Friday night bike ride
Neil and I went for a 2 1/2 hour bike ride last night. Neil wanted to check out the new Central Valley Greenway bike route. And I've been wanting to check out the Burnaby Lakes route. So he devised a route of our own that would combine parts of both of these.
We live in a hilly place, so the first part is always a challenge. The first time I got on my bike a month or two ago (after a long long hiatus), I didn't last three blocks before I had to turn back and go home. But I've been gradually pushing through the initial shock of the incline, and finding my second wind, and last night, I had to do that a number of times, but man, it was exhilirating.
Riding the Lakes route was gorgeous. At one point we came downhill through a beautiful neighbourhood of lovely homes with Deer Lake beneath us, glimmering in the evening sun. A rowboat sat serenely on the water, people walked around the lake. I've lived here so many years, and never seen it. We even had to go over the TransCanada Highway at one point, that was such a strange feeling, with a tide of cars swooshing beneath us, I just focused forward watching for any inconsistencies in the concrete.
That was the only time I felt overwhelmed by the presence of traffic. And it was forgettable next to the moments where nature burst through. There was a part of the Central Valley Greenway that went along the Brunette River. It was quite thick with trees, and awash in birdsong. I was astonished by it's beauty. This was not far from where my parents used to live. Not far from that same highway. And all this time, I never knew it was there!
Coming home, there were three steep hills, I had to get off my bike and walk up those. By the second hill, I was a bit shakey, but I knew I was going to get through it. A wonderful feeling of accomplishment washed over me when we turned on to our street. It was a clever route for a city tour. It's so lovely to see these pockets of thriving, natural beauty, of serenity in the middle of the concrete, of the traffic, of the noise. And it's also wonderful to know that I can do that. That I did do that. I'm not even in pain today, aside from a bit of bruising from the seat. We'll be doing that again.
We live in a hilly place, so the first part is always a challenge. The first time I got on my bike a month or two ago (after a long long hiatus), I didn't last three blocks before I had to turn back and go home. But I've been gradually pushing through the initial shock of the incline, and finding my second wind, and last night, I had to do that a number of times, but man, it was exhilirating.
Riding the Lakes route was gorgeous. At one point we came downhill through a beautiful neighbourhood of lovely homes with Deer Lake beneath us, glimmering in the evening sun. A rowboat sat serenely on the water, people walked around the lake. I've lived here so many years, and never seen it. We even had to go over the TransCanada Highway at one point, that was such a strange feeling, with a tide of cars swooshing beneath us, I just focused forward watching for any inconsistencies in the concrete.
That was the only time I felt overwhelmed by the presence of traffic. And it was forgettable next to the moments where nature burst through. There was a part of the Central Valley Greenway that went along the Brunette River. It was quite thick with trees, and awash in birdsong. I was astonished by it's beauty. This was not far from where my parents used to live. Not far from that same highway. And all this time, I never knew it was there!
Coming home, there were three steep hills, I had to get off my bike and walk up those. By the second hill, I was a bit shakey, but I knew I was going to get through it. A wonderful feeling of accomplishment washed over me when we turned on to our street. It was a clever route for a city tour. It's so lovely to see these pockets of thriving, natural beauty, of serenity in the middle of the concrete, of the traffic, of the noise. And it's also wonderful to know that I can do that. That I did do that. I'm not even in pain today, aside from a bit of bruising from the seat. We'll be doing that again.