A Weekend of Good/Bad Eating

I can’t remember the last time I ate out so much in such a short period of time, without being away on vacation.

Friday for lunch I joined a friend to eat a great little place just up the road from my office called Grill 233. I was going to have a salad but when I heard the special soup was chicken gumbo I decided on a cup of it. I wanted to keep lunch light as I knew I was going to dinner that night with my husband and friends.

Dinner consisted of Mexican food and margaritas, followed by some really delicious ice wine and lava caked with ice cream that was topped with orange cello at our friends’ home. Yummy!!

The Mexican restaurant, called Fajita Grill, is one of the best ones in the area – great authentic food at reasonable prices. It’s no wonder the place was packed! It has a great family atmosphere where you don’t have to worry about being too loud because the place is abuzz with activity and good cheer. It’s a fun place and comes highly recommended. But don’t just take my word for it, Chris2fer also has the same opinion here.

Saturday night was dinner with another group of friends and they like Chinese food so we went to Stir Crazy in Scarborough. Stir Crazy offers some of the best Chinese food I’ve ever had. Once again, the price is very reasonable. It’s becoming one of our favorite places. We always order spring rolls and crab rangoon. I should have just stopped there. I ordered a meal of which I didn’t eat much because after the appetizers, and egg drop soup that accompanied my meal, I was pretty stuffed.

I also tried plum wine. My friend ordered it and so I did as well. Outstanding! It’s a bit on the heavy/rich side and my husband compared it to port – that sweet. It made for a good sipping wine so I nursed the one glass all evening, which was good after the potent margaritas from the night before. (I had two and 1/2 way through the second one I realized I should have stopped at one.)

It’s now time to get back on the bandwagon with eating healthy. I ate far too much wheat and corn and it’s going to take a while to shed the effects of it. But it was a nice splurge!

First Bike Commute of the Year

Today was the first day I was able to bike commute to work. It was a joyous occasion. I left my home at 6:23, a few minutes earlier than I had planned. It was 32 degrees when I left, chilly but not uncomfortable. The bad part about such an early departure is no warmth from the sun because it’s not up yet.

However, it was rising during my commute. I rode across a bridge and looking off to the right I could see the orange/pink orb that was the sun rising over Casco Bay. It was a lovely sight and even though I had my camera with me I didn’t take the time to stop and take a picture. I really wish I had.

It was a nice opportunity to ride alone and work on my form. I can tell that the spin classes, and in particular all the intervals, have really helped with my pedal stroke. My goal is to focus on it so that good form becomes second nature. It seems to make a difference with my cadence as well.

I will look forward to taking the road less traveled soon. Right now I’ll stay on Route 1 because the road is much clearer and there isn’t the risk of hitting some melting that has refrozen.

Busy Week

It’s shaping up to be a busy week.

First there was the group ride Monday night. It was terrific to be back out on the bike again, especially with members of the club. (Thanks to RC for the picture! I’m in the middle with the yellow jacket.)

Then there was a meeting last night for the Community Ride to benefit The Bike Shop, which gives low income kids, mostly ethnic kids, in the Portland area a chance to ride bikes and a safe place for them to work on them, getting them off the streets and giving them a constructive activity. More on the community ride at a later time.

So tonight I’m playing catch up. Cooking food for the rest of the week, trying to catch up on my blog reading, and finally posting on my own. There is so much more that needs to be written but that will have to wait for now.

It’s off to bed early. My plan is to get up early to enjoy a commute via bike tomorrow. I’m terribly excited. It’s time to be out on the bike!

Ahhhh, I’m Back in the Saddle Again

Okay, a cheesy title but I couldn’t resist.

Tonight was the first group Monday night ride for the club. This makes it official – we are back out on the road.  It took me a little bit to shake the awkward feeling of the bike. You know the one – the twitchy feeling of the bike underneath you to the extent you think there might be something wrong with your bike. But in the end it’s just you, not used to the feeling. I finally found that old feeling again, and it didn’t take me as long as I thought it was going to.

