Author: Diane Harper

Diane Harper is a public servant who lives and swims (and bikes) in Ottawa. In her hobby life, she is Siglinde Harfnerstochter, a 6th C Merovingian housewife from the city of Metz. Her primary interests are cooking, textile arts and bonecarving. Siglinde lives in the canton of Caldrithig, Barony of Skraeling Althing, Kingdom of Ealdormere.
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The Joy of Unplugging

Diane Harper1 Comment

I started writing this from my cottage property, where I hung out for a long weekend of mixed primitive and glamping with my buddy Melanie. The irony of writing on my phone about unplugging is not lost on me.

Though I call it a cottage property, it’s really just a plot of land with a clearing with a fire pit where we can pitch a couple of tents. It got a major upgrade a couple of years ago when Mel and I built and installed a thunder box (a primitive open-air version of an outhouse).

Mel, like me, loves to camp. But it’s also important to her to take time to just be together with other women, alone. Though she loves her hubby dearly and does lots of things with him, taking time away is invaluable. It’s the same for him – staying at home with the cats, indulging in all the baseball.

Mel came with a list of things she hoped to accomplish – clear a better trail to the thunder box, move the woodpile from one side of the clearing to the other, mark some walking trails.

What did I want from the weekend? To just “be”. Go for a swim if it got warm enough. Maybe break out the compass and see if I could identify the edges of the property.

For the most part, just “being” won out. Breakfast not eaten until it’s nearly lunch time. Remembering that if you just sit back and look at the stars, listen to the howling wolves/coyotes and the calls of loons, time has no meaning.

We did some serious contemplation of the impact of humans on the earth as our trail to the outhouse became clearer each time someone walked back there (no specific labour involved). And we thought a lot about the unpaid labour of millions of women who for centuries were responsible for collecting wood and water. It was hard work to replenish a modest woodpile without the aid of power tools.

In the end, we mostly celebrated just being together in a peaceful space with some goofiness,

Melanie, wearing a long-sleeved shirt, pants and a hat, is dancing around a campfire, using the fire poking stick like a tap dancer’s cane.

delicious food cooked over the campfire,

Roasted corn, green beans in a mustard cream sauce, and piri piri chicken are on a white plate balanced on my knees in front of the fire pit.

and a swim.

Diane with wet hair in a purple T shirt and Melanie wrapped in a blue towel and wearing a white bucket hat at the beach just after our swim, with the lake in the background.

We are already starting to plan next year’s trip, maybe timing it so we can watch the Perseid meteor shower. If we go a bit earlier in the year, maybe there will be more loons, too.

Diane Harper lives and swims in Ottawa.

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Falling Out of Love With Swimming?

Diane Harper1 Comment

I love summer because it is when I connect most often with friends for outdoor swims. This year I haven’t been doing much of that. My best swimming buddy moved out of province a couple of years ago, and others in the core group have also moved a bit further out of town so it’s harder to get together. The weather hasn’t cooperated either.

On top of that, I have been dealing with neck and shoulder pain that I just can’t seem to fix.

The result has been that since club practices ended in June, I have barely been in the water.

Falling out of love with swimming couldn’t have come at a worse time for someone who has committed to swimming 15 km in August to raise funds for cancer research. I have met my modes goal, but if you would like to donate, please follow this link.

I am trying to get myself excited by visiting new venues and swimming with new friends. I went to the new River House in Ottawa, which has 25M lanes in addition to a large “pool” area that is very popular with teens and young adults.

A swimming area on a river. In the foreground you can saw two swim lanes. There are floating ”islands” in the centre, and people sitting on the dock beyond that. In the background, you can see the river with boats near the dock and trees on the far shore,r

I went back to my old standby, the Pond, which is once again relatively quiet as the teens and young adults have migrated to the River House. There were only swimmers and families with young kids on my last visit.

Three people are standing in greenish water while one person swims in the distance. The pond is surrounded by trees.

I joined several people from my swim club at the home of one of our members.

Four swimmers with colourful floats swim across a small lake surrounded by trees.

I even did a (for me) epic bike-swim-bike across town. This has been on my bucket list of longer bike rides to achieve this summer. I managed a little over 36 km of cycling plus a 1500M swim.

A wet Diane, wearing a white swim cap and goggles, stands in the Ottawa river. You can see trees on the Quebec shoreline in the distance. Ignore the time showing in the photo! Strava’s GPS works well for tracking distance but is terrible for times. It actually took me almost an hour.

