Sunday, Sunday @ Point Reyes Bear Valley Trail

Another fabulous day in my little corner of Northern California. A group of us went to Point Reyes National Seashore for a biking/hiking day. We started out on our bikes leaving Bear Valley Visitor's Center and taking the Bear Valley Trail through forests and past a meadow. This trek is labeled as "easy" in my trail book with a total distance of ~8 miles (6 biking, 2 hiking). Still, I'm sad to say I had to walk my bike up the latter part of a short climb. It's only a 200' elevation gain but the steady incline did me in. Three miles in we locked up the bikes and hiked the last mile to the seashore. Here we are at the bike rack.





At the end of the mile hike the ocean opens up in front of you. You can almost hear angels singing as it comes into view. We were treated to incredible views and soaked them all in.


We then took a short trail that drops steeply down to Coast Creek and out to the beach for a glimpse of the sea tunnel (the "arch" of Arch Rock) where the creek meets the ocean.
We sat on the rocks next to the water and shared some treats, enjoyed the beautiful surrounds and company, and plotted future events.

A few more pictures...


We then hiked back 1 mile to our bikes, hopped on our bikes and gleefully rode the mostly downhill 3 mile ride back to our cars. Weeee!!

Afterward we walked around the town of Point Reyes Station for a bit and then had a late lunch at The Station House Cafe. I had a green salad with an oil-free mustard vinaigrette to start and Fettuccine with Clams and Tomales Bay Mussels with a tomato, garlic, white wine sauce. Oh my...it was even better than it sounds. Topped it all off with a nice beer. Who could ask for a better day? I know I can't.

Out Having A Life @ China Camp State Park

Today was all about mountain biking. I have a book of rides in which I've been working my way through all the rides categorized as easy. There's a loop trail at China Camp State Park in San Rafael that I've had my mind on for a while now. China Camp has single-track trails on which mountain biking is permitted, something that I understand is unusual in the SF Bay Area.

We decided to go by REI first and pick up a bike computer since my old one wasn't really up to snuff for my new bike. I really like to know how fast I'm going, how far I've gone, how long I've been riding, etc. All that techie stuff just adds to the fun for me (although I didn't wear my heart monitor). Well, we ended up lollygagging at REI for way too long but we got on the road finally. I'll have to post a pic of my CatEye bike computer next time.

We arrived at China Camp and got on our bikes. The trails are really nice and well-kept. I was worried before we went that I'd be holding up lines of people wanting to go faster than me but a call in to my friend Joy who's a mountain biking expert soothed my anxiety. She let me know there's usually enough room to pass and that people are generally understanding in any event.

The ride was great! There were plenty of uphill sections for me but I didn't have to get off my bike once. The plan was to ride the Shoreline Trail loop. About 4 miles in I noticed we were climbing a lot. I thought to myself, this can't be easy, and if it is, I'll never get to intermediate.

Anyway, we came to the top of a hill and we knew we took a wrong turn somewhere. There is no "top of a hill" on the Shoreline trail. So I was feeling mighty proud of myself at that point for making it up there, venturing off the easy trail without even knowing it! Of course I had to get a picture to prove I'd been up there.

But, we were lost. Fortunately another mountain biker was resting and taking in the view and he directed us back to our original path.
But first, a self portrait of Miguel and I.


We carried on from there and rode the rest of the way to China Camp and then back to our car.

I think the total was about 7.5 miles. We were out there for a little over an hour. I would have liked more time but we wasted a lot in REI (and lunch at Baja Fresh too) so I was in a hurry to get home. I went to an Italian themed dinner party and had to make my items, Bruschetta and a Roasted Bell Pepper salad. Yumm. Dinner, wine and good company were a nice close to the day.

And what's on the agenda for tomorrow? Mountain biking of course!

I Feel Fat

I think every woman knows what it's like to feel fat. On days like this I like to wear loose fitting clothes, sweats if at all possible, and try not to catch accidental glances of myself in the mirror. One thing I would really not want to do is get on the scale.

Well, it's Thursday and Thursday is the day I go to my Weight Watchers meeting and weigh-in. I didn't expect a loss and was just hoping not to gain, and if I did, not too much. The weather was gorgeous (and chips/guacamole and pound cake made it into my mouth this week so every extra calorie burned counts) so I decided to ride my bike to the meeting. It's about 2 miles away with a freeway overpass (aka an incline). I had a great time riding my bike. And, much to my surprise, I lost 2.4 pounds!

I guess "feeling fat" doesn't necessarily mean being fat :)

Move More

My biggest challenge in losing this weight, and in maintaining it I'm sure too, has been balance. I tend to get that all-or-nothing thinking. As in, I can either go to the gym for 2 hours and do my full workout routine or I can't do anything at all. I'm either tracking my food, staying within my points, following the 8 healthy guidelines - or not. So I'm working on being able to do ok sometimes, not perfect but acceptable. A Weight Watchers' motto is Move More. I say all this because yesterday I faced a couple of challenges. Our boss took us out to lunch at a Taqueria. I ordered a shrimp burrito with black beans, rice and salsa on a whole wheat tortilla and ate 1/2 of it (it was pretty big). That was fine, but the chips were delicious. Of course it would have been easier if I never tasted them at all, then I wouldn't have known how good they were. Oh well, live and learn.

Yesterday was not a gym day and I sure as heck wasn't going to spend 2 hours in the gym over some tortilla chips. But wait, I have a new bike. And I have an appointment about 2.5 miles from my house after work. And hey, I could ride my bike there! So I rode my bike there and back. It was mainly flat, with a few little inclines here and there. It wasn't easy the entire time but it was fun and I'm sure the 5 miles burned a few calories. Maybe not enough to burn off all the chips (and guacamole) but that's alright, because I'm not striving for perfection here.

Today is a gym day. I've got my bag packed and I'm actually looking forward to another Week 4 C25k jog.