Monday, April 20th, 2009
Sticking with the strategy of doing at least one cardio and one strength training activity per day, I decided to go for a bike ride this morning. Well, I decided this last night after one of those beautiful warm spring days. Unfortunately, this morning is a bit chilly and windy. It’s supposed to rain over an inch tonight. That’s okay, because I aerated the lawn again yesterday and the rain will wash all those little dirt plugs back into the ground.
Back to the bike ride. Since one of the areas I really have to work on is my legs, I thought a bike ride would fit in nicely. The legs have some large muscles in them that, if toned, can really help with overall fitness. I absolutely hate working on legs and pretty much avoid it if possible. Doing that doesn’t do me any favors though, so I try to at least do something that I don’t hate too much. That’s bike riding.
The ride I took covered about five miles. There were a good amount of uphills and downhills. Remarkably, I plowed right through all of them. The first big hill is usually the one I have to stop and walk a little on, but this time I just rode right up it. I wasn’t even that tired. I think it might have something to do with the weather though. It’s a heck of a lot easier to breath in cool weather than it is in hot, humid weather…and that was the type of weather I had to put up with the last time I tried to climb this hill.
Today’s ride was really good. I actually focused on my breathing, which helped. One of the things I always get yelled at during a tennis lesson is to “BREATH!!!” Umm, yeah, I guess oxygen would help.
The first 4 7/8 miles were on pavement and the last 1/8 of a mile was through the woods. I had to be a little careful while riding through the woods because there are those round rocks hidden under the leaves. If you go too fast, whoops.
Overall, the ride felt great. I am probably going to mix riding in with all the other cardio activities I have thought of over the past week. By the way, if you want to learn a little more about why cardio exercise is important, just click here.
-
-
Riding my Mongoose mountain bike in the middle of the road
-
-
Preparing to ride my mountain bike through a wooded trail
Related posts
Thursday, August 28th, 2008
Yesterday, I decided to start riding my mountain bike in the morning, when it’s cooler outside.
I think we were going for a walk when I came up with that idea. You know, as I was out and about…I always get good ideas. When morning rolled around and I was drinking my coffee, let’s just say I was less enthusiastic.
Even thought I was still groggy, I stuck to my word. I got on the bike and started to ride. For any of you out there who have ridden a bicycle for any amount of distance, I am sure you will agree with me when I say it is great exercise. I already knew that, but was reminded of it as I was struggling to get up the first hill. For those who know what “the Hill” looks like, this hill reminds me of that one. It’s not nearly as bad here, but when I was on the bike, it sure felt it.
I had planned on doing the 3.7 mile ride, but when I got to the end of the road, I decided to make a left and do the 5 mile one. I am glad I did, because I keep talking about doing it. There are tons of downhills and uphills. The uphills are much less fun, but my legs got a great workout.
This area is really great for recreation. I am very pleased that people take it so seriously around here. On the last part of the ride today, I had to go through the woods. That was fun because I got to “get some air” off a few rocks. You know what that means, I think I might need to get a helmet.
Related posts
Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008
I am starting to notice that ths area is pretty energetic. We see more people on bicycles and walking than we know what to do with. It kind of reminds me of when I lived in Atlanta…people were always out after work doing something.
Since I am energetic too, I fit right in. I actually went for my first bike ride up the road yesterday. I had to pump up my tires a little bit, but everything went very well. I would like to swap out my mountain bike tires for some street tires though.
Yesterday evening, we decided to head over to Gay City State Park to do a little walking. We have been hearing good things about this park and its large trail network.
Since we really had no idea where to start after we pulled in the park entrance, we decided to pull into the first parking lot and start walking.
This is the entrance. I believe the park closes at sundown. There is a fee if you want to visit on the weekends, but I think during the week is free.
We had a map, but forgot it back at the house. We used this one to see where we were going to walk. I would estimate our walk was about two miles.
The trails are nice and wide (well, most of them). They are rated…easy, medium, difficult. Since many people use them to ride their mountain bikes on, this is helpful.
All the way in the back, there is a lake that youngsters can swim in. It reminded me a lot of Lake Tonetta back when I was a kid.
There are tons of parks around this area, and from what I hear, they are very well kept up. We are planning on going back tonight to do a few more miles. It was nice to get my heart pumping again. Between this and the lawnmower, I should be in good shape.
Related posts
