Thinking of touring

It's been a very busy summer and fall for me, hence little time to post to the blog. I hope to get back to this in the next few weeks, but in the meantime, how about a little something from Joe Kurmaskie. It even features a mention of Saskatoon. (www.metalcowboy.com/damfam.pdf)

Coming up for air

Yikes! It's been awhile since I've posted to this site. It's turned out to be a very busy summer. Ah, the life of being self-employed....

A few weeks ago, I got an assignment that took me north of the Battlefords. I figured the drive would make a good opportunity to grab some snapshots of various sights and attractions along the first three days of the GASP 2009 route, instead of staring blankly at Highway 16 for an hour and a half each way.

Here are some of the highlights of that trip.

A little ways out of Saskatoon, a few kilometres west of the Grandora turnoff, GASPers will come across services at Sandy Ridge. There's a gas station with snacks and plenty of shade. (Sorry, no photos of this one.)

Asquith

A couple of hours into the ride (42 km), Asquith may not look like much from the highway, but take a moment to cruise into town for a snack. There's a nice, historical general store downtown, along with a grocery store and cowboy-themed restaurant. Plus, there's a quiet park where you can enjoy your snack.


Biggar

OK, I can't resist: New York is big, but this is Biggar. The town was really bustling when I got there. The campground is southwest of town. Head south of town on highway 4, across the tracks and past the highway 51 turnoff. It sounds like a long ways, but it's just outside the town. The motels are at the northeast end of town. Restaurants are downtown, plus a big one next to the motel near the entrance to town. The museum, downtown, has much to offer. The railway roundhouse is very close to the campground.


Landis

Landis, a little less than two hours (38 km) from Biggar on day two, makes a nice pit stop. There's a store and a restaurant, plus some shady places to rest.



Wilkie

I stopped for lunch at the Blue Moon Restaurant, but there are a couple of other restaurants in town, too. The campground is in the regional park, just west of downtown, and there's a municipal swimming pool just across the road from there. Let's hope for hot, hot weather that day (although maybe the farmers won't be wishing for the same).

Battleford

I found this wonderful ice cream stand, the Ice Cream Oasis, in Battleford, just down the street from a remarkable restaurant, My Friend's Place, that featured Middle Eastern fare. I have fond memories of Pennydale Junction, too, another restaurant close to the campground. I first stopped at that restaurant on my way to visit friends in Edmonton shortly after moving to Saskatchewan in the early 1980s. I was surprised to hear CiTR playing on the sound system. Having been active in the development and expansion of that radio station, I knew that cable carriers were making it available with their packages, but I had no idea it was making it this far east. The restaurant was a laid back, casual, kind of folksy place in those days. It's very upscale and posh now, a great place for either fine dining or a simple hamburger, but it no longer plays CiTR.

GASPers staying at the motel will find that there's a really scenic route from Battleford to North Battleford, via Finlayson Island. The historic bridges were closed to motorized traffic a few years ago, but remain open for pedestrians and cyclists. Taking those bridges, instead of going way out to the main highway, is a much shorter route to the motels, plus it's more scenic. The Fred Light Museum, near the campground and close to the route over to the motel, is worth a visit. Fort Battleford National Historic Site is right next to the campground. Don't forget that the National Parks people are doing an historical re-enactment of the Siege of Battleford, firing off the cannon for the event. It's something you won't want to miss.

Scenery

The Battle River valley, between Wilkie and Battleford is one of main reasons that we've taken the tour route where we did. There's some spectacular views and much of the trip involves meandering through the rolling valley. It comes at you by surprise, after cycling along flat prairie out of Wilkie. Maybe bring a few carrots or an apple for the very friendly horses.

Smile

A little off-topic, but kind of a fun and interesting side note of a CAN-BIKE II course I was leading today. As we were returning from our afternoon's ride, the Google Streetview car passed us as we rode through the intersection of 12th St and Clarence Ave. I hope we were looking our finest!

How much traffic is on that road?

That's a question I frequently hear from people who are thinking about touring through Saskatchewan. A few of you are wondering just how much traffic we'll encounter on GASP 2009.

Saskatchewan's highways ministry publishes a map showing average daily traffic volumes for all our major roads. You can download the map from their website. It's a great resource for anyone planning to tour by bicycle through the province. (Note that although the most recent data are for 2007, there isn't a lot of change from year to year, especially on the roads we'll be travelling.)

Here's a brief summary of some of the traffic volumes we'll encounter on GASP 2009:

Day 1, near Asquith: 2140
Day 2, Biggar to Wilkie: 830
Day 3, Wilkie to Battleford: 740
Day 3, near Battleford: 1440
Day 4, on the way to Unity: 1360
Day 5, Wilkie to Kerrobert: 480
Day 6, Kerrobert to Herschel: 150
Day 7, Herschel to Rosetown: 260
Day 7, Rosetown to Outlook: 260
Day 7, near Outlook: 1220
Day 8, Outlook to Saskatoon: 530

Is that a lot of traffic, or a little? It's not like we count the cars that pass us. Well, 150 vehicles per day works out to about 10 per hour (making a rough calculation that they're being driven exclusively in daylight hours, which I know is a simplistic - and overestimated - representation of the highway ministry's very complicated formula) or about one every five minutes coming from either direction. Compare that with highways such as #16 (about 5700 per day on it's quieter sections), #12 between Saskatoon and Martensville (about 12,000) and Victoria Avenue heading east out of Regina (about 23,000).

The U.S. Federal Highways Administration defines traffic volumes below 3000 as "low". By most accounts, cyclists are comfortable on such roads, consider roads with volumes below 1500 to be quiet and those below 750 to be almost deserted.

It's a GASP, GASP, GASP is online today

Westworld Saskatchewan Magazine, Getaways: It's a gasp, gasp, gasp

Slick-tire riders take to back roads and trails during Saskatchewan's annual pedal push along the historic Qu'Appelle Valley.

Full story:
http://caask.ca/assets/pdf/WWonline.Summer%202009.GASP.pdf

Westworld Saskatchewan Magazine Summer 2009 edition is out

If you're a CAA Saskatchewan member, you'll be getting your copy of Westworld Saskatchewan shortly. Don't miss the GASP 2008 story, "It’s a Gasp, Gasp, Gasp: Pushing pedals and making friends along the historic Qu’Appelle Valley", in the Getaways section.

Registrations accepted until June 1

Registrations have been coming in at a brisk rate. There is still space available on a first come first serve basis. Send full payment by by June 1, 2009 to the SCA office to assure your space in the tour. Registrations received after June 1 may be accepted at the discretion of the organizers. (If we receive your registration and there is no space available in the tour, we'll phone or email you to let you know and we won't process your payment.)

Several participants and people considering participation have asked about hotel and motel accommodation. We've planned this year's route so that there is modern, comfortable indoor accommodation available at each night's stop. Participants need to make their own hotel/motel arrangements (sorry, but we simply don't have the resources of a travel agency that is able to make those kinds of bookings). Within the next day or so, I'll post lodging information, with contact details.

There is also a wide variety of restaurants to choose from in each town, as well as services including grocery stores and laundromats.