It was a good ride this morning. The wind was with us as we went up the hills. We pedaled up the road along that hillside. It looks likes we traveled far. All in all, we did about a nine-mile loop in 51 minutes.  Pretty darn good for us old gals.

Seven days back on the saddle. Yay! About 39 miles in all. Hurrah! Wish there was a way I could write while I pedal. My thoughts are mostly all forgotten by the time I get back home.  I don't want to talk into a tape recorder because it would distract me too much from the road.

Tilda-Hilda and I did a short ride today. We headed downtown to the bicycle shop. And, now the girl is looking happy with a brand-new front tire. No more bump, bump, bump for her.

Tilda-Hilda and I wandered on back roads today. Doesn't that look like a chicken or a bunny up ahead of us? I think it's a chicken, because I was listening to the cluck of chickens around us. We also came across an orchard nymph. I was thirsty and rolled to a stop beneath some shade. As I sipped water, I turned to look at the orchard. Voila. There she was. Be sure to look up the tree to see the nymph's face.

Tilda-Hilda met Wally Whale, Junior on this morning's ride. I don't know what the name is of the little fellow behind Wally, Junior. How about Inka Dinka Doo? Speaking of which, I could go for some Jimmy Durante right now. How about you?

Tilda-Hilda and I didn't go out yesterday. Too much to do. By mid-afternoon, I stopped stressing myself about not going out for a ride. I was moving around a lot, which I told myself was what counted. This morning, Tilda-Hilda and I pedaled up and down the hills for 34 minutes. Pretty good for us. See you tomorrow.

This morning, I put on my orange tee-shirt, grey yoga pants, mismatched socks, orange Converse shoes, and red fingerless gloves, which I topped with my old don't-mess-with-me (in my mind) orange jacket. Tilda-Hilda was happy to see me again. Today made two days in a row for Tilda-Hilda and me. Twenty-minute rides, more or less. I puffed and gasped as I went up slopes and whoo-hoo 'd with glee as I coasted down them. My knee twinged a couple of times, but not enough for me to turn back home. And, when I pedaled across an open field, I recalled again what I like about riding bicycles and was ready to take on another hill. I haven't pedaled Tidla-Hilda since the beginning of the year. A friend asked me why not? Simple. I got lazy, which meant I lost all my muscle tone and gained back nearly all the weight I lost. Five months of laziness is enough. Tomorrow morning Tilda-Hilda and I will go out for a bit longer of a ride. Slowly and surely, we'll get back to taking t

Yesterday the Husband and I got together with friends and hiked in the Pinnacles National Park, one of the newest parks in the National Park Service system. It had been planned for awhile, but as usual, I didn't think about what to bring for trail snacks until Saturday. We had no idea how far or how long we would hike. "What do you think about getting energy bars for the hike?" I asked the Husband. "Great idea," he said. "We can bring apples." "Okay. How about some nuts?" "Yeah." "We have carrots." "That'll be good, too." Done. Quick and easy meal planning. I always like that. Click   here  to find other A to Z challenge participants.

Plod, plod, plod. I jogged nonstop all the way around the block. Nearly one-quarter of a mile that first day. Yes, it was tough. On my lungs. On my knees. On my whole body. Lumber, lumber, lumber. The second day, I jogged, gasping, but nonstop, for half a mile. When I got home, I told the Husband that my jogging went from  plod, plod, plod to lumber, lumber lumber . The Husband asked, "How is plodding different from lumbering?" The sound is different. It is. Pad, pad, pad. My gait sounded like Molly the Cat's when she scoots across the kitchen floor in search of something mischievous to do. I went three-quarters of a mile that third day. I remembered to breath in through my nose and not my mouth. I tried not to think of the twinge in my right knee. The fourth morning, I laid in bed thinking which route around the neighborhood would make one mile. And I thought about whether I ought to run at all. Maybe I ought to pay attention to the twinge that was now t

Tomorrow, I start another 30-day challenge of keeping excessive, delicious carbohydrates out of my diet. It's called the Sweet Fire Challenge , lead by nutrition education Mary Toscano. I completed another of her 30-day challenges in August . My poor eating and non-exercise habits began creeping back a few weeks ago, so when I learned about this new challenge, I decided to jump in before I gain back the pounds and inches I've lost, as well as lose all the sensibilities I've gained. I'm doing the extreme challenge, which requires that I follow three simple rules from November 11 to December 10: 1. No food or alcohol after 7:30 p.m. 2. No foods with flour or with more than 20 grams of sugars per serving 3. Do 30 minutes of exercise, or do 7,000 steps, every day. Soooooo, today, I ate sourdough bread and a maple old-fashioned doughnut for lunch. I'll probably have a bit more sourdough bread for dinner, along with three or four mini mini-chocolate-chip-c