RANDOM MUSINGS ON CYCLING *

                                                                         

     We are trying to take a break today and sometimes it is not easy.   We been cycling for about 3 years now and we no longer own our legs, our legs own us.   When you get in to a pattern of doing something over and over your body responds by thinking it's part of the normal daily activity and if you don't do it, it your body will have a temper tantrum literally.   If we stay off the bikes for a period of three days it will ruin our day, we don't right and feel horrible.    Chris legs will
cramp up something awful and mind well they don't cramp, but they feel real tense.
Then we jump on the bikes and go for a jot and all of a sudden our legs are purring.    With rides over 20 to 30 miles our legs will fell great and not make a peep.

 The Benefits of cycling are through the roof,  I've tried jogging for a while in intervals rather than all the time and found it rather jarring. I had to stop, due to the fact that I have Obturator Nerve symptoms.   My therapist did not recommend jogging anymore, but said cycling is great.   

 The health benefits of regular cycling include:

• increased cardiovascular fitness.
• increased muscle strength and flexibility.
• improved joint mobility.
• decreased stress levels.
• improved posture and coordination.
• strengthened bones.
• decreased body fat levels.
• prevention or management of disease  

And so much more.

And there is really funny side effects to being active.
I have really super thick hair and well, I use to lose it in massive amounts, clumps horrible huge clumps, my hair would come out.  Well ever sense we started Cycling that has completely stopped.   My hubby had a horrible toe fungus that almost took his toe nail completely off.  Now his toe is super healthy and normal looking.   When were have a cut or bruise it heals super fast.  

We started out our journey by.

1. Walking around one block.
2.  Riding with our bikes 1 1/2 miles. At the time that was all we could manage, getting their and back was so tiring.  Heaving and Panting.  But we kept doing it.
3.  I'm not going to say eating healthier, because we already were. But I will say cutting back and cutting out.  Just remodifying what we were eating.
4. When we got to were doing 1 1/2 miles weren't killing us, we went further, then further. 
5. Not riding easy, but doing a hard ride and getting the heart pumping.  
6. Pushing our selves to do better. 
7. And making Goals for our selves.

Our goal is to do 100 miles.    This is going to very difficult and challenging.   60 miles is know as the drop point.  People get to 60 miles and they fall like flies.  But if you can get past that magic number of 60 your good to go and that's our goal.  

Like I always say Slow and steady wins the race, fast and furious fall on your face.    





                                                      

             

APRIL 2nd. 2016 22.23 miles *

 22.23 miles down a old route to the airport.   Great weather, I really hope it stays like this, but it won't :(

Found a new little path to take to avoid traffic.  The less were on the main roads the less flats we get and the more money we save, so that a good thing.  All of our flats have been on main roads.   
Saw a Jack Rabbit, but the highlight of the ride was seeing a pair of American Bitterns fly over up.  YES!   Awesome.    Not a colorful bird but a very beautiful bird that I have had the chance of meet up close and personal.

Here is an American Bittern in flight, they are very distinct in their look when they fly. Short neck and large wings.   








Now I really don't know what kind of bittern I encountered, but I do remember looking right in their big yellow eyes.   Long story short.  Me sneeking up on Coots in grass, like below.  Me turn my head and looking into a big huge yellow eye. The Bittern's eye was not just close, but put it this way I could have, if I wanted to grabbed the bird with my hands.  I really don't know who was scared more, me or it.  I screamed, It did what ever it did and we both departed quickly.

      The only crazy (human) we saw to day was a guy comeing toward us down the wrong side of the road and acting like we were on the wrong side.  (rolling eyes) Really.    So other wise just a lazy day ride.                                

16 MILE DURHAM RIDE *

16 Mile Durham ride.   It took us 2 hours to do the very first time.  We know can do it in 1 hour and 15 minutes.  I say that is an improvement.  Not many pictures with this ride, but more huffing and puffing.  


 

 16 miles is nothing to us now, but back then it was like WOW we did it.  And talk about not fitting the profile of a cyclist.  We got the looks of like WTF?     We been biking over 3 years and we our selves have only seen two other people who were at the time our size.   We mainly see very athletic and skinny people.  And what's really cool we see a lot of elderly couples that look to be in their 70 and 80's.    You don't see that with people who run and if you do it's on the new's because it's that rare.   

       Stunning.  I'm sporting my elegant cycling cloth and leather jacket.  LOL   It was cold.   What can I say Chris and I ride in our own style.  We didn't have our sporty back packs yet, so as you can see we had to carry everything in plastic bag, mind you designer plastic bags.                                                                

OUR FIRST RIDE TO THE HONEY RUN COVERED BRIDGE*

 This was our first official ride out to the Honey run covered bridge.   We were not dressed to impress and it was cold.

We had a lot harder time riding the bikes back then and we were going a lot slower.  Our averaged speed back then was between 8 and 12.  Now it's between 14 and 16.   I tend to be the speed demon, 14 and 16 are my normal cruising speed, however now I can crank it up to 16 to 18.  But I don't want to leave hubby behind.

This is looking back toward were we are standing above.   I call this lizard way. Their hundreds of them.

