranging from pancake breakfasts to ethnic dancing demonstrations. When cyclists arrived in Yorkton under heavy rains, the city offered to put them up in the local arena. In Foam Lake, townspeople organized a bicycle check. (Source: Riding with the Wind: The history of cycling in Saskatchewan, by Pat Rediger, 2001.)

Annual events like the GASP can trace their roots back to those earlier tours and the cyclists who organized them. More recently, events like The Great Saskatchewan Heritage Bicycle Tour, organized by the Wascana Freewheelers Bicycle Touring Club in the 1980s, and the SaskBike provincial tour, organized by the Saskatchewan Cycling Association during the 1990s, continued our long history of cycling. We'll save those tours for a later post.

For more information about Saskatchewan's long and colourful cycling history, Check out Pat Rediger's 2001 book, Riding with the Wind: The history of cycling in Saskatchewan (ISBN 0968196543 / 9780968196540 / 0-9681965-4-3), avaiable from the Saskatchewan Cycling Association or your local library branch (in Regina, in Saskatoon).

Ernest Hemingway

"It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them.

"Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle."

Ernest Hemingway, By-Line: Selected Articles and Dispatches of Four Decades

Going down the right track

I spent the morning today looking into locomotive roundhouses. I'm supposed to be working on a book, but.... well, it's Friday, and this just seemed like a lot more fun. Besides, I had an interview scheduled for early in the afternoon and there's no point breaking my concentration, so I might as well look into locomotive roundhouses, instead. And it's cold out; I really want to be thinking about sunnier weather and springtime. Writers can be just terrible procrastinators at times. For some reason, though, I never seem to procrastinate when it comes to cycling.

This all started because the GASP tour is passing through Biggar. For those who don't already know, there's a last-of-its-kind locomotive roundhouse in Biggar, and there's a tug-of-war happening over what's going to become of it. The circular building, constructed in 1908 for servicing and storing steam locomotives, is the last surviving roundhouse built by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. There is not another one like it in the whole world. When it's gone, it will be like the extinction of a species. The CNR wants to tear it down, citing liability concerns. The citizens of Biggar, and railway buffs everywhere, on the other hand, want to save it. Right now, there's a good chance the roundhouse could be torn down in 2009, before we get the chance to see it.

Railway preservationists say that the building is so well preserved that it's like the railroad just pulled out. Never mind that it has found ignominious use for housing turkeys for the past few years. Perhaps that's a back-handed social commentary about those who would tear down such an historic structure (bird-brained turkeys), but how much damage could a bunch of birds do to a place that was built to support a dozen or more gigantic iron horses?

Biggar resident and railroader Tom Cholowski and Mayor Ray Sadler organized a petition to save the roundhouse, collecting more than 2500 signatures so far. That may not sound like much, but it's more than the town's population.

Some of the cyclists intending to take part in this summer's GASP became downright excited when they heard that we'd be passing through Biggar. They knew about the roundhouse and they would love the opportunity to see it. Imagine how they felt when we asked the town if we could arrange for a closer look.

While calling around to the other towns along our route, I happened to mention how pleased we were to be able to include a visit to Biggar's roundhouse on our itinerary.

"We've got one of those," Theresa from Kerrobert said on the phone. "Well, it's just the turntable. The roundhouse is gone. But the turntable's still there. I'll ask if you could get a tour."

And that's how I ended up spending Friday morning looking into locomotive roundhouses.

My curiosity was piqued. I figured, if Biggar and Kerrobert each have one, where else could we find them on our route? I wondered what they might look like after so many years of disuse, where to look for them.

I spent about half an hour on Google Earth, looking all along the railway lines north, south, east and west of Kerrobert, trying to find something, anything, that might look like a locomotive roundhouse. I didn't really have much of a clue about what I was looking for. Finally, I spotted it, northeast of town, a circular mark on the landscape at the centre of a semicircle of concrete foundations. In the aerial view, it reminded me of a gigantic oriental fan, gradually sinking into the prairie soil.

Now, I had a shape to look for. I found similar structures in Wilkie, North Battleford and Outlook, where Google Earth had enough resolution to show the detail. I pinpointed Biggar's from the aerial photos posted on the town's website. Unity and Rosetown? Google Earth lacked the resolution to know for sure, but I'll be calling those town offices to find out.

I managed to find archive references and photos of some of the historic roundhouses. We'll be sure to include whatever we can learn about these places in the route guide for GASP 2009.

