River Adventures

It has been grey here for the past week. This is not my favorite weather. I would way rather -25 and sunny than -10 and grey, but the bonus to cloudy skies is warmer weather, which means it has been perfect for skating!

Even more perfect, for the first time in almost 10 years, the annual skating trail on the rivers of Winnipeg stretches almost to our house! The end of the trail is about 3 blocks away, so Rudi and I have been skating daily.

Yesterday, we did the whole trail! That's a grand total of 15kms on skates! I was so sweaty by the end that I had to change all of my clothes. I worked as hard as if I had run the distance, but bonus, skating is non-impact and so doesn't hurt my knees.

I love skating, but it is a bit of production with the stroller.

First, we walk down to the river access point at Arlington St. Then we have to tackle the stairs. Going down isn't so bad, but hauling the stroller back up those steps after skating 15kms is not just a little workout. I like to think of it as baby-crossfit.

Going down, or up! Eitherway, Rudi gets a good view of the sky.

ALL the stairs. That lower red staircase is new! The ppl who make the river trail put it there and it is super-nice because the first time I came down here on my own with Rudi I had to sort of slide/hump the stroller down the riverbank, while avoiding some massive boulders. When I discovered this staircase yesterday I actually cheered out loud.

At the beginning! Rudi is ready for a nap and I am ready for some skating. Rudi slept for almost our entire adventure, as he tends to do. It's just so cozy in the stroller :)

I have had the same cheap figure skates with plastic molded boots since grade 9. I believe they were bought second or third hand because that's how you buy kids sports equipment. I love my skates, even though they are ugly and a bit rusty. They are warm and as comfortable as skates can be, I think and get the job done!

The trail winds down the Assiniboine River to the Forks and then onto the Red River, where it heads south. Along the way are various 'warming huts' and/or art installations. They have only just begun to put out this years warming huts. There are new and creative ones every year. The orange one has been up for a few years and yes, you have to skate through it. I tried taking pictures of what that's like, but they didn't turn out. It is fun, though!

The other end of the trail, at Churhill Drive on the Red River. My glasses are fogging up because I stopped and my sweaty-sweaty face was much warmer than the air around us. This is 7.5kms from where I started, and I also discovered that I had been skating into the wind for the last 3kms or so...it was much easier and therefore foggier on the way back!

Done! Rudi woke up about 2kms from home: perfect! I was exhausted but had to still haul the stroller up all those stairs. I should have counted how many it is. It is hard work!

We've gone skating every day this week except for Wednesday, and it has been so great. It's so fun to do something different for exercise and it feels good to glide along. It's also such a good workout! Yesterday an older must-be-retired gentleman said to me 'You're an intrepid skater! I see you out here every day!' I replied that you have to take advantage of these opportunities while they exist....the trail won't last forever and neither will this warm weather.

This trail is one of the reasons I love Winnipeg in the winter - things like this are amazing. And free! You just have to get out and use it!

And also, someone asked me the other day if you can also walk. You can! There is a walking/running/biking trail next to the skating trail the whole way.

If anyone wants to come skating with us, we go daily at about 10am, give or take a half hour :)