This change . . . this change is going to be step by step - like all successful change, truth be told. 

 And so, I thought, though (especially during this Covid pandemic) I have not been particularly active - perhaps I could begin again. And I would start by walking, a little longer and a little further each day, until I could find myself again. 

"Where does it start? Muscles tense. One leg a pillar, holding the body upright between earth and sky. The other a pendulum, swinging from behind. Heel touches down. The whole weight of the body rolls forward onto the ball of the foot. The big toe pushes off, and the delicately balanced weight of the body shifts again. The legs reverse position. It starts with a step and then another step and then another that add up like taps on a drum to a rhythm, the rhythm of walking. The most obvious and the most obscure thing in the world, this walking that wanders so readily into religion, philosophy, landscape, urban policy, anatomy, allegory, and heartbreak."  ~ Rebecca Solnit

And so, I thought, though (because of the Covid pandemic) I have become loath to travel on planes and such anymore, I still wish to know of other places, other cultures, other ways of walking this world. 

The hat I wear when I venture out for a walk has a saying on it; it says "Not all who wander are lost". So why not travel virtually? And in a way that tracks my steps, my distance, my effort . . . my walks?

"A little here and a little there will always accumulate, so why be surprised when steady, small steps take you to great places?" ~ Richelle E. Goodrich

So I signed up for a Conqueror Challenge - a means of virtual walking/cycling/swimming, etc that ends in a pretty skucum medal and the wonderful sense of fulfillment after accumulating any number of kilometres or miles. Their motto is "make every mile count". Not only do you benefit health-wise by the incentive to exercise but at points that you achieve along your chosen challenge, they will plant a tree on your behalf! So the earth benefits too - not only from the hundreds of thousands of trees planted but by myself walking more and driving less. Win/win, I say!

I decided to start with the Cabot Trail, a trail that skirts around coast of Cape Breton Island. I chose it for a couple of reasons. We have moved to Nova Scotia and have not yet had the opportunity to explore the province more. I felt this was a chance to do so. It is 185 mi/298km long. I probably, on second thought, should have chose a shorter route for my first one but that is what I did. 

So, on June 4th, 2021, I signed up for the Cabot Trail. And got my race bib.