My first week back to work ended with Friday off- a nice relaxing 4 day weekend! We didn’t do much of anything. It was lovely, I had already gotten my gardens sorted the weekend before. Of course, I still have to do my containers with annuals, but really that can be done any old time.

I had suggested to Andrew that I wanted to start cycling again, as it has been some time….2 years to be exact! I wanted a bike seat for Rose, to be put on my bike and thought Jack could go further if he was attached to Andrew via a bicycle tow bar. What a great idea, so we went and spent the money. It is, after all, a great summer investment in time spent outdoors with the little ones. We purchased the Schwinn Deluxe Bike Carrier and the tow bar attachment from Canadian tire.

Andrew, Jack, myself, Rose and Kyle were ready to ride. So we set out at 10 am and made it home by 4 pm. We cycled to Petrie Island from our house, which is approximately 52 km(s) there and back.

https://www.petrieisland.org/beaches 

I have to say for the first bike ride of the year, you should NOT go this distance. It’s now Thursday night and I am still having a hard time sitting down for long periods of time. Andrew got a super workout, Jack was peddling, but he isn’t even 40 lbs….so although the effort was there, the power wasn’t. I also feel that I outdid myself- if I had known it was that far prior to leaving I would have brought more than some apples and seeds! We had a lot of water, but you don’t always remember to drink it while you are cycling with both hands on the bars. Going there was great, wind at our backs. Rose loved it and quickly fell asleep, albeit in a very awkward position. When she woke up we had arrived at our destination. We snacked up, had a bathroom break, refilled water and got back on the trail. Needless to say, stopping was not a good idea! My leg muscles had completely seized up, so getting back on the bike, knowing I had 26 km to cycle home was pretty discouraging. Rose was not happy to be back in her seat and the first half of the journey home made question how I ever thought that this had been a good idea. We stopped numerous times, so I could try and calm Rose, she was off her nap schedule and just needed to fall asleep. She would have none of it. Not to mention every time I had to lift my leg over that bar to get off my bike to deal with her…well I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to get back on. I drank my water, Andrew’s water and proceeded to drink as much as I could from the camel-back we also had with us. I recognised that my muscles were screaming because I was dehydrated. It was a slow ride home, fighting the wind the entire way…..the hills were fun, and there were more than I remembered from when we set out. We cycled along the Ottawa River- I have a hybrid bike….she doesn’t particularly enjoy the gravel roads. I paid for it, the bumps were fun with Rose to, who was still upset at this point. We did find a solution which eventually sent her back to slumber land. Thank GOD! Andrew’s phone in a fanny pack at my back for her to hear…through the wind coming off the water. It was hurting my ears, I can’t imagine it was fun for her. We finally reached the Aviation parkway and relief would have set in, as this meant we were getting closer to home……the wind was even worse here. Andrew was great- he knew my legs were bad, he was also in a bit of discomfort…he was basically pulling Jack behind him through the wind. He kept reminding me, “What would Shawn T. be saying to you right now?” “You got this-don’t give up!” That actually worked, I pushed past my pain and that was the end of that pain party. (Shawn T. is the fitness coach I am currently using for my workout regime-very inspiring to say the least).

I only wish we had taken a selfie of the  5 of us when we had arrived at Petrie Island to post here. Next time! That’s right I would do it again. Now that I know the distance….I will plan to bring a large lunch, drink the water while riding, even if this means stopping a few times to drink enough to keep my muscles happy. Once we got off of Aviation parkway, we hit the chip truck and the fatty fuel got us the rest of the way home. Sometimes your body just needs Fat and Carbs, which for me is a Poutine!  Andrew used an online calculator ( a few different ones) and he said we burned about 1500 calories. This didn’t include the added weight of having the kids attached to our bikes. So I wasn’t going to feel guilty about eating crap.

Oh and Kyle our 15 year old, didn’t even look like he was breaking a sweat! Oh to be a teenager again.

There are so many bike trails in Ottawa, I would love to hear some recommendations on your favourite. Happy summer cycling!