59* in May....what?

As soon as Neil got on the bus this AM I headed out for a ride. I stayed local..... I'll probably do that for a while. I like the local ride here, it's pretty, there's no cars to worry about for most of it, and there are a lot of options if I want to keep going.

Yesterday it was aprox. 90* out. This AM we woke up - and I was sending Neil to school in long pants, a tee shirt and a sweatshirt over that! It's 59* outside! WTF? It's MAY 26TH! I mean, I am a lover of cool weather - I really am.... but this is just weird!

The weather says it's supposed to storm off and on all day, so, since it wasn't raining when Neil got on the bus I went out. The sky was spitting here and there but nothing constant so I kept going. I could have gone more but it really started to come down heavier and I didn't want to have to ride home in the rain and get my bike wet & stuff so I headed back. I ended with 30 minutes and 4 miles - not too shabby! It's still 464 calories burned.... which is good cause I'm making London Broil tonight. It's been marinating in the fridge since Friday...gotta cook that baby today!

I guess because it's 60* out I didn't sweat as much as I normally would have in 90* typical May weather.....I actually came home with cold hands and a cold nose! The lack of sweat is making me feel like I cheated.... ya know?

On my way into the neighborhood I saw in someone's driveway leftovers from yesterday's yard sale with a sign that said "FREE TOYS TO A GOOD HOME" Among the pile was a little toddler bike with a handle on the back for me to hold onto/push. I passed it at first and then went back and grabbed it after my ride cause I figured, hey, it's free.... he needs to learn to pedal & stuff and it could be fun! So, yep. He'll have a surprise waiting on the porch when he gets home. Of course it'll probably be raining when he gets home but...... maybe tomorrow.

One day coming up I want to take my camera with me and grab some pics of my ride too. I need to get pics of Freedom Park anyway for the Handmade Faire, so, double duty :)

Medford's Bike Pat

I found a whole other side of Medford's bike trail today that I didn't know existed. From my house to the end there is 1.9 miles, so that's 4 miles round trip aprox. I wish it were longer but the good news is there's lots of quiet streets to explore around there. I did the bike path, doubled back, went through the elementary school's parking lot and picked up another part of the path and went around. Then I headed back through Freedom Park, did that loop again and headed home. Once I got to my neighborhood I circled through the Catholic School and up to the firehouse which pushed me up to 6 miles! It took me 42 minutes, though I had a few breathers in there.

It's good though - I don't feel disgusting and sweaty until I stop and am at home..... I guess cause when you're moving you are creating your own breeze so even though it was 89* and I was sweating like crazy, I had a breeze. That goes a long way with me because I hate FEELING disgusting and sweaty. It keeps me from stopping for too long also hehe.

I like this trail though, there's a stream, some woodland.... and a nice paved path. It's not a straight line, there's some twists and turns but, I like it, and it's working for me. When Neil goes to school (he's off today for the holiday) it will be nice because I am still very local and could pedal home in 10 minutes from pretty much any part of it if I hauled butt enough.

There's also a canoe/kayak launch where I pass - I really would love to go canoeing one day! I love water related activities, and I love exploring the pine barrens and I think I could really fall in love with exploring the pine's in a canoe! I think that might be a treat for me when I get to some milestone of weight loss. We'll see. I gotta see how realistic that is, I have no clue how much canoe's cost and what's involved in taking them out!

Today's Stats:

42 Min

Trip: 6 Miles

Odometer: 18 Miles

Average Speed: 8.6 mph

Max Speed: 16 mph

Cadence: 60-75ish...though it did get higher. I have to guage this myself kind of and find an average, so I am estimating low.

Cycling

Today was my fourth day out riding. I found a route that I like - farm land, quiet rode - a few spots were a little rough/gravely but they ended quickly and went back to nice pavement.

Stats:

30.09 Min

Distance: 5 Miles

Odometer: 12

10.2mph Average Speed

15.4mph Max Speed

I noticed my cadence hovered between 75 and 89.

It was pretty nice riding. There are farm houses on one side and fields of wheat to the other side. It smells great out there!

I ended up doing 4 miles, getting back to the car (parked @ WaWa) and then decided since it had only been about 25 minutes, I wanted to push it to 5 miles. That's 1 mile more than I did yesterday (but yesterday was on and off road, and I was exploring the local area a bit to find a good way).

It says I burned 494 calories! Sweeeeeet! I'm trying to go for 30 minutes. I'm pushing myself hard but not so hard that I am going to make myself dread it....I don't want to end up with a headache, or feeling crappy afterwards. It was 93 degrees today, and I swear, they call it "Oak Shade Road" but I couldn't find an ounce of shade where I was! Plus, I had to fight the wind coming home which was not so fun....those swaying feilds of wheat get REAL OLD when there's nothing breaking the wind from you!