I’m still struggling. My physiotherapist has instructed me to have shorter but more frequent swims to build up strength without irritating the sore spots, she has also given me new exercises to strengthen and relax my back muscles. I hate strength exercises! The ones for mobility are ok, but boring.

Still, I’m going to make an effort to do them, because it’s clear that I am not going to get back my love of swimming if I don’t fix what is making it not fun. I have 6 km to complete on that cancer fundraiser challenge, and registration for my fall Master’s Swimming program is now open. Wish me luck!

Diane Harper lives and swims in Ottawa.

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An update on my year of buying (almost) nothing

Diane Harper

Catherine and Martha have both written recently about their no-buy years, which sparked me to think about how I am doing.

It’s turning into a year of shedding things. I did buy two new pairs of shoes and splurged on a dress for my son’s wedding (on Saturday!). There have been a few new books and winter bike gear (no regrets at all about that because it got heavily used).

I don’t buy much but I’m also not good at getting rid of things. I was raised by a woman who grew up in rural Alberta during the Depression and war years. Her motto was to hold onto everything for seven years, then another seven just in case.

Compound that with dad’s career which meant we moved every 1-2 years until I was in high school (and a couple of times after that). We were constantly losing things we valued so we held on to the rest extra hard.

I’m back at the office now, but looking to retire within a year. I’ll never use some work outfits again because there won’t be time before my retirement. I will never wear other things again because work styles got a lot more casual thanks to Work From Home. I am coming to terms with the fact that I will never fit into some things again, no matter how much I love them, so it is time to let someone else love them.

Every few days I open a closet and randomly pull out an item or two. Sometimes I am able to put them directly into the bin I keep handy for charitable donations. Sometimes they sit at the end of the bed for days because I’m not quite ready to try them on or let them go. Very occasionally, they get a second chance and are worn at least once. If I still like them at the end of the day, they get put back in the closet after washing. Otherwise they go into the bin when the laundry is done.

This newfound decluttering hasn’t entirely reached the rest of the house yet but I am making progress. That dress and jacket for the wedding was made from fabric I had on hand. I am indulging in my love of canning and making jams by deliberately cooking up goodies to give away so I will never have to see those canning jars again. I spent a couple of days reorganizing and eliminating camping gear and was able to downsize the storage area considerably.

My personal style leans much more towards Victorian clutter than modern minimalism, and I have way too many hobbies (and books to support them) so I know this is going to be a long-term process. Maybe my goal for the next year should be to continue downsizing so I can accommodate the renovations I want to do. After all, it will be much easier to build a new bedroom closet or refinish hardwood floors if I don’t have much to move.

A large, sunny craft room with a red dressmaker’s dummy, neatly stacked bins and fabrics organized by colour in a glass-doomed cupboard. Oddly for a sewing room, there is no sewing machine and no place to cut out fabrics. Photo is from organizedinteriors.com

Diane Harper is a public servant living in Ottawa.

Let’s Hear it for the Women Who Didn’t Make it to the FIFA Quarterfinals
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Let’s Hear it for the Women Who Didn’t Make it to the FIFA Quarterfinals

Diane Harper

I thought about celebrating all the teams who made it out of the opening round, but what I really want to celebrate is the surprising women who showed the world that women’s soccer is becoming increasingly diverse and interesting.

Here’s to 2019. Here’s to Haiti, Morocco, Panama, the Philippines, Portugal, the Republic of Ireland, Vietnam and Zambia, who made their World Cup debuts. Only Morocco made it to the round of 16, where they were defeated by France.

Not just teams were new. There were also a couple of individual firsts. Nouhaila Benzina of Morocco is the first woman to play in a hijab at this level. She is being hailed as a role model for Muslim women everywhere, and especially those in France, where wearing a hijab is forbidden while playing sports.

Nouhaila Benzina is wearing the red, black and green jersey of the Atlas Lionesses soccer team, as well as a black hijab.
Nouhaila Benzina in her Atlas Lionesses uniform.

She’s not the only hijabi though – keep an eye out for Heba Saadieh, the first ever Palestinian referee (male or female) who also wears a hijab.

Referee Heba Saadieh, in a black jersey and hijab, holds her arm up while making a call. She is wearing a microphone and looks very serious.
Heba Saadieh making a call.

