Seen from Stockholm

on the way to Gamla Stan, Stockholm

I spent my one-week break between sessions far from home -- in Stockholm and Copenhagen, to be precise. I started out in Stockholm and stayed there for three days, then took the train to Copenhagen, where I spent the last three days. 

[The above photo was sort of forced on me. A young Polish girl stopped me and asked me to take her photo with this weird dog-like creature, and then insisted on returning the favour.]

A friend of mine, on hearing my plans, objected, saying, "But isn't it winter over there, too?" And yes, technically it was. But as the flowers and green grass will attest, in practical terms it was already spring. Temperatures were consistently above zero, although there were times when the wind and rain meant it felt pretty cold. But overall, it was a wonderful break, especially when I saw that it was -25 back home!

Linnaeus Statue in Humlegården Park, Stockholm

I rented a bike in both cities. In Stockholm I had some trouble finding a place to rent one. There were a couple of bike shops not far from my hotel, but both of them said they didn't rent bikes. The one guy told me that in summer I would be able to rent a bike "on the street" but that didn't help me much in March. 

Walking to Gamla Stan

After some searching on Google, however, I found Gamla Stans Cykel, in Gamla Stan, the Old Town. I highly recommend this place! 

Gamla Stans Cykel

The staff were friendly and the price was right: in a city where prices are generally quite high, for a measly 100 kroner (~$15) I rented a 3-speed bike complete with lock, basket --and coaster brakes. I hadn't ridden this sort of bike since I was about 10 or 11, but after some tentative experimentation, it all came back, and soon I was sailing around the island of Södermalm. 

Cycling in Södermalm

This area of Stockholm is supposed to be the coolest neighbourhood in Europe, but I didn't really see much of it, just circled the perimeter, as it were. There is a multi-use path that follows the shore, so I rode on that. Along the way I took a couple of wrong turns so I did unnecessarily ride up a few hills, see a few of the interior streets and stand on a lift bridge; and I even met a few of the locals, who gave me helpful directions, but further exploration will have to wait till next time I am over there.

Gamla Stan square

One of the big attractions in the Gamla Stan (Old Town) area of Stockholm is the Nobel Museum. I liked the exhibit about this man, Amartya Sen, who conducted his prize-deserving research by cycling from village to village in West Bengal.  

bike lane along a canal, Stockholm

Bicycle parking at the Stockholm Court House

This is my kind of church-goer!

winter winding down?

Now that it's the middle of February, I think we can safely that winter is winding down.

It doesn't always seem that way; during the last two weeks we have had two snowfalls of more than 10 cm each. One was on Thursday the 5th, and there was ample warning, so I parked in Glenora and walked to work, down through the ravine and up Victoria Park hill. It was a beautiful start to the day -- not too cold and so pretty. 

It snowed all day, making the trek home an adventure. About halfway down Victoria Park hill, all of a sudden there were no more footprints. Mine were the first. And the snow was deep. I trudged along, feeling like I was never going to make it to the bottom. Down in the ravine, the situation was the same -- no other prints. Actually, there was one tire track -- yes, someone had ridden a bike down there, and not a fat bike either. Visibility was limited and I almost missed the point where I had to turn right and head uphill back to my car. This was one time I was very thankful not to have to go to work on Friday!

The next big snowfall was last Friday night. I looked at the weather forecast before going to bed and saw that we were due for 2-4 cm of snow. Woke up the next day to see about 10-15 cm. It was nice that it happened on the weekend; I didn't have to drive anywhere and didn't even ride my bike. I did go out walking, ploughing my way through the deep snow and sloshing through puddles and slush. Today is colder and again it's snowing, but I still maintain that winter is on its way out.

seen on the dog walk

 Sometimes the dog walk is just a walk. Other times, it's a magical experience.

 The city has built a couple of new ponds right near our house, so we like to take Maggie down there. Both ponds are home to families of loons, muskrats and of course geese.

 I experimented with the low light setting on my camera, with tolerable results.

slow pace

There is nothing like a springtime cold to slow you down. All winter for the past three years I've eaten a grapefruit every day and haven't had a cold. But at this time of year the quality of grapefruit is sketchy, so I haven't been eating them as much -- and I came down with a cold. I'm not sure whether I should be glad or mad that it happened during my week off work. I am glad not to miss work, but sorry to be feeling under the weather when I could be enjoying long country bike rides.

