Day 5, Monday

535.6 miles today
2543.9 miles total

Crossed into Canada in Portal North Dakota this morning. It was a one lane checkpoint and I was the only vehicle.

Passport please. Have you ever been arrested? Have any pepper spray or firearms, tobacco or alcohol? Where do you live? Where are you going? How long will you be in Canada?

I remember reading somewhere that short direct answers are best, with no chit-chat, so I gave short direct answers and a good deal of them were correct.

Saskatchewan is a HUGE FLAT land.  The hiways go on forever in a straight line. Speed limits are metric so I don't know what they are - 80 - 110 kph. I just went about 85 mph and called it good. With the bike loaded, full tank of gas and me on it, it weighs in at right around 1,000lbs, so it cruises real nice, but is hard to pick up which I would find out later in the day.

I made a stop in Saskatoon, which is a fairly large city, for an oil change.  All the people I met were very nice and tried to steer me in the right direction.  A on a Harley at the gas station had me follow him and took me to an RV service place. They do bikes but didn't have Victory filters. Same with the Honda shop that the folks at a UPS store took me to.   The guy at the Honda shop gave me directions to a Victory dealer - take the Circle highway towards Regina (which was 150 miles in the direction I just came from), go under an overpass and over an under pass and you can almost see the dealer from the road. Oh, okay, sounds simple enough, do you have and address?  No, but I think it is on the outskirts of Saskatoon and on Floral road (which did not come up on the GPS).

I did find it eventually, with the directions of some guys at an auto parts store,who themselves were not sure. I believe Floral road may be a new road and the dealership fairly new?  Anyhow, I eventually found it, got there around 4:45 and the folks took me right in and got to work on it. They are all great people there and I had fun talking with them while I waited. So, if you ever head threw Saskatchewan, and need service, you should definitely stop here. A big thanks to Heather and Mark and Corey, as well as John and Sharon!!!

Guertin Equipment

It was a long, hot day, a lot of miles and running around, and I was beat.  I think I rode for a couple more hours and then finally pulled off to look for a campground.  I found a place but it looked to only be RV's. As I was leaving, I saw an older man and his wife working in the front yard, so I stopped to ask them if they know of a place. His name was Keith Weston and he had a lot of great stories. They seemed to come around and overlap each other and then shoot off in another direction. He told me about the 2 aneurysms  that he had, and that they affected his memory and couldn't drive any more.  Then he remembered that he and his wife were part caretakers of a coop campground. Just drop $10 in the slot for a site, $15 if you want electricity (he had to check with the wife to make sure she knew how much it was).  Great, how do I find it?  Well, he says, go down to the west side of town and find the highway heading north. Take that until you hit some bumpy parts that make your dentures fall out and go west. It will be on your right, has a sign out front.

Keith Weston

I did all that, there was a sign, but you had to get off the road to see it. I knew I was close so took a few rights looking for it. I ended up on a newly made dirt service road and that's where I laid the bike down. Not  on purpose of course, I was going about 20 - 25 mph when the front tire dug into some soft dirt.  If there hadn't been a trucker on the road to help me pick the bike up, I would still be there.

I found the place, made a little fire and had spam, dinty moore and cereal bars for a very late dinner. Of course, being exhausted and still shaken up a little from dumping the bike, I put the corner of the business end of the hatchet into my thigh for good measure. Thankfully it was the other leg!

bike down, gear on, so just an abrassion

thankfully I still had heavy denim riding pants on

just entering Saskatchewan