i spent the last long weekend biking from horseshoe bay to salt spring island and back.

it wasn't my idea to do this.

i wanted to drive there
pack up the car
and languidly explore
the galleries shops and delicious west coast landscape

my partner wanted to do it by bicycle
and although the idea excited me some
it wasn't really what i wanted

we set off early in the morning and spent the first leg of our tour
pumping along a highway for 3 hours
while the local rednecks whizzed by at top speed in their beefed up trucks
the sun is already warm on our necks

silent cursing in my head

a short ferry to salt spring
and we are back on our bikes
riding up up up up up hill
and eventually down into

the town centre
for a short break

the riding part of this trip goes on
with many hills

my point in writing about this trip
was to express what an absolute joy and wonder it was to
bike and bike and bike and bike

i pull over to watch the baby deer nibble the grass

ride through a showcase of hippy dwellings and gardens
sun bleached hand made archways and gates

a soundtrack of birds and bugs
raven-song piping through the maples

the wild rush of wind after climbing a steep hill
the quiet

and food tastes ridiculously good after you work your ass off all day long

i may have dragged my feet
and protested
i don't want to do this!

but this trip was an incredible gift that i will never forget


thank you strong body
thank you jon