I live with a dog named Gobi. She’s a delightfully energetic and affectionate miniature schnauzer. As I write this she’s lazing peacefully on the couch, flanked by me and Geetha. The three of us are watching the Strade Bianche. The season has begun (for us), Tadej Pogačar is the favourite of course and we’re itching to see where he starts his attack this time.
Back to Gobi. She’s not really interested in the race, at least I don’t think she is. That’s not to say that she doesn’t like or enjoy cycling, the activity. She’s spent plenty of time on a bike. Her two modes of bike travel are on a buddy rider (a bike mounted seat for dogs) in front of me or in a dog carrier backpack behind me.
Imagine a little bearded schnauzer, squinting as the wind blows in her face, perched on a little seat on the top tube of my bike. She occasionally turns back to me to give me a quick lick, or voice a teeny little ruff to assure me that things are still good. Geetha bikes ahead of us and Gobi zeroes in on her. She can’t lose her in the traffic. I pedal to catch up and Gobi looks satisfied when we’re riding in a tighter formation. The little lady likes when the pack is together. Rides like this are one of the great joys of my life.
One of the places we like riding to together when the weather is nice is the Evergreen Brick Works. There’s a great open air market on the weekend and the paths in and out of the quarry make for great walks for humans and dogs alike. Before hitting up the market, it’s a good idea to go for a walk so that the lil’ miss can stretch her legs, get some serious sniffing time in, and do a little sightseeing. There’s turtles (and terrapins), woodpeckers, gulls, herons, hummingbirds, ducks, hawks, and more and more and more. I actually don’t know the names of a lot of the animals we see on these walks. There are snakes as well but we’ve never seen one.
We do a little circuit around the former quarry before heading into the market. One of our go-to’s is the stall that sells these tapioca crepes with savoury fillings. I get the vegetarian which is grilled vegetables and cheese and hoooooooly shit, it is SO good. Geetha has often got the same but the last time we went she got the porchetta which looked and smelled incredible, I’m sure it was as good as she said it was.
Now that the weather is getting better, I am excited to watch more cycling, do more cycling, and spend more time exploring the world with Gobi and Geetha.