I took the Scattante out for the ride. I couldn’t bear to bring out the Ibex. It’s still too new, even though I would have preferred the gearing of my compact. Even so, I did okay, by my standards at least.

We decided to keep the ride shorter than normal, which was fine by me. We also decided to go easy. Well at least one guy said that. I should know not to trust him!! I’m just jesting. The pace picked up a bit higher than I expected, at least for an easy ride. I think we all were just a bit thrilled to be back in the saddle again, especially after such a long, snowy winter.

Eight of us started out, we picked up one rider, dropped another (she chose another route) to end up with eight to finish. We only had one flat, which is a bit amazing considering the condition of the roads. Though I think some of the wild wind we had over the past weekend might have helped to blow the roads clear a bit.

It was 36 degrees when we returned. The best part after a ride in the chilly air is a hot shower. The worst part is knowing you have to get out. I suppose a bath might be better so you could soak in the hot water but I prefer showers. Though the trend seems to be ice baths after a hard workout. Then again, we took it easy, didn’t we…..

To think I almost didn’t go on the ride. I could have made up some excuses but I went. Boy, I’m so glad I did! (Sorry, no pictures of the attendees before the start. My camera was dead. Major bummer!)

Sunday Spin

After a very lazy day yesterday it was time to go to spin class. After doing so many intervals lately it was time for some hill work. I struggled a bit, still feeling the effects of some poor food choices and 4 martinis Friday night and not enough food and hydration yesterday. About 1/2 way through class I found my rhythm but then faded again towards the end. My biggest concern was being able to walk after all the resistance and I seemed to manage just fine.

As much as I struggled I felt great after class. Even after a much needed hot shower I still feel good. Often a warm shower will make me become sleepy. Luckily that’s not the case today because I really need to get some cleaning done around the house.

When I left the gym the sun felt so warm though the wind still had a chill to it. The birds were singing and there was a large piliated woodpecker in a tree above my car. That was a terrific sight indeed!

I’m torn about the first group ride tomorrow. Attending means I miss yoga at the gym. Since it’s supposed to be a fairly nice day I’ll probably ride. I’m sure there will be some crappy Mondays now until the end of April to force me to the gym for spin and yoga.

Yoga for Cyclists

Some of you might be aware that I have been taking yoga classes at the gym during the off season. It’s really been great for my flexibility and strength, though I know I’ll never be able to do a back bend… and I’m fine with that.

My only concern is that during the riding season I’m going to lose all the good I’ve seen from yoga. In a recent Bicycling Magazine there were some yoga stretches that I currently do. So I thought I’d at least work on those throughout the season. But I think I’m going to need more than that.

So I was on Amazon (love Amazon) to see what was available for yoga stuff. Actually I was sent there by another search I was doing. Initially I looked at The Athlete’s Guide to Yoga but determined it was just a book and that’s probably not what I’d like at this point. Then I found Yoga for Cyclists in the preferred medium of DVD. I haven’t purchased it yet. I’m still contemplating it. I still have another month at the gym so I’ll continue with yoga there for the time being.

Roadie

There are plenty of books out there about cycling. However, I doubt non are as entertaining as this book appears to be. It’s Roadie: The Misunderstood World of a Bike Racer Entertains Roadies and Educates the Non-Racer. Ever since I saw this book on Jamie’s blog I’ve been intrigued with it. As I check his blog on a regular basis I kept looking at the book and was reminded of the release date (March 28th) and I wondered, how many more days is that?

I don’t think I’ve anticipated the release of anything so much as I have this book since Rufus Wainwright’s Want Two album. I wasn’t disappointed with Rufus’ follow up album to the revered Want One and I doubt I’ll be disappointed with Roadie. And yes, I’ve reserved my copy on Amazon already.

Ever since I became enamored with cycling in the spring of 2006 I can’t seem to get enough of this bike culture stuff, from the gear and the hottest knew products to following the pro races and riders.

I remember being at the tennis courts with my husband a few years back. A group of cyclists were known to roll through and on one occasion I just stopped to watch them ride by, my eyes followed the pack in awe. It’s odd to think that I am now one of them and I wonder how many of my club members were in that group.