On Wednesday I just lazed around all day, feeling completely lacking in energy. Thursday I felt better, so I went for a long bike ride (25 km) around town, did a lot of baking and housecleaning and then went for a longish walk (7 km) in the early evening. After that I was completely wiped out and on Friday I felt worse than ever. Yesterday, Saturday, I felt slightly better -- short bike ride and longish walk.

As I rode my bike through the woods, I saw patches of these flowers. As flowers go, I can't say that I find these particularly attractive, but as a sign of spring, they are beautiful beyond compare! According to my Alberta Wayside Flowers book, they are called Arctic Sweet-Colt's-Foot and are good to eat, unless you're a pregnant woman.

sign of spring in the woods nearby

My plan for today is to stick to a shorter ride around town, but I'm thinking that tomorrow I'll head for the hills and try to get in 50-60 km.

I did take my new-to-me Vita in to the bike shop to have them check it over and replace the rear brake pads and cables. They also attached a back rack and fender. Now the bike is in tiptop shape and I hope to ride it all the way into the city to work on Thursday. I'm not really sure what to expect of riding in at 6:30 a.m. -- traffic? temperature? wind? -- but I figure it's worth a try. If it is a horrible experience, I'll just continue  my system of driving in to the west end and cycling the rest of the way. But if it goes well, I'll try to do it more regularly -- maybe every Thursday.

I'm trying to get somewhat organized for starting the next session, but it's always hard to know what the classes will be like -- how many students I'll have, what levels, etc. Maybe that's a good thing, as it means I can't spend my whole time off trying to prepare. I do know I'll continue with the idiom lists, which the students love, and I found a good news story -- about people finding unexpected "treasures" and returning them to the owners -- to start us off.

And some good news for my first week back to work -- apparently the 95th Avenue bike lanes have been repainted! I noticed they were looking a little worse for wear and was wondering whether they were on their way out. Since I've seen other cyclists using them and even saw an elderly man in a motorized wheelchair zipping along, I know I am not the only one to be happy about this!

signs, signs, everywhere signs

One of the things I enjoy about riding my bike and walking so much is that I have time to notice things I wouldn't otherwise notice.

Like this sign on the side wall of a pawn shop. 

I love the "also anything of value." 

Presumably value-less items like Jewellry - Car - TV - VCR  & Quality Furniture are taken out of the goodness of the pawnbroker's heart.

 And this sign made me pause. A seniors' centre for those aged 45+?

Hmm. It is for real, according to their web site.

 As an English instructor, I always appreciate subject-verb agreement -- especially on signs paid for by taxpayers.

 And this sign that appeared in 2012, stating that the new building would be opening in Fall 2011, made me laugh out loud:

My most recent favourite is courtesy of the west division police station. Last spring their changeable sign read, 

"Spring is here. Please watch for all cyclists."

That made me chuckle. 

As opposed to only some cyclists? I wondered.

Well, obviously I was not the only one who thought last year's wording was substandard, because this year the sign admonishes:

"Spring is here. Please watch for cyclists of all kinds."

 I guess the wordsmith here subscribes to the belief that a change is as good as an improvement.

Spring has sprung

Time off this week, and perfect weather, with above-zero temps and sunshine in the forecast.

Today it's about +6 and sunny, so I went for a ride on the trails around town. 13 km means I cover all the main trails, some parts a couple of times. There's also one stretch on the road by the golf course. On that stretch I was riding west and really felt the wind. But it's a warm wind and is helping to dry up the puddles, so I won't complain. 

There are plenty of puddles. I actually had to stop and back up out of one; it was simply too deep and had too much ice under the water. My boots got covered with mud spatter and my socks were soaked.

I stopped off at Safeway for some grapefruit and strawberries. My grapefruit-a-day habit paid off again this winter, as I didn't get any colds or flu, so I need to keep a steady supply. And I'm glad to see strawberries in season again.