With powerhouses including the USA, Canada, Brazil and Germany out, the rest of the tournament looks rather Eurocentric. I’m not sure who I’ll cheer for now – maybe Japan because they have a very Barbie-coloured away jersey, and I love a subversive feminist icon reference, even if it was not the Japanese intention.

Five or six women jump and hug. They are all smiling. They are wearing pink and lavender uniforms.
Japanese team celebrates after a goal. Photo by Marty MELVILLE / AFP)

Diane Harper is a public servant in Ottawa.

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App’ing My Way to Better Health and fitness

Diane Harper

Recently fellow blogger Mina asked a question about meditation and sleep apps, and it got me thinking about all the ways I use apps to track various aspects of my health and fitness.

The most important is the health app on my phone, since it’s where I track my blood pressure and heart rate whenever I remember. Since I take blood pressure medication the doctor likes me to track it between visits.

I use the same app for a rough estimate of distance walked, though am often amused to see the inconsistencies between it, my watch, and what I have tracked on Strava. There is nothing quite like being in the middle of cycling somewhere and getting a command from your watch to “move”, or ending a long ride and being told by your phone that you haven’t been as active as usual. That’s because I use my watch primarily for telling time. It’s waterproof so I can wear it in the water, but I rarely remember to adjust the settings for walk vs bike vs run (it doesn’t do swim tracking).

Strava, on the other hand, I use quite a bit. It works well for cycling to influence city data collection on active transportation. I like it for tracking outdoor swim distances, even though it does a terrible job of recording speed accurately in the water. Sometimes I remember to turn it on when I am going for a longer walk, as it is more accurate for distance than the phone app tracking steps and guesstimating distance.

Somewhere I heard about the ParticipACTION app and started tracking everyday activities there. I like that I have a way to acknowledge time spent gardening or in dance class or doing yoga. It has lots of little videos and articles too, though I have never found anything as frisky as Sam did.

My new favourite is Let’s Bike, which allows me to track my cycling distances and convert them to dollars saved and greenhouse gases averted. I started using it in June as part of a Bike Month challenge. So far, I have biked over 490 km, saved more than $300 and averted 330 kg of greenhouse gases by cycling.

And finally, Nature Dose. It’s supposed to help me track whether I am getting enough time outside, to improve my mental health. The goal for someone living in an area like mine is 90 minutes per week. The first week I hit over 800 minutes. Week 2 was over 900 and so far this week I’m at almost 300. I don’t think I am their target audience.

Is it too many apps? Probably. But like Sesame Street’s Count von Count, I love to amuse myself by counting things, just for fun.

Sesame Street’s Count, a Muppet vampire in a black cape, holds an orange number 8.

Diane Harper is a public servant living in Ottawa.

My Own Mini-Triathlon
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My Own Mini-Triathlon

Diane Harper

On Saturday, I participated in a couple of activities that fall close to the category of Elan’s Silly summer fun. But they also supported causes dear to my heart.

Swim: the day started with a 3.2 km swim as a swim angel for my friend Sarah from my master’s swim club at Bring on the Bay, an annual swim in the Ottawa River that raises funds for Easter Seals. This year, there were 651 swimmers. Swim angels are “buddies” for swimmers with anxiety, disabilities, or medical issues who want someone with them in case they need support.

This year about 20 of us were paired with a swimmer. A few more people act as “sweeps” available in case someone swimming alone needs assistance. It’s a great program and I benefitted from it years ago when I was anxious about cramping up following foot surgery.

Me in a white cap, multicoloured goggles and a swimsuit, with Sarah, who is wearing a red cap, black goggles and a wetsuit.
Swimmers heading out into the river with their angels. Two of the sailboats, a kayak and SUP that mark the route and provide support are in the background. Sara and I are in the front of the group, on the left, closest to the green channel marker.

Sarah did great! She is actually a bit faster than me, but this was only her second open water swim and she had never swum this distance. She’s a musician, so my job was to be her metronome. I set the pace and she drafted behind me until we got close to the end. Then she moved up beside me so we could finish together. I was a good metronome: we finished within 3 minutes of the time I had predicted.

Bike: this was pretty straightforward as I biked to and from Bluesfest, a 10-day long series of concerts in Ottawa. Even though I have lived here for nearly 40 years and have been a commuter cyclist for 20, I’m still learning new ways to get around. My friend Florence showed me a couple of changes to the route I would have taken, which minimized car contact. 12 km done and dusted.

