Day’s distance / Total distance – 284 miles / 1,218 miles

Weather-wise, it was a beautiful day. The temperature when I first got on the bike was 55, but was in the 60s within an hour of my leaving the motel and reach the mid-70s this afternoon. The winds were traveling east with me and were not a bother, at all.

I crossed into Saskatchewan this morning.

This is a first for both me and the motorcycle. I get to cross this province off my bucket list now. 🙂

Today was a relatively short. Although I traveled almost 300 miles, it was all along the Trans-Canada Highway. Flat prairie land, cattle ranches, large farms, and wind generators on the low hills were all common and I didn’t have the creative energy to take many photos. My excuse – the open space is hard to capture in a photo.

Other than fuel, my only stop was a Starbucks located in the Town n’ Country Mall, inside a drugstore.

While there, I spoke with a few people who asked about my travels and/or the motorcycle. I have to say, the folks here are friendly and curious – I love it.

Since I arrived at my hotel pretty early today, I was able to get in a workout and a swim before Happy Hour at the hotel’s English Pub.

Tomorrow I travel to Winnipeg. It will be a longer day by about 90 minutes so I’ll get started by 8am. More prairie land so I can’t promise great photos but I’ll try to be a little more creative. Stay tuned!

Watch out for cameras enforcing speed limits

Both Moose Jaw and Regina use speed cameras to enforce their speed limits. I had a chance to talk to a Regina resident about that.

He said that the cameras have been used for only a short time, and are mostly located on the Ring Road*, which circles the eastern part of Regina. Hwy 1 is part of the southern part of Ring Road. The cameras are placed on mounts that can be turned to capture traffic going in either direction. He himself has been ticketed for going 15kph over the limit. He believes the cameras may capture anything 10kph over the limit.

*They are also used near schools and, according to signage I saw coming into town, in construction zones.

I can’t believe Canadians allowed their highways to be monitored in this way. All Canadian drivers seem to travel well in excess of posted limits. I was passed all day by everyone except the most laden-down semi-trucks.

The signage simply made me paranoid. I don’t always feel comfortable traveling the posted limits, especially the really slow limits through a construction zone. I get anxious when fast moving traffic comes up behind me and I’m suppose to be doing 30kph (20mph) – it’s absurd.

I guess speed cameras are part of the future. In Seattle, there are cameras in use near schools during school hours. A very limited application like that is ok by me, but broader use seems problematic.

Nova Scotia Trivia

Since I didn’t take many photos today, I thought I’d throw in some Nova Scotia trivia. My friend Terence made this bit of history known to me and I thank him.

Did you know…

The Coloured Hockey League was an all-black ice hockey league founded in Nova Scotia in 1895. The league featured teams from across Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island and operated until 1930. It preceded the NHL (National Hockey League) formed in 1917.

Follow the link to learn more.