I’ve driven to Museum of Civilization and back this Sunday. It is a 48km ride all together. Here are some of my thoughts:

– When going for a bike ride always bring pick-nick lunch. You never know how far you’ll go or how long you’ll stay. When I set out for the ride, I planned to not go further than Andrew Hayden park about 20 minutes out of Kanata. An hour later, I was in Gatineau.

– Always have a list of different places where you can go during the high sun hours. Museum of Civilization was perfect because it had a lot of space for Trevor to run around in and for us to have lunch. Some exhibits, such as the First People’s Hall, are free so if you’ve already been to the Children’s Museum twice that month, you can save the $10 fee and still have a nice noon hour.

– Child proof museums are the best thing ever for parents with active toddlers. National Arts Gallery was a bit of a challenge because of lack of interest and exposed artwork, but Museum of Civilization (particularly Children’s Museum section), Natural History Museum and Museum of Technology are all a hit. I have to consider getting the family membership as the fees run in $10 range.

– the section between Corkstown and Beaverbrook is the most boring bike path ever. Plus there’s a strange wind angle which makes biking really hard. Not pleasant at all after you’ve already been biking for three hours. Next time I might even consider biking the Corkstown road hill, just to avoid it.

– I was somewhat divided between bike trailers and toddler seats you put on the back of the bike. I’d still like to try the bike seat. Trevor either falls asleep or complains in the trailer which he probably wouldn’t do in the seat. This is good or bad depending on the plans for the day. On the way back he lied down sideways on the little bench in the trailer. How he managed to do that while tied with a 5-point harness is beyond me but he seemed insistent on that position. Trailer was quite convenient in that I could bring a backpack and my proper purse with me (perhaps even a change of clothes). I had a pick-nick blanket and some toys there too, just in case. When we went to the museum, I took it with us as a stroller. I don’t know if I would be comfortable enough leaving it locked with the bike. It was a hit at the museum, some Japanese tourists and later a little boy thought it was an exhibit and started pushing it around.

– I really want to get some cycling shorts. I did not feel like I needed them before while I was biking to Carleton, but I would have been much more comfortable while pulling the trailer. I didn’t feel that pulling the trailer was too much work, but I did ride much slower than usual and I felt quite exhausted the next day.