Arthur, dog of the mountains

Hello Everyone,

Apologies for the delay in posting.

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If you travel to the town of Mountain, Ontario, with skis strapped to your car, hoping for some gravity-based outdoor adventure, you're in for a hell of a disappointment. Even more so if you go to South Mountain. There are no mountains there. Or anywhere nearby. Or all of Eastern Ontario, for that matter. Even the Gatineau Hills are aptly named. The only thing that comes close, and that is close, is Mont Ste. Marie. It's an hour and a quarter north of Ottawa, but is the only protrusion from the Earth that could possibly qualify as a mountain. For someone into mountain biking, it's a big draw. And Arthur had never been there. My roommate and I share many qualities. Social awkwardness, fondness for a certain orange poodle, and a love of outdoor sports. Arthur has been missing out on that last one, and I was going to fix that. So, last Thursday, I packed up the bike and made my way through downtown traffic and onto the open road. The trail at MSM consists of a long, arduous climb up the mountain and an exhilarating ride down. I like it because you have to earn your fun. You need the legs to make the climb and the skill to make the descent. Arthur, with his 4X4 traction, happily and easily trod alongside me as I grinded my way up the mountain. When we made it to the top, I was a sweaty mess and breathing hard. He barely sipped any water. We took a few pictures, but a storm was coming in, so we had to keep moving. Now it was my turn to show off. Arthur is pretty fast, but the descents favoured the bike. If I pointed my nose down and let'r haggle, I could outpace him for a bit. Of course, I was stuck to the (incredibly fun) sweeping turns of the course, while he could just cut across the terrain if he felt he was falling behind. He can also take the rough and rocky bits at a speed I can't match. Though I didn't really doubt that he'd love playing on an actual mountain, I was still happy to see how much he enjoyed it. We careened through the corners and flew across the straights. There's been a lot of rain, so the streams had plenty of water. I'd stop on the bridges so he could get a drink and catch his breath a little. His tongue was hanging pretty far out the side of his mouth when we got to the bottom, and he was happy to hang out in the back of the car as I practiced my wheelies for a bit in the parking lot. When we got home, we were both a little sore and gingerly made our way up the stairs. It was a good ride.

#Arthur #Dogs