How We Get Around

When Woody and I started telling people we were moving to Denver, and were planning to buy a house, many people would ask if we were going to get a dog. You know, when people get a house, or at least move out of the city and have a larger apartment, they get a dog. Well, we weren’t, and aren’t, getting a dog. What we have wanted to get since we started planning our move however, were bikes.

If you saw this post last fall, you know I hadn’t been on a bike in well over a decade until last year. But since we have just one car, which we want to use as little as possible, and Denver has a great trail system plus somewhat bike-friendly roads, why not take advantage of it? Just in time for the winter storm that hit on Sunday, we picked up the newest members of our family!

I chose a hybrid because I’ll be using this for part of my commute on some days, to go to the farmers market and nearby restaurants and coffee shops and other fun times around town. I thought about a step-through cruiser, but decided on this one because it’s more versatile. Details are important so I picked out this water bottle holder specifically; it’s one of my favorite things about the bike. Nothing wrong with adding a little feminine touch.

Thankfully we made it back to our house just before the rain started to come down. We’re are pretty certain our new bikes are going to change our lives tremendously, and I’m beyond thrilled about it!

Another form of transportation, at least exercise, for me, has been wearing down so I also did a little shoe shopping on Saturday. A girl can’t have too many bright pairs of shoes, right?

I’ve been wearing Brooks Ravenna for the past several years as my training/gym shoes. After dealing with so many stress fractures I found that these work well for me and I guess because I haven’t had a fracture in a foot since I started wearing them it’s best to stay faithful. These felt a bit different than they have in past years but not so much that I was going to risk trying something different. With the Bolder Boulder coming up in a few weeks I’ll stick with my Mizuno Wave Elixir’s for race day.

If you have a bike – what type do you have? Where’s your favorite place to go on it? Do you have any tips for a newbie? * Are you loyal to a specific type of running shoe? * Do you train and race in different types of shoes?

Hope all of you Mom’s had a great Mother’s Day!

Run, Bike, Eat

Sounds like a great day, right? I thought so! Woody was golfing today with a friend from college who lives in the area and with only a few weeks left of the Cherry Creek Farmers Market before the end of the season, I wanted to get there. Plus it was a beautiful day, perfect to be outside!

I started the day with a run! It poured all day yesterday – which makes people a little nervous around here right now – but it was beautiful this morning! It was cold, but beautiful. I got to wear my Oiselle Lesley Knickers (they have magic sewn in them!) and my vintage Oiselle jacket because it was all of 39 degrees when we walked out the door. Brrr! Woody and I haven’t been running together often. He is faster than I am and likes to take a different route. Somehow though we tend to run into each other (no pun intended) at some point as we did today. I was nearing the end of my run, heading down Wynkoop towards 16th Street and I noticed Woody at the intersection! I yelled his name, thankfully he heard me, waited for me to catch up and we finished our runs together. I’m sure he had gone a bit farther than I had but I was really happy with my run this morning and felt good! I’m loving fall and wish it would last just a bit longer.

After my run it was time to get going again. While Denver has a pretty good public transit system – especially for a mid-sized metropolitan area – with local and regional buses and a light rail system, it’s lacking in some respects. For instance, the 4.5 mile trip from our apartment to Cherry Creek would take about an hour via public transportation. Thankfully Woody and I went for a bike ride a few weeks ago so now I have an option for going places when he has the car.

I got there and back without any incidents although I was a bit nervous at times and my senses were on high alert. Thankfully I can take the busy and beautiful Cherry Creek Trail rather than the busy and hectic streets almost the whole way. Tonight I am definitely feeling a new sense of freedom and with growing confidence and experience on the bike I’ll have a new way to burn some calories!

Tomorrow I’m off to Longmont bright and early for Venus de Miles 2013: Rising Above! My goal for next year is to be one of the riders!

What have you been up to this weekend? * I am loving all the fall fruits & veggies at the market, which are your favorites? * What are your favorite things about fall?

A Weekend Success Story

Wow, okay is it just me or did this weekend go by really quickly? Personally it was a nice balance of busy and relaxing; productive and lazy, but I wish I had another day (or two) before I have to get back to the whole commuting thing. But I guess that’s how it always is after a long weekend! I hope you enjoyed yours!

One thing I accomplished this weekend has been on my to-do list since we decided to move to Denver! It’s a little known fact, but one I’m not ashamed to admit, that I haven’t been on a bike (one that actually moves forward) in probably close to two decades. I can’t recall the last time I rode a bike, but I’m pretty sure I gave it up in middle school.

Bikes are very prominent in Denver and Boulder. I wouldn’t go so far to say that they are super-bike friendly as I’ve felt/seen/heard of a certain level of animosity between drivers and bike riders. This seems incredibly odd to me though because so many people are on bikes! Nevertheless, one goal I had in moving to Denver was to start riding a bike again! I could close my eyes and see myself gliding down the bike trail with a basket full of farmers market goodies and a huge grin on my face on a crisp Colorado fall day!

I can officially say I am two steps closer to that dream! First, as you may have read last week, Woody and I went helmet shopping at REI and purchased helmets after trying on quite a few. Safety first!

Then today, we rented Denver B-Cycle bikes from a stand near our apartment. It was downtown but on a quiet street so we spent the first 15-20 minutes just riding down the sidewalk, practicing turns and stopping. Yes, I needed to practice all this. Remember, I hadn’t been on a bike in nearly TWO DECADES! I think Woody was just about as nervous as I was about me riding a bike.

