Tag: winter

Spring(ish) Walks for Christine and Khalee
dogs · fitness · season transitions · walking · winter

Spring(ish) Walks for Christine and Khalee

Christine Hennebury

You may not have realized it but Thursday, March 30 was a big day.

What was so big about it?

It was the first day since last Fall that I could wear sneakers on my daily walk with Khalee.

A top down view of my legs in black leggings and my feet in pink sneakers standing on the road.
Photo evidence! Well, evidence is a strong work, it probably wouldn’t hold up in a court of law. It’s just a photo of my sneakers feet on the pavement, it doesn’t prove that I haven’t worn my sneakers on a walk in months but please cut me some slack here, Your Honour. Image description: a top down photo of my pink sneakers and black leggings as I stand on the salt-speckled asphalt street. The sun is behind me to the right so legs are caring a shadow toward the upper left of the image. The angle of the sun is creating one big shadow out of both of legs so, shadow-wise, it looks like I was hopping on my one giant leg.

And it was one of the first days I could just wear regular pants on my walk instead of adding an extra layer.

It still isn’t *warm* here, only a few degrees below zero but those few degrees make a huge difference for me.

Being able to just throw on a jacket (hat and gloves, too, of course) and put on my sneakers feels way smoother and quicker than adding another pair of pants and lacing up my boots.

It reduces the friction for getting out through the door, it feels like I could drop everything and head out at any time.

(I can always do that, of course, but now it actually *feels* that way, too.)

It just feels EASIER to get out there.

And Khalee is much less impatient with me in the porch. She simply cannot believe how long it takes me to get ready sometimes. (Humans are very weird, apparently.)

A light haired medium sized dog stands on a road looking back toward the camera. There are snowbanks in the background.
Speaking of me being weird, Khalee also can’t believe that I would waste valuable snow-sniffing time by stopping to take her picture. Image description: a n outdoor photo of Khalee, a light-haired, medium-sized dog, is on a neon yellow leash and black/aqua harness. She is standing on the side of the road with snowbanks to her right and she is looking back toward the camera. My shadow, the shadow of the leash and the dog-walking paraphernalia can be seen on the left side of the photo.

So, it’s still cold.

We still have lots of snow.

A selfie of a woman with a large snowbank behind her
This isn’t my house in the background and not every lawn has this much snow right now but still, there’s a lot of snow around. Image description: a smirky selfie with a snowbank so high that only the peaked roof of the house is visible behind the snow. I am wearing a green winter hat, my oversized cats-eye glasses, and a green coat. My light brown hair is sticking out from under my hat to rest on my shoulder.

But I am feeling Springish because the sun has been out a lot lately and I can wear my sneakers on my walks.

Sure, it’s not green grass, crocuses, and birdsong but life is easier when I adjust my expectations to my reality, right?

An outdoor selfie of a woman and a dog, the dog is sniffing the woman’s face.
Soon, soon, Khalee and I will be able to sit on these front steps enjoying a cup of tea…ok, I’ll be the only one with tea but we’ll both be out there. Image description: a selfie of me and Khalee on my front steps with part of my house and my door in the background. The sun is shining on us and I’m squinting and smiling as she sniffs my face.

fitness

I Survived Thrived Through a Winter of Cycling

Diane Harper2 Comments

I wrote about my idea of cycling through the winter here and here. Sam wrote about it here, and that one includes lots of links to other posts about winter cycling.

Unlike Sam, my goal was to be a bike commuter and I am proud to say I DID IT! I go to the office four days a week, and since November I have avoided going in only about three times. Once was definitely due to a heavy snowfall. Once was due to a predicted snowfall where we were advised to stay home, and once was due to bitter cold (-43C with the wind chill). Admittedly, I did get lucky because a few more were regularly scheduled work-from-home or planned vacation days, but there weren’t many of those.

It turns out I love cycling in winter. I am warmer on my bike than when I try to walk. The roads are usually less slippery than the sidewalks. Admittedly, cycling in traffic isn’t for everyone, but there are enough winter cyclists around that I found most cars and trucks are paying attention and are pretty respectful about giving me enough space for safety.

Most of my rides are relatively short, and I have invested in a little bit of gear to ensure I stay visible, warm and dry. I have studded winter tires which I needed more for confidence than for road conditions. The only time they were really handy was the night I went for a group bike ride immediately after a snow storm when the roads hadn’t yet been cleared.

