Originally, we had talked about doing the regular Sunday bike trip along Colonel By drive but also heading further afield, specifically west to Lincoln Fields before turning south and intercepting the bike paths that would take us through the Experimental Farm.
It wouldn't work out that way...not this time.
We triked along the usual route, the heat of the day offset (slightly) by the slight cool of the waters around Mooney's Bay and Dow's Lake. The sounds of the cardinals (yes, they're still around) melded with the heavy buzzing noise of cicadas. I like cicadas; they say "It's the middle of summer - get out and enjoy it!!". I make it a point to note the date I hear my first cicada of the season. This year, it was July 2nd during our 80 k trip to Kanata and we've been entertained by the thickening rising - peaking - falling buzzing of these hard-to-spot bugs.
At any rate, we sped along Colonel By drive but I was finding that my legs were giving me some trouble. I did take plenty of water breaks - you really have to do that if you're exerting yourself especially in the heat. We both noticed, too, that the humidity levels weren't as low as one would have expected with the recent passage of a cold front. So, we decided to seriously change our travel plans. We triked to the canal and maneuvered through the clusters of tourists to intercept the Ottawa River bike pathway. We headed west, as originally planned, but elected to go as far as the turnoff for Remic Rapids. Once there, we decided to head back as I had had enough of the heat and humidity. So, we retraced our steps and found ourselves back at the Rideau Canal where an ice cream was clearly called for.
Travelling down the pathway, we found ourselves back at the Corktown pedestrian/cycle bridge. We glided along the top, turned along the U-twist at the very eastern edge of the bridge and got neatly deposited back onto the Colonel By drive. Of course, as it was still morning (though barely), the road was still closed to motor vehicle traffic so it was only a matter of us melding into the neat lines and clusters of cyclists. The rest of the journey home was at least as pleasant as the trip out. If my legs hadn't been acting up, we'd still be out there now and enjoying the sunny, hot day. I still managed to do 40 kilometres today bringing the weekend total to 62 kilometres...not too shabby...
I'm glad we got out when we did as, presumably, the humidity is supposed to be returning next week.
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peace
*It is quite common for people with MS to experience a worsening of symptoms when it's hot. Sometimes, something as simple as taking a hot shower or bath can make things feel worse. Those feelings are temporary and tend to remit when one has cooled sufficiently. I get that from time to time but, in my case, it is mostly the humidity that I can't deal too well with. If it's really hot but dry, my body can dissipate any excess heat through the cooling effect of evaporation of sweat. Everybody is like that. However, when it's humid, it's nearly impossible for anyone's body to adequately cool. For most others, the results are lassitude, crankiness and an overwhelming desire to listen to Neil Diamond. For me, the results are sheer, unadulterated fatigue and the only thing I can do is either cut down activity, seek cool shady places or locate an iced java somewhere. I don't get this problem in any other season except summer but, so far, it hasn't stopped me from getting outdoors anyway.
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