Honey Run River.
Apparently this river is off limits to fishing.  While we were up their some guy got ticketed, or he didn't have the proper licence.  Don't really now, but he seemed really upset.

 Here we are posing with the Sign.  We made it.  Who knew we would eventually make it all the way to Paradise.

And Lot's of Lizards.

The the Covered Bridge, Beautiful.

Ask another to take our picture so we could stand together.

32 MILES KEEFER ROAD LOOP *

Keefer Road Loop today which in it self is only 12 miles, but we don't drive to it we ride to it so it makes it a tad bit longer.  32.67 miles longer.
We stopped at Horse Shoe lake, which now actually looks like a lake, rather than a puddle.   Lot's of bird and lot's of wild flowers.  It was nice and cool great riding weather.

  Look back up at Monkey Face Trail and getting ready to take off. 

 11.67 miles into the ride and eating the first of our Cliff Bars and topping off our water.

This is the small eatery we use as a rest stop, and in the summer those shades come in really handy.











Taking off down Cohasset and headed toward Keefer turn off.  Very beautiful area.

MUDD CREEK  with a barn in the back ground.  Got treated to seeing a little ground squirrel running though the grass out to a stump.  So cute.   But didn't see any Jack Rabbits.  The grass is taller so they can hide.   

The lava rock formations out here are really interesting.   

Yeah I know this is a really bad shot. But that's the hill going up and it's brutal.   We did it, and I was tired, but not like the first time we tried it.   We were heaving and so out of breath my lungs hurt.  So this time was a lot easier.     We have been climbing smaller hills, so that helped.   I usually can stand up on the bike while peddling and rock the bike back and forth to help peddling up hill, but I could only do that for a short while, then I had to sit down and lower the gear down.  

 KEEFER ROAD.   
Maybe not a big deal for all the cyclist who it's as easy as cake.  But it is a big deal for us.  Don't really like the fact that the turn is on a blind corner, make is kind of scary, because cars whip around their.  After the turn it's smooth sailing, it down hill for quite awhile.  If we don't put the breaks on a little bit we can reach speeds of 35 miles an hour, no thank you their a lot of sharp curves.    We only reached 25 miles an hour.   

 Poppies along the way. 

 Turning on Hicks Lane and headed to our next break stop at my mother in-laws Christine's home.  It's really amazes me how just taking a 10 minute break can recharge you. 

 Getting buzzed by a plane.  It was a lot lower in person.   You can see Chris moving along at the bottom of the picture.  

The road home.   From here it was 6 miles home.  

 Calories Burned

Total miles. 

51 MILES *

Let me add a lot of my post are going be our past adventures mixed in with some new ones.  

This is what 51 miles looks like.  We've got that crazed look.    

That was a really good day, we were not planing on doing 51 miles at all it just happened.







At the half way mark, we had Salmon and Avocado... nom nom nom.   We also had cliff bars and lot's of water.    Got to keep hydrated.

THE RIDE TO PARADISE. WHEW! *

This was about a year ago.  We rode to Paradise California up the back road.  The whole ride is 32 miles, but it's the 5.4 miles up hill, back and fourth and back and fourth and did I mention back and fourth that was really hard.     Yes we did walk up the very steep parts, and then cycled on the lowest gear on less steep parts.   

This is me contemplating my life.  We're at the half way point and yes we were tired.   We took a lot of breaks,  5 miles up hill was gruling.   We had more than several cyclist pass up like it was a cake walk.  And one kind gentleman offer us more water. Opp's we ran out.

It's really quite beautiful ride.  Lot's of birds and we learned something new.  When lizards run across the rode they hold their tails really high. I did not know this and almost crashed I was laughing so hard.

Look back from where we came.

Looking ahead.   This is not just the beginning, it gets way steeper.

Taking a much needed break.  Our heart were pounding and we were out of breath.  But resting really helped.  The mosquitoes didn't help.

Were Back in Civilization!!!!   Coming around the last bend in the road huffing and puffing to see a home nestled in the woods we did a happy dance.  I had to take a picture of the Road sign in Paradise to prove that we actually did it.

    Taking a break.  And yes that is a huge exhaust pipe.   We were exhausted.  Let me tell you when your that tired and hungery a cliff bar taste like a flaming mignon.                                                                    












The refreshed picture.                               

 And now for the zombie picture. This is us just making it up there.  We were both death warmed over with a slice of insanity. 

4 hours
At this time we did not own our bike speedometers.  So I'm going to guess about 2000 calories or more.

(This was before we knew about Neal Rd.)
And Yeah on the way back down Chris has a slow leak in his front tire.  We must have been doing at least 21 miles an hour down hill.   And on this road you can not make a mistake, if you go over the edge that it your gone, it goes right down to the valley.   So here I am going around each corner OMG OMG OMG  thinking shit I'm going to watch my hubby launch him self over the side, because of his slow leek.    Amazingly the leek lasted all the way home.   WHEW!    And when he stopped the bike at the front door it went flat as a pancake.   We both laughed out loud out of shock that it lasted all the way until we got home.  WOW! That's all I can say.  

Later on we learned that their is a better and safer way to go back home.    But that's for next time.