Going where the trail leads...

Monday, August 24, 2015

I didn’t do much of a workout on Sunday, though I did get in a hike with the dogs in the Metropark. Since I didn’t strap on my pack, I only consider it activity and not a workout. I don’t give myself credit for a workout unless I get my training heart rate consistently above 100 bpm. Walking, it seldom gets about 75.

We had a huge, heavily caloric family dinner of chicken, gravy, mashed potatoes, dressing, corn, noodles and something else I’m sure I’ve forgotten. I passed on dessert though and noticed I was having some severe gas pains when I went to bed. They continued through the night and into Monday. I had an active day, finding out that a riding mower needed to be disassembled and the steering mechanism replaced. I drove home still not feeling entirely right, but determined to get in a ride on a windy, but otherwise perfect evening.

I had that strong tail wind for the first half of the ride, but once I turned into the wind, found it to be unrelenting and strong. I pushed hard though and added some extra miles in recognition of what Kathy was continuing to do out west to shame me. She shared her latest plan; to drive to Idaho and ride portions of the Coeur d'Alene bike trail. It is a 72-mile paved trail running between the cities of Plummer and Mulian, Idaho. I love that spontaneous nature she exudes. It reminds me of me. She’s there and always looking for the next beautiful site to experience from a bike or hiking. Personally, I believe it is the necessary ingredient to staying in shape forever because she is doing physical activity that she craves. I’m hooked on the same things and you can’t continue to do them into your seventies and beyond unless you keep doing them and stay in shape. I don’t think any exercise routine survives without this motivation. I see a future for myself where I explore this continent from top to bottom with a bike, kayak and on foot. I can see no other good way to do it and it is that close and slow contact with the environment that gives me the serenity I crave. I need to touch and feel the land as I move through it and the slower, the better. When I’m not doing myself, I’m doing vicariously through friends like Kathy and Alaska Paul. My time is coming to join them in these quests.

Bike duration:  Two hours and 30 minutes.

Training Heart Rate:  120 bpm.

Calories burned during workout:  2150.