Bicycling – It’s all in the Family

Did I mention that my oldest daughter now has a bicycle? We found a really cool one for her off Craigslist last Monday. Comfy seat, 21 gears, and she’s already tested out the bike trailer with it, I think. This weekend, she and I finally went out and got my granddaughter a new girly bike helmet and a bigger bike for my grandson. The one he had that he was riding on the trail last weekend was just too small and tired out his little legs.  We went to three stores looking for bikes and each one Cayden was so cute. He wanted them all. He was so excited to have a bigger bike. We went back to her house and her hubby swiftly put the bike together for Cayden. Unfortunately, Cindy had fallen at my house and sprained her ankle so she wasn’t able to get on her bike and ride in the cul-de-sac with the kids but she did later this weekend, so I hear.

Anyway, here are a few pics of the kids biking. I’m so tickled that they all have bikes now. Well, except for Cody and Evan. Evan’s too little and Cody prefers his skateboard – and that gives him a workout for sure!

It would have taken 24 hours and $10 for us to have this assembled by the store. Um, Cayden wouldn’t have waited for that!

Cody and his little helper.

Ready to be a speed demon and increase the heart rate of his grandma as he speeds down the hill – not to mention the heart rate of his mama!

By the way, this bike has both hand brakes – front and back – and coaster brakes. Excellent design because as he gets bigger he can transition to using the hand brakes instead of the coaster brakes.

 

Dad supervising.

Look at that smile. Does that not just melt your heart?

And did you notice that the bike is Seattle Seahawks green? His daddy loves that idea.

 

What girl doesn’t deserve a pink bike? (I want one too!)

Getting started

 

Ready, set, go

The camera isn’t crooked… there really is a hill going up to the cul-de-sac. It was very hard for both of them the first day, but I hear from their mama that now they are maniacs riding up and down just fine.

And of course, I had to get in on the action. I couldn’t resist! (On Cindy’s bike…)

Seriously folks, riding a bicycle makes me feel like I’m 16 again, but better.

Because I Couldn’t Get Enough

Sunday I tried to sleep in, but it wasn’t happening. About 10:30 or so I called my daughter to see what she was doing. I was considering a nap when she said she and hubby were hooking up the child bike trailer to a bicycle she borrowed and they were all going back to the Centennial Trail for a ride. My spirit perked up and I crashed their party. I got ready in record time and met them up at the trail and we went for a fun outing. Bike riding with Cayden is hilarious and totally enjoyable, but it’s not a session of continued, strenuous exertion. He pedals like a mad man and then stops about every 100 yards or so. Or just rides off to the side into the grass and stops. He cracks me up. His mommy decided that his bike’s wheels were just too small for the guy and hence he’s getting tired having to pedal so hard. So we’re going to be shopping asap for a bigger bike for him. He is such a trooper and keeps going anyway. I think we got in about five miles round trip, which is pretty good for a little guy and really, it was more about getting out and having fun anyway. I wouldn’t have missed that experience for anything on earth.

To cap off the day, a friend came over last night and we went for a four mile “summer stroll”. Seriously. The walk was fabulous, it was just the right temperature, cool breeze, fabulous conversation, but in the middle of the night my fibro flared and I knew I’d gotten some activity. It was all worth it – every second of every moment of the weekend. I know I’ll be in pain but I’d rather be out living life and drinking up the joy that the relationships in my life bring me.

Here are some photos of Sunday’s outing with the grandkids. I got some cute shots as we went along, and some scenic ones as well.

This is just the cutest picture ever. This is totally not staged. Cayden kinda fell over from all his excitement before we ever got started – nothing serious – and got a couple scrapes on his hand. He sat there for a bit like this, shook out his hand, then got up and we took off.

My littlest blond grandson, Evan, in the trailer. He hated that helmet, but safety comes first.

 

We spied these pretty horses coming along. The smaller one on the left was out for her very first walk ever. What a treat. My daughter captured some photos with her professional camera for my granddaughter who is a horse-crazy nearly eight year old.

These photos don’t do those horses justice. They were gorgeous. Dark espresso coffee colored horses. Just lovely.

Cayden and his daddy looking over the fence into the river for “craw-doods” aka crawdads.

 

Cayden trucking on ahead. Man, can that boy pedal fast. A couple of times he caught up with me and I had to up the intensity to keep out of his way, or he would have run me off the trail!

Some scenic little vignettes along the way.

