Rainbows in the prairies

Well, I can now see what people meant when they warned of the prairie winds! My awesome tailwind from yesterday turned into an awful headwind today for the last 100 km. Funny thing was, the clouds kept moving from the west, but the wind here on the planet were going the wrong way! We stopped a bit short of the destination today because of it. I was really struggling to keep my speed at even 25 km/h. It sure is a mental challenge to keep going through that – it is hard to accept that you are moving so slow even though you are working so hard. It is very important to stay focused.

There was no rain today during my ride – it was nice and sunny most of the way, and not too warm either. Pretty much perfect. However, we had some really crazy weather when we were cooking dinner. I had my clothes out drying, and all of a sudden the wind picked up to a huge gust – probably 60km/h or more – accompanied by some rain! It died out within about 3 minutes, but then did that in fits and starts for the next half hour or so – and then a beautiful rainbow. It is calm now, who knows what tomorrow will bring.

This being cattle country, a lot of the trip today was through fields full of cows. It is strange – as I ride past, often several of the cows look up from chewing their grass and stare at me, slowly scanning their heads to follow me as I pass. I guess they are not sure what to make of a cyclist. It could also be that I talk to them. I say, “If you get a chance, make a break for it!”

We passed through a few oil fields today – nothing very large, maybe a half dozen small wells or something. A novelty for me.

I am glad to report that even though there are only two other trailers camping here, they both have small poodles.