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| Lianne |
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Hey.. It's Lianne.. also checking in from Mongu
When I was a kid I enjoyed going for strolls around the block on my banana seated Strawberry Shortcake bike. It was a way for me to occupy my time and spend quality time with my friends and neighbours.
Now that I am almost 25 years old the face of biking has changed for me…or has it? I enjoy taking my bicycle for a stroll down by the river having the air whip at my hair and the beautiful scenery all around me as I take my bike down a new path on the search for a new adventure. When I look back and relate my experience of biking as a child on the banana seat to me on my much smaller seat now, I see the same excitement and joy, the same yearning to find a new adventure!
The beautiful thing about biking is how practical yet versatile it can be. It can fit almost any lifestyle. I enjoy biking to work – it is economic, cuts down on transmissions, and fits with my hippy side of life. I enjoy the exercise – it creates endorphins after a stressful day and helps with the guilty feelings you may feel after eating those Timbits. I enjoy the rush – downhill biking allows me to feel the rush as I manoeuvre my bike through trees and up and down ramps. I enjoy the challenge – pushing myself to bike from Lilongwe, Malawi to Victoria Falls is something I never doubted biking could do, but something I never saw myself caring out. Once again, biking is taking me on a new adventure.
I was recently training for this bike ride in Inuvik, NWT. The one gym in town was open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. After a shift I would head to the gym and ride for 1-3 hours. I would sit there and watch the gym community at large “climbing Kilimanjaro” on my bike. A month ago I arrived in Mongu, Zambia. Awaiting me was 9 Canadian nursing students, two instructors, and 13 yellow Zambikes. I must admit in the first few weeks the bikese didn’t see much of me. However in the last 3 weeks I have been biking almost daily and remember the pure joy of biking. It has also reminded me how HOT it is in Africa! Nonetheless, I am ecstatic to embark on this journey with my good friends Jessica and Bill. It won’t be easy, but we will do our best to have as much fun and as many adventures as possible!
~lianne
Now that I am almost 25 years old the face of biking has changed for me…or has it? I enjoy taking my bicycle for a stroll down by the river having the air whip at my hair and the beautiful scenery all around me as I take my bike down a new path on the search for a new adventure. When I look back and relate my experience of biking as a child on the banana seat to me on my much smaller seat now, I see the same excitement and joy, the same yearning to find a new adventure!
The beautiful thing about biking is how practical yet versatile it can be. It can fit almost any lifestyle. I enjoy biking to work – it is economic, cuts down on transmissions, and fits with my hippy side of life. I enjoy the exercise – it creates endorphins after a stressful day and helps with the guilty feelings you may feel after eating those Timbits. I enjoy the rush – downhill biking allows me to feel the rush as I manoeuvre my bike through trees and up and down ramps. I enjoy the challenge – pushing myself to bike from Lilongwe, Malawi to Victoria Falls is something I never doubted biking could do, but something I never saw myself caring out. Once again, biking is taking me on a new adventure.
I was recently training for this bike ride in Inuvik, NWT. The one gym in town was open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. After a shift I would head to the gym and ride for 1-3 hours. I would sit there and watch the gym community at large “climbing Kilimanjaro” on my bike. A month ago I arrived in Mongu, Zambia. Awaiting me was 9 Canadian nursing students, two instructors, and 13 yellow Zambikes. I must admit in the first few weeks the bikese didn’t see much of me. However in the last 3 weeks I have been biking almost daily and remember the pure joy of biking. It has also reminded me how HOT it is in Africa! Nonetheless, I am ecstatic to embark on this journey with my good friends Jessica and Bill. It won’t be easy, but we will do our best to have as much fun and as many adventures as possible!
~lianne
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