 

And there you have it. A great weekend. Now back to work! At least we’re scheduled to have sunshine all through the week.

Mind-blowing Mega Mileage

Boy, I’m sure racking up the mileage on my bike. I realized yesterday that I’ve only had this bicycle since March and now I’m up to over 30 miles a ride. Holy cow–considering I hadn’t ridden a bicycle in decades prior to that, I am impressing the heck out of myself. And for a 49 year old woman, that ain’t too shabby. (I still feel 39.)

Saturday morning was my normal walk with my steady walking buddy. We walked a portion of the Burke-Gilman Trail and I calculated the round trip to be about six miles. We usually can do more, but it was hot out and she’d been doing some gym work the days preceding so was more tired than usual.

After my walk, I came home and rested up, ate, and changed and got ready for my bike ride with my bestest biking friend (BBF). While sitting outside eating my lunch, this is what my backyard thermometer said. Easily 80 degrees. About time! Love it.

Finally we got going and we started in Snohomish at the south end of the Centennial Trail. (Click the link to read more.) This is a trail that is paved and goes along an old rail bed. Don’t let the idea that because it used to be a railway that there aren’t some deceptive hills. Not huge, but steady slight upward grades that for a newbie cyclist like me can be pretty challenging. I made it through them because I kept my head focused on the return downhill part! Woohooo! (Not to mention the steady encouragement and praise from my BBF.)

Here’s an image of the trail map, but you can go here to see the full-size PDF. The trail goes from Snohomish through Lake Stevens to Arlington and is 34 miles round trip. We did the WHOLE trail.

What an amazing day. We couldn’t have had better weather and the trail is absolutely phenomenal. I like this trail better than the Burke-Gilman Trail. It’s less populated, wider, and the views are breathtaking. At one point you are elevated above the Marysville valley farmland area looking westward through forests of cedar trees. Look the other way at times and you see snow capped mountains flanking beautiful lush farmlands sprinkled with horses, livestock, and quaint farm houses. We passed a campsite of bikers (motorcycles) enjoying a summer bike ride. There must have been 75 or 100 bikers. Impressive. And we passed (or were passed by – depending on my stamina level) many families with children out cycling.

Speaking of families, as we hit the Lake Stevens area, who did we spy but my daughter, her hubby, and my two grandsons out for a walk, ride, and skateboard. Cody was on the skateboard, Cindy and Evan were walking – ok, Evan was in the stroller – and Cayden was riding his bicycle. Man does that little guy go fast and love to put on the brakes fast. Then he pops up his front wheel saying, “Look at this!” What a wonderful treat to run into them. And they got to meet my bestest biking friend, so that was cool too.

Here I am at mile marker 12 on the way up to Arlington.  (Pictures taken from my cell phone, so, sorry for the poor quality. The black strap around my waist is holding one of my water bottles. Even with two water bottles, it wasn’t enough. Must remedy that.)

The other thing I like about this trail is that there is a long stretch where roads cross the trail but the cars are required to stop for the cyclists, pedestrians, etc. Oh, and there’s even an equestrian trail that runs parallel to the paved trail. Drivers up in that area, when they had the right of way, were so courteous and stopped to let us cross. That was not lost on me. Usually drivers are so rude to cyclists (I’ve been guilty of that at times and now I’m sorry.)

We are definitely going to do this trail again. We’re talking about taking along a lunch next time and parking at the picnic bench that they have that overlooks the valley. It was so quiet along portions of the trail that it is just an ideal place to sit and enjoy a bit of serenity and soak in the gloriousness of life.

Saturday mileage recap:

• Walking – 6 miles
• Bicycling – 34 miles
• Total mileage: 40 miles.

What do I love best about all this activity? That the next day I’m no longer so stiff that it hurts to stand up and walk, and that the tightness that is developing in my muscles feels incredible. My spirit feels rejuvenated and alive, and I feel like I can accomplish anything I set my mind to. My confidence level and outlook on life has been rocketed into a different dimension. It’s just mind blowing, really.

(PS. My cycling buddy has done “Century” rides in the past – 100 mile rides. Guess who will eventually be doing this too? But not alone!)

My Second Bicycle – if I were rich

Check out this review of the Pashley Poppy bicycle by London Cycle Chic. My original wish when I was bicycle shopping was to have a pink bike. Except for the seat, this has the appearance of everything I wanted as far as looks go.

I could so see myself as a Sarah Michelle Gellar lookalike. Heels and all.