A group of cyclists on a dark snow-covered street. There are trees and houses in the background.

Now it is officially spring, and I am starting to shed the layers and think about getting my summer bike out. So here is one last celebratory selfie of me and my bike as winter draws to a close. Note the patches of bare ground in my yard.

Diane with her winter bike in a mostly snow-covered yard with buildings in the background. She is wearing her blue helmet with ear warmers and an orange safety vest over her green winter coat.
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Healthy Active Living is Exhausting!

Diane Harper2 Comments

I live in an area where cycling makes a lot of sense for everyday tasks. I can get to work, the grocery store, and most essential shops easily and safely by bicycle or on foot.

As gas prices rose this fall, I started a little personal challenge of not using my car more than once a week. I was already riding my bike to work on my days in the office, so this shouldn’t be a big additional burden, right?

I don’t know. My sample size is very small, and I didn’t set up a good research question in advance. My evidence is purely anecdotal.

I can tell you that I’m tired. Far more tired than I expected. But I’m still doing it, mostly. Even if it meant I needed a long nap after cycling to swim practice and to buy groceries on Saturday. I did get up on Sunday to bike to church.

Me in a green coat and blue bicycle helmet, with my bicycle. There is snow on the ground and a snowy hedge in th background. I appreciate that my church has bike racks. I also appreciate my black pogies, which are just the thing to keep my hands warm in winter.

A little bit of my tiredness is undoubtedly because being nervous about sharing the road with cars is exhausting. Even though I am getting more confident, I miss the separated lanes and bike paths that are available to me in summer.

And sidewalks often aren’t clear for pedestrians, so walking isn’t fun either. In fact, the closest I have come to an accident was when a pedestrian using the road jumped into my path to avoid being hit by a car.

If we really want people to adopt active living, which has huge benefits for overall health, accessibility and the environment, we need to push our civic leaders to invest in infrastructure that supports people to use non-car transportation year-round. And leaves them less tired and stressed from the effort.

Diane Harper is a public servant in Ottawa, and a recent convert to year-round cycling.

Woo hoo! Bring on the light!
fitness · winter

Woo hoo! Bring on the light!

Sam B1 Comment

Today in Guelph the sunset is 4:41 pm. That’s one minute LATER than it was yesterday.

By Dec 15th it will be 4:45 pm and by January 15th it will be 5:15 pm.

We’re officially past the earliest sunset of the year, if not the shortest day. How’s that?

Here’s the Farmer’s Almanac explanation:

“Is today the earliest sunset of the year?

After all, the shortest day of the year, in terms of daylight, is December 21, the winter solstice. But the days will actually begin to feel a bit longer two weeks before the solstice. That’s because the earliest sunset of the year happens before the solstice, and in 2022, it occurs on Wednesday, December 7.”

Some time ago I realized that the real effect on my mood in the fall was from lack of light. Especially as someone with vision issues, the lack of light is pretty limiting.

Once I figured out that I was able to be active outdoors–walking the dog, fat biking, snow shoeing etc–especially in the snowy winter sunshine of January–winter itself wasn’t the problem. It’s the much shorter days that feel worse.

Also, since I’m am early riser it’s pretty much always dark when I wake up, it’s the lack of light at the end of the day that feels worse.

So I am here to celebrate that from an ‘end of the day light’ perspective–the thing I care most about-EVERYTHING IS BETTER FROM HERE ON IN.

Photo by Brian Jones on Unsplash

fitness

I’m a Winter Cyclist (for real!)

Diane Harper2 Comments

Way back in September I wrote about winter cycling and now that wintery weather is here, it’s time for an update. TLDR: I like it!

It took me a few tries to get my gear to my satisfaction. The seat was lower than I remembered. I needed to move some lights and my basket. I accidentally installed my bell upside down (still need to fix that). My pannier actually works better with the new bike than it does on my summer one, so that’s a bonus.

And then there were clothing questions: which hat fits under my helmet? Surely I have a balaclava or two in the closet? I did find my rain pants so I can block the wind on chilly days. My woolen mitts work for now, but I have a pair of pogies in my Amazon cart that I will need to order before it gets much colder.

It’s harder to pedal than my summer bike because of those studded tires that keep me safe on the ice. But I sure appreciate them on the section of pathway that doesn’t get ploughed in winter, despite heavy use by walkers and cyclists. Eventually I will need to choose a different route to work; it will be on quiet streets, but I’ll miss the paths that keep me completely separated from vehicle traffic.

