Bike rides and birthdays!

What a wonderful Saturday!  I actually didn’t sleep very well last night.  It was hot and we had changed the flannel sheets off the bed, so not sure if that made me restless or what, but I would like to have slept in some before the ride.  Nevertheless, coffee and breakfast always make things better 😀

Superfoods to fuel up!  After a leisurely breakfast and some housework, we packed up some snacks and were ready to hit the trail.

Biker thighs are ready 😉  I look 4 feet tall in this picture, but I am really 5’2″.  Today was a 40-mile scheduled ride.  The bike path along this route is actually a wide shoulder of a main road for most of the way, so it isn’t quite as nice as the regular path.  We cross over the bridge leaving town here:

To avoid the instate overpass, we detoured around Moreau State Park, and I jumped up and down when I saw these along the side of the road:

Yay!!!  Little pops of color.  Actually, you can just see the faintest shimmer of green in the trees as the buds are starting to pop.  Green is coming!  The ride there is very hilly and challenging, not to mention the headwind.  We stopped half way and had a snack.  Phew!  20 miles from home and we arrived.

Today is my sister’s birthday, so we met her in Saratoga and took her out to lunch at Ravenous:

The crepe place!  Yum.  I had a crepe filled with scrambled eggs (redundant, I guess), cheddar cheese, and broccoli!  Served with pommes frites:

Happy birthday Colleen!!

John and I decided to walk around town after eating and window shop.  Saratoga is really a very cute city.  A little spendy, but cute.  I kind of would like to live here, just for a little more nightlife :mrgreen:

Needed dessert, and a new cupcake shop opened up called Betties Cakes.

It’s very retro.

Yum:

One thing I appreciate about this place is how there are 3 different sizes of cupcakes.  They actually bought this business from Spa City Cupcakes and redesigned everything.  I got the medium size cupcake, which was the perfect size:

The flavor?

Blueberry pancake, which is a blueberry cupcake topped with maple buttercream frosting.  I  had it alongside a cup of coffee.  It was outstanding!  I could have sat there happily with a bowl of this frosting and a spoon. 😳  This just makes me want to open a cupcake shop….

After this, we hit the road back home.  Interestingly, it was much faster coming back than getting there, and we shaved 10 minutes off the time.  I don’t know if it was just the tailwind or if the hills were more up on the way there?  Maybe both.  Or maybe we were powered by cupcake. We cruised home pretty easily, although the last hill to our house is just a killer.  I was kind of tired at that point.

Distance:  40.5 miles

Time:  3 hours, 5 minutes

Average speed:  12.7 mph  (11.9 first half, 13.6 second half)

Top speed:  27.7 mph (Hills – woo hoo!)

I felt great after we got back.  I could go farther, but not sure how much.  It feels so good to have these kind of bike legs in early April!  All that winter work paid off.  I know I can bike 100 miles this summer.

Calorie burn for this ride is probably about 1,000.  I give myself between 20 and 25 calories per mile, depending on how hard the ride is, just to be conservative. Snacks consumed during this ride included a homemade granola bar, some dried pineapple, and an apple.  Then another granola bar after we got home.

Dinner time!  Easy cooking stuff since we are a little tired.  Brussel sprouts, strawberries and Pierogies!

I ate these all the time when I was younger and forgot how good they are.

Company coming over tonight and lots of relaxing in store.  We are having Easter lunch/dinner at my sister’s tomorrow, but I also have to work, as per every Sunday.

Did you have a fabulous day?

18 thoughts on “Bike rides and birthdays!”

  1. PTG

    Sounds like you had a great day!!! 40-mile bike ride is awesome!

    Our day was okay…started out rainy and kinda yucky, though I was able to get in my 4-mile run before the rain hit. Hit the gym for a quick swim and then showered/changed to get back home to be with my little one. Rest of the day has just gone so quickly – some errands, some cooking and prepping…kind of like a normal Saturday!
    .-= PTG´s last blog ..running..advice and reviews. =-.

  3. Andra

    You guys are so cute, makes me miss my sister! We had an amazing day, so much planting done. The herbs and flowers are filling the deck…pure happiness. The weather is bliss.
    .-= Andra´s last blog ..The Candy Monster =-.

  4. Paige

    I love that the cupcakes come in small, medium, and large…You can get the taste without blowing the day! Awesome!

  6. Shelley B

    LOL at powered by cupcake! What an amazing combination – I am so glad those cupcake places have not hit our town (yet).

    We weeded (when I say “we” I of course mean I directed while my husband did the dirty work) our front bed and planted “Moss Rose” – a clumpy trailing flowering groundcover – so pretty! The weather was gorgeous and it was nice to be out, enjoying it!

    Have a fun Easter tomorrow!
    .-= Shelley B´s last blog ..Observations and Semi-Deep Thoughts =-.

  9. debby

    That really was a great day! I really like the idea of combining exercise with a destination. And the fact that you burn that many calories and can afford a cupcake, well, all the better!
    .-= debby´s last blog ..A Different Kind of Fiber =-.

  11. Fran

    You really had a fabulous day yesterday. I love the cupcake cafe, we don’t have these around here, maybe in the big cities but I wouldn’t know that because I try to avoid those (too crowded).

    I had a fabulous day too: one of my best friends came over and we went out to dinner.
    .-= Fran´s last blog ..Weight Challenge + Workout goals March 2010 =-.

  14. Ron

    Looks like you had an awesome day. I wish we had more places where one could ride, I wouldn’t mind longer rides, perhaps I would relax a bit and not push so hard if I had a longer ride to do. I tend to try and increase speed on each ride, right now I average about 16 mph. Last year I got to wear I averaged 18 mph.
    .-= Ron´s last blog ..Hope you all have a nice Easter =-.

  15. Joanne

    Great bike ride! Way to go Lori!
    That food…ALL that food is just too tempting and I just ate breakfast. I better move because right now, I’m just too close to the kitchen.
    Have a perfect day.
    .-= Joanne´s last blog ..Spring Celebrations =-.

  16. Susan

    Everything about this post is perfection! Bike ride, cupcakes, waffles, and family 🙂 Happy birthday to your sister! I am verrry impressed you’re doing such mileage so early in the season. Damn straight that winter work paid off!! And perogies, I used to work with a Polish girl at a coffee shop, and she would always bring in homemade ones. Yum!
    .-= Susan´s last blog ..‘Til The End =-.

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