Bike Ride Cure-All

Yesterday kind of sucked for a number of reasons. Work stresses and petty BS kind of ruined my afternoon and evening. As much as I tried to let it not bother me, it did. So no pictures of me during yesterday's bike ride. Red eyes and my vanity prevented that! Michael and I went for a fantastic bike ride when I got home! It felt great. Because of the time change and the sudden nice weather, it was sunny and somewhat warm until almost 7:00! I can't wait for summer.

We did Michael's commute and it took about 53 minutes there and back to the house. There were a few hills too! A few times my gears locked up (which was scary).  I realized a few things:

1. I need to take a bike maintenance class ASAP before Reach the Beach. Just in case.

2. I also realized I am still scared to go really fast down hills. Hopefully I beat that fear soon!!! Michael whizzed by me like it was nothing!

3. I really need cycling sun glasses.

4. I hate my bike pedals. They are such a struggle! I fumble and can't get my foot in. Michael ordered me some clip-in cycling pedals so hopefully I get those soon so I can practice clipping in.

My average heart rate was 136 (just below my target to be honest) and my max was 181. I felt really great about the 409 calories too!

Michael made bratwursts for dinner (I didn't end up eating it all because I got full). I put some spicy mustard on it and a little cheese. We also had some homemade guacamole and tortilla chips. 

I felt way too full after eating all of that. I think I'm okay for my calories. Since I was really upset, I felt some of the old "pulls" to eat bad food. Emotional eating at it's finest! But I didn't give in to them 100% (just a little bit!).

Sunny Sunday!

It's another beautiful day in Portland! Even though I am a bit sore from weights at the gym yesterday, Michael and I are going to head out for a short bike ride.

This morning I was served breakfast in bed! It was quite the pleasant surprise. :) Unfortunately the picture didn't turn out, but I did get one of my kitty.

Breakfast was scrambled eggs with a little cheese sprinkled on top, 2 strips of bacon and an English Muffin. Very good! It was around 400 calories for breakfast.

We biked River Road in Milwaukie. About 60 minutes burned 400 calories for me. I was able to do some good sized hills and get my heart rate up. One hill almost killed me! It was sooo steep, but I made it up without stopping or walking (and took a picture resting at the top). River Road was nice because the bike lanes were very wide and there wasn't too much traffic.

It is impossible to look cute or sexy in biking clothes. :( It will make even the skinniest person look like a sausage. Oh well. It's still fun--and much easier on the knees than running!

We're now making Nathan's hot dogs for lunch. :) I'm having a serving of the Terra Sweet Potato chips (they are actually growing on me) and a diet 7-Up.

Training for Reach the Beach

Today was the perfect Portland day! The sun is out and it's absolutely beautiful. We went for a bike ride on the Springwater corridor. We did about 27 miles or so, and I burned 1,388 calories! It felt great. It was the first real bike ride on my new bike. I feel confident with more training, I can compete in Reach the Beach.

The Springwater corridor is nice because I'm not as comfortable on city streets yet and it's a pretty nice ride. I saw people walking horses too! We had to turn around prematurely because part of the trail was gravel! Boo!

After the strenuous 3 hour bike ride, we rode down to Sellwood to get lunch. Papa Haydn's was our first choice but alas, no bike rack free so off to Pizzacato! YUM!

Tonight's Food

For dinner tonight we had a salad made of: red leaf lettuce, spinach, cucumber, carrots, craisins, croutons, and oil & vinegar. Then we made steamed broccoli (I added a little butter to mine) and Michael made blackened ahi tuna steak. YUM! I had a glass of sparkling lemon water and Michael had some red wine.


Dinner was probably 600 calories. We went for a short bike ride before dinner. I burned 185 calories. My calories are excellent for today:
Goal: 1590
Food eaten: 1903 calories
Exercise: 800 calories
Remaining available calories: 485! Sweet!