Before I left for my bike ride, Maggie was begging to go for a walk, and the minute I showed up at the side door with my bike, she was on my case asking to go. So I took her for a 5 km walk.

Now it's back to the coursework for my Test Prep class -- slowly but surely I'm getting the assignments finished. My goal is to finish off the course this week. Then next time I have a week off (in May), maybe I can go travelling.

first ride of winter

Although it's much too soon, it's inevitable -- SNOW! My winter bike is still at the bike shop undergoing some surgery, but I was dying to get out for a ride today, so I used Youngest Son's mountain bike. 

It's not the most comfy ride, but it worked. I had to use the old one-foot-on-the-ground-pushing-the-bike-along trick on some of the smoother ice patches, but all in all it was a pretty decent first winter ride. I rode about 5 km on the trails through the woods, enjoying the sound of birds singing in the trees and the sight of sunlight and shadows.

It started out kind of cold, but by the time I got back, it was warmer and I decided to take Maggie out for a walk. She loves this cold, but not too cold, weather and skips along happily. She was especially happy when we saw a fox on the trail behind our house. It stood for a while, staring at us, then trotted off into the woods.

Last night I also sweet-talked Hubby into trying to fit my clipless pedals onto the stationary bike. It worked, and it was easy, so I am all set for indoor winter workouts. Around here, at least for me, riding outdoors in winter isn't a predictable workout. I simply can't maintain a consistent speed on ice and snow. This type of riding is more of an exercise in balance, dexterity, ingenuity -- and just plain survival.

weekend

It was an interesting weekend, with both good and bad points. 

On Friday, I went to the home of a former student to see her new baby. He is adorable, of course, and we had a fun time. Her sister-in-law, two other former students, and one current student were also there, and there was lots of good food and laughter. I drove into my parking spot on the west end and rode Beatrice over to her place, which is near the Mis.

Saturday morning I saw that there was a snowfall warning in the forecast. So, I decided to take advantage of the temporarily nice weather and go for a ride. Now, when I say "nice weather" I mean that in relative terms. The temp was +5 and it was cloudy and windy. But for early November in this area, that is pretty good. So I rode about 25 km. I didn't go out in the country, just rode around town. If I ride on the trails and on the streets at the north end of town, I can avoid most traffic lights and get up a decent speed, so it's a good alternative when the weather is iffy. 

And of course, the trails are pretty, too. At this time of year the larches, or tamaracks, have shed their needles, and in places the trail is covered with gold.

larch trees - October

And then around noon, the snow started to fall. Even so, I rode Miranda over to the bike shop to ask about getting winter tires put on. My idea was to have a back-up bike for winter cycling. I left the bike there and Bike Shop Guy said they will work on it as they have time, getting it ready for when I go back to work on the 12th. 

When I got home, I noticed an empty spot in the yard where Clyde had been stabled. Yes, someone stole my sturdy, but indubitably ugly, winter bike. I was not pleased. I have to admit that I must be a slow learner. After all, someone stole my blue step-through bike from the same spot. BUT, in my defense, my son's friend left his bike in that very same spot for about 4 weeks during the summer and no one took it. Admittedly, Clyde has those eye-catching yellow forks and brand-new hand grips. But still, what kind of person walks into another person's yard and takes a bike? I can only hope it was someone who truly needed a bike and not someone who just wanted to go for a joy ride and then ditch it.

I was doubly glad I had decided to get Miranda ready for winter riding.

The snow fell all day and into the evening. When we took Maggie out for a walk, it had turned to freezing rain, making the sidewalks dangerously slippery, so we didn't go far. I finished exercising on the treadmill.

Sunday we woke up to a 10-cm thick blanket of snow, and it was still snowing. Definitely a stay-at-home kind of day, especially when I didn't have a bike equipped with knobby tires. In the evening we took Maggie out and slipped and slid our way on the icy sidewalks to the library to drop off some stuff(4.5 km.) Another treadmill workout followed. 

