Road Trippin’
Whether or not you’re a Willie Nelson fan, the title of my blog just might have gotten you singing along. My husband and I are on the road again, but you’ll have to follow along to see which national parks we visit this year. Road trippin’ (and now we’re all mentally singing along with the Red Hot Chili Peppers) has become a favorite thing for my husband and me to do as we’ve both cut back our hours to part time.
Last summer our 3-week road trip took us to North Dakota, last fall’s 2-week trip took us to New England, and this winter’s 2-week drive took us to Florida. Where is this summer’s road trip taking us? Read on for a few hints…
Overview of the Week
Before getting into each day’s workouts, here’s an overview of my workouts from this past week. Scroll beyond the infographic for daily details…
Sunday
Cycling: 28.2 miles
• Bike: Life Fitness Lifecycle GX Spin
• Average speed: 15.5 MPH
• Surface: N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 5:42 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 66° in the basement, 67° and raining outside
• What I wore: bike shorts and sports bra
With rain outside and early Father’s Day plans I was back on my spin bike…
Monday
Strength training: 1 hour of total body
Cycling: 28 miles
• Bike: Life Fitness Lifecycle GX Spin
• Average speed: 15.6 MPH
• Surface: N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 11:59 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 67° in the basement, 64° and raining outside
• What I wore: bike shorts and sports bra
With our road trip ahead of us and long hours of sitting in the car the first few days, I decided to front load my cardio workouts. The weather was downright gross outside which left me in our basement on my spin bike, once again…
Tuesday
Cycling: 58 miles
• Bike: Life Fitness Lifecycle GX Spin
• Average speed: 15.2 MPH
• Surface: gravel N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 5:59 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 67° in the basement, 66° and mostly cloudy outside
• What I wore: bike shorts and sports bra
Walking: 2.09 miles
• Average pace: 15:43 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 112 feet
• Start time: 11:58 AM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 74° and misty
• What I wore: shorts and s/s shirt
I only had one client early in the morning so I had plenty of time to fit in a long bike ride (I started while virtually training that client) followed eventually by a walk. I spent the rest of the day doing laundry, packing my bike bag, and laying out non-exercise clothes for our trip.
My husband purchased us each a Thule bike duffel for our trip. It’s an amazing bag for athletes, and even though it’s specifically designed for cyclists, it would work well for runners, too.
Wednesday
Strength training: 1 hour of total body
Cycling: 24 miles
• Bike: Life Fitness Lifecycle GX Spin
• Average speed: 15.4 MPH
• Surface: gravel N/A
• Elevation gain: N/A
• Start time: 8:43 AM
• Location: basement
• Weather: 65° in the basement; 76°, cloudy, and steamy outside
• What I wore: bike shorts and sports bra
Walking: 2.04 miles
• Average pace: 14:59 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 90 feet
• Start time: 11:01 AM
• Location: neighborhood circle
• Weather: 81°, mostly cloudy, and steamy, climbing to 84°
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor
I squeezed in two cardio workouts around client sessions (strength training is almost always at 5:30 AM before seeing my first client). I stayed inside for cycling, but headed outside for a steamy walk.
Thursday
Road trip day 1: Drive from home through Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana to Ottawa, Illinois
What an exhausting day. We knew it would be a long one, but between several heavy rainstorms and getting caught up in standstill traffic a few times, our expected 12-hour trip got a lot longer. After leaving our house at 4 AM EDT, we arrive in Ottawa 14 hours later at 5 PM CDT. We made gasoline and potty pit stops as necessary, grabbed a breakfast sandwich at Dunkin’, and had fruit I’d brought from home for lunch to save time and it still took 2 hours longer than planned, but we arrived safely and that’s what matters most.
Friday
Road trip day 2: Drive from Ottawa, Illinois through Iowa to Lincoln, Nebraska
Strength training: 1 hour of total body
Walking: 1.36 miles
• Average pace: 19:53 minute/mile
• Elevation gain: 89 feet
• Start time: 12:42 PM
• Location: Meredith Trail, Des Moines, Iowa
• Weather: 84° and sunny
• What I wore: shorts, s/s shirt, and visor
Up early, we hit the hotel gym for some lifting before hitting the road. Rain arrived just in time to make the morning drive miserable, but moved out after a few hours. Our route took us right through Des Moines and Kim was kind enough to meet us for lunch and a quick walk. How cool is that! My husband and I had considered riding our bikes when we got to Lincoln, but by the time we got there it was 95° and windy as all get out, like blowing me off balance windy.
