unCanadian

In so many ways, I’m very much an unCanadian Canadian.  I don’t really care for hockey.  I never watch it on TV.  Skating was my favorite part when I used to play.  But to be honest, I mostly only kept signing up because I couldn’t ride my bike during the winter.  In 2010.  Tired of the indoor trainer, I tried x-country skiing.  I loved the being outdoors part of the sport.  But my skate technique sucked.  And because of this I never seemed to be able to ski comfortably.  Then.  In 2016.  After my concussion.  I bought a fat bike.  I had resisted for years.  They just seemed too damn slow.  But at that point in my life, slow was exactly what I needed.  My fat bike saved me during that first winter after hitting my head.  Unhurried easy solo rides were my therapy.  They still are really.  Growing up, I remember spending countless hours ogling over pics in my BMX magazines, dreaming of living in California where I could ride my bike year round.  I have always been and will always be a summer soul, but I have come to appreciate that there is something very special about riding a bike in the depths of winter.  Something about the arctic snow cover that slows everything down including my thoughts.  Something about the wintry stillness that enhances the taste of my forest-tea.  In so many ways, my fat bike has literally changed my relationship with our Canadian winters from something to suffer through and endure to something to cherish and enjoy.  Bikes are simply authentically me.  An unCanadian Canadian.  Madly in love.  With pedaling outdoors.