I also used my stationary bike, applying some of what I've learned from riding outdoors and reading about riding. I did the "Speed Interval" workout, which consists of three-minute low-resistance segments followed by one-minute of high resistance. When the resistance was low, I worked on keeping my cadence over 100 and on the high-resistance sections, I tried to keep it around 75-80. Thirty minutes of this (after 8 km on the treadmill) made for a decent workout. All while watching that stupid movie, Angels and Demons. My students had told me they liked it, so I felt obligated to check it out. It`s a good thing I had something else to do while I watched, or I would never have lasted. 

I'm going to see if I can put my clipless pedals on the stationary bike. I don't know if they'll fit, but if they do, it will be a good use for them.

This weekend I also read a mystery novel that takes place in Edmonton. The title is Hang Down Your Head (by Janice MacDonald) and it centers around the Edmonton Folk Festival, which I've never attended and don't think I want to attend. I'd no doubt enjoy some of the music, but I wouldn't enjoy the line-ups and the crowds. It was kind of cool to read a book set in familiar surroundings. The heroine of the story lives near Whyte Ave and cycles for transportation, but her attitude makes me feel pretty bad-ass. She walks her bike up from the River Valley, saying, "The day I ride up a River Valley hill will be the day hell freezes over." Well, I ride up a River Valley hill every day when I commute to work -- and love it.

October's bright blue weather

  

O suns and skies and clouds of June,
And flowers of June together,
Ye cannot rival for one hour
October's bright blue weather.

(Helen Hunt Jackson)

Today was another bright blue day -- interspersed with cloudy periods and even a light sprinkle of rain at one point. Hubby had a job west of Wabamun, so I decided to ride Milly out and meet him. I rode along the quiet and beautiful Parkland Drive, enjoying the colourful trees lining the road. My ride was about 45 km, not one of my longer rides, but I have a bit of a cold, so I felt like that was enough.

I did have to ride on the Yellowhead about about 12 km. That was less than enjoyable, as there is construction right now and of course the traffic is fairly heavy. But the shoulders are nice and wide, so it is easy riding. 

The temperature was about 14 C, which is ideal riding weather, and there was a light but steady west wind to offer a bit of challenge. I can't say this was my favourite ride ever, but it was kind of fun and something different.

Yesterday morning I tried to go for a ride -- got all ready to go and started off, but I was way too cold and ended up coming back. Then in the afternoon, the wind picked up (about 40 km/hr) so I didn't end up riding much -- just to Superstore and the bike shop in search of some warmer but still slim-fitting gloves. We did go for a nice long walk in the evening, after the wind had calmed down a bit, so at least I wasn't completely idle, but I did miss riding. So I was glad to get out for a ride today.

happy trails

Today I just rode Silver around town, doing some grocery shopping and enjoying yet another beautiful day. I rode on the trails to the library, where I dropped off some books, and then took the long way back to Superstore.

As a rule, I try to be charitable to my fellow human beings, but honestly, I felt like today was Idiots' Day Out. The first dimwit I came across was not even human; it was a big fat ginger cat, crouched in the shrubbery on the other side of the trail. As I approached, it decided to get up and move, and it walked right in front of me -- if I hadn't hit the brakes, I would have hit the cat. I had to wonder how it has survived this long!

A little farther on, there was a group of walkers: 2 women, 2 children, a wagon, and a dog. Coming towards me, they were strung out across the trail. Do you think anyone moved? No, sir. I had to slow to a crawl and move to the very edge of the trail to get past them.  Around the next bend came two women with their teeny tiny dogs. Cute dogs. But, instead of both moving right, they split up -- one woman and dog went to the right side of the trail, the other to the left, forcing me to ride between them. Then there were the men in their motorized wheelchairs. Three of them, blocking the path, had stopped to chat. Did they move over? No; once again, I was forced to go to the extreme left to ride around them. And last, but not least, was the fat guy with headphones. Kudos to him for getting out and walking. Although, at the speed he walked, he wasn't burning many more calories than if he sat and twiddled his thumbs. But he was moving, I'll give him that. My complaint? He had his head down, eyes on the ground, and with his headphones preventing him from hearing anything, he had no idea I was coming. Walking right in the middle of the path. I rang my bell, but of course he didn't hear, so again, I had to slow dramatically and carefully ride around his massive presence.
 