Snow-covered path filled with foot and tire prints, in a snowy park under grey skies. There are park benches and trees along the path, and a building with a construction crane in the distance.
Snow-covered path covered with foot and tire prints, in a snow-covered park under grey skies.

I make sure I’m really visible, with a reflective construction vest and bright head and taillights. I’m still fussing a bit with the fairy lights, but they work well and look rather pretty in the dark.

Bicycle with lit fairy lights wrapped around the front basket and frame, inside a darkened storage room. There is snow on the tires of the bicycle, and the wheel of another bike in the front left of the picture.
My bike with the fairy lights lit, inside my storage area so they will show up in the dark.

The best part of being a winter cyclist is the camaraderie with other cyclists, and the feeling that you’re a bit of a badass. I love the community of people sharing pictures of “not taking their kids to daycare” or “not going to the grocery store” because “no-one bikes in winter”.

White woman wearing an orange and yellow construction vest over her coat and a hat and ear protectors under her helmet. Her red and white bicycle is parked in the snow, with houses in the background.​
Diane, “not biking in winter”, while wearing an orange and yellow construction vest over her coat and a hat and ear protectors under her helmet. Her red and white bicycle is parked in the snow, with houses in the background.

Diane Harper lives in Ottawa.

fitness

Is it too Early to Think about Winter Biking?

Diane Harper5 Comments

I hope not, because I am thinking about it a lot right now.

In some ways, I am very late to winter cycling. have been thinking about it since the miserable 51 day bus strike in the dead of winter (December 2008-January 2009). That was the first time I ever saw cyclists in the snow, and I envied them as I trudged to work, a 45 minute walk in good weather, on cleared sidewalks.

I dismissed the idea even as I reluctantly returned to public transit, instead riding my bike to work for up to 9 months of the year. Then I met a couple of colleagues at a new workplace who rode year-round for environmental reasons, and I was intrigued again. Two years ago, I actually stopped a random guy at a street light in late winter, and quizzed him about his experience and gear.

Last winter, my friend Florence introduced me to the concept of studded tires. She cycles year-round, even to swim practice (brrr). And last week she came to the Fancy Women Bike Ride in a Cleverhood rain cape like this:

Model wearing a bright yellow rain Cape poses on a red commuter bicycle.

I was starting to see ways I could feel safe and warm as a winter cyclist.

My next step was to acquire a bike I wouldn’t mind getting rusty. That came thanks to my local community mail list, where someone had an old Trek with seized gears that they wanted to give away.

Advice for how to fit it up came from the Ottawa cycling community on Twitter (which includes a lot of moms, every day commuters, and cycling infrastructure advocates, so I felt confident their advice would work for my cycling interests). One thing they said was to get the studded tires now, to avoid shortages later in the fall.

I picked up my bike from the shop on Friday. It has studded tires, fenders, new gears and brakes, a rack to hold my pannier, rechargeable lights and a bell. My new red hood is hanging by the back door, along with a pair of splash pants and my reflective vest. I have a bottle of chain oil that I will use daily, and a rag to wipe down my bike after each ride.

Red and white Trek bicycle with studded tires.

It is definitely too early for winter riding, but I am ready (and ridiculously excited).

Diane Harper is a public servant in Ottawa. She doesn’t love commuting, except by bicycle.

It can be hard to work out in the winter – find what joy you can
fitness

It can be hard to work out in the winter – find what joy you can

Diane Harper1 Comment

My friend and electronic work-out buddy Diana sent me a note this week saying how hard she find it to work out in the winter. She was complaining specifically about the poor job her town had done of cleaning the sidewalks, she was constantly bracing her back against a possible fall.

I empathize; I often feel like an arthritic penguin, and return home with muscles so tightly clenched that I need a heating pad and foam roller to loosen up again. It is even worse for people with mobility issues. I don’t like climbing over the ice berms left by street ploughs that block sidewalks, but at least I don’t need to navigate with a wheelchair, cane, walker, or simply fragile bones.

Other activities can be tough too. Snowstorms, icy roads and bitter cold can all make it hard to get motivated to get off the couch and go to the gym or studio. Then there is all the bundling up, and needing to go out while still sweaty, or damp from the pool or a shower. If you use a bike as your main means of transport, your ride can be downright treacherous, as well as cold.

