Fully Vaxxed, Half-Assed Plans

In retrospect, I suppose that going for a 50-kilometre bike ride wasn't the best idea after having received my second vaccination against COVID-19, and yet, on the road I went.

I mean, after my first jab, in which I received the AstraZenica vaccine, I managed to get some chores done around the house, go for a 30-km ride, and grill up some dinner before the side effects kicked in, before the chills, aches, and headache hit me like a ton of bricks and had me in bed from a Saturday night to Monday morning.

When I received my second dose on Saturday—this time, the Pfizer mRNA vaccine—a woman who was in the waiting area, after the dose, told me that her husband had also received mixed doses and had reacted badly, several hours later.

Hearing that, I wanted to get my ride in, lest I be unable to do it later. I was almost 20 percent into my Icelandic virtual Ring Road challenge, and I wanted to log enough distance that, should the vaccine take me out of action for a day or two, I would still be on schedule.

A 50K ride ought to do the trick.

For a couple of weeks, DW and I have ridden part of the Osgoode Trail, heading south from Manotick Station Road until we approached the village of Osgoode, about 25 kilometres south of Ottawa. On our first ride, we took the trail as far as Snake Island Road, before heading toward Nixon Road, crossing over the Rideau River, and following Rideau Valley Drive, north, to Manotick and onward, home. Total distance, 48.5 kms.

The next time that we took this route, we continued on the Osgoode Trail to its end, on the main street of the village. We then headed toward Nixon Road, just a bit further south from where we met it the previous weekend, and headed north and took the rest of the route home. Total distance, 52.21 kms.

When I headed out on Saturday, my plan was to complete the same route but to cut out the part that I usually take at the end of all my rides, where I cut through Longfields-Davidson Heights. That would reduce the distance to an even 50K.

Saturday's ride.

The ride started off well enough. There were steady winds but nothing to complain about. I made it to Manotick, rode along Mitch Owens Road to Manotick Station Road, and got on Osgoode Trail. But as I reached Osgoode, my butt was beginning to ache. This was unusual, as I can generally ride more than 50K before my saddle begins to get to me, and I was only about halfway done my ride.

Making my way to the Rideau River, my lower back was also beginning to ache. The wind had picked up, but again, I knew that I could usually handle it.

Halfway between Kars and Manotick, I started to worry. My shoulders were aching and my lower back was really becoming a problem. I started standing on my pedals, lifting my butt off the seat. And about a kilometre or so south of Manotick, I stopped along the side of the road and called DW.

"How are you feeling?" I asked her. Just a couple of hours before I received my second shot, DW had received her jab. We are now fully vaccinated, both with one shot of AZ and another of Pfizer mRNA.

"Fine," she said, "how are you?"

"Not fine," I said. "I'm getting aches all over. I don't think I can make it home."

"Where are you?"

"I'm just south of Manotick. I'm sure that I can make it there but I don't want to go further. I'll meet you at the Morning Owl Café."

"Is this your way of getting me to come out for a treat?"

By the time I reached the café, they were minutes away from closing. In order to minimize the cleaning they would have to do after serving me, I ordered a lemonade. I sat on one of their picnic tables, outside and next to my bike, and watched for DW's arrival. I was still aching but after being off my bike, I wasn't as sore.

Total ride distance: 40.94 kms.

When we got home, I showered and felt a bit achy, but not too bad. We ordered Chinese food and I watched an episode of The Expanse in my bedroom while DW and the kids watched Drag Race Down Under in our family room. Sometime after the second episode started, I fell asleep.

DW woke me up about a half hour later and suggested we go for a walk. I was feeling better and so far, she felt no effects from the vaccine, apart from a sore arm. I grabbed my camera and we drove to Britannia Beach, where we watched the sunset. (Photos coming for Wordless Wednesday.)

That evening, I went to bed with a sore arm that is still annoying me at the time of writing. But DW didn't fare as well. All night long, she tossed and turned, had chills, aches, and a headache. Several times in the night, she'd accidentally smack me in the face, waking me. But she awoke, Sunday morning, feeling somewhat better.

We're both vaxxed, and that's a load off our minds. Three out of four of us have received both shots, with our oldest kid waiting to be eligible for her next jab (our youngest got her shots because she was volunteering at a dental office).

This doesn't mean we're invincible. We will still want to keep our distance from strangers and wear a mask in public. But it does mean that we can see the light at the end of this very long tunnel.

And I'm back on my bike, later today.