Elisabeth asked everyone to join her on an October challenge: to walk at least 10 minutes every day in October. Obviously, I am on board with that, and surprisingly, it is sometimes hard to get any walking in when I am on the bike all day. I often do walk to the grocery store, and usually that is at least a half a mile each way, so I do get some steps in, but my average per day is a lot lower than it was when I was at home, that is for sure! My goal was to get 10,000 steps on a non biking day, and do at least 10 minutes on a biking day.
So as not to bore you with a bunch of photos of me walking to the grocery store, I tried to get out to a few more places, and thought I would post a few of my favorites here. Huge thanks to Elisabeth for not only keeping us accountable, but for hosting me in October, and showing me a lot of her favorite walking places, some of which you will see below!
October 1st - October 9th: Laval and Montreal, Quebec
 |
| 1. The Croissant (Crescent), where I walked the dog that I was sitting 2. Streets of Montreal; as always, I loved wandering 3. Nature Center Laval 4. Rachel Street, Montreal; great bike lanes and fun murals 5. Old town, Montreal 6. L'eau! I used to "collect" photos of water/storm drains; there are some really fun old ones in San Francisco and New Orleans. |
October 10th - October 13th: Quebec, including Quebec City
 |
| 1. Church - Champlain 2. Rue St. Louis - Quebec City 3. Rue St. Louis - Quebec City 4. Jacques-Cartier Beach Park - Quebec City 5. St. Lawrence River 6. The Umbrella Street - Quebec City |
October 14th - October 23rd: Nova Scotia
 |
| 1. Peggy's Cove 2. Grand-Pré 3. Cape Split 4. Reservoir 5. Annapolis Valley Trail 6. Walking the kids to school |
October 24th: Vancouver
No photos but I did walk about two miles to get groceries and pho with a friend!
October 25th - October 26th: Bellingham, WA
 |
| 1. Whatcom Museum 2. Sacred Heart, Fairhaven 3. Puget Sound 4. South Bay Trail 5. Fairhaven Village 6. Bellingham sign (the small print says: Olde City of Subdued Excitement) |
October 27th - October 31st: Burlington, WA
 |
| 1. Fairhaven St. 2. Walking around town 3. Fairhaven St. 4. Welcome! 5. Train Wreck Bar and Grill 6. Welcome sign |
I know you are wondering if I achieved my goal of 10,000 steps (about five miles) or 10 minutes every day (about a half mile). I was on the bike 11 days out of 31, which would mean I would need to get about 105 miles, or an average of about 3.4 miles per day in October to reach my goal.
Well, I did achieve it! Some days, it was surprisingly easy, like in Montreal or Bellingham, where I sometimes walked 8-10 miles (of course, on these days my destination was often food related, so I may be a net positive when it comes to calories) or when I had a buddy like Elisabeth to keep me moving. However, some days it was surprisingly hard, like on travel days, rainy days, or on long cycling days when I just wanted to rest!
Here are the stats:
Total walking/hiking activities: 46
Total distance: 112.69 miles
Total elevation gain: 9,703 feet
Average per day (31): 3.63 miles / 313 feet of gain
I call that a win!
Did you participate in the walking challenge? Either way, what was the most interesting place you walked in October?
This post is part of NaBloPoMo. You can find the rest of my posts for this challenge here. You can find the list of participants and their information here.
Well, you know my answer to question one! The most interesting hike was probably Cape Split with you; not because I wasn't familiar with the trail but because we asked each other such probing questions! My favourite hike of the month definitely goes to the woods walk I did with my dad yesterday morning. It was lovely. The weather. The views. The time with him in stretches of comfortable silence...punctuated by little bits of conversation.
ReplyDeleteI think that is one thing our Dads do not have in common; my Dad is chatty! In fact, I remember being a teenager, or even a 20 year old, or wait, even sometimes now, and feeling like WHY can't he just sit in silence for once!?!? But I do love him for it, even though he doesn't understand my need to just reflect.
DeleteKyria, you win the Cool Bloggers Walking Contest! (What? It wasn't a contest? Oh...) Not only did you achieve your goals, but you walked in some amazing places. I loved Elisabeth's detailed recap of your visit on her blog- it sounds so fun.
ReplyDeleteShe definitely did a much better job of recapping our time together. Plus she made me sound like a rock star, which is why I am going to keep her around! :)
DeleteYay! I did get out most days with my girl Hannah. The most fun I had was when they decorated the woods near our house for a haunted hike one weekend. We went during the day and it was fun to see the decorations (although Hannah did not love it).
ReplyDeleteI do love scouting out the Halloween decorations and always have fun trying to find the best ones! I will have to shoot you some pics of my favorites and would love to see your haunted woods!
DeleteI call that a win as well! And not that it was a contest, but what Jenny said...you won!
ReplyDeleteI hesitate on saying that I participated, but only because I walk every day anyway. Part of it is being active, and the other part is being a dog owner. Hands down the most interesting place that I walked was Mohican State Park in Ohio - it was peak fall, and there was a trail that was very challenging in the best way - lots of down, lots of up, and an (optional) suspension bridge and a ladder to get up the trail in one section.
