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Justifying Another Bike
When we bought our beach cruisers earlier this summer I was a little nervous that I wouldn’t use it enough to justify owning another bike. This past week proved to me that buying bikes was a good investment and we’ll save money over the long haul by not having to rent bikes each time we come to the beach.
The first full day here at the beach, I ran and walked, but have ridden my bike each day since. We time our rides to during low tide so we have hard packed sand on which to ride. The hardest part of the ride is pushing our bikes through the deep loose sand to and from the house to the water’s edge – that’s a workout in its own!
So with a road bike, a gravel bike, and now a beach cruiser, my fleet is complete and I can ride on pretty much any surface I choose. Worth noting, though, there will be no mountain bike in my future!
Overview of the Week
Before discussing each day’s workouts, here’s an overview of my workouts from this past week. Scroll beyond the infographic for daily details…
Sunday
Cycling: 40 miles
• Average speed: 13 MPH
• Bike: Cannondale Topstone
• Surface: gravel
• Elevation gain: 2,313 feet
• Start time: 8:07 AM
• Location: Ashburn to Leesburg to Lincoln loop
• Weather: 71° and sunny, climbing to 86° (feels like 92°)
• What I wore: bike bibs and s/s jersey
After several weeks of missing Sunday rides with the Gravel Rats, we were back with our new friends for one of my favorite routes. It’s a scenic 22-mile route and Bill and I added mileage by riding to and from the starting point.
Monday
Strength training: 1 hour of total body
Travel to the beach
Tuesday
Yoga: Sun Salutations
Running: 1 mile
• Average pace: 10:50
• Start time: 3:57 PM
• Location: Swan Beach along the Atlantic Ocean
• Weather: 86° (feels like 96°) and sunny
• What I wore: shorts and tank top
Walking: 2 miles
• Average pace: 15:46
• Start time: 4:18 PM
• Location: Swan Beach along the Atlantic Ocean
• Weather: 86° (feels like 97°) and changing from sunny to overcast
• What I wore: shorts and tank top
At the beach I have to coordinate my runs with low tide and since the morning low tide was at 3:58 AM I opted to wait until the afternoon to head out. Despite a feels like temperature in the high 90’s, it felt quite comfortable by the water.
Wednesday
Running: 5K
• Average pace: 9:46
• Start time: 7:13 AM
• Location: Swan Beach along the Atlantic Ocean
• Weather: 76° with the sun rising to sunny
• What I wore: shorts and tank
Roll: 10 minutes
Stretch: 10 minutes
Cycling: 15 miles
• Average speed: 9.1 MPH
• Bike: Electra Cruiser Lux
• Surface: sand
• Elevation gain: 32 feet
• Start time: 3:56 PM
• Location: Swan Beach along the Atlantic Ocean to the Virginia line
• Weather: 82° (feels like 87°) and sunny with 7 MPH wind out of the southeast
• What I wore: shorts and tank top
As low tide approached, Bill and I readied our new beach cruisers for our first official ride on the beach. We had a delightful tailwind as we rode north to the NC/VA border, but faced a noticeable headwind on our return.
I was thrilled to have purchased a basket for my bike so I could carry water and Gatorade. Notice, though, that we’re not wearing our normal cycling kits. My bike seat is so wide and padded that I don’t need padded bike shorts and with a basket, I don’t need a jersey with pockets across the back. I also opted to leave my bike Garmin (affiliate link) at home and use my running Garmin (affiliate link) in bike mode instead.
Thursday
Strength training: 1 hour of total body
Cycling: 7 miles
• Average speed: 8.3 MPH
• Bike: Electra Cruiser Lux
• Surface: sand
• Elevation gain: 14 feet
• Start time: 7:29 AM
• Location: Swan Beach along the Atlantic Ocean
• Weather: 76° and sunny, climbing to 78°
• What I wore: shorts and tank top
Riding with our sister-in-law, we had a road block of a different nature when we had to stop and move out of the way for three wild horses walking our way. We’d gotten a late start relative to low tide so we encountered loose sand the final quarter mile of our ride which made riding more difficult.
And finally, after an afternoon of procrastinating, I dragged my dumbbells and yoga mat out of the closet (I brought the other items with me) and lifted weights, adding in walking lunges which I hadn’t done in a while.
Friday
Cycling: 8 miles
• Average speed: 9.3 MPH
• Bike: Electra Cruiser Lux
• Surface: sand
• Elevation gain: 14 feet
• Start time: 7:26 AM
• Location: Swan Beach along the Atlantic Ocean
• Weather: 76° and sunny
• What I wore: shorts and tank top
Running: 2 miles
• Average pace: 9:52
• Start time: 8:44 AM
• Location: Swan Beach along the Atlantic Ocean
• Weather: 79° and sunny
• What I wore: shorts and tank
Roll: 10 minutes
Stretch: 10 minutes
Holy moly, DOMS was in full effect and my glutes were complaining bitterly all day after doing walking lunges the day before.
