Now that summer is here and in full force, I’m happy to be outside as much as I can. I love cycling, whether it’s for a pleasure cruise on the town trails, biking to work, or heading to a sports game in Hespeler Park. You’ve probably seen me biking around.
I’m very fortunate to have the convenience of living and working in Niverville. I can bike to work in under ten minutes. Well, except when the wind is blowing against me, moving me backwards faster than I can bike forwards! There are also the extremely hot days when I get pretty hot and sticky. Very sweaty. When I remember, I bring an extra shirt and yoga pants to wear.
I enjoy biking to work most because it gives me some exercise and I save a bit of money on gas. It seems silly not to ride around town and to local events.
Last summer, I tried something new with my dog. Bella’s a big, 105-pound chocolate lab-cross-husky. She’s high energy and loves to run. Me? I dislike running for fun. I was walking her daily, sometimes twice a day, to tucker her out.
Then I had a brilliant idea! Or so I thought. I wanted to get Bella really running, so I wondered, why not take her on a bike ride? That way she could run beside me and everything would be great.
Nope.
It was great at first. She stayed running on my left side—it was more of a light jog, really—as I huffed and puffed my way up the street. My plan was to head into Hespeler Park and give it a try on the trails.
We didn’t make it that far.
As we crept up to Fifth Avenue from Hampton South, Bella saw a small white dog on my right side. She cut in front of me… and my arms twisted, my bike went flying, and my legs? Well, they ended up tangled in the bike.
While I was mad that I’d fallen off my bike, something I hadn’t done since I was a child, I had a good laugh with the bystanders. To say the least, we turned around to head back home, and I’ve never tried biking with Bella since.
I strongly encourage everyone to at least try cycling to work or to Hespeler Park for a sporting game or hanging out. And if you fall over, just get back up!
