I escaped winter for two months so wasn’t lifting weights while I was in South Africa. Home a week now, and having exhausted all excuses and all strategies for delay, I dragged myself back there today. It’s always an ordeal to get there, always, and then, 10 minutes into the workout I remember that I […]
Category: Life
Mornings like this
There’s a coffee cart a few blocks over from where I’m staying here in Stellenbosch. It’s only open until 9. Some mornings, instead of plugging the kettle in, I dress and walk the 0.9km for the best cortado in town. The path there meanders through the woods, along a playful stream that frolics towards town. […]
Lopsided days
Abandoning routine I’m in Stellenbosch, South Africa, where I’ve come to escape the oppressive wet and grey of Squamish. When the magnolias bloom, I’ll head home, but not a moment before. So for now, I’m working remotely and riding my bike in the sunshine. Winter crushed me in so many ways, so I’m here to […]
Solo Travel
Most of the time, when I travel, it’s solo travel. I have no one in my life who’d want to go to South Africa to escape winter and ride bikes for an extended period of time. Ok wait – a few people might want to, but no one who’s ready to make it happen. When […]
The “special occasion” dishes
Growing up, we had a set of dishes for everyday use, and then another red set of dishes that came out only at Eid, or when we had guests for dinner. I remember the long washing plank being brought in from the outside basin where my mother did the laundry by hand. The plank would […]
Making peace with running
I am not a runner, or so my brain tells me. But I’m learning that not everything I believe is true and am untangling the limiting beliefs. Running and I have a complicated relationship, actually its marginally abusive. I try every few years, running beats me to a pulp and I skulk off to the […]
A fleeting memory
A conversation with my brother sparked a memory from a trip to India almost 10 years ago. I think we were talking about solo travel in places with a language barrier, but I don’t really remember. I was traveling from Benares to Agra by train. I had spent a few days along the Ganges and […]
The best years of my life
I often talk to people who are holding their heads in despair as they approach 50, thinking the end of the world is nigh. When I was turning 50, someone sent me this graphic as a birthday greeting. What a clever way to reframe it. The year I turned 49, I took a solo trip […]
12 things about racing
Thoughts on Training
Everyone in my universe has heard me go on and on about taking on the BC Bike Race this summer. While many people in my circle could do it off the couch, it’s a daunting endeavour for me. I’ve been training diligently since October, and still, I’m uncertain that it will be enough. My race […]