We finally decided we were ready for a ride to Saratoga for the year. That means cupcakes! 😀
Saturday was quite cool, actually. More than cool. It got down to 31 degrees overnight. I had covered up my plants that had new growth on them to help them make it through the night, and they seem to have survived.
Going to Saratoga is a 40 mile ride, so we left earlier. We packed lunches since I wanted a cupcake and didn’t really want to spend the money on lunch *and* a cupcake. When we left the house, it was around 50 degrees. It was a little chilly, but at least it was sunny.
Leaving from our new house, it is all road riding to Saratoga and on the busier route 9, which is a designated bike route, but still fast traffic. It goes down and crosses over the Northway, but we did that once and never again. Too dangerous – so we take a detour by one of the state parks to avoid the on/off ramps.
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About 10 miles in, we stopped for a snack:
Another biker came by and chatted for a few minutes. Then the lady that lived in the house we were stopped near came out and talked with us as well. It was a chatty day! She has a beautiful bridal bush in her yard.
10 more road miles and we got to Congress Park in Saratoga. The working carousel:
There were some baby ducklings nearby as well!
Baby ducklings are just a ball of cuteness wrapped in feathers. I wanted to take them all home. 😀
We settled by a sunny fountain for lunch:
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My sandwich survived being in my bag on the way down. Yay! It was also cold enough that the coating on the protein bar didn’t melt. Score all the way around.
After walking around town for a while, it was time for cuppies! We stopped at Parkside Eatery. They do a fantastic job with baked goods. I saw a chocolate chip cookie dough frosted cupcake and new right off the bat it was what I wanted:
This picture looks smaller than it was, too. Seriously – this was so ride worthy! It had ganache instide the cupcake as well. Uber rich. Holy moly. Let’s take a closer look, shall we?
Riding always makes food taste really good as well. This was probably 550-600 calories based on its weight, so not something I would be able to fit into a normal day of eating LOL! That’s one of the reasons I love ride days 😉
This did sit a little heavy in my stomach and I just couldn’t eat the last couple of bites.
By this time, it was mid afternoon and time to head back with cupcake power.
All pictures taken today were done while stopped. Too busy of a road for me to snap pictures while actually riding. Safety first 🙂
We are about at mile 30 on the day here. John was having a good ride:
We avoided the Northway interchange on the way back as well and go into farm land. This is one of my favorite parts of this route we take.
It’s an undulating road and almost never has traffic on it. Check out that sky!
We arrived home a little tired, but not bad at all for the first Saratoga ride. Cooler temps help keep you fresher, too, I think. It topped out in the mid 60s.
My bike computer actually got bumped and stopped recording for almost a mile, so the total was actually 41.7 😀
What does one eat for dinner after a long ride? BBQ chicken, corn on the cob and sauteed zucchini.
These longer ride days make it hard to get much else done because we spend most of the day on the bikes and then feel to tired to start any big projects. So, we settled in with our new fire pit and an adult beverage 😀
Yard work can be done on other days, right?
The dinner looks tasty, but I am surprised that you had the energy to cook after that ride! The baby ducks are so cute, I love the bridal bush (I have one, a different variety, and am hoping for a good show next spring,) and the cupcake is totally amazing. I could have just had two scoops of the cookie dough though 🙂
Love that road home. Thanks for sharing your day with us!
It’s a good tired after a ride – not a “can’t move” tired 😀
I would say 31 is cold, not just cool lol! Glad you got your first cupcake ride in – cool or not it looks like it was a gorgeous day.
I can’t believe how cold it was. I was covering up plants in the garden with buckets, towels, plastic sheeting, anything I could find LOL!
One of these days, I am coming back up to your neck of the woods. So many beautiful places and so many wonderful bike trails to ride. One week wasn’t nearly enough!
So beautiful Lori – glad you got out & boy, chilly though & we are calling what we have here chilly for us! 🙂
That cupcake – man oh man!!!! My cookies are high calorie too – son’t care – work thru the week to enjoy them. 🙂
No work was worth it!!!
Great job on the bike ride – I would ride for cupcakes too. And I still haven’t found that grapefruit Shandy by me, so I’ve got summer Shandy in the fridge – a close second!
Looks like such a wonderful day. LOVE your words “ducklings are a ball of cuteness wrapped in feathers”.
Damn woman – that cupcake? I’d run a half marathon for it!
Haha – riding 40 miles is pretty much the equivalent of a half marathon on foot 😀
That’s one might fine looking cupcake. I wasted my May splurge on the dessert social, so maybe I can work up to one in June. 🙂
What a beautiful day for a ride and that cupcake: yum!
We have that kind of beer/shandy here too since last year and I love it. I usually take the lemon taste.
About Bella: I didn’t know you wanted to be vet tech. My vet warned me, like you, that she will feel good after a couple of days. That’s when the real challenge begins and we have to watch her that she won’t overdo it. It’s gonna be a long 6 weeks for the three of us 🙂
One of my many career things. It was too emotional of a career for me, though. I cried too much LOL.
annnd I want your memoir to be titled:
THIS WAS SO RIDEWORTHY.
Pretty Much a perfect day, in my opinion! That bridal bouquet bush reminded me of my childhood- my neighbors had one in the back yard where I used to play with all of the other neighborhood kids.
ha – did that grapefruit shandy make you think of me?? 🙂
Ben actually doesn’t like that flavor much – he’s more of the honey Weiss or octoberfest kind of drinker. I love that they have our local brews in NY!!