Bike rides and unexpected findings.

 I have been keeping at the journey and having a good time with all my progress. My bike rides have gotten longer and faster every day that I get out for a ride. I have been trying to ride every weekend morning and at least once per weekday though with work and kids getting outside to ride my bike on a weekday is hard to do. That being said I have changed my stance on something I did not think I was ever going to riding in the rain or other bad weather. I like my bikes and I try to treat them well but if I do not ride in the rain sometimes then I would not get out there and use them often enough. I mostly ride the Ozark Trail bike in the rain as I kinda of want to replace components on it anyway but I do make sure to check that the chain has some lube on it as well as drying off the bike right when I get back from riding in the rain. So far there are no rusted parts or other damage from this. 

The last ride I was on was 25 miles and mostly paved roads with tree cover like the main image of this post but there are some fun supprises on this trail that make my trips a bit more enjoyable. One of those things is a skatepark. Now I might be an adult who has not rode a skate park in at least 20 years but no one seems to use it so why not go up the ramps a few times and have a little fun on my gravel bike that was not made for a skatepark at all. 

The skatepark in question is fairly small but it is set right off the trial as you can see it is a wooded area all around it but its well maintained and has some nice ramps as well as bowl. Being a bit older and not as willing to break something I did ride the small ramps and the halfpipes but did not touch the bowl at all. I also did not do any tricks or anything fancy I just rode up things and down things very lame like. I still like that there is something like this in my community to ride and have fun with outside of just exploring the trails and seeing where they lead. 

Another fun thing I found was access to a skatepark was not far from the ending of one of the trails I was going down. I now know how to go from my house to the next town over and through the statepark with out getting on major roadways. There are still some small sections of street that I have to travel down but for the most part its trails, paths, and gravel roads for traveling. This park has a lot of bike paths in it and a few years ago I would have driven to the park to ride around it for the day and then driven home. Now I can get on my mountain bike and ride that to the park ride around and then back all with out getting on major roads which are one of my big fears with biking. Getting to the park and back is only about 15 miles of riding so it is not that bad of a trip and only takes me about 15 minutes to get there and 15 minutes to get back so I can ride there all day and still be home quickly. The trip I took to explore the paths and make sure I could get to the statepark were taken on my gravel bike and I will say I should have taken my mountain bike to this park as the gravel bike was just not as up to the task. Its not that it was bad or that anything went wrong but the tires are too small and the gearing is just not as good so getting up hills was harder than it needed to be as the tires would lose traction and then it would be in the wrong gear as I lost momentum. Either way I had a fun time finding out that I could ride 25 miles or more with out getting on a major road. I will be biking more and more on these paths to find even more areas to expolore. 

All this fits into the journey very well I have been expanding what I can do for exercise and getting to see more cool things that I would not have seen before. I still don't run outside much and keep that for the treadmil but I do keep at that with doing at least 3 miles each day I don't go for a ride. I am also lifing every other day and the main problems with lifting and soarness have gone away so I should be able to start adding weight to my lifts and continue to get stronger as well as more fit overall. The last part of the journey that has take a bit of a turn is my diet. I normally eat what ever but keep it in moderation this way I never have to worry about craving pizza or something I can eat that just fine I just have to limit myself and not eat the whole large pizza myself. I change this idea a bit recently and started doing much better foods. My lunches now consist of some kind of salad with like carrots, cucubmer, eggs, and lite dressings or chicken breast / vegan chicken substitue like seitan. I am not vegan or vegetarian  but I have friends that are and I don't mind vegan / vegetarian foods, Other than vegan cheese do not bother eating that its not cheese, its not cheese like, and its not good just skip it. Dinners are still mostly what ever but I still keep in mind to eat better so instead of eating more of the rolls or what not I will eat more of the brussle sprouts than before. I figure if I am going to be into the fitenss and put my mind to biking 25 miles 3-4 times a week then I need to start being better at what I eat. Last peice on the food topic I cut all other drinks out of my diet except coffee and water. I do use mio flavorings some times now to have some taste to the water but plain water and black coffee are my drinks of choice now. 

I am off to continue the journey! Have a wonderful day and thank you very much for reading!