Fitness, food, and charging the electric car – FIT IS A FEMINIST ISSUE

634 km

That’s the distance between Montreal and Guelph.  Sarah and I have driven there and back twice this month.

We’re both good at weekend roadtrips. We listen to audiobooks and we call friends and talk on speaker phone. We talk to one another and catch up on our long work weeks. Mostly we enjoy the time on the road.

But one of the things I haven’t liked about road trips has been the lack of activity,  combined with lots of unhealthy snacking.  Bring on the twizzlers and the peanut butter M&Ms! Let’s eat all the drive thru burgers and fries.

I sometimes arrive places with a sore back and upset stomach.

What’s new this year though is Sarah’s electric car.  It’s a used Subaru Solterra. It charges to about 300 km and I’ve got to say that stopping to charge has really improved the quality of our road trips.

Note: I know this won’t last long.  Charging is getting faster and the storage capacity if car batteries keeps increasing.  Pretty soon stopping to charge won’t be much different than refueling a gas car. But for now,  I’m enjoying the mandatory breaks.

I used to break my step goal streak each time we drove somewhere.  Not now.  I’m writing this in the car on the way home from Montreal and on our way there and on the way home,  I kept my step goal streak.

What’s different?

🚗 Charging stations are usually at the far end of parking lots.  More walking!

🚗 There’s also more time to stop and stretch. I’ve enjoyed seeing families with camp chairs and tables playing games at the charging stations.

🚗 The time it takes to charge means we can have real sit down dinners in actual restaurants rather than fast food. Sometimes we even walk to them. Other times restaurants and hotels have charging stations for customers only. Check out #chargeanddine.

🚗 This time we stopped and met a friend at a charging station and caught up at a nearby picnic table.

🚗 There is also some shopping involved.  In recent weeks,  though not on this trip,  we’ve stopped at Ikea, Jysk, and Winners. They all have charging stations on this route.

🚗 Oh and napping while charging.  We’re both ‘sleep anywhere’ types so sometimes there are charging naps.

Here’s a song from out roadtrio playlist:

How are you with road trips? Love them or hate them?

Related

Published by Sam B

Philosopher, feminist, parent, and cyclist! Co-founder of Fit Is a Feminist Issue, co-author of Fit at Mid-Life: A Feminist Fitness Journey, published by Greystone Books.
View all posts by Sam B