The Best of Both Worlds

Yesterday morning Tessa (my bike riding partner) and I went for a ride in the woods. We had to walk our bikes up this huge muddy hill in order to get to the paved bike paths and we kind of felt like amateurs in our jeans when there was a group of about 5 people in full bike riding regalia trying to go up at the same time as us. As we were leading the way into the forest I couldn't help but think that it looked a lot like the jungle in "Lost" (minus all the green foliage) and I wondered if there would actually be a bike path at the top of this hill. With lots of pain in my lungs we finally made it to the path. One way led down and was quite tempting. The other way was steep and led to an even higher path. Still in much pain, I walked my bike up the (perfectly bikeable) path and made it to the higher one. Then we rode through the woods and it was a lot of fun. We found horse stables and there was some sort of teenage horse jumping competition going on. We watched for a bit and then followed some roads out of the woods eventually making our way back to town. We had NO idea where we were going but that was what made it even more fun.

Since it was Sunday EVERYTHING in town was closed and it was really nice to enjoy the outdoors. We were certainly not the only people riding around on bike but we were the ones least dressed for the occasion. As we went through the woods trying to perfect our hands-free biking techniques Tessa joked that she was teaching me the way to enjoy a Sunday in the countryside. I said "come to New York where you can shop all day on Sundays and you'll see which is better." I think this time in Laval is actually changing the New Yorker in me that needs everything to be open all the time. Could I actually be mellowing out?

Back in town we ended up in a neighborhood that I recognized because one of the teachers I work with lives there. We biked past her house and her daughters were in the yard so we stopped to say hello. Sometimes it just feels like Mr. Rogers' neighborhood around here!

After bike riding I got a delicious, fresh-out-of-the-oven baguette and I ate it with Philadelphia cream cheese that another assistant was nice enough to bring me from England! Warm baguette + cream cheese = the best of both worlds