Run: technically walk, but 9.6 km worth of walk according to my phone app. This was the silly fun part. I’m a member of Bike Ottawa, a group that advocates for safe infrastructure for all people who bike. Every year at Bluesfest, volunteers run a free bike parking service to encourage people to bike to the venue rather than driving a car. This year, they parked their 100,000th bike. Any donations received are split between Bike Ottawa and Blues in the Schools.

The volunteers were a mixed group from teens through to seniors. The supervisors were dressed up in all sorts of bling for visibility. It works just like a car valet service, except we weren’t allowed to ride the bikes. We did get to admire some beauties though.

This was an incredibly smooth operation, but there was a LOT of wheeling bikes to their designated spots and retrieving them for their owners at the end of the night. We cleared out roughly 800 bikes, scooters and skateboards in about half an hour after the last concert ended.

A field filled with orange construction horseshoes, with hundreds of bike leaning up against them. A few volunteers in blue shirts are walking more bikes to their designated spot.

At their base, none of these activities was really silly, though I thought they were a lot of fun. So, because I can’t figure out any other excuse to share, here is a photo of my friend Gwendolyn and I, just after winning the teacup obstacle race at a friend’s 40th birthday party. The race involved running around a tree and then shooting a croquet ball through a hoop while holding a teacup full of water. Then you were blindfolded and turned around five times before being guided by your partner to pour your water into a container. The winning team was the one with the most water after each person had gone through the course.

Two white women, wearing flowered dresses and hats are standing in a trees park. One is blindfolded and holding a croquet mallet and ball. The other holds a teacup.

Bike Bike Bike
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Bike Bike Bike

Diane Harper

I am obsessed with biking this summer, as you might have guessed from all my previous posts. This week I pushed myself a little harder out of my comfort zone: I did three long (for me) rides in a row, one of which was with a completely new group.

First up was the Ottawa Bike Social, which was about 16 km, plus 5 km for my usual commute to work.

The next night, I went to Vélo Friday, which was a younger and cooler crowd. We rode a bit faster, on a slightly hillier route with tighter turns, with music the whole way. The only song I remember was Murder, She Wrote, which made me giggle imagining how Jessica Fletcher, my fitness icon, would have enjoyed it. That ride was almost 21 km, with a stop for ice cream, which seems to be the traditional treat for all bike rides here.

Cyclists lined up in a row with their bikes with trees in the background. Five are black men, with two white men, one black woman and me, a white woman.

On Saturday, I joined the Critical Mass Ride with about 100 other people, then did some errands for a little over 33 km. It was hot and despite drinking what seemed like gallons, I clearly didn’t get enough liquids in me.

After a nap, I joined friends for a 3.5 km swim. I’m going to be a swim angel for the 3 km Bring on the Bay on Saturday and hadn’t done that distance in a while. It was great until my legs cramped up at the half-way point and I mostly did arms only for the rest. I could barely climb up the ladder to get back on the dock. But I did it! And once I had still more water, I felt good enough to bike home, and was perfectly fine the next day.

Lessons learned? Drink lots of water. Then drink some more. Break your rides up into manageable chunks. Rest between rides. Naps and ice cream are always awesome.

What about you? I would love to hear your tips for pushing yourself to do harder things, if that is something you do. Steady state or scaling back are also perfectly fine – no pressure.

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Everyday Cycling Adds Up

Diane Harper

I joined a couple of challenges as part of Bike Month but deliberately didn’t do too much more than normal. I wanted to see what that would look like.

I normally bike to the office four days a week (just over 2.5 km each way). I bike to swim practice once a week. I visited the dressmaker near the pool a couple of times (she’s making me a dress for my son’s wedding later this summer). I rode to both community gardens, though not every time I went, because sometimes it was easier to combine with a trip to the barn outside of town. I used it for groceries almost every time I needed something, but sometimes that was also combined with a work commute or trip to the barn, so no extra kms to count.

I did join in a few group rides, as I usually do in summer. One night I rode to my friend’s to feed her cats (43 km round trip, my longest distance since high school). Another night I rode across town to meet up with people from my fruit harvesting organization. Despite best efforts, I did not ride the bike shares in Toronto while visiting during Pride weekend, but I did spot one of these awesome seat covers that BikeShare Toronto had made.