So many times on a group ride we roll by walkers on the well used walking path around Baxter Boulevard and I catch the same look on the faces of people on the path. I always smile to myself. It truly can be an impressive site. In fact a local comedian by the name of Bob Marley joked on a local radio program that the Tour de France rolled through when he was out on the Boulevard. HA! Now that’s the closest I’ll get to ever riding the Tour de France.

Under the Weather

This week has just been a crummy one when it comes to exercise and energy levels.

After not going to spin Saturday I ended up leaving Sunday’s spin class half way through. I started off thinking I was going to spin well but then realized if I kept going then I’d end up working out in zone three the entire class. So I dialed it back and realized after 45 minutes that I should just go home.

I blew off class Monday night because I wasn’t feeling myself. Not only was I feeling worn down but I was terribly cranky. So I went home and hung out on the sofa with hubby and the cats.

I went to bed pretty early last night and got up early for 5am spin this morning. The normal instructor was out sick so my other favorite instructor was teaching. She chose intervals. I love intervals so I gave it my all. My lungs felt like they were going to explode a couple times. But I did better than I thought I would, given the fact that I’ve been fighting a bug this week.

As the day wore on I wasn’t feeling so good. But I sucked it up and got through the day. The ibuprofen also helped with the sore throat and ears. It would be so much better if I’d just get sick or get over this, whatever “this” is. Even if I got sick, at least I’d know there was an end. Feeling like I have a low-grade illness that drags on and on is very annoying.

Another guy and I had planned to ride tomorrow after work but we’ve decide to bag it, mostly due to the weather. I probably could have gone but given how I’m feeling, it’s better to lay low and try to recover.

The weekend looks agreeable, at least on Saturday, and I might have convinced my husband to join me for a nice easy ride. If not I might go out on my own, just to be out on the bike. Sunday will be crappy but I have spin class to attend. And I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I’ll be feeling like myself by then.

Pining for a Ride

When I went to pour myself a cup of coffee I looked out my front window. The sun was out and the roads were just wet, no longer frozen, and the thermometer was showing a favorable temperature (above freezing).

My mind wander immediately to the possibility of a real bike ride today. Though that thought was soon filled with doubt as the sun disappeared rather quickly and I pulled up Weather.com which is predicting rain for later today, which I knew was going to be the case. Still it was a welcome treat to see the sun when it wasn’t expect and to long for the road on my two-wheel friend.

Now that the temperatures during the day seem to be hovering around the 40 degree mark there will be more chances for weekend rides in the coming weeks. I’ll be ever hopeful that we’ve finally turned the dark corner of winter and heading to the warm sunshine of spring.

Dana

Feeling “Normal” Again

I almost didn’t make it to spin class this morning. I set my alarm but didn’t turn it on. Luckily my internal alarm clock was working and I woke up only 10 minutes later than I would if my alarm had gone off and still in time to make it to 5am spin.

We did intervals this morning. I joked after class with the instructor that had I known we were doing intervals I would have stayed in bed. But then I admitted how much I love them, which I do. It’s just right amount of intensity.

Since my husband reminded me this morning that he was working late I thought I’d go back to the gym for the afternoon spin class. An instructor that I don’t care as much for was filling in for the normal gal. I set up next to some friends I don’t normally sit next to so we chatted before class. This might be the reason why I got all fired up.

The next thing I know we are warming up and my h/r is around 140. Yowza! Hey, I was feeling the love so I rode the wave…. My average h/r was 160 for the class, that’s just 2 blimps below my maximum. I was crankin’! It felt so good to work that hard and to sweat that much.

I’m not sure if I’m just feeling like my normal self today, or if perhaps a bit of recovery time has done some good. And I’m forcing myself to take more recovery rides after a hard workout, even if I don’t feel like I want to. Though tonight was an exception. I was riding high. So I’ll take a couple days off, do some yoga Friday night and perhaps take an easy class Saturday morning before the high intensity class Sunday morning.