On Vacation for a Month

(Originally published Aug. 22, 2007).

Let me take a moment to brag. I am delighted to announce that I have gone from couch potato to budding athlete over the summer months. In the process, I have dropped 14 pounds and toned up muscles I didn’t know I possessed.

The secret? Bicycling. And Weight Watchers.

The motivating factor? Our upcoming Bike ’n’ Barge trip in the Netherlands

My husband and I chose the Netherlands because it is nice and flat. No nasty hills to climb. Also, it is a bicycle-friendly country with miles and miles of off-road trails that criss-cross the country and meander along canals and rivers. Every day, for seven days, we will bicycle 40 – 60 kilometers (25 – 38 miles) over a network of bicycle trails, while the barge sails to the next location. This sounds ideal to me — no packing and unpacking, no relocating in a new place every night. Our hotel moves along with us. Sounds ideal.

After our biking trip, we hop on a train and head for Paris where we rent a car for the next three weeks to explore the Loire Valley. Mm-mm-mm. Good wine, French cuisine, chateaux, beautiful countryside. Hopefully, we will rent bikes and exercise away some of the poundage that is bound to accumulate.

My next blog will be when I return, when I will let you know about my trip.