As my husband Bill has been getting more and more into biking over the last couple of years, he’s been asking if I wanted to buy a new bike and start riding with him. A combination of a few rough weeks of running and persistent requests from my hubby was all it took to finally motivate me to start the bike shopping process last Sunday. Shocking news I’m sure to my Cruiser friends who have heard me say for years that I’d probably never become a biker…

The last time I’d ridden consistently was when our sons fit into their Burley trailer (affiliate link) about twenty-six years ago. Back then, even with Bill pulling the trailer, it was difficult for me to keep up with him, so I was a bit nervous about holding him back if we were to start riding together again.

Cherry blossoms in bloom along the Tidal Basin

At the very first bike store we visited on Sunday afternoon, I fell in love with this robin’s egg blue bike. I didn’t want anything fancy, thinking it smartest to start simple and work my way up if I decide to get more seriously into biking. This beauty fit my two requirements – it was a pretty color and it was relatively inexpensive – so I bought it!

 

On Thursday, I bought a cute pink helmet and was set to hit the trails on Saturday with my favorite training partner… after I completed my run, of course. As recent runs have been going, this one felt great even though my speed is far from where it was before my injury a month ago. I ran the first three miles with my friend Shawn, followed by three solo miles.

 

After some granola topped yogurt for breakfast, Bill and I set out for our first, of hopefully many bike rides together! I rode around our cul-de-sac a few time to test my brakes, shift through my gears, and get used to being on a bike again. We rode through our community trails before venturing onto the W&OD Trail. While on the trail we spent about half of the time on the asphalt trail and the other half on the gravel horse trail. 

Cruiser running friends: You won’t be surprised when I mention that even on my bike, I managed to get my shoes and socks full of the little gravels and cinders while on the horse trail. What is it about me and those cinders?

 

We stopped at the turnaround so Bill could take an obligatory first-bike-ride picture before heading home and completing our twelve-mile ride.

 

I worked my quads in ways that I haven’t in a long time and thought I’d be really sore today. Surprisingly, I’m not the least sore and I attribute that to regular strength training. 

On the blog this week, my Race Linkup will be going live at midnight tonight as it does the last Monday of every month. Please join me and let your readers and fellow bloggers know which races you’ll be attending so we can plan meet-ups! Friday I’ll have my latest list of Runfessions and Saturday I’ll be joining in the fun on the Ultimate Coffee Date.

In case you missed it last week, I posted Ask Coach Deb About Gait, Overstretched Hammies, And Taking Selfies and The Older We Get, The Quicker We Lose It.

Back to my workouts, here’s how the week went down…

 

Fitness tools beyond the equipment in my gym that I used during the week included: 

Cameras used for blog photography include:

 

  • Questions:
  • Do you own a bike? If so, do you bike often? 
  • Random question – do you enjoy gardening? ~ I love gardening and can spend an entire day working outside!
  • Did you race this weekend? 

 

Have a great week!

 

Disclaimer:  This post contains affiliate links which means if you click on the blue product link and then make a purchase, I will receive a commission for referring you. You will pay no more or less for the product; however, Amazon will show their gratitude for my referral by paying me.

 

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I’m linking up with Holly at HoHo Runs and Tricia from MissSippiPiddlin for their Weekly Wrap.  Be sure to check out not only the hosts, but the other great bloggers joining in on the fun!

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