Some people embrace the winter by skiing, skating or snowshoeing, which is great. Sadly, the weather has been so unpredictable this year that I haven’t gotten out to do any of those things. Too cold, too icy, too snowy, not enough snow… sigh.

Working from home most of the time, I didn’t even get to do my annual stunt of skiing or snowshoeing to the office during a storm. but today I did get an unexpected little walk thanks to the remaining impact of the occupation of Ottawa. My usual route to drive to the office was blocked by concrete barriers, so I parked the car and walked.

Snow-covered concrete barrier and traffic cones blocking the road to a bridge in the background.

It wasn’t far, but I got a few minutes to enjoy the snow, and appreciate a couple of busy squirrels in a tree.

Two squirrels in the branches of a tree, with a grey sky behind and snow falling in the foreground.

The late winter mood blahs will end soon. I know this because today was the first day of flood prevention on the Rideau River. Before I know it, I’ll be tempted to complain about the bugs or the heat, but I promise to take a moment find the beauty in my surroundings.

View of a frozen river, with big chunks of snow-covered ice sitting in rows. There are grey trees in the background, and snow is falling.

Diane Harper lives in Ottawa.

fitness · holidays · meditation · mindfulness · motivation · winter · yoga

Making Space: Day 21

Christine Hennebury

Here in the Northern Hemisphere, today is the Winter Solstice so I thought I’d seek out some solstice-related yoga and meditation.

Well, that was an adventure. If you have lots of space in your day today, search YouTube for ‘Winter Solstice Yoga’ – you could spend all day being mindful, listening to music, doing asanas and yoga nidra, and still not run out of videos so I’m sure you can find something to match your time, space, and mood today.

Since I am working on the assumption that you probably have to work to squeeze in your movement and breathing space during December, I selected two short videos.

Please remember, though, that your space-making is for you and for your own purposes so please, please, please, choose what you have time for and what makes you happy.

Here’s your star for your hard work, no matter what that entails for you today: ⭐️

Side note: I just found these printable solstice colouring sheets for adults. If colouring is your kind of things, those could be a good meditative way to make space, too. The good thing about a winter scene is that you don’t even need colouring pencils or crayons, you could use a pencil and a black or blue pen and just fill everything in with patterns.

Here‘s a lovely short yin yoga practice that I found. I enjoyed how straightforward it was and I love doing ‘thread the needle.’

A short yoga practice from the Jiva Yoga Live YouTube channel. The still image shows a person sitting on a yoga mat with their legs far apart. They are wearing winter clothes on top and pink capri pants on bottom and their feet are bare. A winter scene with snow, trees and a snow covered cabin has been photoshopped behind them. Text over the image reads ‘Yin yoga sequence for winter’

And here’s a short meditation/ritual/practice for Winter Solstice that I found very restful.

If you are in the Southern Hemisphere and today is your summer solstice, maybe you would like these practices instead:

A Summer Solstice Yoga Flow from the Vitalized Body YouTube channel. Still image is of a person kneeling on a purple yoga mat in an indoor yoga studio.
A summer solstice meditation from Karen Dibs’ YouTube channel. Still image features an outdoor scene with the instructor sitting cross legged in a hammock. There is a green lawn dotted with trees and several dogs are shown in the foreground.

Enjoy!

dogs · gear · nature · walking · winter

For Christine H, A Little Planning = Big Fun

Christine Hennebury1 Comment

Last winter, I made an unfortunate error in judgement.

I left our snowshoes in the shed, planning to take them out once it snowed enough to use them regularly.

I didn’t realize that when it finally snowed enough, it would actually snow TOO MUCH and my shed door would be blocked by ice and snow for months.

In fact, I never did get around to snowshoeing last winter. Not even once. And that was annoying.

Annoying enough that I actually made a solid plan this past fall so it wouldn’t happen again. This year, when I put the patio furniture in the shed for the winter, I took my snowshoes out and stored them in my basement.*

Last week, as I was walking Khalee down the snow-covered sidewalk and distracting her from attempting to detour onto the walking trails near our house, I realized that I was missing an opportunity.

A n outdoor photo of anwan and a dog. The woman is looking toward the camera. The dog is looking at the woman and partially blocking our view.
I tried to get us both in the photo. I guess I was sort of successful. PS: I am wearing my hatphones! Image description: An outdoor photo of Christine and her dog, Khalee. Christine, a woman in her late forties, wearing a black toque, scarf and jacket, has a reddened nose and cheeks because of the cold, she is looking toward the camera. Only the right side Khalee’s face is visible, she is looking toward Christine and partially blocking our view.

