Active Summer Plans

Now that the snow is finally starting to melt in earnest (it still has a long way to go in my front yard), my mind starts to think about two things: getting my bike on the road and my kayak in the water.

I wasn't particularly active in the winter. I did some snowshoeing and, of course, a lot of shovelling; though, 15 to 30 minutes of heaving snow doesn't exactly say intense workout. That said, I almost always worked up a sweat.

I didn't spend much time on my bike last year. Because I was dealing with lung issues, I only went for a few rides and I don't think I rode my usual 42-kilometre route—something I used to refer to as my "short ride." Last year, I don't think I did any rides that were that long.

Of course, DW and I got out in our kayaks almost every weekend. But I don't consider that to be a workout: the most exertion is placed when I'm lifting the kayak off the roof of the car and putting it back up.

Rarely do DW and I dig in hard when we paddle, and if we do, it's not for very long. Kayaking is a leisurely, relaxing activity.

But starting last week, I've had to put some time into getting in shape. DW and I have planned some trips for the summer and I need to start training because these are active summer plans.

Our first trip will be in June. We're planning to cycle the P'tit Train du Nord, a 234-km route from Mont-Laurier, which is in Québec, about 200 km north of Ottawa, to Saint-Jérôme, near Montréal.

We'll take four days to cycle along this reclaimed railway line, passing small towns, lakes, and rivers. Two friends will be riding with us.

I've already started training, riding on my indoor spin bike until the roads are clear and clean enough to use my road bike, which will hopefully be in a few weeks. By that time, I'm hoping to be in shape enough to start out with my "short ride."

As I've mentioned in a previous post, we've also booked a campsite along the shore of Lake Superior, where we'll do a two-week excursion. We'll spend a few days at a provincial park, getting used to the water, before heading up to Rossport, from where we'll head out and explore the islands on the northern end of this massive lake, setting up camp wherever we can find a spot.

Assuming we survive that trek, we're also talking about cycling the 200-km Blueberry route around Lac-Saint-Jean, just north of the Saguenay. We had planned to ride this cycle trail last year, with some friends, but two injuries in two couples meant that we were going to postpone that trip.

Instead, DW and I went our own way and paddled the Jacques-Cartier River. We have no regrets.

There's no doubt that this is going to be one active summer. But DW and I figure that we need to use it before we lose it. We have only so many years left where we can be this active.

We can take less-strenuous vacations when our bones, joints, and muscles force us to slow down.