Winter is slowly approaching… and I am sad. Granted here in Ontario the autumn was absolutely divine. Warm sunny days, low humidity. It’s like Ontario was putting on a show for us after the sweltering humidity of summer. It was deliciously beautiful, we even had flowers in the backyard up until the end of October. Even as I’m writing this now (mid November) there are still some leaves on the trees. But recently the weather has become grey and so feels my life.
That was a bit dramatic yeah? Well, I grew up in the west where there was always plenty of sun. So the east’s grey winters are always a downer. But thankfully I’ve figured out a way to combat the grey skies and that’s with exercise.
This is a trick that I’ve long figured out, seven years I moved to Canada and I knew it then, but its probably been about a decade that I’ve noticed a correlation between my mental health and the amount of cardio I accomplish in a week. Long distance cardio is my favourite, and for awhile I was really into running. But now post baby (and still struggling with sleepless nights) I cannot bring myself to run. But thankfully I have another choice.
I’ve written before about my beloved road bike, and while I was still in Ohio I loved nothing better than hoping on the bike path and spending the weekend afternoons huffing and puffing along. So now as the grey settles in until May, I’ve been planning my escape via a long-ass bike ride.
Now, I know PEI in Canada is like the Colorado in the States. At least that’s what it feels like to me. It’s like the too cool for school kids who have this aura that you can never match. This elusive character that I’ve always envied. So, much like my youth I am going to take a trip to PEI that may turn into me living there (I lived in Colorado for three years in my late teens and early twenties).
Reading online I’ve found the Confederation Trail, it runs tip-to-tip and is apparently built on the decommissioned railway line. The main trail is 273 kilometers, but the addition from Tignish to Elmira is 449 kilometers in total. Thankfully it goes through Charlottetown where I have a friend. He a scientist and is doing really cool things with his business, even went on a recent trip to Korea!
In addition to the Confederation Trail, I’ve found out that you can cycle around the perimeter of the island. Some people want to do this because the CT doesn’t really stick to ocean views. It’s more on the inside of the island. If I recall correctly, the entire perimeter of PEI is about 700 km. How cool would it be to ride around its entirety?
I think that’s going to be my goal, but not for this summer. Ever since I’ve moved to Ontario I haven’t be able to go for long rides so I think I’ll need to get my butt and my legs up to shape. But maybe this could be a two year thing? I’ll keep you posted.