Even the inanimate living things were conspiring against me today -- as I smoked along on the winding uphill path, I had to hit the brakes again and lift my bike over a big tree that had fallen across the trail. Last night, the wind was a little bit extreme: 50 gusting to 80 km/hour. And it took out a couple of trees -- the one I that almost did me in, and farther along another one.

The temperature was around 21 C, but it was a bit windy, so I was wearing a light sweater on top of my T-shirt. By the time I got to Superstore and got the bike locked up, I was hot. No peaches at Superstore, and the produce in general didn't look too appetizing, so I hopped back on the bike and rode to Safeway. On my way there and back, I saw that the peace officers had a nice little speed trap going, with what seemed to be a steady stream of clients. 


We went for a walk in the evening, meeting up with Ginger Cat again. I think it spends all its waking hours hanging out in the woods. What a life!

backing and forth

The title of this post comes from an email I received from one of my students, a sweet older man from South Korea. He was telling me about his wife's mother, who had been very sick, then got better unexpectedly, then got sick again -- in his words, backing and forth all the time. My sympathy was sincere: in the two and a half years before she died, my mom also did plenty of backing and forth, so I know how hard that is on everyone involved.

Yesterday I did some backing and forth myself.

I began by riding Beatrice to the bike shop, intending to have the clipless pedals removed and replaced with regular pedals. I expected the replacement pedals to cost about $10-15. Was I in for a surprise! To get anything of decent quality, I'd have to spend at least $50 and to get the ones that last forever, I could spend more than $100. Upon hearing this, I told the guy that I would rather buy dual-purpose (clipless/platform) pedals for my road bike and put the pedals currently on my road bike on Beatrice. (I didn't call her Beatrice in front of him.) I also wanted a back rack mounted on Beatrice, so I left her there and walked back home (3 km) to get Milly, my road bike.

I rode Milly to the bike shop, discussed a few things, including the new brake pads and the front brakes, with the guy (he was quite impressed with my installation of the new rear brake pads) -- and made arrangements: they would take the pedals off Milly and put them on Beatrice and outfit Milly with the dual-purpose pedals, which were only $47.00. They would also adjust Milly's saddle, raising it a tad and leveling it. I was pretty happy with this and upon being told that it would take about half an hour, I went for a walk on the nearby trails, stopping in at the library to renew my library card.

When I went back to the bike shop, both of my bikes were ready. I rode Milly home, testing out the clipless pedals -- they are great -- and then walked back again to pick up Beatrice. At this point, I remembered the cadence magnet I had requested, so I asked about that. They had one that actually straps onto the crank, a much better arrangement than my old magnet, so I was happy with that, too. The guy even strapped it on for me and checked to make sure it worked.

I then rode Beatrice home, for a total of more than 20 km of backing and forth.

It was a hot day: 29 degrees and humid. My original plan was to go for an afternoon bike ride after I'd finished with all the adjustments, but after all the backing and forth I was so hot that I copped out.

Another walk in the evening, just after sunset, with Hubby and Maggie, brought my grand total for the day to 26.5 km. A relaxing day, but a lot accomplished. More than just backing and forth.

ride leader in training

When I first started road cycling I read a few books about the sport. One thing that struck me as kind of funny was that a ride leader is expected to call out words of warning to those behind, thus informing them of hazards such as potholes, gravel, ridges in the pavement, etc. Well, around here, it might be more noteworthy to encounter uniformly smooth pavement. Otherwise, it is best to assume that There Will be Hazards.This is particularly true on the 106 Street bike lane in Edmonton. I laughed when I rode on the northerly portions of this lane. A ride leader would quickly become breathless from calling out, "Pothole!" "Another pothole!" "Gravel!" "Pothole, pothole, pothole!"

I also laughed the other day when I was out for a walk with Maggie on the trails here in town. A boy on a bike rode past, carefully moving as far left as he could to stay out of my way. He then called back, "Watch out for the person! Stay right!" -- and I watched as four other young riders obediently fell into single file behind him. 

I was especially taken with "the person." Was he merely being scrupulously politically correct? Or could he really not tell whether I was a man or a woman?

