You know it’s an exciting find when you immediately start thinking of who you can bring with you to ride it next year and when it makes sense to come again. Friends, get ready for invitations!
It’s short, just 16 km, so it’s not worth coming just for the trail, but as part of an Algonquin camping trip, it’s perfect.
It’s a rail trail, but it’s not boring. The trail runs through the forest, not along Highway 60, except for one very short section. It’s not dead straight or completely flat. I love the curves and the bumps on the trail.
Here’s the official trail description, “The Old Railway Bike Trail is a leisurely family bicycle trail during spring, summer and fall. During the winter, the trail is a multi-purpose winter recreation trail. For most of its 16 kilometre distance the trail follows the abandoned bed of the historic Ottawa, Arnprior, and Parry Sound Railway, opened in 1896 and decommissioned in 1959. The Old Railway Bike Trail runs from Rock Lake Campground to near Cache Lake.”
As usual, our photos don’t do the twisty bits justice because we were too busy riding.
Neither of us is a technically skilled cyclist, but we both love off-road riding. Lately, I’ve been thinking that one way to describe the trails we like is as fun but not dangerous at all, like mountain bike paths designed by cyclist parents for their kids.
Oh, if you don’t have bikes or don’t want to bring bikes with you, they also rent bikes. Shout out to the staff at the bike rental booth who fixed Sarah’s brakes when we were going to rent a bike because her brakes were stuck on. Thank you.
I think it’s one of my favorite full body exercises. It’s great for all body strength and conditioning. See here.
What is it? “A farmer’s carry (also known as a farmer’s walk or loaded carry) is a full-body strength and conditioning exercise that involves holding a heavy weight in each hand and walking for a set distance or time.” (from Gym Shark)
I feel like I’m training for carrying all the groceries in at once.
Lately I’ve been feeling strong doing them with 40 lb kettlebells. The big challenge is grip strength but I can do two lengths of our gym, down and back.
Anyway, just when I was feeling strong, this video came across my newsfeed.
My ballet teacher said something this week that really resonated. “Your job in class is to do your very best. It won’t be perfect, and what “best” is will change from day to day. That’s fine.”
She was talking to a class full of adult students. Most of us are in our 60s and 70s. At least one is 80. Some of us have been practicing for years. Some are new. One has a learning disability, I think. Another has Parkinson’s or a similar neurological disorder.
Our best will never be anything like the “best” that most people consider to be the standard for ballet dancers. So ignore the standard, and keep on doing your best, no matter what fitness activity you enjoy. You are no less of a valuable person just because you are different.
An adult dancer wearing a black leotard and skirt, and wearing pointe shoes, in a sparse-looking ballet studio.
Maybe Tracy and I peaked too early with our Fittest by Fifty plan. The headlines right now are all about a new trend, the Superfit Sixties. Or maybe the trends are just following along with us as we age?
Anyway, the Superfit Sixties stories are all over my newsfeed, because of course they are.
“Modern day sixtysomethings are aware that age is not a deterrent to some of the most challenging athletic goals, and a new tribe of hard body sexagenarians is emerging. Members of the superfit 60+ers put in longer hours at the gyms than any other age group, and average 8+ visits to the gym each month, and it’s not just gentle classes such as yoga drawing them in, it’s high intensity workouts and tough training regimens, according to Nuffield Health. The biggest rise in sports participation in recent years in among older populations, with running and cycling having massive growth, according to Sport England. Over the past 12 months England Athletics has had a 12% increase in members aged 60+ joining running clubs; and British Cycling reports over 74% of those aged 60+ saying cycling is not just to enjoy the scenery but also to seriously improve fitness.”
I don’t have much to say about this, though I am feeling pretty fit in my sixties. I’m not riding quite as much as I like, but I have been doing lots of new things, and doing a fair bit of strength training. For the first time since my knee replacements, I’m back doing squats in the squat rack, 3 sets of 155 lbs this week, and I’ve been deadlifting again as well.
I’m amused that Pexels suggests this image when searching “superfit sixties.” Photo by RDNE Stock project on Pexels.com
Every time I make a wish, blow out a candle, throw a penny in a fountain or do a piece of work on myself, I ask for ease in my life. Ease was my word for 2025. It keeps coming back, a wave washing against the shore of my mind.
