The Third Time’s A Charm
- Gwendy Harrington
- Sep 2, 2023
- 2 min read
I have written two blog posts this week. I scrapped both of them. They just did not feel right. So, let’s see how this third one goes!
I wasn’t sure what to write about today. After a bit of thought, I figured I would write about my day. I took today off from work. Labour Day weekend tends to be the last warm long weekend in Fort McMurray. The next long weekend has the potential for snow. When it comes to seasons, I prefer the warm sunshine of summer.
I did not go anywhere. I had one thing only that I wanted to do today. That was to take a bike out for a ride. I love riding bicycles. I have for as long as I can remember. I am not a fast rider, but I do tend to be steady.
Today, I took the gravel bike out. I really wanted to take the mountain bike out, but the bear activity in the area has been nuts the last few weeks. I went for a ride earlier this week to a different part of the local trails and the amount of bear scat was far more than I expected and I could swear even more than normal. With that many bears who are out to get their last bit of food before the cold weather, I decided that I should forgo the solo single track ride this morning and stay out of the deeper woods trails.
I had a wonderful ride. The sun was shining. The weather was warm, with a slight breeze so just the perfect day for a Friday ride. I met a couple of other cyclists out for their Friday rides. It is always so cool to see people out riding their bikes. There were clearly other people who felt the same as I did this morning.
As I was finishing off my route, I ended up with an unexpected detour. The one thing that you never really want to see - a bear trap. It means that there is a nuisance bear in the area. Not one that I really want to run into. I do have bear spray that I take with me. I just prefer to be in a situation where I don’t need to use it.
So, the bear trap meant that I had to turn around and find another route home. I would have loved to stay along the edge of the woods, but alas! I turned around and started heading back the way I came. I wasn’t used to hopping onto the streets on that section of the trail. I was really wondering how much backtracking I was going to need to do.
It was further than I would have preferred, particularly since I was now spooked about running into a bear. Luckily, I made it out to the streets without any bear encounters. I managed to make it home with a smile on my face.
I love being outside. I love riding my bikes and just moving my body. So, that is the plan for this beautiful Labour Day weekend. Get out, see the sun, ride a bike, and savour the end of summer.