 

Seriously. If I had an extra whatever, I’d order up that bike just to have a second one for funning around down and wandering up to the grocery store or farmers market for fruits and veggies.

Love her top too. How cute is that? (Except it threatens to look a little maternity.)

The bike I did get is very similar, don’t you think?

Awards and Activity

Life is grand. The “recession” is hitting us all and very close to home, but I have so much to be happy about.

First off – I woke up to sunshine and birds singing today. There may be some high clouds threatening to cover up that beautiful sunshine, but whatever. It’s floating into my office right now, and that always is a recipe for a good day.

Last night was Weight Watchers. I really didn’t expect a good result because I wasn’t so precise or diligent with my tracking last week. However, I do tend to repeat the same types of foods and I’ve been at this long enough to know the points values of some of the foods I eat, so I had an approximate idea of how I did. I just expected to maintain this week, but the scale surprised me. I lost 2.4 pounds and hit another 5 pound goal. I have now lost 71.6 pounds total.

Whenever you get an award at a Weight Watchers meeting, the leader usually asks you how you are feeling now or what feels different to you. The biggest difference – aside from the smaller clothes sizes – is in my activity level.

When I started this journey, my weight, back disc degeneration, and my fibromyalgia meant that activity was close to impossible. In fact, I planned on doing Weight Watchers without the activity part of the program. Now I can walk, run, and bicycle for significant distances. The fibro still flares after activity, but it’s so much milder a flare, and the change is that I recover quite quickly. For example, after a 2.5 HOUR walk on Saturday, my hip was hurting but by evening, I felt much better. Sunday night, after a day packed full of heavy gardening, I was in pain all night but by yesterday afternoon, the pain was just a memory.

My daughter pointed out a few differences too. She said that I play with my grandkids more now – bicycling and doing active things, rather than crafts and making caramel apples.

Before:

After:

Anyhoo… Today is a great day. I’m busy-busy with work and that’s good too. I think my grandsons are stopping by to see me this afternoon and we’re going for a walk. How cool is that?

Gotta run! Work calls.

PS – the first picture above is Evan last year at the Willis Tucker spray pad near my home.

My Second Bicycle – if I were rich

Check out this review of the Pashley Poppy bicycle by London Cycle Chic. My original wish when I was bicycle shopping was to have a pink bike. Except for the seat, this has the appearance of everything I wanted as far as looks go.

I could so see myself as a Sarah Michelle Gellar lookalike. Heels and all.

Seriously. If I had an extra whatever, I’d order up that bike just to have a second one for funning around down and wandering up to the grocery store or farmers market for fruits and veggies.

Love her top too. How cute is that? (Except it threatens to look a little maternity.)

The bike I did get is very similar, don’t you think?

Weekend Recap & Happy Father’s Day

First of all – Happy Father’s Day to my son-in-law, Cody, who I am so happy to have as the father to my grandchildren! Happy Father’s Day to both my brothers even though one of them is father to the four-legged variety of children (the kind that bark – LOL). And the same greetings to all the rest of the men I know who are fathers.

After a busy week with work (nearing a critical deadline), did I spend the weekend resting? Nope. I went for my regular weekend walk with my girlfriends and we walked 2.5 hours in and around Edmonds, WA. We went up hills, down, through the quaint town, along the waterfront, through the marina, and back to our starting point. I think it was a 10k walk, all totaled.

After walking, I took my mom to Seattle to visit a friend who just had heart bypass surgery. We didn’t stay too long because we had to get back home as mom had plans to go to the Mariner’s baseball game. I swear I think my 89 year old mom has a busier social life than I do!

Today, I needed to finish up the front yard planting that I started a week ago. I got it finished, but I think it did me in. I added five bags of compost, five bags of topsoil, and four large bags of bark mulch, in addition to digging and planting the new plants. I even pulled out a portion of the laurel hedge that drives me nuts. The yard looks superb. I’m really happy with it. I am considering some flagstones to add a pathway across the front, but for now, I’m leaving it all as is to let the plants get established and see how it feels.

Here are some pictures of the yard as it is now. No more critical letters from the homeowner’s association that my grass isn’t “flourishing”. They can’t complain now – and if they do, I don’t care! My yard now looks like it belongs with the two next to me (who, by the way, also don’t have grass in the front yard.) You can see the slope of the front yard and how hard that has been with grass to mow. (Well, hard for me, at least.) We put those pavers in last year and I like them, only the grass still wants to come up through them, even with landscaping fabric under the gravel and sand.