Ease is the memory of a moment emerging from sleep. A cat kneading my hair, purring. Sunlight. My partner next to me. A weekend day stretched out ahead of us. A run. Good food. Lying on the couch with a novel. Time with friends.
That life no longer exists.
Hear the grunting sound, as I push all my weight against a heavy load of unease, hoping to shove it aside and finally step into lightness. Straining toward ease.
When I saw the movie, The Odyssey, the line that stabbed me in the heart was Odysseus describing the Sirens’ song: It told you that what you most want is what you can’t have. And what you most can’t have is what you already had and lost.
The good food, the novel and the couch, the friends are not lost. They are still in my life. And the running, well, in this moment, the tendonitis that prevented me from running in August has cleared up. My runs the last couple of weeks have felt fluid and strong. Last week I did my first handstand since my shoulder injury in mid-May. After a period of injuries, my body is at ease. Not lost.
And some part of me is still not satisfied. I want them all. All the eases. All at once. I’d be at ease, if I could just have … What I already had and lost. My wish steers me toward the rocks.
Every day some source I read or hear tells me that whatever ails me can be cured by mindset. Sometimes I want to scream at them, that’s easy for you to say, you have (insert things I wish I had: a loving relationship, or financial security, or an important job), try being me!
So much self-pity in so few words. I am frustrated with myself. If only I could wave a mindset wand and wish my dis-ease away.
I’m tired. I’m in mourning. I’d like to believe that’s not self-pity. Not there yet.
October 18 is World Menopause Day, and I’ll be taking the plunge to raise funds for Sinai Health, for research to help women facing health issues before, during and after menopause.
Why am I doing this? I’m just old enough that menopause was barely talked about when I went through it. I had massive fibroids, and very heavy and long periods that came about every three weeks. At 48, I had a complete hysterectomy, including ovary removal. My menopause was more of a meno-screeching-halt.
It was the time when doctors believed the hormone replacement therapy increased the risk of things like breast cancer, so it wasn’t even an option.
I wore sleeveless tops, often carried a fan, and was never without a handkerchief for my sweaty face. I put down the sleepless nights to work stress and my teenagers.
It’s probably not a coincidence that it’s about then that I began winter cycling: rage at the local transit system and an opportunity to be properly cool and look kind of badass were powerful motivators.
Younger women are much more open about perimenopause and menopause, which is great. And I’m thrilled that Sinai Health is studying menopause.
It has been a while since I went for a cold water swim. I’m looking for doing it again for a good cause.
Diane in a shark hat and Star Trek bathing suit, and Nadine in her Star Wars hat and a purple bathing suit decorated with yellow fish lounge against an ice shelf in Gatineau Park lake in 2019.
I love Halloween because it has so many of my favourite things (Ghost stories! Snacks! People going all in on their weirdness! ) but the early part of Autumn is always really busy for me and I often end up feeling like I jumped from the end of August to the last week in October without any time or energy to plan Halloween fun.
BUT NOT THIS YEAR!
This year I am absolutely determined to have as much fun as possible in October.
How am I going to do that?
Well, I’m not much of one for going to parties so I won’t be going that route but I do have some really appealing plans:
I have already planned a ghost story writing workshop and a spooky storytelling event* later this month.
I’ve planned a couple of artsy-craftsy Halloween events with my community arts organization so I’ll get to be creative and hang out with lots of other people who love this season.
I have already assembled my Halloween-themed collage/junk journaling supplies so they’ll be handy for playful creativity all month.
I’m making two zines – Advice from Monsters and (Some) Ghosts are Helpful – which will let me combine drawing and writing and some silly spookiness.
I’m on track to finish the ghost story that I’m writing (it’s about a haunted mirror that someone picked up on the side of the road.)
I’m slowly putting up Halloween decorations all month.
I’m making a bit more time for my favourite spooky podcasts/YouTube channels** – including taking slightly longer walks and doing slightly longer workouts so I can finish an episode or two.
I’m doing some practices from Yoga for Witches by Sarah Robinson – I know that title sounds like it could be flippant but I am finding it to be respectful to Yoga and to pagan practices so far.
