Status 1-21-15*

UP THROUGH THE GOLDEN HILLS AND WOODS – yesterday Mark and I again mounted our bikes for an adventure. But this time we challenged ourselves to ride about 9 miles uphill and 9 miles back through the scenic and charming dedicated bike path from Ventura to Ojai (actually, we started partway up by parking at a local park along the route or the round trip would have been closer to 30-35 miles, and the first part of the ride goes through some industrial areas).

Here’s a great photo Mark took of me – note his cute caption. He doesn’t talk a lot, but when he does, he’s a sweetie.

Along the Bike Path to Ojai

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A post shared by Mark Weaver (@markeweaver)

See my ride photos and videos at LaurieDreamWeaver. You can see Mark’s photos and videos on his Instagram at MarkEWeaver.

Mindful Enjoyment

We had a great ride. We didn’t worry about milage, speed, endurance or training. We enjoyed each vista and stopped several times to take photos and videos of each other and the beauty that we experienced. We made a conscious decision to ‘Enjoy the Ride’. This is new for us, as bike riding was usually a form of shared exercise. This time it was shared experience.

Food Enjoyment

After our 9 miles uphill we were HUNGRY, no doubt, and went to a lovely local Mexican Restaurant where we enjoyed margaritas and enchiladas (for me) and chile rellenos (for Mark). We sat under umbrellas on the patio and watched the world go by under golden-blue skies. Again, we didn’t think about it, but left more in the chip basket than we ate, had leftovers from the small side of guacamole (*gasp*) and drank more water than tequila. I also ended up eating about half of my plate without conscious thought of limiting myself in any way. I just had enough.

Happy Hour

We walked around the town a bit then headed back to Ventura by bike and car. As soon as we returned to the hotel, we grabbed our bikes again and pedaled a few more miles to the ocean-side restaurant we frequent for a sunset happy hour on the patio. A bit hungry, but not much. Shared and appetizer and I had a spicy, Jalapeño infused margarita. It was surprisingly flavorful, but so spicy, I couldn’t take more than a sip at a time if I wanted to. That suited me fine, as I wanted the ‘experience’ of sunset happy hour more than a big drink or a bunch of food.

Today

I was going to ride again today solo along the beach, but my legs are a bit tired from the hill work. So off to the pool to splash around before Mark and I have Brunch for our big meal today, before heading home to cats and chores. It was a great get-away.

*Daily statuses are not part of the blog’s email notification. When you enter your email under where it says SUBSCRIBE TO POSTS VIA EMAIL, you will be notified of regular blog posts and when podcast episodes are released. I didn’t want to clog your inbox with my daily statuses. However, the automatic publicize feature will inform you on my show FB page, my AdventureLaurie twitter account, google+ on its show page, and Tumblr.

Body Balance

BB (Body Balance) number 9 Sleep: 8 hours divided! (good both sets, yay!). Tummy/Gut: balanced and playing nice. Hungry within one hour of waking, but will go get a snack as we will have a large meal in a couple of hours. Energy: High Moderate. Mood: Happy.

BB is my personal criteria, and I don’t think too hard about it. I ask myself at the keyboard, what is my BB? A number between 1-10, including halves, pops into my head. I write it in my post Then I figure out why it is higher or lower and gently make note.

If you are interested these are my measures.

1. Sleep. Quality and Amount.
2. Tummy/Gut – If I ate what my body asked for, usually above and below the belly button feel balanced. Ate too much, below the belly button feels more full. Ate too little, the reverse.
3. Am I hungry within 1 hour of waking? I have found that I feel best if I am hungry within 1 hour of waking. This tends to make my eating day even and not heavy on food in the evening. But I don’t eat if not hungry unless I’m about to ride or hike. I’ve learned I need to fuel these morning activities, or I’ll bonk.
4. What is my energy level? Subjective, but telling.
5. A quick look at my mood.

The Bravery Coach

TheBraveryCoach daily tweet is a morning mediation on how I either did, or can incorporate an aspect of bravery into my day. It is cheerful. It is esteem building. Those who want to follow these on Twitter may, by searching for the hashtag #bravery or by seeing my profile:

Daily Bravery Tweets via TheBraveryCoach on Twitter