Pink bicycle seat cover with the words “Thanks for Being Bike Curious” in large letters, with #RideTOPride in small letters. There is also a circle with rainbow colours and the words Bike Share Toronto on the edge, and a small white bicycle in the centre.

Strava tells me that I completed over 215 kms. The last time I checked, I was the top contributor to my team’s Let’s Bike Ottawa challenge, after biking 15 days before going on holidays until the end of the month.

Those aren’t huge numbers, but they do represent an estimated 55 kg of greenhouse gases averted and $132 saved compared to running a car (payments and insurance included, not just gas).

This month I was reminded that my city is more compact than I imagine from inside my car, but also bigger and more interesting. I saw bats and fireflies, waved to, smiled at, and chatted with random strangers, figured out a decent crosstown route and a way to get all the way to the south end of town almost entirely on the trail system.

I also improved my #CarryShitOlympics skills, which amused my whole team at the staff picnic.

Me in an orange shirt and blue bike helmet, holding my loaded bike in a park. I have a table, folding chair and croquet set strapped to the back. The panniers have a tablecloth, framed certificates, chips, salsa, serving bowls, a cake, knife, cutlery, plates and napkins. My front basket has a boules game and a vase full of flowers.

How did you spend Bike Month? Drop a comment about any new things you tried and and what was particularly fun.

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Women Cycling

Diane Harper1 Comment

My Twitter friend Patty (@pattyboge), who is very active in the Winnipeg bike community, shared a couple of thoughts about biking and feminism this week.

First was an excellent commencement speech at Smith College given by Reshma Saujani on imposter syndrome. “Imposter syndrome is modern day Bike Face, just another attempt to hold women back. Just ride your bicycle, pursue what you want to pursue.

“Imposter syndrome is just two made up words on the page. Start pedalling, feel the sun in your face, feel the wind in your hair, feel the joy, feel the freedom, feel the love.”

Sam wrote about Bicycle Face way back in 2013. She also interviewed lawyer David Isaac in 2020 about how safe infrastructure and women on bikes. His key point was that safe infrastructure that connects to places where women want to go is key to getting women riding bikes. And it is a feminist issue because it can make cities more equitable.

That brings me to Patty’s second thought: « Women’s Rights activist Susan B. Anthony says it best ‘Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel, the picture of free, untrammelled womanhood.”

Patty’s response to all the people who pass two close and try to intimidate women to try to get us “off the road, B!&%!” is to say “we can’t and we won’t stop. Our bikes are our freedom”.

One of my favourite pictures of Patty, swiped from her Twitter feed. She is wearing a hot pink mini dress, sunglasses and a pink helmet with a tiara. She is riding a white e-bike with a front basket decorated with flowers. And of course, she has a huge smile.
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It’s Bike Month – Yay!!!

Diane Harper1 Comment

Muppets on bikes

Not only is June a fantastic time to get out and enjoy the outdoors on your bicycle, it’s the time to advocate for safe cycling options for everyone, and connect with other people who ride bikes.

This morning I attended the launch in Ottawa, where OC Transpo had brought their rack and roll bus gear, so you could practice loading your bike onto it, and there was mobile bike maintenance, among other fun things.

Two women chat beside a variety of bicycles, with more people visiting an EnviroCentre information booth in the background.

One of the speakers talked about how important it is to her to be able to cycle safely with her young daughter, and how much easier it is to get around the area where she works by bike. Someone else talked about improved lighting her company is installing to make it safer to bike along nearby paths. And we talked about how cycling can help fight climate change, of course. All these are feminist topics dear to my heart.

Members of EnviroCentre, who hosted the event, pose behind my bike with Ariel Troster and Stéphanie Plante, two city councillors who came by bike to the event (and who bike a lot!).

Of course, there was also talk about evidence. Letsbike.ca has an app where you can log all your distances for the month. This information will be used to help build the case that there are a lot of people on bikes and they are active every day. I have written before about using Strava to influence city planning. There is still time to sign up for a shift for the annual bike use survey by Vélo Canada BIkes.

There are biking events happening across Canada so find some local to you and join in. If you just want to get out on your own, that’s cool too. It’s a great way to be fit, fight climate change, and help make this activity safer and more fun for everyone. Plus it’s easier to stop and enjoy the scenery.

The Rideau Canal, looking towards downtown Ottawa. You can just make out a cyclist on the path right by the water. I took this picture on my way to work after the event.