Three weeks ago today, the LTC started collecting fares again (since the pandemic started, they had to stop collecting fares because they had to make riders board from the read door to avoid infecting the drivers). Since then, I’ve avoided using the bus because they were awful (late, early, unreliable, etc.) before the pandemic, let alone during the pandemic, and while it was tolerable while it was free, I’m definitely not inclined to pay for terrible service.
I haven’t had to go out in the past three weeks, but I did take my bike acorss town to get a 4L tub of ice-milk (ice-cream with less fat) that was on sale at No Frills. It was a 20-30 minute ride there and again back, and yes, it was uphill both ways (there’s a hill, so I have to go up in each direction). I wasn’t sure I’d make it, but I did, and after that, I was so excited, that I biked down to FreshCo to get a couple of bottles of laundry detergent that were on sale, which turned out to be bigger and heavier than I expected, yet I still made it.
I was really getting excited and pumped about being able to ride my bike long distances and actually go grocery-shopping with it (I don’t have a basket; I put stuff in a backpack and if necessary, a âfrontpackâ).
This morning, the weirdest thing happened. I was getting ready to go to FreshCo to get some produce, and had the thought that instead of crossing the road and then going down towards FreshCo like I did the last few times, I could go down the road first and then cross the road and see this side of the road. Suddenly, I got an surprising and strong urge to hurry up and get going.
After I got home, showered, ate lunch, sat and unwound while watching YouTube videos, getting drowsy and recovering from the hard ride, I was looking at the online flyers and map and figuring out what’s on sale where next week to decide where I can/should go. It turned out that next week’s shopping is (thankfully) relatively light (both in quantity and weight). I need to go to No Frills and Giant Tiger to get a few vegetables, so that’s a light, if long trip. Likewise, I need to get apples and a couple of vegetables from FreshCo, so that’s barely anything at this point.
The big boy is getting a 10lb bag of onions from Food Basics. It’s the lowest price I’ve seen for onions in a long time, so I have to get it (and in fact, feel tempted to get two). In addition, they’ve got those large cans of Chunky soups and stews on sale at the lowest price I’ve seen those, so I want to get a lot of those (at least two of each kindâexcept for the seafood ones đ¤˘).
The problem is that Food Basics happens to be the farthest of all of the stores I frequent. It’s pretty darn far. It’s a 30 minute bike ride, and has at least a couple of hills on the way which I have to go up in each direction. Returning with 10-30 pounds of extra weight is a very daunting thought. That said, I remembered that the first time I biked to No Frills, I missed the turn at Cheapside st. and ended up going all the way to Oxford and then back up to No Frills. Food Basics at Oxford and Highbury and I passed it on my way to No Frills. Moreover, when I went yesterday, I almost missed the turn to Cheapside and could see Oxford down the road and realized it wasn’t as far as I thought. Thinking of this, as well as how close Highbury felt yesterday, I realized that Food Basics now feels closer than before, so I was suddenly excited to go.
I then decided to look up thrift stores in town to see if I can thrift for old video-games and found that there were four places on the way of a round-trip that hits FreshCo, Food Basics, and No Frills, so I definitely intend to check them the next time I go out. And then boom! I felt a strong compulsion to get dressed and jump on my bike and go. I didn’t (there’s no rush; I have a full week to get to get to them all), but I definitely felt the urge to go and even felt impatience around dinner time when the sun was starting get lower because tomorrow was still too far. đ
What the heck is happening? Why am I so eager to ride hard and long distance on my bike? Am I turning into someone who likes exercise? đ¤¨
(For the record, no, it’s just that this still feels novel, like when I set up the elliptical in my room or brought the weights up. I was just as eager to do cardio and lift weights for a while, until the novelty eventually wore off. I’m sure I’ll eventually lose interest in riding my bike too. Then again, I’ve been riding my bike now and then in the summer for the past few years, but now I’m exceptionally eager, especially for going shopping and the extra weight of the groceries. đ¤ I think it’s mostly due to the feeling of freedom. Driving makes me uncomfortable because of the cost of gas, worrying about police, worrying about car problems, worrying about other drivers, etc., and the bus is just awful for many reasons, so maybe feeling free to come and go whenever I want without any concerns just feels liberating, and that’s what feels so good. 𤡠Also, I’m probably hoping that riding hard will help me lose weight and get in shape faster, which feels good because the extensive dieting and exercising I’ve been doing for the past several months haven’t been helping too much. :-|)