I want a new stomach . . . but I'll keep my bike!

My cleanse ended a week and a day ago. While my weight loss during the cleanse wasn't as much as I had expected since I had given up EVERYTHING good to eat and drink, my stomach felt fantastic for those 28 days. Other than the 4th day of the detox (when my body was in complete shock), my stomach was perfect . . . no issues whatsoever. It was nice for a change to get up and go for a workout without any worries of how my stomach would react.

Since the detox has ended, I've kept up my healthy eating, managed to drop a few pounds but on Friday and Saturday night added back in a few glasses of wine, a smidge of dairy and last night, some red meat. As much as I hate to admit it, my stomach is rejecting one or all of those things. Both Saturday and Sunday mornings have not been pleasant in the stomach department. So, while I wouldn't have traded in the fabulous dinner TG40s husband cooked last evening, I guess I'm back to detox style eating (minus the shakes) again this week.

Deanna and Richard getting ready for the ride. . .

While I would trade in my stomach in a heart beat, I am definitely not trading in McQueen. Yesterday was again a beautiful, sunny perfect bike riding day. TG40, Richard, SanDee, our sponsored er Pirate and Dennis set out for the Ashland roads around 11:30. We took the new route that Richard showed us last week up to Ashland. Its a perfect route with lots of beautiful surroundings, good less traveled roads, some rollers and a good climb into town.

At Ashland Coffee and Tea

We were certainly not alone on the roads yesterday. It was awesome to see so many other cyclists on the road. When we arrived at Ashland Coffee and Tea, there were so many riders there that there was hardly a place to rest our bikes. We refueled and TG40, Richard and I set off for another 30 miles. On the return trip, Richard guided us to a new side loop by the fire training center that included a surprise double climb.

Richard testing the speed limit. . .

For February, my legs felt great yesterday. I was able to ride much further mileage at a lower HR and higher cadence than this time last year. And, McQueen's saddle didn't even hurt after the 50 miles. At the end, I my legs burned on our last push into the head winds but it was a good tired.


While I didn't want the ride to end yesterday, the best part about the finish was that I new I was headed to a post-ride massage. Kim at Therapeutic Massage worked wonders as always, and soon, I was relaxed and ready to head to a fabulous dinner at TG40s.

Our post ride self-portrait

Its another awesome day outside today. Hope everyone heads outside to enjoy it! I'm headed to Pocahontas State Park for 2 hrs of trail running. Will have to bring some bread crumbs and keep my fingers crossed that I don't get lost!