the biking bug

I’ve been bitten by the biking bug.  I don’t think there’s any hope of recovery.

With that being said, I’m far from an expert on biking.  The closest peice of equipment that I have to even looking like a “real” biker is my helmet.

The bike I ride is a mountain bike, which has its own set of pro’s and con’s.  One of the pro’s is that it takes me over all terrain—be it rocks, sand, dirt, potholes, etc.  There’s absolutely no slipping or sliding and I can easily take it off road when I want to.  One of the con’s is that it’s heavier and bulkier than a street bike which dramatically slows me down.  I’ve come to accept that fact and just sort of roll with it.  I like to think that it’s building my endurance levels. 😉

I had planned on adding a bit of distance to my ride today, so I started my morning early with a simple breakfast.

• 6-oz. plain yogurt
• 1-1/2 c. Natures Path Blueberry Cinnamon Cereal
• 1/2 banana (mixed in with the rest of the ingredients before eating of course… 😉 )
• scoop of peanut butter

+ a cup of frothy goodness

I was feeling a little nervous for the bike ride.  The longest I’ve biked this year so far has been 11.5 miles and I wasn’t sure how I was feeling about going for 20.   But I packed my backpack with water, my cellphone, some extra money and a quick snack of almonds and grapes.  Then I was off!

My legs felt nice and fresh throughout the ride.  I could feel myself slowly starting to relax as I melted into a steady rhythm.  My snack gave me the extra energy when I needed it, and I felt pretty strong riding over the hills.  Keeping things real, I was still definitely happy to be on the last two miles which is when my legs started to tire out a bit.   I plan on keeping the mileage around the same level for now and slowly increasing it as I go.  Who knows how far this bike will take me? 😀

Ready to refuel with lunch!

Salad: mixed greens, carrot, 1/2 tomato, cucumber, mushrooms, 1/4 avocado, balsamic vinegar

Lentil Taco (click for recipe) with mozzarella!  This is one of my favorite Runners World recipes.  So yummy (and easy!)

Quick afternoon snack: kashi and peanut butter sandwiches

I ate dinner over Nicole (you may know her as Loving Simple Moments) and Nate’s house.  Nicole has this ability to transform restaurant meals into her own, healthified version.  Tonight on the menu was barbequed chicken salads, a spin off of one of Panera’s meals.  I plan on asking—begging!—her for the recipe.  So good! 😀

Can I just say how addicted I now am to these onion rings?  For real.  I believe it consisted of egg whites, onion rings, and bread crumbs (maybe some extra spices?)  She simply baked them in the oven and I could not stop nibbling at them.  They were so crunchy and sweet.  Mmm…must get the recipe from her. 😀

The salad was equally delicious, being full of veggies (green peppers, tomatoes, corn, black beans), cheese, and sauteed chicken.  She made a salad dressing from light ranch and bbq sauce.  Everything tasted so fresh and delicious. 

Yum, yum, yum.

You know that goal I had of just having fun in the kitchen?  Total success.  Sauteeing chicken should never be taken too seriously, after all.

Then we skipped off to the movies, with a large purse full of snacks and drinks.  Snacks are way overpriced at the movie theatre and it’s hard to get what you really, truly want sometimes.  Nicole had the genius idea of making little snack bags of mixed goodies.  It looked something like this (minus the raisins, with the addition of LIFE cereal.)

It made for a fun, crunchy snack that even kept me full due to the almonds. 😀

We all agreed that the movie was just okay (the first Iron Man is better, in my opinion) but it was still a brilliantly fun night out.  😀

I’m seeing Nicole again today.  We have plans of either shopping or walking to get icecream.  In other words, the day is destined to be great.

Question: What’s the best movie you’ve seen recently?  I honestly don’t stay up to date with very many movies.  Usually I’m that girl who has no clue what people are talking about when the topic is “movies”. 😉  I’m excited to watch Robin Hood though!