I’ve got big plans for making soups and breads and cookies. (This one is less Halloween-focused but definitely seasonal!)
My Halloween costume is already in the works.
I’ve added Halloween music to my playlists. (Current Fave: Alanis Morrissette’s version of Donovan’s Season of the Witch. (It’s part of the soundtrack for Yaga, a show that starts airing this month.)
I’ve already started wearing all of my Halloween themed clothing.
I was leaning into my own whimsy when I added my Halloween scarf to my outfit to perform at the Tales from Near and Afar at the St. John’s Storytelling Festival on Friday night. Photo credit: Jeanene Walsh. Image description: Thanks to Jeanene Walsh for the fun photo of my story adventures on Friday evening. Image description: a photo of me, a middle aged white woman with shoulder length brown hair (but the lights overhead make my hair look purple in this photo), dark framed glasses and red lipstick. I am wearing a black shirt and a grey scarf with ghosts, witches, and pumpkins on it. I am in the middle of saying something into a microphone and I look very sincere.
I know, I know! That’s a lot of things*** but I was doing a lot of those things anyway, I have just switched to the Halloween (or at least Fall) version of them.
The idea of this list doesn’t make me feel overwhelmed. Instead, I feel excited and I like having so many things to look forward to.
The things on my list are all so good for my well-being – creativity, fun, exercise, journaling, good company, choosing clothes and music and foods that make me feel good – that even if I don’t finish them all, I am still going to feel good in the process.
And, finally, it feels great to know that I am not going to reach the end of October in a big hurry, wondering where the time went, and feeling out of sorts because I have nothing planned to celebrate Halloween.
Instead, I am celebrating Halloween all month and having a bit more fun every day.
*The storytelling event is on Wednesday, Oct 28 at 8:30PM Newfoundland time, you can join us via Zoom if you’d like. You can also join my ghost story workshop but I don’t have the time confirmed for that yet.
Diane posted a check-in on her #26in2026 and that’s prompting me to check in on mine. After all, fall is my last chance. I knew it wouldn’t be good. It’s been a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Summer and lots of things we planned just didn’t happen. So many bad things happened that we started saying we shouldn’t even plan anything because we were certain something new would happen and cancel our plans. At this point, some things won’t happen because of busy schedules (travel, 100 km bike rides), and others won’t happen because the weather for them has passed (Snipe sailing, bike packing, river tubing). The Ice Cream bike ride tradition won’t happen because Slickers has closed for the season.
Other things are possible, but not likely–like riding 3000 km this year!
But I can still make some things happen, like a spa day!
Go on a 100 km bike ride. ❎ Unlikely to happen this year!
Spend an afternoon at the beach. ☑️ Sandbanks in August
Ice cream bike ride at the farm. ❎
Big Island bike ride at the farm. ☑️
Go on a bike packing mini vacation. ❎
Develop a morning mobility routine. ❓Update: I’ve got several. And I do them sometimes. But there is no regular morning mobility happening. Not yet!
Read 20 novels. ☑️
Ride my bike 3000 km in 2026. ❓Update: I’m at 1,262.5 km, and there are only 13 weeks left in the year. I’d have to ride more than 130 km a week to make it.
Work out 400 times, incl dog walks and physio. I’ll track workouts in this group and you can join too. ❓Update: This one I will make. I’m at 339 now and there are 94 days left in the year. Easy peesy!
Have friends over more often and worry less about my house. #ScruffyHospitality ☑️
Learn to swim at least 6 lengths of the pool, without taking a break. ❎ Update: I might get there yet. I’m at 3.
Visit at least one other Canadian province, besides Quebec. ❎
Do another lazy river tubing trip, maybe when Catherine is visiting. ❎
Ride 62 kms on my birthday with friends. ❎ Update: I did a 65 km bike ride a few weeks after my birthday. Does that count? It was the Spinning Wheels ride from London to Stratford, not a birthday bike ride with friends though. On the day we thought we might do one, it rained and we were at a memorial service for a friend the next day. It’s been that kind of summer.