Finally I got up the courage to hit the streets and we rode around downtown Denver for a while. Thankfully it was pretty quiet given the holiday so we didn’t have to contend with a ton of people and cars. I can report with absolute truth that I did not once fall off the bike, run into anything or anyone or even have any near incidents! I may take out the B-Cycle once more though before I invest in a bike of my own. But I’m getting closer to realizing a dream!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What were the highlights of your Labor Day Weekend? * Do you ride a bike? Did you ever take a hiatus from riding? If so, why? * What are you looking forward to this fall?

Food & Bike Racing

Last weekend the state of Colorado was enamored with bike racing. The USA Pro Challenge to be exact. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s basically the US’s version of the Tour de France. Known as America’s Race, it’s a multi-day road bike race that brings together professional riders from all over the world. Going through Colorado, the race takes riders to incredible heights – 12,000 feet to be exact! The seventh and last stage of the race took place in Denver on Sunday and consisted of 8 laps of a circuit through downtown. Being so close to the action, we had to check it out!

So, they practically flew by and were a blur. With all the great riders who were there, a Coloradoan took home first place! Tejay van Garderen of the BMC Racing team won the Pro Challenge.

Afterwards we headed over to REI – big sale going on – and checked out bikes and helmets. One of my goals is to start riding a bike again (it’s been nearly two decades since I’ve been on one) but the first step is getting a helmet so I can test out my skills on a Denver B-Cycle (like Citi Bikes in NYC) before we invest in a bike. So, we had some fun…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You’ll have to check back to see what we chose!

Aside from watching professional riders fly by and trying on helmets, I did a little cooking. Here are my favorites from the weekend:

Potato smashers

This tasty side dish was so incredibly easy I am making these again soon. We had this as a side dish with dinner but I think it would be a great alternative for breakfast potatoes as well! I also want to try it with a mixture of red & purple potatoes.

Steps:

1. Scrub and boil red potatoes
2. Let cool & pre-heat oven to 375’
3. Spray foil-lined cookie sheet with olive oil spray
4. Place potatoes on cookie sheet and flatten with the bottom of a cup (glass is best, potatoes won’t stick to it) or back of a large spoon or pie server
5. In a small prep cup combine grape seed oil (or olive oil) with fresh ground pepper and chipotle – stir to combine
6. Using a silicone brush, spread mixture on each smashed potato and bake in oven for 45 minutes or until satisfyingly crunchy yet soft

Eggplant Stackers

So, I need to perfect this one a bit more but it turned out well enough I didn’t want to wait to share it. Again, really simple and a great alternative for a veggie side dish. The one thing I’d do differently would be to cut thinner slices of eggplant and use a little less mozzarella.

Steps:

1. Slice eggplant – two slices per serving – and grill on each side till nearly cooked
2. Top one slice of eggplant with a smear of pesto, tomato slice, bit of mozzarella (it melts easily so you don’t need too much!), a bit of wilted fresh spinach then second slice of eggplant
3. Continue to grill for a minute then flip and grill on the other side for another minute – until warmed through
4. Remove from grill and drizzle with balsamic vinegar before serving

I love that we have a balcony now so we can grill! Just wish it was self-cleaning!

What’s your favorite thing to grill? * How are you planning to spend the holiday weekend? * Are you more excited for college football or pro football?

On Two Wheels

You've probably noticed recently that a lot of cities are advocating alternative transportation methods and have taken steps to improve the infrastructure to allow and encourage people to ride bikes for pleasure, fitness and commuting. Designed with the systems in Paris, Montreal and other international cities in mind, Denver, Minneapolis, and Boston are instituting bike-share systems which allow residents and tourists alike to rent-a-bike from kiosks throughout the city and return them to any other kiosk of their choosing. Communities are working to create more bike lanes and paths and promote bike safety.

I know several people who commute to work on their bike (They are fearless. I would be completely freaked out by rush hour traffic, myself) and of course, many people who just enjoy riding for fun. Not only is it a healthy choice for the rider, but also healthy for the environment. Unfortunately, with the increase in ridership, there also seems to be an increase in bike theft. An article in The New York Times on Sunday explored the issue. While most local police departments do not keep official numbers of bike thefts, the FBI's report of 188,698 thefts in 2008 is most likely way below actual results because local departments only report voluntarily and most people don't even report stolen bicycles. Compared to statistics from other years, this is slightly higher and officials do believe that ridership has increased over the last several years. Some cities and colleges are taking steps to crack down on bike thieves as many have actually turned out to be sophisticated rings rather than simple acts of convenience. A company has developed bait bikes that have a form of lo-jack attached to them so thieves can be caught quickly and easily. It's a pretty great idea, but it comes at a steep cost when each bait bike is $7,000 and budgets are tight. Still, it's nice to know that some communities are working hard to stop this.

If you ride a bike, be careful with how you lock it up and where you leave it. If you ever have a bike stolen, be sure to report it, don't just let it go.

I don't bike, but I wish I did. Not like the road bikers who do laps in the park early in the morning and freak me out as they zoom by in their large groups, but I'd like a cool retro looking cruiser with a little basket on front so I could carry groceries, my book and whatever I needed for work. Maybe one day I'll get one! Probably around the same time we buy a house.

Do you bike? Have you ever commuted on bike or would you? Do you take caution with where you lock up and how? Does your community support and promote biking?

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workout stats -

14mile bike

20minutes StairMaster

3x10 upright row

3x10 tricep dips

3x10 bicep curls

3x10 lat pull downs

3x10 glute kickbacks

3x10 hip abductors

2x15 leg press

stretching