A Sense of Adventure

A happy cyclist out on a Sunday adventure!

Joy here...I've blogged about riding in Gatineau Park, a beautiful park located just outside of downtown Ottawa that is maintained by the National Capital Commission (which basically means that it's a national park paid for by the Government of Canada).  It's where I competed in my first ever bunch ride and first ever bunch road race, and the location of many of the blog posts that make up my previous co-written blog (over at East and West Running).  Needless to say, that park has loomed large in my cycling life; its hilly terrain and rolling contours have shaped and informed my cycling experience and been the place where I've made good cycling friends (like my awesome cycling Sisterhood from last summer) and where I've honed my abilities as a cyclist.

However, I'm now learning that as a real cyclist who has taken the time to get a cycling coach and has her sights set on true improvement, I must reckon with the limitations of the park as a place to do real training rides.

You see, because the park covers rolling terrain, there are big sections of it where you can't keep your power/effort consistent.  You're either riding too hard (up a tough climb), or too easy (down a rip-roaring descent).  And what I'm learning now is that building base over long, steady endurance rides is what will make the difference between me as a casual cyclist signing up for the odd race every now and then and me being a cyclist who can race to her full potential (whatever that might be!).

This realization has led me out each Sunday for a long ride of some sort...a ride where I keep the effort consistent for 3 hours.  Last week and the week before, The Man and I pulled off this steady effort out on our cyclo cross bike rides on a fairly flat stretch of gravel pathway heading west out of Ottawa.

That's me parasailing in Mexico back in 1993.
Where did my sense of adventure go over the years????

But this Sunday, we figured that we'd had enough of that same ride and were up for getting back on our road bikes and exploring some of the countryside outside of Ottawa.

I mean, back when I was young, I was full of a sense of adventure.  I used to be game to pack my backpack and head off to Europe on my own or with a friend and see where the wind would blow me.  I've driven all across Canada--from Vancouver Island to Prince Edward Island and everywhere in between--often all on my own.  But somehow lately, adult conservatism has settled over my shoulders, and I find myself doing the same thing, or the routine thing.  And that extends to my rides, but also to how I spend my time in Ottawa.

The cute Pakenham General Store.

We moved here 5 years ago, and seriously, I really don't know my way around this city.  While I've perfected riding loops of Gatineau park and running loops around the canal by my house, and while I've become a regular at the 4th Avenue Wine Bar (which I totally recommend, by the way), I haven't made the time to explore the surrounding areas, all the little towns that dot the countryside.

So when we headed out on Sunday morning, we had a rough route mapped out (to the town of Pakenham and back again), but we were just out there under cloudy skies amidst vicious head- and crosswinds to explore a bit and get back in touch with our adventurous selves.

A country farm's picturesque outbuildings.

Okay, maybe talking about Ottawa Valley countryside in tones of "adventure" might be stretching it a bit, but we actually took the time to enjoy the rolling roads, the pretty towns, the friendly people who stopped to give us directions and generally chit chat, the near-harvest ready fields, and the wind in our faces.  Who knows how long we're going to live in Ottawa?  But we've decided that for as long as we do end up living here, we might as well get out there and really see what this place where we've ended up is like...outside of Gatineau Park!

Somehow, I feel like I'm always being watched!

And you know what?  There are parts of the countryside outside of Ottawa that are really beautiful.  There are quiet country roads where drivers give cyclists a wide berth and a friendly wave as they pass by; there are fields dotted with weather worn barns and outbuildings that stand out against the fields and speak of a lost agrarian era; there are rivers and creeks that wend their way through fields and beside roads creating ravines and vistas; and in general there is a sense of the world as a beautiful place to be and a place where you just might feel both utterly insignificant in the face of a big world and utterly connected to something larger than yourself at the same time.

And all in all, you just might find your sense of adventure along the way.

Over and out,
Joy

Sunday Ride Stats:
Time:  3:47
Distance:  98km
Avg Speed:  26km/hr
Max Speed:  64km/hr
Avg Heart Rate:  130bpm