If I took out my snowshoes, I could let Khalee bound around in the snow on the path while I sauntered over the top of it without sinking up to my shins.

Now our afternoon walks are mini-adventures for the two of us. (Something Sam and Cheddar and friends clearly know all about!) Snowshoeing on a snowy path with trees on one side and a river on the other is much more relaxing than walking on a snow-smudged sidewalk with a dirty bank of snow on one side and the road on the other.

A snowy footpath extends through some sparse woods.
Even though there is a school just on the other side of the trees and there are houses on the other side of the river, this walk feels a lot more nature-y. Image description: a snow-covered path, covered in footprints, extends forward. There are lots of trees on the left and a few on the right. There is a lower spot to the right where a river lies beneath the snow.

And yes, there are a few challenges involved in the process. For example, Khalee is not a fan of the fact that I have to go out first and put on my snowshoes before letting her outside and she gets a bit worked up about that. And it is tricky to manage a bounding dog on a leash while trying to walk on snowshoes. And then there is the maneuvering involved in trying to ‘stoop and scoop’ while wearing snowshoes and being connected to a dog whose business at this location is complete and who is ready to move quickly away to the next adventure.

A medium-sized blond dog in a red sweater with white hearts on it stands on a snowy path.
Does Khalee need this sweater? I don’t know, I can’t tell if it’s too cold to be out in ‘just’ her fur but I use the same principle I used to use with the kids – if I am going to have to worry about you being chilly, we have to bring a sweater for you. Khalee has to put hers on in advance because I would never be able to wrestle her into it while we were on the path. I’ll bet it would be funny to watch me try though. Image Description: A medium-sized BLOND (This was autocorrected to blind initially but that is incorrect, she isn’t blind.) dog in a red sweater with white hearts on it, stands on a snowy path. She is on a leash attached to a harness and she is looking away from the camera. The path is covered in footprints.

But, even with those challenges, it’s still a lot of fun and it feels a bit more cardio-y than our usual walks.

I’m really glad that I had the foresight to do that little bit of planning back in the fall.

*This kind of planning may not seem like a big deal to the neurotypical but the capacity to think ahead like this has never come naturally to me, especially about stuff that is just for fun. Just another way that my medication has made a positive difference for me.

Sam hates November but loves bright, sunny, snowy days (a photo essay as a reminder)
fitness · season transitions · winter

Sam hates November but loves bright, sunny, snowy days (a photo essay as a reminder)

Sam B3 Comments

Like Tracy, I’ve been struggling to get outside this winter. Yes, there’s been some fat biking. There have been a few long snowy dog walks. But generally, on a weekly basis, it feels like days whoosh by when I don’t leave the house. Like this week, it was suddenly Friday and I realized I went out just once.

I blog lots about how much I hate grey November days but I do love winter sunshine. January and February are usually good months for snow and sun. It’s the in-between stage of winter I hate when it’s too cold and icy to ride my bike but not yet snowy enough to fat bike, cross country ski etc.

But this February feels different and I’m thinking it’s really about the pandemic not just about the weather. Right now we’re at the stage in Canadian winter when the temperatures feel daunting. The combination of stay at home orders in the province where I live and some -15 windy, grey, icy days means an awful lot of indoor time.

What I love, and I need to remind myself of this, is the bright winter sun. I’m not sure why I need to remind myself about this. I’m not sure why it feels so much like work during the pandemic to remember the good things. But it does. Are there things that you know make you feel better but you still need reminding? Still need a push out the door? Walking in the sunshine, in winter, is like this for me.

It’s also Family Day here in Ontario. As pandemic winter continues, I really miss my family members who don’t live with me. I think I’m going to make an effort to visit outside more often even though it’s cold.

Dog hikes, family, sun and snow. All good.

Sunny winter farm photos

I also love reading in my llama pjamas, late Sunday breakfasts, and coffee! These are things I know make the weekend better but I don’t need reminding about them.

What are some of your favourite weekend things? I feel the need these days to mark the weekend and make it special. Otherwise, all the days blur into one.

Hope you had a good weekend and if you’re in one of Canadian provinces that celebrate it, hope you’ve got a happy family day ahead of you.

Enjoy!

Breakfast, French toast and strawberries