Bikeride to Cumberland

It’s amazing how the body works and sometimes doesn’t work.  Yesterday turned out to be a beautiful day after work and I decided to get on the bike and ride to Cumberland which is (surprisingly) 8.4 kilometers from my house according to Google Maps.  That’s interesting…I thought it was only 5 kilometers away.  Well then I guess that means I biked 16.8 kilometers yesterday which is fine by me.  It was a beautiful day to hit the road and I didn’t know how the Old Montreal Road would be with traffic but it wasn’t too bad at all.

However, the problem was that my body had no energy in it.  It was very strange.  I was never feeling tired, but I realized that I had no power in my legs to push to the limit.  I really couldn’t figure out why it was so hard to pedal my way to Cumberland.  In the end I realized that I had only had a salad at lunch and there was no snack in the afternoon, plus I had not drank any liquids since lunch either.  It’s amazing how the body can lose so much power.  You don’t even realize it with the regular happenings in a day (mainly sitting at a desk) and it isn’t until you get out into some hardcore biking that you realize the power really isn’t there.  I will have to keep this in mind for the next trip (which is hopefully tonight!).

I do love Cumberland village.  It’s an amazing little spot and I’ve often talked to Vero about moving there one day.  We’ve talked about eventually moving in together and buying another house (no firm plans on that one for any inquiring minds) and have always wondered where we should move to.  I would like to think that the next house will be the last house that is purchased for a long time so there are a lot of things to think about:

• Travel Distance to Work: Currently Vero works over in South Nepean so Cumberland is definitely a far trip.  But what if we moved to Aylmer?  Aylmer is a nice spot I’ve always enjoyed and it’s definitely closer to downtown as well as Nepean.
• Privacy: I’ve realized that I don’t care too much for neighbours squished right next to me in the back yard.  I like my privacy.  I like to be able to just sit outside and not have to wonder if the neighbours will come out to chat.  That being said, where can someone get privacy?  It’s definitely attainable, but at what price?  For example, I have always thought of moving to Blackburn Hamlet but the houses there are quite expensive.  Think $400K+.  But there still is privacy in the backyards.  I’m specifically thinking of Lynn’s place in this example.
• Lot Size: The further you move out of the city, the cheaper you pay for a lot.  Hence, the larger lot size you can acquire.  How much land does a person need?  I look at my own house back home and the backyard wasn’t the largest and it did fine.  But I also had the woods in behind the house to play in, or fields to run around in.
• Kid-Friendly: The aspect of thinking of having a house for the next twenty years is a daunting one as you have to think about what you envision your life to be.  I would assume that I’ll one day have kids so you have to wonder if it would be a pain to raise them outside the city in Cumberland where there’s not much going on.  It would be the equivalent of growing up in Moonbeam.  I would constantly be driving the kids some place.  Is that what I want life to become?  Tough call.  Maybe I can teach them how to bike 8.4 kilometres into town.  😉
• Quebec vs. Ontario Living: There are ups and downs for both sides of the border and no one is a clear winner.  I’ve heard stories about bad health care on Quebec side, but great daycare subsidies.  I’ve heard of people moving there for the cheaper real estate, but higher property taxes.
• Proximity to Friends: I enjoy living in Orleans for the few friends that I have living here.  The friends are spread out around the Ottawa area.  So it’s nice to think of a key group of friends being in the same area as I grow older.  If the decision was to move to Aylmer, I don’t think there’s many people living out there.  But at the same time, how much do I see my friends anyhow?

So much to think about and in my case, I don’t think there is a clear winner.  I don’t know what I would rather have…convenience of being closer to work/the city, or the allure of a larger piece of land and privacy.  It’s a tough call to map out the next few decades of your life.