The Little Things
June 16, 2015

Last week I headed out for my long bike ride, and decided to go explore new roads instead of staying on the normal route on the trails that I do. The first eight miles was on the trail I usually go on, although it felt different due to a storm that had come through the day before. There were sticks all over the place, and I was swerving all over the trail to try to avoid the bigger ones. Limbs of trees were also down, and there were fewer squirrels scurrying across the trails.

Things got better once I got off the trail and hit the country roads again. Around mile 10 I started to hit hills, and was on rolling hills from miles 10-30. I usually get a few hills in on my rides, but rolling hills for 20 miles is definitely not something I’m used to at all!

I hit 13.8 miles at 1 hour, and was happy with that pace, but obviously my overall pace went down after that with the hills, which I’m not so used to doing.

Somewhere around mile 14 I was biking past a field, and saw a deer out eating about 50 feet from me, and I loved watching the deer as I biked slowly past, enjoying the moment. I also saw this sign, which I loved!

Share The Road Biking

I actually stopped at mile 16 to use the rest room, which isn’t typical on rides, but was definitely necessary.

I turned around at mile 16 and was suddenly biking up hills and against the wind- yikes! I was definitely going slow and my legs were sore and shaking from the extra work I was putting into the ride. Talk about a good workout!

I was reminded once again that pace isn’t everything in getting stronger, and this was a solid workout despite the fact that I ended my ride with an overall pace of 12.9 mph (yikes!).

Here’s what I ate on the ride:

Overall I really enjoyed the ride. I love being out in nature, and I loved the work out of the hills! It’s definitely something that I’ll be riding again this summer. One of the things I really love most about biking is the chance I get to explore new roads.

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2 responses to “Explore New Roads”

  1. Kristen @ Glitter and Dust says:
    June 16, 2015 at 11:19 am

    You are already starting out strong this summer! Do you have a goal mileage that you would like to hit in one day? My favorite thing about cycling is exploring new roads and being able to cover a lot of area in a shorter amount of time (compared to running or walking).

    • littlethingscaroline@gmail.com says:
      June 16, 2015 at 12:22 pm

      Thanks! I already wrote up my post about my long ride yesterday (it will post next week), and had a first ever, crazy experience! I want to hit at least 900-950 miles for the year biking, but nothing specific for the summer. I’m not training for anything bike-wise either- I’m just riding because I love it. My current PDR is 64 miles, so maybe I’ll try to beat that this summer!