It shouldn't be surprising to find these roundhouses or, at least, their remnants. Steam locomotives needed frequent servicing. Most of the towns along our route ought to have had a roundhouse. I wonder if we'll be able to find what became of it in each place we stop.

Albert Einstein

"I thought of that while riding my bike."

Albert Einstein, explaining where he got his theory of relativity

"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving."

Albert Einstein, February 5, 1930, in a letter to his son Eduard.

Pack your panniers for GASP 2009

We’re taking GASP around West Central Saskatchewan this summer.

Saskatchewan’s annual bicycle tour is heading west, and we want you to come with us!

The Great Annual Saskatchewan Pedal (GASP) takes place July 18 – 25. Mark your calendars now.

The 2009 tour route begins and ends in Saskatoon, and passes through Biggar, Wilkie, Battleford, Unity, Kerrobert, Herschel, Rosetown and Outlook. The eight-day SCA trip explores a different area of the province each year. This is the first time we've had an organized tour through this part of the province.

The annual tour is designed around opportunities to experience the scenery, culture and history of Saskatchewan. The pace is leisurely. The itinerary includes visits to local attractions and events. A support vehicle carries cyclists’ gear.

Among the highlights of this year’s tour, cyclists will arrive at Fort Battleford in time to take part in Parks Canada’s Siege of Battleford, one of only four evenings throughout the year when the cannon is fired at the national historic site. The group will visit archeological, paleontological and historic sites at Herschel, where there will also be an opportunity to stay overnight in tipi lodging. The cyclists also hope to get a glimpse of Biggar’s historic railroad roundhouse.

Touring veterans will love this tour. But, then, we never pass up an excuse to be out on our bikes. More importantly, if you've never been on a bicycle tour but have always wondered what it's like, the provincial tour is a perfect place to start. The SCA has done all the organizing and planning, booked all the meals, arranged all the overnight stops, found all the interesting places to visit, and has a van and driver along to carry your gear — and even to carry you if you get tired. Plus, you won't be all alone out there on the road, struggling through your first bike tour. There’ll be lots of other cyclists along for the ride, to make the event fun and keep you company. You get to learn from their experience. Next thing you know, you'll be packing for your first round-the-world tour.

GASP 2009 Itinerary:
Day 1: Saturday, July 18, Saskatoon to Biggar.
Day 2: Sunday, July 19, Biggar to Wilkie.
Day 3: Monday, July 20, Wilkie to Battleford.
Day 4: Tuesday, July 21, Battleford to Unity.
Day 5: Wednesday, July 22, Unity to Kerrobert.
Day 6: Thursday, July 23, Kerrobert to Herschel.
Day 7: Friday, July 24, Herschel to Outlook.
Day 8: Saturday, July 25, Outlook to Saskatoon.
Total distance, about 660 km.


Great Annual Saskatchewan Pedal — GASP 2009
Supported road tour of West Central Saskatchewan
July 18 – 25, 2009. 8 days/7 nights. Camping (optional hotel/motel accommodation available each night). Route: Saskatoon – Biggar – Wilkie – Battleford – Unity – Kerrobert – Herschel – Outlook – Saskatoon. Cost: $300 for 8-day trip; $100 for two-day options. Cost includes camping accommodation, support vehicle, snacks; does not include cost of meals, hotel/motel accommodation.

GASP 2009 organizing committee:
Bob Cochran, Regina.
Don Cook, Saskatoon.
Darrell Noakes, Saskatoon.
John Oneschuk, Saskatoon.
Ted Quade, Regina.
Don Wilson, Regina.

Tour Website

Register early to guarantee a spot

Remember, participation is on a first-come, first-served basis. Only the first 50 registered applicants will be guaranteed a place in the event. You can confirm your place in the tour by sending a deposit before May 1. The remaining balance, based on the option selected by the participant, is due by May 31, 2009.

Registration information is on the Saskatchewan Cycling Association website: www.saskcycling.ca/GASP/gasp.html

UPDATE, May 2, 2009: Registration deadline extended to June 1, first come, first served. Read the blog post for more information.

Introduction: Great Annual Saskatchewan Pedal

Welcome to GASP, a Saskatchewan bicycle ride across some of the greatest frontier of North America. GASP is a bicycle tour, and definitely not a race. Along the way you'll have an opportunity to visit historic sites, many of which recognize significant events, people and geography of our province.

You'll experience Saskatchewan hospitality first hand on this tour. On the following pages, you'll find more details on the facilities, the route, and plans of your hosts. We'll add new information and provide updates as we get them. Subscribe using your favourite RSS feed to stay up to date.