Well, as promised, I did something bold over the weekend: I followed up on my long desire to try road cycling. At first, I wasn’t sure it was a good idea. I had two borrowed bikes (one was a beautiful work of art, one was older, slightly dinged up and had some electrical tape on it- guess which one I was more comfortable with) and as soon as I obtained them, I had two bikes with flat tires. Granted, these were both bikes that hadn’t been used for a while, but it still didn’t feel like an auspicious start to my endeavor. But I persevered, and took the bikes out to a trail for a ride along the river.  Read the rest of this post...

This summer, I found myself enthralled with a sporting event- something out of the ordinary for me. I watched several stages of the Giro d’Italia bike race through Italy. The scenery was beautiful, the behind-the-scenes dramas described by the announcers were interesting, but what really captured my attention was the cycling itself. The pace, the serenity, the effortless athleticism of it fascinated me. (Now, keep in mind, I was watching it on TV so I was probably missing all the sweating, injuries and cussing.) Anyway, I got it in my head at that time that I should try cycling, and for some reason, the idea hasn’t gone away.  Read the rest of this post...

Hiking has always been an enjoyable pastime for me and my husband.  We were so excited to have our boys get out and enjoy nature on the trail.  It wasn’t that hard when they were little, just pop them in the Björn or Kelty carrier and remember to bring enough diapers, a bottle, extra clothes and a hat.  Other than the stops required to use the “baby” supplies, our hiking range and style didn’t change that much from our pre-kid days.  But once our aching backs let us know that the boys had outgrown the carriers, our hiking style would alter dramatically.  Read the rest of this post...