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Greta Grypp Report #2

March 9, 2015 By Elaine Gray

SuperChgWoman

I am about a week late on this report. February was an eventful month and it was not all good.    I backslid a few times right into the point of Greta’s boot and by the end of the month I was bruised and battered from a crash into a ravine on my bike.

In reflecting on last month, I can attribute the root cause of my “backsliding” moments to lack of preparation.   I skipped going to the grocery store because I did not prepare my weekly meal plans.   So, I had too many “grab and go” meals during the month.   My daily schedule changed significantly and the new schedule will remain until mid-May.   I did not adequately plan for my exercise period in the new schedule which resulted in fewer workouts during the week.

I did stay on track with my long bike rides on the weekends.   I completed my first group bike ride in the 13th Annual Humble Lion’s Club Bike Ride which benefits physically challenged and diabetic children.   The routes varied with 22, 46, and 52 miles.  I rode 22 miles on a sunny scenic route with about 400 other riders.    The next weekend, my biking buddies and I started a new practice route at the Jesse H. Jones Nature Center.   We rode on the scenic Judy Bell Trail.

It was at the end of that ride that I had a biking accident injuring my knee and calf when I crashed into a ravine.   Also, I had quite a few sore muscles all over my body.   This resulted with me having to spend a-doctor-mandated 3 days in the bed with my leg either parallel or lifted above my heart and swallowing anti-inflammatory drugs every 12 hours.    I became a little depressed due to being immobile.   Now, I am better mentally but still unable to exercise at full potential.    I am anxious to get back on my bike and on the Judy Bell Trail again.

I am already on track with weekly meal planning and grocery shopping again.  I will wait another week before I attempt to exercise and will start with riding my stationary bike at home.     March will definitely be a better month.

Pictures from the Jesse H. Jones Nature Center – Judy Bell Trail:

047 046 045

 

 

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Filed Under: Greta Grypp, Health and Fitness, Nature Tagged With: Biking, Jesse H. Jones Nature Center, Judy Bell Trail

Best Things in Life #9 – A Bike Ride

September 3, 2014 By Elaine Gray

Our Bike PathI won’t say exactly how many years it has been since I threw my leg over, mounted, and rode a bike.   However, I will give you a hint – Beyoncé wasn’t born yet when I did it last.  So, when one of my girlfriends suggested joining her on her weekend bike rides I laughed – loudly.

This conversation occurred on an early cold morning this past March, 2014 while my friend was waiting for the start of the Tour de Houston.   A small group of us had decided to cheer her off, go have breakfast, and cheer her back when she crossed the finish line after her 40-mile ride.   Before she rode off, she announced to us that she was going to nag us until we agreed to join her for the 2015 Tour de Houston.

At breakfast, we munched and discussed her outlandish comment.  However, by the time we stopped for coffee at Starbucks the idea wasn’t so crazy anymore.   At the finish line, we gave her flowers and told her we had decided to join her next year – but only for the 20-mile ride.   After all, we had a whole year to train.

That was the beginning of the wonderful times we have been sharing since March, 2014.

Heidi Bike Riders

Now, the four of us meet every Saturday morning at 6:30am to ride our bikes on the trails in Deussen Park which is near Lake Houston.   We meet this early because it is September in Houston and even then it is humid.   Our weekly distance is already at and beyond 20 miles.   We started our rides on old and borrowed bikes but now each one of us has spent $1000+ on a new bike and accessories.    The guys at Bike Barn are our new best friends and we call our bikes our new boyfriends.   They are reliable, exciting, and sure do give us a thrill!

There have been some down times – crashes, chasing dogs, falls & setbacks, aching muscles – which we have encountered but mostly there has been lots of laughter and camaraderie.   Some of us have started our rides with the handle bars turned backwards, helmets on backwards, and dragging from too much fun the night before.    However, the two things we can always count on is encouragement from each other and the beautiful sights as we pedal, pedal, pedal on the bike paths, through the woods, up the hills and near the lake.  When we need a water break we hang out at Pavilion #9 which I named “Cloud 9”.   It is also our meet-up point when we ride separate paths.

Pavilion 9 -2 Pavilion 9 - 1

It only took the first ride for me to fall in love with biking again.

I can’t adequately describe to you how it feels to watch the sun rise over the lake as we pedal on our bike path with our laughter traveling on the wind but here is a photo to give you a glimpse.

Our Bike Path with Sunrise

Here are some more pictures of our beautiful views.  All beautiful views captured and presented in this post were taken by one of my fellow bikers (Veronica Owens) who was featured for her photography on my blog site during Women’s History Month.

Our Bike Path - Water Our Bike Path - Water-2

Our Bike Path with Fog Our Bike Path with Trees

 

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Filed Under: Friendship, Girl's Night Out, Health and Fitness, Nature Tagged With: Biking, Deussen Park, fitness, Health, Lake Houston, Nature Paths, Texas Bike Paths, Tour de Houston

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