Or perhaps he wanted to say, "Watch out for the lady," but had learned from my 1st year French prof, Father O'Brien, that chaque dame est une femme, mais chaque femme n'est pas une dame.  (Every lady is a woman, but not every woman is a lady.) 

Incidentally, Father O'Brien also taught us: "Chez moi ou chez toi?" (My place or yours?)

And he taught us this song (we learned the first version.) He was a pretty cool guy and definitely knew how to make learning French fun for first-year university students.

[Chevaliers de la Table ronde
Allons voir si le vin est bon] [bis]

[Allons voir, oui, oui, oui
Allons voir, non, non, non

Allons voir si le vin est bon] [bis]

- 2 -
[J'en boirai cinq à six bouteilles
Une femme sur mes genoux] [bis]

[Une femme, oui, oui, oui
Une femme, non, non, non
Une femme sur mes genoux] [bis]*

back in time...

 

...to the land of the dinos. Today we went with Son #2, Daughter-in-Law and Little Granddaughter to Jurassic Forest. They had free passes through the military, so we tagged along.

Of course, I went by bike. It was 71.81 km north and west of here. I began by riding my usual northerly route to the airport and then ventured into unexplored territory, taking Highway 44 north from Villeneuve. The shoulders on this road are nice and wide, but beware the sand-trap at Inland Concrete: the shoulder at the plant entrance is covered with a thick layer of gravel and fine sand. For my flat bar road bike, gravel is not usually much of a problem. Sand is another matter. I made it safely through the dunes, but it was a bit nerve-wracking. I do like the look of this huge plant, though, with its enormous catwalks and sky-scraping mounds of various concrete-creating materials.

At the junction with Highway 37, I headed west. This is another good highway for cycling, with wide, debris-free shoulders. The scenery along here is beautiful right now, with the vivid greens of the spruce trees and grains and the bright-yellow canola.

I expected an almost completely flat ride, so was quite surprised to see this sign:

It made me a little nervous. I am not a big fan of riding down large hills, especially when they also require a sign like this:

But, all went well -- the hill was not nearly as dramatic as these signs would lead one to believe. I didn't exactly pedal like mad to increase my speed as I descended, but I didn't brake constantly either.
And the uphill on the other side was a breeze, especially compared to the hills I ride around here.

After riding west for quite awhile along Highway 37, I finally came to Highway 28, where I turned north. This road's shoulders are almost like another lane -- a cyclist's dream. The pavement is smooth; there is no almost no gravel and traffic is fairly light. The road is pleasantly curvy and mostly flat, with a few small hills (and another rating the truck sign) to break up the monotony.

A few surprises along this route: Several dog-boarding facilities with charming names: Blackpaws Pet Resort, Wagging Tails Pet Resort, The Ranch Kennels. Appealing names attempt to hide the real theme of these places: Abandon hope, all ye [canines] who enter here.

A U-pick apple orchard -- in northern Alberta? Who knew? Several U-pick berry farms.

A golf course called Terrae Pines. This sign, as Hercule Poirot would say, gave me furiously to think as I rode along. Did they leave out the "c" in "terrace"? Impossible! (French accent.) Is it a feeble attempt to translate "Land of Pines" into Latin? Maybe it's someone's name? Whatever. Do place names always have to make sense?

Then there was the Moonlight Hotel, coupled with the Double Dragon Chinese restaurant, in Bon Accord. Almost tempting. I glimpsed cemetery gates at Namao and Bon Accord -- again, somewhat enticing. The Bon Accord cemetery was established in 1905. It might merit a visit on another day.

When I came to the turn-off for the town of Gibbons I was stumped. I'd printed directions from Google Maps, but they didn't make a lot of sense, so I called Hubby. He and Teenage Son were still on their way, so they stopped to pick me up. It was a good thing, as the entrance road to the park is large-chunk gravel, not at all suitable for cycling.

It was a gorgeous day. I had a hard time deciding how to dress, but chose just the right combination of clothing -- I wore my longer cycling shorts and a short-sleeved jersey with a thin long-sleeved jersey on top. If necessary, I planned to take off the top layer and stuff it in one of my pockets. But I wasn't too hot and I wasn't too cold -- I was just right. The temperature was about 12 degrees when I started and around 18 at the end, and the sun was shining most of the time. The above photo was taken on the drive home. (Sadly, I had what must be bad batteries in my camera, so I couldn't take any photos on my way.)

