Banks Vernonia Linear Park

Friday I rode in Banks Vernonia Linear Park. What the heck is a linear park? Well its pretty much what it sounds like...a trail that goes through the woods and has maybe 20 feet on either side but otherwise there really isn't much else. I started at the Tophill trailhead and rode to Lake Vernonia which is pretty but really more of a pond than a lake. I would definitely recommend this ride as the path is very well kept and there are conveniently placed restroom stops but if you have road tires like I do, the first mile or so is gravel starting at Tophill so I would start at Lake Vernonia and ride until the pavement ends. Round trip it is about 18 miles.

Bridge Pedal

Today was Bridge Pedal! The day started by meeting Raquel, Chad, and Nathan at the Max stop and was quickly followed by us having to get off the Max due to the train being broken. They were able to get a new train pretty quickly but we were late and so instead of doing the 10 bridge ride we ended up doing the 8 bridge ride.

I was able to ride 99% of the time but the hill going up to the St John's bridge was just a little too much for me and I ended up walking after getting about halfway up. Other than that part it was a fun ride of 25.2 miles (according to Raquel's odometer).

My knees are a little sore now but I don't care because I DID IT!

More Outdoor Activities

On Friday I rode the Marine Drive trail starting at Blue Lake Park. It was a pretty cool ride with the Columbia River on one side and the Portland Airport on the other side. It was pretty cool to have the planes taking off right over your head! I think I rode about 20 miles but I'm not quite sure so I bought an odometer for my bike. Bike Gallery was having a sale and due to their price guarantee I was able to get the odometer and $16 back :)

On Saturday I got to see Raquel in her first ever triathlon! I'd never been to anything like this before and it was pretty cool to see the big pack of people start swimming and then see the transitions. I have to admit I was pretty clueless as to how all this worked and I am now considering signing up of a triathlon myself but I am very afraid of the running. I'm going to try running on the treadmill a few days a week to see if its something I may be able to do. I had plans to train for a 5k last year but the running was very painful so we'll see.

Sunday started with a short (9.5 miles) around Dawson's Creek and then turned into a day of errands and getting ready for the week. There was lots of stuff to do but nothing too exciting.

For the South Beach Diet, I decided to go to Phase 2 and I am much happier and feeling much better!

8 pounds

I guess the South Beach Diet and workout routine I've been doing really works because I am now 8 pounds lighter than when I moved to Oregon! After weighing in this morning I decided to try on some jeans that haven't fit in over a year and they fit again! They are a little tight so I still have a few pounds to go before I wear them out in public :)

I've been doing South Beach for 2 weeks now but didn't follow the diet to the letter for the first week so I have to decide whether to go to Phase 2 tomorrow or to do Phase 1 for one more week. I've been having horrible headaches and I'm wondering if this is normal when you don't eat carbs for long periods of time. Has anyone else out there gotten headaches from this?