There is a town I love to ride to. 

Two towns. 

One follows the other. 

I would say I do it two or three times a week. 

It is that nice of a ride. 

There is a problem this year. 

There is a section of the ride that is under construction. 

Serious construction. 

It looks like it may be the entire summer. 

The issue with the construction is not the construction. 

The issue is the part that is under construction. 

It is about six kilometres. 

It is in between the River and the Highway. 

There is no alternative but a long detour. 

A detour that involves taking a walk bridge over the highway. 

From there, you are basically on your own to figure out how to get to the next walk bridge over the highway and back onto the path. 

I have no problems with detours on my bike. 

If I am riding, I am riding. 

But, hmm, this detour is unique. 

It seems to be a ‘detour with ten detours.’ 

It is a little difficult to explain. 

Once you cross the bridge, you enter ‘no man’s land.’ 

Parks, subdivisions, busy roads, forests, and industrial parks. 

Cul de Sacs, roads that wind back on each other, gravel paths, closed roads – just to name a few obstacles. 

I was determined to figure out the best way through. 

I was not going to let this detour interfere with the beauty of this ride. 

I ride without my phone. 

This is why. 

I like to put things to memory. 

I like to be observant. 

Not to be told what to do. 

Figure things out. 

How do I get there? 

The phone makes you ‘miss things.’ 

My first few attempts were a mess. 

I mean, I got there, but it was not efficient, in fact, a little dangerous. 

Over time and many errors, I got it down. 

And ‘man, oh man’ did I get it down. 

The first time I did it, I was so impressed with myself. 

The problem I knew would be my return. 

Would I be able to do it backward? 

I did. 

It is simple now. 

I know exactly what to do. 

I did it yesterday and counted the turns. 

Nine lefts. 

Eleven rights. 

But here is the GOLD. 

I do it by landmarks. 

There is no way I could remember the street names. 

They all begin with LA. 

I ride through ‘LALA Land.’ 

Rue Lalonde, Lacoste, Lapointe, Laplante, Lalemant, Larocque, LaVarendrye, to name just a few. 

I gave up remembering by the second street. 

Instead, 

A right at the blue garage. 

A left at the trailer in the driveway. 

Another left at the house with the manicured lawn. 

Straight at the bent stop sign. 

A left at the playground with the plastic palm trees. 

DO YOU KNOW WHERE I END UP? 

DO YOU KNOW WHAT I FOUND? 

In between two non-descript homes, in between their driveways, in between a beaten-up wire fence, not even a ramp, a curb, is a gravel path that is so unused it has grass growing in it. 

A path you follow through trees, up a long wood bridge, through a crack in the fence, AND DIRECTLY ONTO THE WALK BRIDGE THAT TAKES YOU OVER THE HIGHWAY AND BACK ONTO THE PATH. 

There is no way GOOGLE MAPS would ever find this. 

EVER! 

But I did. 

The best part? 

The detour through ‘LALA Land’ is now not a detour. 

It is the highlight. 

Find ‘LALA Land’ in every one of your rides. 

It is a nice place. 

You will only find it when you ride without your phone. 

‘LALA Land’ 

Insert HOLLYWOOD sign emoji here. 

‘There is another way to ride.’