I never would have thought that just 30 minutes outside of the city of Colombo amazing views of the Indian ocean, a dutch canal, coconut palms, jungle vines, and monitor lizards. On Sunday morning at 6:30 am, however, I was proved very wrong when we pulled into a sandy parking lot for a bike ride with no ending time.

I told myself that I wouldn’t enjoy the bike ride in protest of being woken up at 6 am on a weekend, but I honestly haven’t felt that happy and free in a long time. Not free as in having previously been trapped, but stress and worry-free and happy because of it. As we rode side by side to canals, it felt as if we were in the middle of nowhere, then a truck smelling of fish would fly past us breaking the peacefulness for a few seconds. The first 12 km of the bike ride seemed to go by very fast and the next 17.69 km of the ride was slightly harder but just as rewarding and enjoyable. There were definitely several moments where I felt as if the bike ride was never ever going to end, and I remember telling myself to ignore the pain in my legs and numbness of my butt, and finally, after 29.69 km later the bike ride was done.

I learned a lot about Colombo from this bike ride, as well as myself (as weird as that sounds). I learned that I have the ability to bike 30km, that the current of the canals is dependent on the tide, I learned about the architectural history of the country and how it been impacted by the Dutch, British, and Portuguese, and I also learned that I shouldn’t make a decision about an experience without actually experiencing it.

   

LO1: I was learned and identified that I was able to do long-distance bike rides but that I still need to improve on my stamina and leg strengths so that for the next bike ride, I can do and feel better.

 

LO2: I have never done a bike ride over 10km so this was both new and challenging, but I’m starting to develop new strengths with biking.

LO6: This was an engagement in the culture of Sri Lanka.

Our Bike trip: