We never meant it to happen but our years in upstate NY made us a little more sedentary than we were in the UK. The age of the children, the sheer scale of things and for at least some of the year, the weather, made us rely on our cars. We could no longer easily walk to the dentist, to school or the shops. Nor could Exile #1 bike to work any more. We hiked plenty, of course and eventually Exile #1 became The Running Man but for the everyday stuff we drove.
Apart from the weather, things are a little different here in Maine and we are beginning to stretch our legs again. In particular, with E5N1 now being happy on two wheels, new opportunities present themselves. We biked over to his school playground on Friday and met up with a new friend of Exile #4. We can walk or bike to the local shops and today we discovered a new excitement, the Eastern Trail. This is an old railway line that is being gradually restored to provide an off road hiking/biking trail from Kittery to Portland. Parts of it are fully functional now and one of those begins not too far from where we live.
We weren't sure how it was going to go, it being the first time the whole lot of us had taken to two wheels together and barring one friendly entanglement with a couple of other cyclists, we had a great time. We rode some miles to a local preserve, explored the falls and cycled back.
I think we might finally have found a way to use up E5N1's energy as he looked ready to drop this evening. Still, it could be because, unlike the rest of us, he celebrated getting home by eating lunch and then...going to ride his bike.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Anonymous comments allowed - Name (with optional URL) preferred.