The name certainly doesn’t inspire much but I guess a long weekend is a long weekend. Still, on a foggy morning bike ride I stopped to give it some thought. All the other holiday weekends in the year have something significant attached to them. Victoria day (to the Queen!), Canada Day (to the Realm!) Thanksgiving (to the harvest!) and so on. Even Remembrance day is taking a bigger role in this day and age (as it should)…. But Civic long weekend? Quebecers (perhaps rightly so) thought this was pretty lame and abandoned this long weekend in favour of St. Jean Baptiste day in June. Solid thinking. Surely there is some honorary citizen(living or dead) or patron saint that is currently under appreciated. What about David Thompson who explored and mapped most of North America before they had personal GPS units. Or perhaps an actor like Lorne Greene (in Ottawa we are aware that Shannon Tweed is not up for discussion). Maybe a politician like Sir John A. or a military hero like Billy Bishop or Laura Secord (heroism and choclate... good combination). Maybe Norman Bethune or Tommy Douglas… What about the Group of Seven (might need a whole week off for them)… And maybe that’s the problem right there. Too many good options and not enough resolve to celebrate one and leave the others out. In Ottawa (the nation’s capital) on the “Main street” we have plinths (tall stone platforms) prepared for statues to stand on celebrating great Canadians. Since I was a kid they have remained empty. The bridge has been renovated twice in my life and the plinths refreshed… but no statues have been positioned. Very Canadian I suppose - better not offend anyone by selecting one over the other. I guess Civic long weekend will remain. Perhaps a little unmotivational but a long weekend none the less.
I took the opportunity to visit some friends at their cottage near Maniwaki (where it wasn’t a long weekend). The weather this summer has been pretty bleak with record breaking rains and this weekend was right on course. Moments of sun were spent on (or in) the lake before the next round of rainfall came crashing down. I took a sunny morning to ride another section of the Petit Train du Nord trail near Mont Laurier.
It was just a short hop from the cottage so I slipped out early one morning for a nice ride. Saw a lot of people out riding the full trail – utilizing the shuttle to ferry them and their bikes north only to ride back to their car parked in the south, staying at local auberge’s and enjoying the local cuisine along the route. Certainly looks like a pleasant way to spend the weekend.
Returning home to Ottawa my summer took another unexpected turn. On a random stroll through the woods – during a brief sunny period – I stepped on a log. It promptly broke under my foot wrenching it in all directions. The next thing to break was a bone and I was left hobbling out of the forest to seek medical attention. An x-ray the next morning confirmed that I won’t be climbing any high peaks for a little while to come (not that I've logged any this summer :( ). Tried to come up with a more exotic tale to relate on the blog. One that involves heroism of the highest order on my part (and a broken bone for my effort) but couldn’t come up with anything decent. Perhaps the non-descript nature of the injury is fitting of the non-descript long weekend. Certainly I don’t expect anyone will be naming the August long weekend after me.
The name certainly doesn’t inspire much but I guess a long weekend is a long weekend. Still, on a foggy morning bike ride I stopped to give it some thought. All the other holiday weekends in the year have something significant attached to them. Victoria day (to the Queen!), Canada Day (to the Realm!) Thanksgiving (to the harvest!) and so on. Even Remembrance day is taking a bigger role in this day and age (as it should)…. But Civic long weekend? Quebecers (perhaps rightly so) thought this was pretty lame and abandoned this long weekend in favour of St. Jean Baptiste day in June. Solid thinking. Surely there is some honorary citizen(living or dead) or patron saint that is currently under appreciated. What about David Thompson who explored and mapped most of North America before they had personal GPS units. Or perhaps an actor like Lorne Greene (in Ottawa we are aware that Shannon Tweed is not up for discussion). Maybe a politician like Sir John A. or a military hero like Billy Bishop or Laura Secord (heroism and choclate... good combination). Maybe Norman Bethune or Tommy Douglas… What about the Group of Seven (might need a whole week off for them)… And maybe that’s the problem right there. Too many good options and not enough resolve to celebrate one and leave the others out. In Ottawa (the nation’s capital) on the “Main street” we have plinths (tall stone platforms) prepared for statues to stand on celebrating great Canadians. Since I was a kid they have remained empty. The bridge has been renovated twice in my life and the plinths refreshed… but no statues have been positioned. Very Canadian I suppose - better not offend anyone by selecting one over the other. I guess Civic long weekend will remain. Perhaps a little unmotivational but a long weekend none the less. 
I took the opportunity to visit some friends at their cottage near Maniwaki (where it wasn’t a long weekend). The weather this summer has been pretty bleak with record breaking rains and this weekend was right on course. Moments of sun were spent on (or in) the lake before the next round of rainfall came crashing down. I took a sunny morning to ride another section of the Petit Train du Nord trail near Mont Laurier. 
It was just a short hop from the cottage so I slipped out early one morning for a nice ride. Saw a lot of people out riding the full trail – utilizing the shuttle to ferry them and their bikes north only to ride back to their car parked in the south, staying at local auberge’s and enjoying the local cuisine along the route. Certainly looks like a pleasant way to spend the weekend. 
Returning home to Ottawa my summer took another unexpected turn. On a random stroll through the woods – during a brief sunny period – I stepped on a log. It promptly broke under my foot wrenching it in all directions. The next thing to break was a bone and I was left hobbling out of the forest to seek medical attention. An x-ray the next morning confirmed that I won’t be climbing any high peaks for a little while to come (not that I've logged any this summer :( ). Tried to come up with a more exotic tale to relate on the blog. One that involves heroism of the highest order on my part (and a broken bone for my effort) but couldn’t come up with anything decent. Perhaps the non-descript nature of the injury is fitting of the non-descript long weekend. Certainly I don’t expect anyone will be naming the August long weekend after me.
4 comments:
Sorry to hear about your foot. I hope it mends quickly.
Bummer!
At least you are wise enough to injure yourself within a reasonable distance to a trailhead. I would be willing to bet that Adirondack mud would make a soothing balm, just a suggestion.
Thanks Jo-Ann - It will surely be time to get serious about ski season once I'm back on my feet.
Mike - I think Canadian mud will be fine for now... but in a few weeks I'll be eager for some of that ADK stuff. Have a good trip across the pond.
Ouch! That bites. Here's hoping you're a quick healer. Get well soon.
PS: Ever consider bionics?
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