For some reason, the weather has been a much bigger part of my life these last few years. As I have more time for riding, hiking and skiing, I notice that everything is so weather contingent, and the weather is so very finicky so much of the time. It rains for days on end, and the temperature is often either too cold or too hot. You can’t hike in the spring for all of the mud, (you’d literally be swimming in it) and sometimes, you have to be prepared for ice and snow, long after you would have thought it would be gone. Two weeks ago I had to use crampons (a device that slips on over hiking boots with metal spikes on the soles) on our weekend walk due to the chill in the woods and the fact that so many people had walked there during the winter and had packed down the snow to a solid sheet of ice.
Now that it’s riding season, sort of, with temperatures ranging from just above zero Celsius to about 15 Celsius, I have to remember to wear the correct jacket, leggings, gloves and headbands for each range of temperatures, and avoid rainy days so my bike doesn’t rust or get dirty. I love going to Florida while I wait for the really good weather to arrive. I had a spring training of sorts this year for two weeks where I got started on my riding before it was possible back home. I plan to go back in the fall for more! It’s not that you can’t ride during shoulder seasons, but that the weather only cooperates so much of the time, and that means less riding in the spring and fall than in the summer.
Next month I’m finally heading for Iceland for my long awaited artist residency. Apparently the weather can vary a lot there. I’ve been warned to expect the unexpected at any time. I am bringing a lot of waterproof clothing and shoes as well as lots of layers of clothing to deal with the temperature variations, wind and rain. What I wasn’t expecting, and what I don’t really have any answers for, was the total lifting of any restrictions for the pandemic. Whereas before I thought I could manage with masks and testing requirements, now that all has been lifted, I have to deal with actually having less to protect me from getting ill. The actual case numbers these days makes it look like there will likely be several infected but unaware travellers sharing my plane. Many countries are even lifting the mask requirements for air travel, but I’m thankful Canada has not, but that doesn’t mean that the rules will stay. It is possible more requirements will go away before my trip is over. At least people aren’t getting very sick, especially the vaccinated, but this wasn’t at all what I was expecting to be dealing with.
As I prepare for a month focussed on my writing, I think of how little writing I’ve done so far this year. The pandemic has really killed my creative drive. It’s been difficult to remain bright and happy especially during a hard winter. I look forward to getting some of my artistic mojo back. From what I can tell, Iceland, although not a warm country, has a lot of wild beauty to offer as inspiration. And there are supposedly more writers per capita there than anywhere else in the world! One in four citizens has published their work! Here’s to roaming the globe again soon and meeting lots of interesting people. Happy spring!
