Biking in the Gatineau Hills

Last weekend, after we turned off the Olympic broadcast, I turned to Shawn and said "I should go to the Olympics for cycling."  He thought for a moment and said "I should take you to the Gats."

And so it came to be that yesterday I was climbing through the rolling hills of Gatineau Park for the first time.  It was fun; an alternation of exhausting and exhilarating. On the second half of the ride, while I was wondering where the bottom half of my lungs were hiding, I saw Mike Woods.  I was descending, tired and leery.  He was climbing, chit-chatting with his friend, fresh-faced, as if it was the easiest ride he had ever done.  I suspect it was - at least for this season.  When I got home, I looked him up on Strava.  He has ridden more miles this week than I have the entire season.  Turns out I might not be ready to make an Olympic commitment.

That might be Shawn's secret to being a mastermind husband: he didn't cut down my delusional dreams... he sat back, supported me while taking an opportunity to steal me away from the kids, and let an Olympian do the dream-crushing for him.