The Jurassic Forest park is kind of cute, set in a lovely cool old-growth forest and peopled by mechanized dinosaurs. Little Granddaughter, at six months, wasn't quite ready to appreciate it yet. When our boys were younger they would have loved it. For adults, it's just a nice walk on a beautifully-made boardwalk.

And for some adults, it's an excuse to take a nice long bike ride.

Fort Edmonton

Today Teenage Son, Hubby and I went to Fort Edmonton with #2 Son, Daughter-in-Law and Little Granddaughter.

I left here at about 8:45 and rode Miranda to Edmonton. This was a first for me. Yes. Although we have lived here for more than 13 years, I have never before ridden my bike into the city. I did try once, many years ago. #2 Son and I set out with good intentions, but made it only to the overpass across the train tracks (about 5 km out of town) before I got a flat tire. We didn't have a spare tube or any tools with us, so we called Hubby to pick us up, and that was that. Since then I have thought many times about riding in, but until today I didn't actually make it happen.

It was a good ride: 24.5 km from our house to the parking spot in Callingwood. It was not exactly warm, but at 15 degrees and with a light northwest wind, it was very pleasant riding weather. I rode on 16A and Anthony Henday, then took 87 Avenue to the multi-use pathway that winds south to the pedestrian overpass across the Whitemud. When I arrived at the parking spot, I saw that my average speed was exactly 29 km/hour. This included stopping at numerous stop signs and red lights, so I thought that wasn't too bad. I didn't ride hard, but didn't slack either, so it was a comfortable speed. Next time (yes, I am already thinking ahead) I'll try to go faster.

This was the first time I have ridden any significant distance without any real hills. I thought it would be boring, but it wasn't, and the various landmarks -- the unofficial used car and RV lot; the highway 60 exit; the landfill -- went by quickly. Although this ride is not nearly as picturesque as my north country rides, it was surprisingly enjoyable, and I'm glad I broke the ice and finally did it.

I met up with Hubby and Teenage Son at the Callingwood parking lot, and from there we rode through Wolf Willow into the ravine. Now, that was an adventure. I knew we had to go down some stairs. So we did. At the bottom, I expected to turn right, but the trail didn't give us that option. Fortunately, just then a woman came by with her dog and I asked her for directions. Turns out we had gone down the wrong stairs. "You want the 200 stairs," she said. Great!

About face, carry bikes up stairs (maybe 50?) and head for the other set of stairs. Two hundred stairs is a lot of stairs! Especially when you have to carry a bike. But we made it down and crossed a small bridge and came to yet another obstacle: a washed-out section of trail. Dismount yet again; carry bikes through the crater left by the floodwaters. Once we were finally on the right trail, all went smoothly and we came to the Fort Edmonton footbridge. From there it's just a short ride to the Fort itself, where we met the others.

We had a great time walking around the park, looking at the historical buildings, eating together and enjoying Little Granddaughter's happy smiles.

After we got home, I decided to take a spin on my vintage ten-speed. I just rode to the end of the trail and back again -- maybe a twenty-minute ride -- but somehow along the way I managed to lose my cell phone. When I realized I had dropped it, I had to decide: do I retrace my ride, or just go home and wait for the phone call? I decided on the latter course, and it turned out I chose well: as I was putting my bike in the rack, I could hear the phone ringing inside the house. Sure enough, it was the guy who had found my phone. He lives just up the street, so we took Maggie for a walk and stopped at his house along the way. What would this world be like without neighbours like him?

Now it's time to finish laundry and do some house-cleaning.

west wind to the rescue

About a week ago, I heard a meteorologist say that part of the reason we've had so much rain lately is that instead of the prevailing west wind, the wind has been from the east, meaning that the storms and rain clouds are blown towards the mountains and trapped in this area, just west of the mountains. She said that once the wind changed to a west wind, the weather would improve.

That change has occurred at last! On Tuesday evening, as we were driving home from the city after an all-day rain, I noticed that the clouds were moving east -- in other words, the wind was from the west. And we finally have clear skies and warm temperatures again.

