Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/566324
f a l l 2 0 1 5 | w e s t w o r l d 17 the route and explored it by bike as kids, and we tip our riding helmets to the pioneers. The canal is slowly being widened and upgraded, which spoils both the riding and the beauty. After a long slog through the fresh gravel in an upgraded section, we reached Gar- diner Dam in mid-summer. In the chill of the following October, we reached the north end near Lanigan where the land begins to change from prairie to parkland. Mostly we rode side by side. Conversing as respiration would allow, we covered every- thing from whooping cranes to the Weimar Republic. Occasionally we took opposite sides of the canal, mirroring each other across the gap. We spoke less coming home as the pounding of steel and aluminum began to tri- umph over spandex and butt. e thought brings me back to the hungry present. We're coming along the west shore of Broderick Reservoir and can see the town elevator – one of a few left on the prairie. It stands exactly one statute mile away, yet seems as distant as the moon. Mark has stopped again, this time at a bush of ripe chokecherries. ese will get us to the end, he says, popping a mouthful with authority. The bitter berries aren't exactly grandma's jam in a jar, but they are surpris- ingly rejuvenating. An earthy sweetness emerges as I roll them around my tongue, working the flesh from the seeds. By the time I've spat the last one, I can see Poseidon await- ing us in the yard of e Terrace. I try to formulate some lofty thought about the fruits of the earth, how the good prairie looks after us, how riding the canals has taken us deeper into a landscape we thought we knew. But that will have to wait until after lunch. I can smell french fries. Definitely I'm having the three-course special. I've earned a beer. W Allan Casey is the award-winning author of Lakeland: Ballad of a Freshwater Country (Greystone). Photographer Mark Nicholson is a forensic genealogical researcher who locates missing estate heirs. Together they are exploring the feasibility of offering supported group rides on Saskatchewan canals beginning in 2016. (opposite) Fall riding brings cooler temps, no bugs and harvest gold tones. (below) Allan and Mark (left) enjoy a late-season lunch at the canal's northern end near Dellwood Reservoir.