Saturday
Strength training: 1 hour total body
Yoga: Sun salutations
Cycling: 10 miles
• Average speed: 10.5 MPH
• Bike: Electra Cruiser Lux
• Surface: sand
• Elevation gain: 21 feet
• Start time: 7:38 AM
• Location: Swan Beach along the Atlantic Ocean
• Weather: 78° and sunny
• What I wore: shorts and tank top
Roll: 5 minutes
Stretch: 5 minutes
After my ride, I pushed my bike back through the loose sand to the house and returned to the beach for a walk. As soon as I started walking, my left hip flexor started complaining. I tried walking a couple of times, but couldn’t without pain. Oddly, I didn’t hurt on my walk through the loose sand back to the house and it didn’t hurt walking around inside the house. Later in the morning, I rolled and stretched both hips after lifting weights. Hopefully, whatever it was was short-lived and it won’t bother me again.
Last Week’s Blog Posts
In case you skipped checking in on my blog this past week, here’s what you missed…
Questions:
- • What little short term niggles have you experienced that fortunately went away quickly? ~ Here’s hoping my hip flexor is just that!
- • What was your favorite workout of the week? ~ Sunday’s gravel ride was my favorite workout.
- • Did you run in a race this weekend?
And that’s my rundown… Have a great week!
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I’m linking up with Deborah at Confessions of a Mother Runner and Kim from Running on the Fly for their Weekly Run Down. Be sure to check out not only the hosts’ posts, but those of the other great bloggers joining in on the fun!
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 small 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.
I love all your beach photos! I would love to see wild horses; I never have.
That one of you running by the ocean it looks like you’re flying!
Sounds like you had a great vacation & congrats on breaking in your beach cruiser.
Thanks, Judy! You would love it here because we’ve had horses around our house and on the beach daily.
You do have a whole fleet of bikes to choose from now! Very fun color too. Never thought about the tides at the beach but makes sense. Yes, I often get a weird pain or twinge and then it kind of goes away. I guess that’s normal?
Because our roads are sand here on the 4×4 section, my best option for running (and now cycling) is along the beach and low tide makes it so much easier. 🙂
Fortunately, my hip flexor pain hasn’t returned.
So jealous of your beach time! Your bike looks like a sweet ride. Glad you are enjoying it!
I noticed a little SI joint pain today on my run! So it looks like I need to do some rehab on that. It’s always something, isn’t it?
I know, right? I think my hip flexor pain is from working harder riding on the sand. I’m riding much shorter distances, but daily. Fortunately, it doesn’t bother me while riding and I’m only aware of it for a few minutes after my rides. Hope your SI joint pain goes away quickly.
That looks SO FUN! Yes, you definitely needed that third bike. And- I have had some very odd hip issues, where something just gets…. out of alignment? I don’t know how to explain it, but I’m literally limping. And then fifteen minutes later I’m running down the street. Hopefully yours was just a very temporary thing like that.
We’ve really been having fun riding our beach cruisers. It’s nice not worrying about work and being able to exercise whenever we want and without any time restrictions.
I love the color of your bike – so fun!
I’ve been dealing with an off-again, on-again niggle in my right hip flexor. At the moment it’s off again. I hope yours is short-lived.
Thanks, Michelle! So far, so good with my hip flexor. I hope your hip flexor pain stays at bay, too.
I was going to ask about a future mountain bike, but you answered that LOL. I can only imagine the workout you got from pushing the bike through the sand! As if walking in the sand wasn’t tough enough already. My right hammy has been feeling a little weird recently…or maybe it’s the piriformis? I haven’t had that bothering me for several years. I’m trying to sit less at work (I have a convertible stand-up desk), as well as stretching and rolling.
Yes, and as I push the bike forward, its slides sideways away from the side I’m walking on so I’m constantly having to pull it back upright. And at 36 pounds it becomes an upper body workout! 😀
Yay for a stand-up desk option!
Pushing a bike through deep, loose sand is a workout in itself! The beach cruiser looks like a heavy bike, too. But I guess great for packed sand!
I have three bikes as well. We have no car and I do all my shopping with my old city bike. Then I have a road bike and a mountain bike. I’d love to have a gravel bike, though!
Yes, you’re correct, the beach cruiser weighs 36 pounds and my road and gravel bikes each weigh 18 pounds. Let me know if you get a gravel bike!
Love that cruiser.
Sometimes, it’s my hip. Sometimes, it’s my bionic ankle or the arch of my foot. Sometimes, it’s my glute. It never stays too long.
Thanks, Jenn! And yes, isn’t it amazing how various parts of the body hurt take turns acting up?
Love the beach cruisers, she’s pretty!
How cool to have a wild horse traffic jam.
I did not realize that gravel bikes were different than mountain bikes. Shows how little I know about bikes!
Thanks, Jessie!
While gravel bikes have more clearance and wider, grippier tires than road bikes; mountain bikes have a lot more suspension than gravel bikes. Mountain biking includes riding/jumping over rocks, tree branches, etc. and I’m too old for that! 😉