“I’ll take you the scenic route! It’s a bit longer but it will get us off the highway and it’s a lot nicer”, he said sprightly.
We left Moosomin around 7:30 on what promised to be a beautiful day. The wind, coming from behind us, was cool, steady and slow. The important thing was that it was westerly, which meant that each effort we made would be further enhanced by the wind.
Every part of Canada is different and each area has its special appeal. Sometimes you must really look and allow the place and the beauty particular to that place seep into you. I love how much sky there is out on the prairies and how one can look for kilometres and kilometres in almost any direction. One word I would never use to describe the prairies though, is flat. The prairies have subtle curves and indentations but they can not be called, in my opinion, flat!
Alexander is a small community west of Brandon. We had made pretty good time when we pulled in there for groceries and for coffee for me. The park opposite the grocery store was the perfect spot to have our picnic and afterwards Charlie, who has not been sleeping well, wanted a nap. I was fine with that and settled into my book as he stretched out on the grass.
With about 130 km behind us already, I quickly lost all my determination and grit as I sipped my coffee and read. Thus, when it was time to motor on, it was a real effort to get things going again. Charlie quickly pulled ahead, then turned left, eastbound, along the highway,. It was then that I saw him; robust,trim amd full of energy, a lone, unencumbered cyclist running perpendicular to me and quickly catching up with my husband. He was our host for the evening, and out for a bit of exercise, he thought he’d see if he could find us. 
Herman is a farmer, one of those to whom we owe our thanks each time we go grocery shopping, each time we eat. He, his brother and nephew farm 6800 acres of yellow peas, destined to be ground up into pea flour to feed many mouths in India, canola, wheat and soybeans. A chart on the wall in their spaciouś office shows each field, what it’s current crop is and what the crop rotation is. The land is never allowed to run fallow. I am not a farm or country girl. I know nothing about farming, so I looked with astonishment at the machinery they use. There is a mammoth seeder, with widespread arms that seed 80 plus, super straight rows at a time. Something under it creates a furrow, the seeds are dropped and then a little wheel runs over it, covering it with soil. I asked how they could drive it so straight and Herman explained that their field is mapped by computer and basically, the computer directs the machinery. Wild! There were several other farm machines too, all far too complicated for this simple mind to comprehend, but modern farming is very complicated and I was and am amazed!
Diane, Herman’s wife of over 40 years is not a cyclist but as she has a husband and two sons who do, she is fully on board. One son, Matt van den Hamm, based in Edmonton, is the top cyclocross competitor in Canada. He is sponsored by Garneaux. Diane works at her church office. She and Herman were so warm and welcoming to us and she prepared a wonderful meal for these two tired , hungry travellers. 
They have a well behaved golden lab named Gracie, and I can see why they love her so much! 
They have hosted many cyclists through “Warm Showers” and we are fortunate to be amongst that group.
Herman did take us the long way to his and Diane’s lovely home, but it was beautiful and worth seeing and in the end, even though I thought it might, it didn’t kill me. We are very grateful to the van den Hamm’s for everything they did for us. Good luck Herman, on your upcoming fund raising ride from Vancouver to Calgary, part of the Sea to Sea ride to raise money to combat poverty!
Wendingourway:Across Canada by Bike 2017 
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