As I had hoped, I got to do my first bike ride of the spring today: 25km along some of my favourite paths. It is intensely satisfying to feel tired and hungry as the result of exertion, rather than just because of the basic, boring work of keeping alive. Similarly, it was great fun to have the speed and maneuverability of a cyclist again, avoiding puddles and pedestrians while crossing ground with pleasing rapidity.
If I am to spend much more time in Ottawa, I am really going to need to find a winter sport.
Author: Milan
In the spring of 2005, I graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in International Relations and a general focus in the area of environmental politics. In the fall of 2005, I began reading for an M.Phil in IR at Wadham College, Oxford.
Outside school, I am very interested in photography, writing, and the outdoors. I am writing this blog to keep in touch with friends and family around the world, provide a more personal view of graduate student life in Oxford, and pass on some lessons I've learned here.
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I share those feelings about cycling . . just a great way to get around.
Winter sport option to consider : cross country skiing – has a similar invigorating feeling as cycling with perhaps an increased heartbeat.
Dad,
I considered cross country skiing, but was put off by the need to buy gear and the difficulty involved in getting to the Gatineau Park by public transit.
I also considered indoor climbing, but it seems that you basically need to have a partner to do much of anything. Finding someone who would be up for such a thing regularly and at the same time as I would be is fairly unlikely.
Five days after the above post was written, it is snowing again.
So much for the arrival of spring…
Pound for pound, a person on a bike can go farther on a calorie of food than a gazelle can running, a salmon swimming, or an eagle flying.
The bicycle is the most efficient vehicle ever devised. A human on a bicycle is more efficient (in calories expended per pound and per mile) than a train, truck, airplane, boat, automobile, motorcycle, or jet pack.
“Since the bicycle makes little demand on material or energy resources, contributes little to pollution, makes a positive contribution to health and causes little death or injury, it can be regarded as the most benevolent of machines.”–Stuart S. Wilson, Oxford University