Spin v. Road

Without a doubt, if given the opportunity to cycle on my road bike or on my spin bike, the choice is very simple: I'd choose the road bike every time.

But this choice brings some pros and cons, and because I've spent a lot of time on both, this year, with my virtual challenges, I've given a lot of thought to each and have started wondering, have I chosen the right exercise vehicle?

Of course, the biggest advantage of the spin bike is that it's an all-weather machine. Snow, rain, wind, and extreme heat and humidity are not a factor. My bedroom is always dry and mild. I don't have to contend with the elements. And, as an added bonus, I can watch TV while I spin.

But on a beautiful day, nothing beats being outdoors. Fresh air, mixed with the beauty of the scenery (living in Ottawa, there's no shortage of scenic beauty). However, with spring cycling, the pollen in the air is the cost of taking in the blossoming beauty, and I have to remember to take allergy meds before I hit the road, lest I suffer for hours afterwards.

(Sadly, I've forgotten the meds far too many times this season.)

I've mapped out a couple of routes that have become my staples, depending on how far I want to peddle. I have a 29-kilometre route (left image, below), which I typically take most mornings when I don't want to spend much more than an hour on the road, before work. I also have a 50-km route (centre image, below), which I take on weekends, when I have a bit more time in the morning. And I've plotted a 40K route (right image, below) for those in-between days, when 29 klicks don't seem like enough and 50 seem too long.

The 40-km route may become my standard route. It's basically my 29K route with an extra 11 kilometres that take me further south, on First Line Road, to Kars, and north, on Rideau Valley Road, back to Manotick.

(Actually, all of my routes include elements of the 29K route.)

These routes take me on country roads to the south and west of my neighbourhood and are very scenic. But in parts, they involve a bit of risk, as some speed limits are 80 km/h and some drivers see that as a minimum. Some of these roads aren't in the best of shape, with either no paved shoulder or where the shoulder is so broken up that I'm forced to cycle on the road.

Some roads have no shoulder and are so broken up on the edge that I have to move out into the middle of the road.

On my spin bike, I never have to make a lane change, never have to check behind me for approaching cars or faster cyclists. I don't have to deal with flat tires (I've had enough of those over the years, with the latest blowout stopping me last week). The biggest risk I face indoors is if a cat gets into the room and tries to get close to me. (I've accidentally hit two of our cats with my pedals, as they've dashed under me faster than I could come to a stop.)

The important thing for me to remember is that no matter whether I use my road bike or my spin bike, I'm getting lots of exercise—more than I've ever had in a six-month period.

Spin bike or road bike. Either way, I'm moving forward.

Parting Shot

When I want to take a sunset photo, there are only a few places that I consider but almost all of them are along the Ottawa River.

Of course, I'd love to be on a tropical beach for sunset, but this Ottawa lad is being realistic.

My go-to place tends to be Andrew Haydon Park, where Holly Acres Road meets Carling Avenue, nestled between the neighbourhoods of Bayshore and Lakeview Park. I always park in the east parking lot, as close to the eastern path as possible. From there, it's a short walk to the eastern pond, where, in my opinion, is the best place to capture sunset.

There are beautiful trees on the opposite banks of this pond, and a wooden windmill turns effortlessly in the breeze that blows in from the river. They cast a perfect silhouette and reflection.

Last Sunday, after dinner, I grabbed my two D-SLRs and headed to this park to capture the sunset. I've barely snapped any sunset photos all year—save for a couple on my smartphone and one evening in January. And, since January, this was the first time that I had specifically set out to capture the sunset.

Expectedly, the park was busy, but not so busy that I could keep my distance from others. And, once off the path, by the side of the pond, no one was near me and I felt I could take my mask off.

Also, as expected, the view was beautiful and the lighting promised for great sunset shots. I'll share those, next Wednesday, as they aren't the focus of my Photo Friday.

