The Lonely Trail

On the day that I started my latest virtual challenge, using my spin bike and my feet to cover the distance from Land's End, in southwest England, to John O'Groats, on the norther tip of Scotland, I was hoping that DW would join me, switching from her feet alone to sharing our spin bike and, when the weather improved, hitting the road on our bicycles.

I also invited readers of The Brown Knowser to join us, too, but knew that would be a long shot. I realize you have lives of your own.

And on the first day, DW did get on the spin bike for a few minutes, covering about three kilometres. But she stopped, telling me that because she hadn't yet finished her Camino de Santiago virtual journey, it didn't seem right to her. She was travelling with two of our friends, and she didn't want to feel like she was in two places at the same time.

She decided to stick with her gals, promising to join me as soon as she was done.

I couldn't wait. Because she and the other Bytown Blazers were completing the Camino de Santiago on foot, averaging about seven to 10 kilometres each day, it was going to take more than a month for them to finish the remainder of the 774-km trek. Indeed, they didn't finish until Sunday, April 18 (way to go, ladies!).

Because I couldn't wait, and because DW and I had already logged kilometres in England, I kept going, averaging almost 22 kms per day. As of April 25, I have clocked 1,243.37 kms of my LEJOG challenge. Last Thursday, I crossed the border from England into Scotland; as of yesterday, I've reached the town of Peebles, and Edinburgh is now only 36 kms away. If I'm feeling particularly inclined, I could reach it by the end of today.

Since I started my virtual challenges, I've covered more than 2,017 kilometres on my spin bike, my road bike, and walking both indoors and out.

I'm invigorated, and these virtual challenges have pulled me from the doldrums of the COVID-19 lockdowns. I look forward to the end of my work days, when I move into my bedroom and climb onto the spin bike. I've even tuned up my road bike and have completed a couple of short circuits. Starting this week, I'm going to go further and more frequently on my road bike, reserving my spin bike for those days where the weather is poor.

I've used my spin bike more, since January, than I've used it over the previous years that we've owned it, combined. Here's the breakdown, so far, of the distances that I've travelled for these challenges, by using the various modes of travel.

It's been a long and lonely trail. Though I watch TV while I spin and go for walks around the neighbourhood with DW, my virtual journey has had me on the trails by myself. When I punch my numbers into the app, and see where I am on the map, I imagine myself on a solitary journey. I'm like Harold Fry, in the novel by Rachel Joyce. When I'm on my bike, navigating the roads in the southern reaches of Ottawa, I'm alone, in my head.

I have fewer kilometres ahead of me than I have behind for my LEJOG challenge, and I'm looking ahead to the next. I'm going to pick a trek that is longer than the length of the UK, and have even suggested to the company that makes this app that they create a trans-Canada trail, from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Victoria, British Columbia. I've suggested major stops, and I hope that they take my suggestion to heart.

Who knows? If they don't make this trek, maybe I'll do it on my own.

For now, Scotland awaits.