At the bottom of the pavers is where I pulled out part of the laurel hedge. I hate that hedge but it’s established and I don’t have the time, energy, or money to replace it with something different.

Here’s the retaining wall I built last weekend. Had I known it would be so cheap and easy to do this, I would have done it eight years ago. At the base of that retaining wall is the drain that goes to wherever drains go to. Before all this work, I’d try to water my “lawn” and the water would just roll right over the top of the hill, down that drain. What a waste.

Looking straight on to the front door. Eventually those plants will all fill in and the goal is that it will only need annual reapplication of bark mulch. And that front door is going to be painted. Probably black. I think that would look awesome.

Right by the front door, this little area was filled in with pavers.

The builders had put a plant there originally that would have been mammoth by now and I pulled it out and filled it in with pavers. The pavers didn’t really work either and the yard needed some balance, so I planted these evergreens. I love the yellow tips. These will get taller, and I think with some light trimming will make a nice little hedge to balance the entryway. We’ll see. I may end up moving them next year too.

Some of the established perennials. These may need thinning out later, but after they’re all done blooming.

I love how this looks (below). It just seems so much more welcoming. Next, I need to stain or tile the front porch.

Now, I’m beat, but completely satisfied with how it looks. My back and hip really hurt so it’s off to the chiropractor tomorrow, and some heat and ice (alternatively) on it tonight.

All in all, a great weekend. 

What have I done?

I’ve up and done it. I signed up for the Mill Creek “Run of the Mill” 5k run. I have 26 days to go to get ready for it. Can I do it? I think I can. I plan on buying new running shoes this week (my old ones are kind of broken down) and printing out the route and going through it a few times on my own.

I even ordered myself a tshirt. I don’t really wear tshirts, but I knew I’d want one for my first ever official RUN.

Who is this person in my body? I really don’t understand what’s come over me and why I feel so driven and motivated to be doing all this activity, but it feels GREAT.

 

I’ve asked my daughter, the photographer, to come along and take pictures of me crossing the finish line. It should be really fun.

Setting the bar higher

Saturday I spent the day biking with a friend. To the left is the map of our route. This is the Burke-Gilman Trail that is very popular in the Seattle area. We started up in the top right of the map (Tracy Owen Station Park), and went all the way down to where the blue line ends, past the gap, to where the blue line starts again (Ballard Locks), and then back. Add in a little half mile detour where we thought we lost the trail (that empty part of the mark) and our total mileage was just about 30 miles roundtrip.

Yup. Thirty miles. Just last week we did fifteen and today we doubled that. When we got to the Ballard Locks we stopped and had some lunch on the grass at the botanical gardens and listened to a band play. At one point, I caught the tune of what they were playing and it was “What a wonderful life". I sort of choked up a bit at the serendipity of that song playing just then and where my life has taken me over the last year or so. I am so incredibly grateful for everything – and everyone – in my life. I couldn’t be more blessed right now.

Here are some pictures for you of the day.

Remind you a bit of Sleepless in Seattle? 

Me in Fremont, near the Lake Washington Rowing Club. The view is looking east up toward Portage Bay and the University of Washington.

Another gorgeous houseboat near the Fremont Bridge.

Where we had lunch. Yum. (Didn’t worry about my points, since I had my weekly allowance still, and I calculated that I earned about 24 activity points over the course of the ride!)

Waiting for lunch.

I had to capture this. Do you think they also sell ice cold fake sodas?

Me at the Ballard Locks

Clearly the photographer is making me laugh.

Looking down through the locks that lead out to the Sound.

 

After we got back to our starting point, we rested and walked out along a dock. Pretty willow tree.

I just love shots of lakes through the trees.

Some of the local residents along the lakefront.

So after thirty miles and five hours out and about (about 4 of those actually riding), I’m feeling almost capable of doing just about anything! 

I can walk it. Can I run it?

I saw the sign for this 5K run and I’ve walked this route before easily but can I run it? I’m seriously thinking about it. This is the Mill Creek Run of the Mill 5k. Read here for more info. What do my running friends think? It’s held on July 11th this year.

Here’s my biggest question though: If I register and participate, will I get scolded or frowned upon if I have to walk a little bit?

Oh, and the video tells us they’re allowing dogs in the race. Lily’s too small to run, of course, but I wonder if my walking friend will let me take her lead dog, Jake along. 5K is nothing for Jake. He runs 10K with us every time we walk.