On Tuesday, as hinted above, it rained literally all day. I didn't ride my bike at all. If I'd been working, I would have ridden to work despite the rain, but since I didn't have to go anywhere, I didn't. I felt pretty lazy, but I figure it's okay to skip a day occasionally.

Wednesday was windy, so much so that I was afraid to ride on the country roads. On Monday while I was riding east, a gust of wind came from the north and actually swept me sideways. That was scary. But the wind that day was nothing compared to yesterday. So, on Wednesday, after taking Maggie for a 7K morning walk, I rode Miranda around the town. I took the long way to the library, and as I rode north I was swept sideways three times by that mighty west wind. When I arrived at the library, a man who was sweeping the sidewalks asked me whether I'd had to pedal at all, or whether the wind simply blew me along. Yes, it was windy all right. From there I rode west as far as I could, then back to the trails and up to Superstore, where I loaded up on fruit and vegetables. My total distance was about 20 km, so not too bad for an in-town ride. Hubby and I also took Maggie for another walk in the evening, so I made sure to get plenty of exercise.

a scented ride

Today I didn't go out of town for a bike ride. I find that when I ride a lot I have trouble keeping the weight on, and I was feeling a bit skinny today. So I decided to go for a shorter, less intense ride. I rode about 18 km on the trails and streets, and it seemed like everywhere I rode, I saw -- and smelled -- these white blossoms on the trees. It sure beats manure, a scent I encounter occasionally on my country rides.

 

I rode to the library, via the multi-use paths, to return some stuff and then rode on the new road near the golf course, where I spent many hours skiing this past winter. It looks like a different world these days. Then I rode as far west as I could, to the new school, and then back to the woods, up the trail and home.

 

  After I got home, I took the dog for a walk. Hubby has been bothered by allergies the last few days, and walking is miserable for him, so it was just me and Maggie today. I loved the look of the sunlight highlighting the yellow-gold lichens on these trees.

around town

21 degrees! Sunshine! A perfect day for a 50 to 60 km ride on country roads. Except for the fact that I am still suffering from a very sore tailbone.

I googled "tailbone injury" first thing this morning and got some good news and some bad news. 

The good news: 

• if you've injured your tailbone, you are not supposed to sit for long periods. My kind of injury! I've never been one to sit around.

The bad news:

• you are supposed to rest, meaning not doing anything that causes pain. For me, this includes long, fast bike rides; long, fast walks; many bendy-twisty yoga moves; body weight squats; and various other exercises.

The other very, very bad news:

• such an injury can take 4-8 weeks to heal.

I am optimistic and assume it will be more like 3-4 weeks, and since I can ride my bike on short trips without pain, I will continue to do that, but for this weekend at least, I'll avoid the 50-60 km rides. Maybe next weekend.

So, today I just rode around town, doing errands and enjoying the beautiful weather and the smiling faces on people I passed. 

I rode to the dry cleaners to drop off two pairs of wool pants, a wool skirt and my red silk dress. Dry cleaning is seriously expensive! $45 gone, just like that. 

I rode to the bike shop to see about getting fenders for my commuter bike. Turns out I'll need a rack/fender combo, which they are going to order for me. Rack/fender combos are expensive! Another $60 gone. 

I rode to the library to return a DVD. Libraries are still free! 

I stopped at our local thrift shop, which I haven't visited for about a year. I found a roll of rose-print flannelette to make a blanket for Baby Zoe. Thrift shops are cheap! $4 for 3 meters of fabric -- score!

I rode to Superstore for a few groceries. When I pulled up to the bike rack, I almost thought I was in Amsterdam:

There was even a red bike with MEC panniers in the largest size available -- that made me smile. 

My tailbone didn't give me any trouble, except when I rode up this short, steep hill just before my house. It's a good thing the climb lasted less than a minute.

We also took the dog for a walk. The way she acted, you'd think it was 41 degrees instead of 21. The first puddle she came to, she flopped herself down and luxuriated in the cool water. She did this three times altogether and would have done it even more often if we'd let her. That's a creature who really knows how to enjoy life.