Park and Ride

MUCH BETTER!

My second ride of the season was a lot better than my first. My back was much happier for some reason and didn’t feel tight or sore. I decided to drive to the Park and Ride and bike in from there instead of Sellwood. Last time, even though my body felt fatigued,  I felt like it wasn’t quite long enough of a ride. Just as I was getting warmed up it was over with.

Not this time. Even just adding a little under 2 more miles was just right. I wore my arm-warmers this time because it was a little chilly that early in the morning. I biked through Sellwood, on the Springwater, and then crossed the Hawthorne Bridge. Thankfully it wasn’t overly crowded on the bridge. This time I was cyclist #875 to cross the bridge that morning (at 7:30am) according to the bridge counter.

My ride was decent and my body felt really good and strong. It made me happy that I was able to bike and not feel knee or back pain. YAY ME.

And my calories were a little bit better this time around, too:

Morning Stats:

Miles: 7.81

Time: 36 minutes

Calories Burned: 370

My goal for the rest of June and July is to bike once a week. Running is still my priority right now because I want to be trained for my two 5k’s later this summer but I love being able to combine my workout + commute. Hopefully in August I can bump it up to biking twice a week to work.

For lunch I got a rare treat and went out. I met Michael and a friend in Director’s Park for a lunch date. Since my lunch hour is only 30 minutes Michael kindly picked up food for me too. They went to Addy’s and got the kale salad he’s been raving about for months!

Kale, quinoa, pesto chicken, sunflower seeds, red cabbage, hard boiled egg and half an avocado. It was DELICIOUS! Small, but filling. And a calorie bomb. I’m guessing it was around 700-800 calories for the whole thing (and I ate the whole thing). I was so famished and it tasted so good. It was all good, healthy things but definitely higher in calories than I’d like. It was a nice little break from work, though, and I don’t go out to lunch very often (I usually walk or read my book during lunch).

Afternoon Ride

It was another great ride! Body felt fantastic. My sit bones weren’t too sore (not like last time) and the ride felt comfortable and dare I say, easy…I huffed and puffed up the Morrison Bridge but thankfully it’s a short one so I can coast once I get to the top. Ooof. Biked by OMSI and caught the Springwater. And I saw some wild raspberries along the path! I SO wanted to stop and pick some but…ick. Who knows WHAT has been on those berries. No thanks.

Since I parked at the Park and Ride it was a bit longer of a ride than the last time. My body felt good, though, so I didn’t mind it. In fact, I was tempted to keep going up to Johnson Creek and then turning around. I decided to play it safe, though. I did see that they are building a new path that connects the new Max line to Milwaukie.

Got back to the car, feeling good and strong and had the urge to high-five myself! YAY BIKING.

Afternoon Stats:

Miles: 7.55

Time: 32 minutes

Calories Burned: 326

Total Miles: 15.36

When I got home I took a hot bath with epsom salts. Seems weird, especially on such a hot day, I know. But I didn’t want my muscles to tighten up or get sore and my right hamstring was feeling a little bit of a strain. Not sure what happened there or when it happened. I didn’t feel anything while I was riding and it seems like a weird muscle to pull when riding a bike, so who knows.

Since it was such a nice night Michael suggested we get sandwiches and go to the park. I got a Subway sandwich (ham on flatbread) which was pretty low in calories, so that was good after the high calorie lunch I had. After our picnic dinner we walked over to the fenced dog park area of the park.

We’ve been trying to go once a week lately to help Bella with her social skills. She’s pretty good with other dogs but she’s nervous and jumpy and sometimes sudden movements (i.e. playful dogs) can make her scared. She’s getting a lot better with it at the dog park. And we are seeing some regulars there! So she’s making friends. 🙂

Bella is usually the fastest dog in the park. Seriously, her zoomies are epic. But she met her match last night when an adorable little whippet beat her!

Go Bella! Go!