Cycling – Gregg Blachford
We go on a variety of urban and rural outings, close and far from the city, generally flat with distances from about 17 km to 40 km. We’re certainly not racers and we usually start at in the morning, finishing around 2.30 in time to drive home before the traffic builds. It’s fun to spend time with our fellow McGill retirees and share stories as well as get good exercise in the warm weather. Last summer, despite the pandemic, the MURA Cycling Group continued our weekly rides from May to September. We had 16 outings with an average of 10 cyclists per ride. Luckily our activity is outside and that certainly helps, along with being boosted. We did, however, keep distanced at our lunch stops and we will continue to follow public health regulations. One week we even stopped for a swim at a beautiful lake in the Laurentians. We will continue this pattern for our upcoming season and if you’re interested in joining us, or just getting our emails to know what we’re doing, please send your email address to susan.kojima [at] . Use this link for more information.
Golf – Anne Billyard
Being outdoors and seeing spectacular views are only two benefits of the wonderful game of golf. The conversations and laughter with the people you are playing with is also a big part of the enjoyable experience the MURA golf participants had together last summer — both on the course and during the drinks at the “19th hole” after the game. During Covid summer 2021, we headed out to 7 different golf courses starting in May and threw in the towel for the season only in early November. To cap off the season, we enjoyed a final end-of-season game and lunch at an indoor virtual golf complex at the end of season was on Wednesday, May 11th. The group will play on Wednesdays every 2 weeks. Last summer we had nine MURA members who joined the group. If you would like to join the group this year, please email me at: anne.billyard [at] .
Pickleball – Henry Leighton
Pickleball is a sport that has been growing rapidly in popularity over the last few years, especially among the retiree demographic. https://datingranking.net/straight-dating/ It is played on a court that is smaller than a tennis court with a paddle similar to a ping-pong paddle, and a plastic hollow ball that has several holes. While it is a challenging sport most players start having a good time after only being on the court for a short time.
We thought that this was an activity that would be popular among MURA members. The Cote St Luc Aquatic and Community Centre made their gym, set up with 6 pickleball courts, available to MURA. We just needed an easing of Covid restrictions to get started. About 25 members signed up to play on Thursday mornings from 10 – 12 and at the time of writing we have had our first two very successful sessions. We have had some instruction and help in getting started from the Cote St Luc Sports Coordinator, Tony Sulpezio, which was greatly appreciated. The gym was available to us until June 2. If you are interested in participating in this activity in the fall, don’t hesitate to contact me at Henry.leighton [at] . MURA supplies the pickleballs but players are responsible for providing their own paddles (price is about $40).
Restaurant-Dinner Group – Joan Wolforth
Two years ago, we were meeting each month at different BYOB restaurants and enjoying a meal together. Two years ago, we could plan a whole year of locations in advance. And then you know what happened. Our last restaurant visit was in . When will be our next? The vagaries of covid, the government rules for restaurants, and, probably, realistic assessments of our health vulnerabilities, have made such a prediction impossible. A couple of times I had hopes of being able to begin plans to meet up again, most recently in . And then…Oh Dear, not again. But I remain optimistic. I hope most of us have taken advantage of triple and quadruple vaccine boosters. For some, levels of immunity will have been enhanced by having contracted the virus and survived. Perhaps, now that restaurants are open again, and table occupation is no longer restricted by number or family connection, we can think of a terrace or airy dining space for the upcoming summer. I will be contacting those on my “registered” list soon. If you are interested in being included, please contact me at joan.wolforth [at] .