Hey, being a dog owner counts! Don't short change yourself. I say whatever gets you out and about is good enough for me! I plan to keep up the challenge, but it is raining now and I don't wanna go outside! :( Mohican sounds very cool and I did love your post about it! When you come to San Francisco to visit (mee up with?) me, I will take you on some super cool hikes in the redwoods that have twisty paths and some stairs/ladders!!
DeleteWow, Kyria! That's a lot of walking for someone who's already biking a ton. And you walked around some awesome places. I love the title "City of Subdued Excitement." I'm going to use that prepositional phrase A LOT now to describe pretty much everything.
ReplyDeleteLike Birchwood Pie, I walk every day, so I don't feel completely comfy saying I participated, AND a beastly migraine kept me off the walk yesterday. We had a major cold front come through, and I actually lost a bit of my vision from it at one point. So...oh well.
Ug, that sounds hard, Nance! Is it the barometric pressure that causes you issues? It is sometimes hard to go out for a walk for me and often it is just to the grocery store! I have lots of photos of that too, maybe I will share a grocery store walks post one of these days!
DeleteYes, it's about pressure. If I see isobars start to pack in on the surface maps, I know I'm in for it. Big weather changes almost always start a migraine process in me.
DeleteYou walked in so many wonderful, cool places! I love all your photos! I did walk for 10 minutes every day except one. I enjoyed every walk so much! October was gorgeous and it was the perfect month to get out and walk.
ReplyDeleteI left that anonymous comment above! I didn’t realize I wasn’t logged in! đŸ¤£
ReplyDeleteHi! Yes, there were some good places! I am glad that you got out and about, as I am sure it is starting to get cold there! I do love October; it is such a transitory month and the colors are fabulous!
DeleteWhat beautiful walks, fall colours are gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteYes, they really were, and sometimes still are, nice this year!
DeleteHi Kyria! Wow - what amazing photos. I've seen your name in comments, but mostly I'm aware of your meetings with fellow bloggers like Birchie and Lisa. Right? I think those are two that I remember you visiting recently. Your blog title is well suited. So much travel. I've not been to Quebec, but the photos are amazing. I have been to Vancouver. July 2019 my daughter Irish dancing in National Championships there. We brought the whole fam-damily and it's one of my favorite places we visited. I sort of did the Cool Bloggers Club. I run every other day, so sometimes my 'walks' were, um - runs. But I did take tots I babysit for on a walk to check out the scary decorations in the hood. That reminds me, I have to email Elisabeth my latest walk photos.
ReplyDeleteHi Ernie! Yup, I did meet with Lisa and Birchie (and also NGS and Elisabeth and Kae!) It has been a great year of meet ups for me! I also really like Vancouver; there is something about a city with mountains and water, you know what I mean? Runs count as walks for sure!!!
DeleteHey Kyra, finally coming here to read more than an occational post. Your walking looks beautiful. I often times just managed a walk in the dark and then I only stay within your residential area. We are surrounded by woods and I rarely venture there in the dark.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite walk was around the moor. I also planned on a long walk to the little free library but got sidetracked half way and went mushroom hunting instead.
sorry for misspelling your name Kyria...
DeleteHi Tobia! No worries; growing up everyone spelling and pronounced it wrong and I am used to it. A walk in the dark is good! I had the same issue but didn't post those pictures, but many of mine were in the dark too!
DeleteI participated, though my walks were pretty much boring, except that I listen to books or podcasts while I walk, which I enjoy. I miss having my dog as a walking buddy, and hope some day my husband will be ready for another. There was one day when I didn't get an official walk in because we were shopping for washing machines, but I think I got 10 minutes in just walking around Home Depot, so I'm counting it. I'm glad you're doing NaBloPoMo this year!
ReplyDeleteI think shopping for washing machines counts! I sometimes wander more in a store than I do on the street. When I was living in New Orleans, I spiced up my walks by playing a sort of treasure hunt game where I had to find certain things to take photos of. That really helped while away the time!
DeleteOh, I love this round-up and you walked in some beautiful places. And of course you reached your monthly goal - that's definitely a win!
ReplyDeleteI agree! I am glad to have a prod and someone to be accountable to!
DeleteI failed miserably at this… October was a very busy month between quarter end stuff at work at the start of the month (which seriously makes it hard to get away for a 10 minute walk!!) and then I had 2 trips at the end of the month. I did walk a ton during our trip to DC and I ran every weekend. But still - I didn’t do great but I am not good at do something every day challenges… there are plenty of things I do daily but I am not great at adding something new.
ReplyDeleteI declare that you can average it out and call it good! Or like most goals, if it causes you to do more of that thing, even if you don't hit the total goal, I call that a win. And sometimes life gets in the way! Maybe you can just do yours as steps next time, as I am sure you get steps going up and down the stairs at home.
Delete