Glorious first Friday

Typical for April, the weather here in Canada's capital can be either sunny, warm and dry or else rainy, chilly and gloomy. Luckily for me, it was the former and so I found myself itching to head out for a quick sprint through the area. With Ottawa's awesome and extensive bike path system here, it is possible for cyclists to actually get some exercise without worrying about being cut off or run over by car drivers. That's not say all car drivers are demented homicidal loonballs...just the ones around here (ha! ha! ha!).

It was sunny but quite chilly this morning but there were no winds of note and the day would only get warmer anyway. So, after a decent breakfast and taking care of my usual morning routine, I got dressed, donned my helmet, some light gloves and my pant bands and headed out. My goal today was to cycle over to where my friend lives (I'll explain why that's important on Monday), intercept the bike path there and see how easily I could get to Conroy Road. The trike was its usual extremely easy and fun to ride. Most importantly for me, as my balance continues to be an issue, I can relax and focus on the trip without worrying about falling over. My Catrike Trail can still stop on a dime and turning corners continues to be a cinch. No wheels lifting off the ground, no weird noises emanating from the gears or the brakes. The sun was shining, the temperature still hovering just above zero but the day was utterly gorgeous. I encountered many people walking their dogs (thank you for picking up after them - yes you did), a few joggers and quite a number of city crews busily pressure-spraying parts of the pathway. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood. Everyone was smiling and we all waved and grinned at each other. The mantle of a typical winter was now removed and we could all just get outside and - gasp - enjoy the day.

Enjoy it I most certainly did. I seemed to average about 16 km/hr and had absolutely no troubles at all whatsoever in maneuvering around the occasional puddle or collection of gravel left over from the last snowfall. The city sprays a combination of salt and gravel to help motorists and pedestrians move along the roads and sidewalks. It's a totally unnecessary practice but the city does it anyway.

However, I didn't make it as far as Conroy. Glancing to my left, I noticed a rather large dumpster in someone's driveway, a clear indication that a major spring clean-up was taking place. As I am also looking for some glass - preferably a window in a wooden frame - for our soon to be made wooden solar cooker, I thought I'd take a quick peek to see what, if anything, was there. Because my trike can turn pretty tightly, I had no trouble at all in making a very quick left turn and onto the street. It was mid late morning and there was no one around (it is suburbia). Alas, there was no window pane or even any glass of any kind to be found so I shall have to continue my search another time.

In the interim, I found myself neatly deposited onto Lorry Greenberg Street and so thought I would just head back home. Like the little street I had been on, there was virtually nobody else around so zooming along was a simple venture. In no time did I find myself back at the Greenboro library and onto the bike path network again. Another quick turn or two and I was back on Cahill and then, crossing Bank Street, onto Daze. Crossing Hunt Club was its usual piece of cake as was the rest of my journey home.

I pulled into the driveway feeling relaxed and enthralled at the gorgeous day. I looked over at my little cardboard solar cooker, noting the inside temperature was about 38C - or around 100F. The rice I had in the black cooking pan was beginning to soften and I had thought I might have been able to produce cooked rice by 4:00 pm. It was not meant to be as it is still pretty early in spring...but I hold out hope there anyway.

Still, I did about 8.0 kilometres on a beautiful, magnificent Friday and that is certainly more than enough reason to be grateful.

-Peace