Dance! ☑️
Plan a couple of weekends away with my adult kids. ☑️
Go on a short trip with my mum and her little dogs. ☑️
Nutrition advice, especially if it’s surprising or counterintuitive, should always be taken with a grain of salt (maybe use the kind with iodine? you make the call). I mean, who among us decided to embark on a diet of mainly twinkies after seeing this post online? I’m hoping no hands are raised out there…
Earlier this year, there was a flurry of posts about a new-new study, done by HARVARD and THE MAYO CLINIC (so it has to be legit, right?) showing that “a Dairy Queen Blizzard eaten after training raises muscle protein synthesis 43% more than the classic chicken breast and rice.”
For those of you unfamiliar with DQ’s menu offerings, here’s what they’re talking about:
FB post from Iron Ladies saying that DQ blizzard spikes muscle protein synthesis 43% higher than chicken and rice. FYI, the Iron Ladies aren’t a group of nutrition experts promoting essential minerals in our diets.
Huh. You might think this is a funny internet jokey thing. However, the Iron Ladies’ post provided supporting details:
Key findings:
A medium Oreo Blizzard straight after the session produced a 43% higher MPS reading at the 3-hour mark than a 40g protein chicken and rice meal
The proposed mechanism: a large insulin spike from the sugar, a casein and whey dairy blend, and fats from the mix-ins, described in the paper as “anabolic napalm”
Participants who stirred in extra cookie pieces and ate it from the cup while still sweaty reached +51%, which the authors call the “primal Blizzard ritual” effect
Chicken and rice group: a respectable early bump, then a flat line after 90 minutes.
Lab quote: “The Blizzard delivers fast carbs for glycogen, dairy protein for sustained release, and enough joy to flatten cortisol. Chicken and rice is what you eat when you have made peace with sadness.”
After reading more, I’m even more convinced that this is an internet jokey thing. Why? Well, I’ve never read a phrase in a scientific paper like “anabolic napalm”. Also, the last quote is too funny. Scientists aren’t trained to be funny.
Turns out,
THIS IS, IN FACT, AN INTERNET JOKEY THING.
THERE IS NO SUCH STUDY.
SOMEONE MADE IT UP AND POSTED IT ONLINE.
I’m shocked.
One of my favorite quotes from the film Casablanca, which, by the way, significantly predates this fake non-study. If you don’t know it, check out a clip here.
Here’s the thing about nutrition and fitness: human metabolism is complicated, food is complicated, and measuring effects of food on human metabolism is double-complicated and super-contextual. It turns out that, under constrained circumstances (e.g. lacking better options), eating say, a pop tart or sugary cereal with milk after a heavy workout may provide some muscle recovery needs. Are there foods that better support recovery and overall nutritional needs? Of course there are, and we have loads and loads of studies to show which ones, what macro- and micronutrients to look for, etc.
One so-called junky food that has been shown to have post-workout beneficial effects is chocolate milk. In this PubMed meta-analysis from 2018, scientists looked at 12 studies comparing chocolate milk with sports drinks on its effects on various post-recovery biomarkers. They concluded:
CM [chocolate milk– they can’t even bring themselves to write it out in full] provides either similar or superior results when compared to placebo or other recovery drinks. Overall, the evidence is limited and high-quality clinical trials with more well-controlled methodology and larger sample sizes are warranted.
Okay, this is half-hearted and mild advice. But I’m going with it. What do you think?
I don’t think the studies had this in mind as recovery drink, but doesn’t it look yummy? Sprinkles are optional. Thanks Israel Pina for Unsplash.
Take-home messages:
Nutrition is complicated.
But, don’t trust messaging that relies on non-existent studies.
Still, sometimes results come out that are counterintuitive.
Which brings us back to: nutrition is complicated.
My Garmin suggests light exercise breaks and time outside, and I actually do get outside quite often for walks, especially between buildings on campus. I also walk Cheddar in the evenings, so I feel like more outdoor time and more wlaking isn’t the answer.
What I want to know is what do you do to de-stress? Do you have an end-of-day de-stressing routine that works for you? I’m pretty good at putting my phone away, but what else? Advice welcome!
Note, I can’t read in the evening, though I can and do listen to audiobooks and watch shows. My current faves are Slow Horses, Dark Matter, and Ted Lasso. Just finished Ride or Die, Dalliance, and Strange New Worlds. And like everyone else, I’m desperately waiting for a new season of Pluribus.
