March 12, 2012 (Updated December 6, 2022)

Biking is my Happy Place

by Anne Mauney, MPH, RD

27 comments

Good morning!

Did anyone else find it really hard to get up this morning?! I couldn’t fall asleep very easily last night, either. I loved that it was light out so long last night… but I can’t decide if it’s worth having dark mornings again! Oh, daylight savings.

Matt and I spent most of yesterday being productive. I was on a spring cleaning kick and organized four huge bags of stuff to give away to Goodwill, while he attended to some work. We broke for lunch around 12:30. 🙂

 

Massive spinach, tomato, green pepper, and smoked salmon salad for me!

 

Plus some orange slices and a large piece of Irish soda bread (love this stuff — our co-op grocery store makes the best!) that I shared with Matt. He had leftover pho from Saturday night. 🙂

 

After running a bunch of errands in the afternoon, Matt and I decided to take advantage of the beautiful day and evening sunlight by going on a bike ride. It had been too long since we took our bikes out to play!

 

Biking on a beautiful day with Matt is my happy place. 🙂 It’s so calming.

 

We did a hybrid of our normal favorite loops in the country roads near Chapel Hill. I love that empty roads like this are such a short bike ride away! We’ll have to find some good spots to bike when we’re back in DC in a couple months, too.

 

We ended up covering 18 (VERY hilly) miles in about 2 hours. Such a nice way to spend a Sunday early evening.

 

For dinner post-bike ride, it was taco night!

 

Matt was in charge and he cooked up some ground beef and organized all sorts of fun toppings for us — guacamole, salsa, cheddar cheese, chopped spinach, cilantro, sautéed peppers and onions, tomatoes, and hot sauce, of course!

 

We used small corn tortillas — two for me, three for him! 🙂

 

Yum, yum.

Time to get back into the swing of things — I have a ton of assignments and school work due this week and now I’m off to class. Happy Monday!

How did you enjoy the great outdoors this weekend?

- anne

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27 comments
  • Victoria (District Chocoholic)
    Don't worry, there are tons of great places to bike in DC (as I'm sure you know). Beach Drive on the weekends is one of my favorites.
    Reply
    • Anne P
      Where is Beach Drive? I've biked on the W&OD trail and the Mt. Vernon Trail in DC but that's about it!
      Reply
  • Justine @LifeWithCheeseburgers
    What a wonderful day! My hubs and I are always amazed at how productive we are when we just have a couple of good hours to clean/organize together. BEAUTIFUL weather for us yesterday too, but no working out together. He hurt his ankle playing basketball a couple of days ago so I was on my own!
    Reply
    • Anne P
      Aw I hope his ankle is better soon!
      Reply
  • Brandi
    We had some great weather Saturday! :) It was beautiful! Sunday on the other hand was not. It rained the entire day. It was also raining first thing this morning. Bike ride looked like so much fun! Happy Monday!
    Reply
  • Anne
    TONS of great rides in DC. Totally different than c-hill, but fabulous nonetheless. Everything from the chill, car free beach drive (shorter rides), so some awesome. longer loops that take you out of the city a bit, sharing the road with cars, but they all expect it on the weekends are are usually pretty willing to share the road:) i LOVE biking in DC (despite all the harshness you might hear about...take it with a grain of salt) and spend a great deal of my weekend time on my two-wheeler. Trails are okay, but you fight with walkers, strollers and dogs/leashes. There aren't 'rules' on the trails like there are on the roads. If you like mt. vernon, etc, you'll love some of the other great road rides here!
    Reply
    • Anne P
      How long is Beach Drive? That sounds pretty nice. I do love the Mt Vernon trail, but it's so crowded! Better for running than biking, for sure.
      Reply
      • Anne
        You can ride about 20 miles from start to end (round trip) on beach drive through Rock Creek Park. About half of that is without cars (the road is shut down on sat and sun to motorized vehicles). The portion with cars is quite tame though - on the weekends its mostly bikers. When you get to town, I'd love to show you!
        Reply
        • Anne P
          That would be wonderful!
          Reply
      • Anne
        beach drive is especially convenient if you guys end up in NW DC. In the city, seems like you were checking out my hood, which I pay the premium to live in mostly BECAUSE of its proximity to Rock Creek. It's an amazing treat to have so close. Urban life with an incredible playground for hiking, running and biking most months of the year. The only thing that keeps me out is the rare ice/snow, and even then I've been known to strap my snowshoes on and go for a romp:)
        Reply
  • Tara Burner
    I love biking though someone stole my bike few yrs ago so now i'm stuck on the stationary one inside... spent weekend walking to arts/crafts show, getting denied to donate blood (anemic) and walking back!
    Reply
    • Anne P
      Bummer yours got stolen! :( I can't give blood either - but that's because I lived in Europe during the 80's and therefore may or may not have Mad Cow. Awesome.
      Reply
  • Khushboo
    As the weather in Dubai right now is absolutely great, I've been regularly enjoying breakfast outside on the porch- woo for vitamin D :)
    Reply
    • Anne P
      I eat as many meals as possible outside, too :)
      Reply
  • Alaina
    I need to get myself a bike! My husband and I live in the city now, but I would love to go biking when we move to the suburbs. This past weekend I ran a 5k on Saturday and then my husband and I spent the afternoon working on our house on Sunday. Loved being outside!
    Reply
  • Elle
    Yum - tacos look delish! I need to pull my bike out again - ride to the ice cream farm soon?
    Reply
  • Jennifer L
    Aaaahhh biking! Makes me miss my daily rides in California. I always felt like I somehow had more endorphins from bike rides more than any other kind of exercise. I think it's the wind and the speed. It's just more exciting than running! Running makes me feel more accomplished though, because it's harder for me :) Corn tortillas! Yes!! So much better than flour. I swear flour contributes nothing to the taco flavor profile.
    Reply
  • Miriam @ Bellaspire
    I don't bike too much because I forget about the option!! I love leisurely long rides though, especially at the beach! Thanks for the inspiration. I'm determined to hop on this week :)
    Reply
  • Miz
    weights used to be my happy place---but these days it's all about the family strolls. they are my happy place.
    Reply
    • Anne P
      Family strolls - or friend strolls - are a favorite of mine as well. :)
      Reply
  • Kierston
    I love biking! The weather is just getting nice here so I can't wait to go riding! :)
    Reply