As soon as the sun dropped below the treetops across the river, I made my way back to the car. Though I had brought my tripod to the site, I wasn't planning to take any blue-hour photos, especially because the bugs were out and were likely to be hungry.

I'm a mosquito magnet.

As I crossed a small footbridge to get to the parking lot, I looked back toward the fading light and saw the windmill through the dense growth of trees, still glowing in warm light. I took one last parting shot.

Happy Friday!

First Vacation

It's a long way away, but it's our light at the end of the tunnel.

Both DW and I have received our first dose of the vaccine against COVID-19 and I'm hoping that I will soon have my second jab. This is the first step to returning to normalcy, though I imagine that we'll still be maintaining social distancing and wearing face masks around those who have not been fully vaccinated or the vulnerable for some time yet.

But we're hopeful that life will soon return to normal, and that includes travel.

Our 2020 vacation to Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany was cancelled early into the pandemic, but DW and I are determined to make it happen in the autumn of 2022, preferably with the same destinations and accommodations that we had painstakingly arranged for last year's vacation. But we want to travel as soon as it's safe to do so, and that means looking for another place in the interim.

DW's and my last big vacation, together, was to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, in 2019, when we headed south, for a week on the Mayan Riviera. It was the best vacation that we had taken in many years, if not a decade.

And it was just the two of us.

We still talk about it with such fondness and we often find ourselves re-watching the video that we made during that trip. For us, it's 10 minutes that puts us back into that restful state that we felt after a day of exploring, when we relaxed near the pool or on the beach, sipping margaritas.

Ahh...

Ever since we've returned from that vacation, DW has been watching for deals in Mexico, hoping to relive the magic of that trip. Of course, COVID got in the way.

But now that we're on the road to being vaccinated, now that a return to normal is moving closer, DW has started looking for deals again. And she's found a few.

And so, next February, if all continues to look like the pandemic will be under control, we're returning to the Mayan Riviera.

At first, DW was looking at a deal for an all-inclusive resort on the island of Cozumel, but I told her that I wanted to be free to explore on the mainland, and that I didn't want to be confined to an island. We did that, in 2017, in Cuba, and I didn't want to do that again, even though Cuba and Mexico are very different countries.

I loved where we stayed in 2019, at the Bahai Principe Luxury Akumal resort. The staff was fabulous, there was so much to do, and we were also able to rent a car so that we could explore on our own. Watch the video to get an idea of our adventures.

I told DW that while I didn't want to do everything that we did in 2019, I did want to explore the Yucatan Peninsula. I wanted to explore more cenotes and I wanted to do a day trip to Chichén Itzá, where I went in 1989 on my very first trip to Mexico. And we both wanted the opportunity to swim with sea turtles again.

So DW found a deal for a highly rated resort in Akumal, on the very beach where we swam with the sea turtles. After showing me some online information about the resort, I said, "Book it!"

We have free cancellation, in case the pandemic gains ground again. But our trip is far enough that we're hoping it won't come to that.

We're looking forward to travelling again and this first vacation since the March 2020 lockdown. Next up, we start rebooking our trip to Europe. I've even looked into 2023, when we may travel the UK, and 2024, when we may return to Italy.

Oh, there's that travel bug again!

Nine-Year-Old Goofball

Ten Years

Can you believe that today marks 10 years of The Brown Knowser? I sure can't.

Two thousand, one hundred, and ninety-seven posts. Countless photos. Music. Contests. Giveaways. Rants, reviews, and raves. Fiction and reality.

This is how my brain works. This is my journey.

I once wrote that The Brown Knowser is neither a diary nor a scrapbook, but that you can take pieces of this blog and get a snapshot of the type of person that I am. I like to think that nothing has changed in that regard.

For those of you who have been with me from the very beginning, I thank you with all my heart. You have supported me through thick and thin, and I'm eternally grateful. To those of you who have only recently joined in this journey, hold tight: the ride's not nearly done.

Though I don't know what's on the road ahead, I've packed pop and sandwiches. We'll be fine.