The aftermath…
I have a ten month old border collie puppy and a large chunk of my time is spent trying to find ways to tire her out. If you’ve never had a border collie, then you may not realize how much energy they have. It’s almost and endless reservoir. They need to be occupied, they need WORK, or else they will find work. When they find it on their own it’s usually things like: decorating the entire garage with those bags of potting soil that were stored in the corner; taking an empty cardboard box, shredding it into bite size pieces and distributing it evenly throughout the yard; or digging a hole in the garden big enough to lose the car in. You know, useful stuff like that.
I’ve tried fetch – she can fetch all day and never tire of it. Ditto walking. We could walk from sunup to sundown and she wouldn’t even blink. So I decided today that going for a bike ride would be a totally awesome idea. I can ride, she can run, and a half hour later she’ll want a nap.
Well, three miles later the older dog and I collapsed on the garage floor in a pile of sweat and drool and the pup wasn’t even breathing hard. And she had taken a good half mile detour to chase a car at top speed. We sure showed her!
Yes, I have been lifting weights and slinging kettlebells, but I haven’t ridden a bike for a good two years. The last time was a seven mile ride on a flat, wooded trail, and it was easy. I thought three miles would be no problem, but this three miles was full of hills. No lie, I could hardly walk down the stairs afterwards. I’m glad the older dog was along to verify the difficulty of this adventure. He’s a three year old border collie and is no slouch himself, but he was downright knackered. He would like nothing more than to see the puppy go away anyhow, and now she’s making him look weak. The nerve!
Watch out Lance Armstrong, we’re coming for you! Right after we can move our legs again!
