Bike & Hike

The weather in the desert has been hit or miss as we transition into spring, but we were lucky to have a beautiful clear day that was almost 80 degrees on Saturday!

So I suggested to the husband that we take the bikes for a spin, he suggested adding on a short hike, and I laced up my new kicks and we headed out.

And a note on said kicks...awesome! They're New Balance 750 V2 running shoes, and my first pair of New Balance shoes in a long time. (Normally I'm more of a Mizuno or Nike sorta gal.) They are much lighter and more flexible than the running shoes I traditionally buy, so I'm hoping that doesn't mean I wear them out completely in a month's time. But another deciding factor for the New Balance purchase was the incredible price on them which I found on joesnewbalanceoutlet.com. I used to be uneasy about ordering shoes online, but after doing it a dozen times or so I've become confident with it. I know how my feet are, I know what my stride is like, I know how certain brands fit, and I always check the return policies - just in case. These shoes checked out and have been serving me pretty great!

We biked around our neighborhood, along some paved paths, and then onto a dirt trail, finally finishing at the base of the mountain. It was a strong ride, but at the same time, not too exhausting. After all, our main goal was to have some fun. My husband is a stronger biker than me, but he scaled back from his regular Lance pace and we rode together the whole time. 

Post-bike, pre-hike

Now the mountain we hiked may not be considered a true "mountain" by some people's standards. The one in the background of the above picture - that is a true mountain. A mountain with a name. Someday we'll go claim our way to the top of it, but since it's on an Army base we can't just go over there any ol' weekend and start walking. Apparently they have rules about these sorts of things. 

But I digress. 

There was pile of rocks fashioned into a throne at the top of the hill we climbed!

So we each took our due turn seated in the rock chair, playing king of the castle, spewing off "Go do this, go do this!" lines full-on Borat style. It was a splendid part of our adventure. 

The good thing about hiking is that going back down to the starting point is so much easier than the way up. I may be in shape, but I'm still huffing and puffing (and taking the occasional break to catch my breath enjoy the view) when I have to go vertical the entire time. (But really, check out that view in the very first picture on this post!) 

So the hike down was easy-ish, we biked the short way home, but still spent almost 3 hours out being active. Overall I was glad to have called this my workout for the day. 

And I was even more delighted to have some to-die-for delicious pizza for dinner afterwards too!

More on that later!