Saturday
Road trip day 3: Drive from Lincoln, Nebraska to Glenwood Springs, Colorado
Yoga: 22 minutes
Even though I was in the car most of the day, I couldn’t let the International Day of Yoga go by without doing some sun salutations, warrior 1, warrior 2, tree, eagle, and a few other of my favorite poses (i.e. those I can actually do) at the end of the day.
Last Week’s Blog Posts
In case you skipped checking in on my blog these past weeks, here’s what you missed…
- • Sunday – Weekly RunDown: June 8 – 14 / A Mid-Drive Gravel Ride
- • Tuesday – Great American Ride Recap
Questions:
- • If you enjoy traveling by car, where did your last road trip take you? ~ Is a 6-hour drive to the farm considered a road trip?
- • Which is more your type of music, Willie Nelson or Red Hot Chili Peppers? ~ I love the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
- • Which workout did you feel was most successful this week?
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!
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You two are road trip pros by now!
I’m impressed by how you manage to squeeze in workouts between long driving days, thunderstorms, and social meetups!
I also love the mystery element – trying to guess which national parks you’re heading to! (I’m putting in an early guess for Badlands or Rocky Mountain?)
And how fun that you got to meet up with Kim en route—that’s the perfect way to break up a travel day. I’m excited to see where this summer’s adventure takes you!
Seeing Kim again was fantastic, even if we only had time for lunch and a walk.
My husband pointed in the direction of Rocky Mountain National Park (a park we haven’t visited yet) as we drove past yesterday. We visited Badlands last summer so that’s not it. I’ll give you a hint, we’re headed to southern Utah today. 😉
It was just too perfect that you found yourselves on I-80 again this summer! Such a fun meet-up! The wind has been a beast this weekend, but I’m planning another windy bike ride for today anyways, call me crazy!
We loved seeing you again! Thanks for taking the time to meet us and play tour guide.
The wind was absolutely crazy in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Hi Deb! I read your blog and just wanted to let you know that I live just down the road from GWS in Basalt! How fun it would have been to run into you… literally! But, you’re probably back on the road again. Wishing you and your husband happy and safe miles! Cheers, Becky
Hi Becky! That would have been wild if you’d come up to me at some random overlook and asked if I was Deb and told me that you read my blog. We just left Glenwood Springs and are on our way to southern Utah.
That is so fun that you got to go trough Iowa again and meet up with KIm. Have a great rest of your trip! To answer your question-I am not much a car trip person i get too antsy! We do have some fun trips this summer 🙂
Thanks, Deborah! We’ve got lots of exciting places to see! And, yes, the long rides between locations can get boring. I edit pictures and work on my blog a lot during that time.
That’s a super nice bag!! If I took bike trips like you it would be a huge help to stay organized. You’re in Colorado?? My fav. I’ll be following along on IG 🙂 I do love a road trip! Do your bikes fit into your vehicle, or are your bikes on a rack? Just wondering what you do with the bikes when you stop for the night. When I use the rack on my EV for long trips it really cuts down the range of my car. I didn’t expect that! Have a safe and super fun trip!!
Our bikes are on a swing out bike rack on the back of our SUV, and we bring them into our hotel room or Airbnb each night. We were only in Colorado for one night. Did you know that we lived about halfway between Denver and Boulder for about six months a couple of years after we were married?
Oh wow, I guess that takes better planning if you take your bikes with you in your EV on very long trips.
Oooh that Thule duffle is really nice – it looks perfect for road trips. You’re really a road trip pro now! I need to make sure I’m following you on insta to keep updated on your travels and see your photos. Have fun!
Thanks, Melissa!
Wow, that is a LOT of driving in one day!!! I do love road trips, but I haven’t done 14 hours in one day in a looooong time. It sounds really fun, and you got to have lunch with Kim!!! Is Colorado your final destination? I can’t wait to hear more!
We were in Colorado only one night before heading on to southern Utah. And yes, that was a long day in the car!
Oh how fun!
I love road trips. I think six hours counts as one… I wish we could do longer ones, but 6-7 hours is about Mr PugRunner’s limit. He prefers to fly.
That being said, I do hate when traffic and weather delay things. Yuck.
So glad you got to meet up with Kim, and I’m so glad you are having a wonderful time!
I like some Willie Nelson and some Red Hot Chili Peppers… I’m odd in that I like a song or two from so many different artists. There’s no rhyme or reason.
Kim and I had a great time together – just wish it could have been a little longer. I’m with you, I have a wide variety of music I like and listen to.
I love road trips, but hate short drives if that makes sense. DDriving to get there is annoying but exploring, forever. Last one was the Yellowstone loop since I had some international travel. Should have one in early 2026 which sounds crazy away, but is probably 5m. Safe travels!
Thanks, Cari! Can’t wait to see what you have up your sleeve for 2026!