Tag Archives: bike to work

OUCH my quads are aching! :/

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OMG…

That’s about all I have to say…

LOL ok I’ll explain. As I posted on Monday, I bought  a new bike and have been biking back and forth to work twice daily as I go home for lunch. My quads are KILLING ME! Haha, not really as I sit here but as soon as I start pedaling! There are hills every which way around here so I cannot take an easier route and I am beginning to wonder why I took on this challenge…oh yah, to cut down on fuel expenses and to reduce my carbon footprint. Well, fine but I suspect I am going to complain about it a lot! Sorry in advance :)

Yup! Those quads are burnin’ (and yes, those are 2 Smart cars parked in our garage end to end :)

Then of course last night I had not planned on going for a run but then around 8:45 I was thinking about the GutBuster Ascent race I have coming up July 28th and before I knew it I was out the door. I have several different routes from my house that I love to run and the one I took last night has a lot of hills. Sigh…why I chose this one I’ll never know. Did I forget my quads were sore???

Anyway, off I went and I could feel the fatigue in my legs and yes my butt, almost immediately which gave me plenty of time to choose a shorter route, but no, being stubborn I had to do what I started out to do. Wondering who I am being stubborn against? So am I!!!

I did eventually get into my groove but when I looked at my Garmin to check out my distance/time and I was at 4K I realized this was the 7K route…not the 5K route. My brain was fatigued too. OMG…see, that’s how this blog started out. I could have walked I suppose but my competitive nature would not let me stop. Again I ask who am I competing with??? We humans are so funny! The last 2.5K on this route are on a looooooonnngggg incline. I did actually feel great by this point and decided to tack on another 1K at the end to make it a nice, sweaty 8K run. I am glad I did it but boy could I feel it today. My legs are fatigued! No run tonight that’s for certain.

8K…BAM! :D

The funny thing about running though? You really want to stop or even not go out there at all but once you get into the groove and are lost in your head, you quickly remember why you put yourself through it time and time again. It feels great!

have any of you decided to ride your bike to work?

do you run when you are tired?

in fitness and health

Denise ♥

I got a new bike and I’m gonna ride all over town!

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OK, so I have no patience and I rode my bike over to the bike shop on my lunch hour today and traded it in for the one I found on Saturday! I know I could have gotten more money for my old bike if I listed it privately but again, impatient! I did manage to knock $200 off of the price and got a pannier rack thrown in! I already own pannier bags.

I LOVE MY NEW BIKE :D

hazy pic but you can still see the sweetness!

My goal this year, in particular this summer, is to ride my bike to work and back everyday, including lunch hour. I live 3K from the office so that gives me 12K minimum of riding fitness. Keep in mind people that I have hills there and back! I will also be running errands on the weekends with it and picking up groceries will be a breeze with my panniers attached. I am really focusing on reducing my carbon footprint and of course with the price of fuel these days, I’d be lying if I didn’t add that in as a factor in my decision to ride. We’ve already taken one car off the road this year thereby reducing our dependence on a car for everything and reducing our insurance costs.

Yup…all mine :)

Let’s go back to the bike for a minute…I just want to admire it for a moment. It’s kind of like a cruising bike and when I am riding it I feel very “tra la la” and relaxed. I also feel like I should have a basket on the front filled with fresh flowers…and a baguette…and a bottle of wine! ;) and a floral dress and I don’t even wear dresses!!! One thing I love is the walk through mount feature rather than having to lift your leg over a bar…good for the imagined dress I am wearing! Also, I am seated more upright which I like better too. This is definitely not a workout type of bike…back to the “tra la la” feeling…

Ok, better mention some valid reasons we should consider biking to work, school and shops:

>I read somewhere that a person who commutes to work by bike loses an average of 13lbs in the first year…I don’t need to lose weight but I bet this will help me maintain my weight. :)
>to save money! It doesn’t cost a thing to spin your legs around in a circle.
>reduce your contribution to carbon emissions!
>reduce your dependency on fossil fuels

One last thing…the absolute best part of my new bike? It has a sweet ass bell and I’m going to ring it all over my town!

giving you all the peace sign in my bell!

Do you commute by bike?

Would you give up your vehicle for a bike?

in tra la la feelings and health

Denise ♥

 

$$$ Money Matters $$$

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save your pennies where you can

So we have decided to get even more frugal! We are getting pretty good at not buying what we don’t need; and now?

Well we have decided we don’t need to operate 2 cars. No, we’re not selling one, just not going to insure both of them. I have decided that I will walk or bike to work most days as it is only 3 K from home. This way we win/win. We save on insurance costs, fuel costs and I win by getting even more fitness into my already fit days. :)

my ride ♥

Another way to save money is to workout at home. I can hear you all now! But I need to go to the gym. No, you don’t; you want to go to the gym. I work out mostly from home doing DVD’s, body weight routines by Bodyrock.TV and Zuzana Light’s ZWOW’s and running, which is free!  There are so many fitness options for free on the internet we really do not needto go to a gym. I know there are some die hards who will continue going but at least try to negotiate a good price. No asky, no getty.

love Bob and Jillian DVD’s

I don’t skimp on running shoe quality but I do wait for sales and clearances of ‘last years’ model. Like the shoe is going to be useless as soon as it’s newer version arrives on the shelf. Ya right! I also like nice fitness gear but again, clearance rack. ;)

my running shoes…both bought on sale ;)

When it comes to food shopping you can save big time. How? STOP buying processed and pre-packaged foods. Then you will have money to spend on good, healthy, clean foods and the staples like oatmeal, Greek yogurt etc.  I use to spend so much on granola bars, fruit roll ups and juice boxes…ugh, makes me mad at myself to think I bought those things! (forgive yourself Denise)

healthy stuff ♥

Stop buying magazines. I have a really hard time here…I’m sort of addicted. I am cancelling all but 2 of my subscriptions though and will use the internet to look up my interests. I do like Runner’s World and Women’s Health so I will keep those and Prevention as my M-I-L gifts it to me every year. ;)

the 2 subscriptions I will keep

How ever you decide to cut costs be aware that every little bit helps. It’s not how much you make…it’s how much you save that counts!

what cost saving measures are you taking?

share your tips in the comments below

in money and health

Denise ♥