We have been doing the CHEO ride for over twenty years now!!! First it was just Chris and I and then followed years of trailers, bike seats, cargo bikes and tiny bikes in tow. Every year was exciting and different and new.

This time I realized that we can do the longest offered distance – something none of us have ever done before. The 70 km route included the parts we have done many times, the Parkway and Canal with the iconic ride down Laurier street (with no car traffic, woohoo!!!). New to us were Sussex Street, Rockliffe and Aviation Parkway. The embassies, official residences and headquarters by the dozen! We have driven down those but never rode through on a bike. Because we rode in from Kanata, we skipped the Dows Lake part and rejoined the lycra crowd by crossing the first pedestrian bridge over the canal. The experience was amazing. No pictures because we were having so much fun.

So kids, you know Pink Lake? Yes. You can ski up to it, yes? You can bike up to it too then!

I could not believe it but my little ducklings were up for a hilly challenge very early in the biking season.

They also found the last bit of snow and got into a scrape.

Everyone was fine in the end and they were still willing to bike with me the next weekend.

For a last couple of years I was looking for a spectator sport for myself. I don’t “get” hockey and, while I enjoy skiing, watching it just makes me sad I am not out skiing myself. I tried getting into biathlon but I find the coverage to be disconnected as they are trying to cover too many people doing too many things at the same time. I love watching Winter Olympics but that is only every four years. Finally this summer I found it – dotwatching!

Dotwatching is following ultra distance self supported bike races through interactive maps and social media. The two races that I followed this summer were the Transcontinental Race (this year the control points were in Belgium, Austria, Slovenia, Poland, Bosnia And Greece) and Silk Road Mountain Race through Kyrgyzstan. I kind of missed the boat on TransAm Race, but I will try and follow it next summer. These races are on the low budget side which means that there isn’t a lot of media coverage. All you get is a map with GPS signals from the riders and some pretty photographs. These races last for about two or three weeks non stop and much of the media content is generated by contestants themselves.

Apart from the athletic aspect, the racers need to figure out how to get places, where to eat and sleep and how to solve problems along the way. What I like most of all is that women compete in the same category as men. Sure, there is a prize for the first woman but the challenge is the same and everyone is competing for the same spots on the rating list. If you are interested, 2015 film, “Inspired to Ride” is a good introduction to the sport.