Tag: Bicycling

Exercise Challenges

Author: October Cycling Challenge–Labrador Report (Day 9/31)🐾

Peregrine Arc

This is the Labrador reporting here. My human did her thirty minutes listening to YouTube as a break today. She’s been a tired pup and mumbled some funny things like “If tomorrow wasn’t my Friday, I’d be guilty of premeditated homicide.”

My human is peculiar, but very good. I just scared her by barking at something outside in the dark she can’t see. I like to make her jump like that. 😂

We’re still celebrating the one year anniversary of our first book, Memory Bound. Check it out on Amazon or request your local library order a copy. Here I am modeling with it; don’t I look adorable? If you read the book you can find out my name. There’s a whole section titled “The Labrador.” What can I say, I’m one loved pup.

See you tomorrow folks. Ker-bark!

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KIMG0059

Exercise Challenges

Author: October Cycling Challenge–Norway (Day 8/31)🇳🇴

Peregrine Arc

I yelled at my trainer today. I apologise, Ashleigh, the Canadian iFit trainer who cycles in Norway. I did not want to do another interval, “dig deep”, or heed your favorite phrase: “Push, push, push! Just twenty more seconds!”

I felt like I was delivering a baby and cycling at the same time. This was Day 8. 🚴‍♀️👶

Continue reading “Author: October Cycling Challenge–Norway (Day 8/31)🇳🇴” →

Exercise Challenges

Author: October Cycling Challenge–Washington (Day 7/31)

Peregrine Arc

I had a brilliant idea today. I said to myself, “Self, let’s see if we can bike for almost an hour straight.” So I tried and I did. I did these things called tabatas. I looked it up. It’s an ancient word, from the dawn of the very first language known to anthropologists. It means “Make your last will and testament now.”* Charming.

Day 7 was fun and intense; I actually really enjoyed it. The State of Washington: beautiful. Just ignore the sparkly vampires with boundary issues who are in need of therapy and you’re golden.

Here’s some pictures. See you tomorrow for Day 8!

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*I’m making this up. See here for more info. My trainer did 20 seconds high pedaling, 10 second rests, 10 times. I did two sets of these. Then I think the sets decreased the next two times.

Exercise Challenges

Author: October Cycling Challenge–Utah 🌵 (Day 6/31)

Peregrine Arc

I repeated a workout today accidentally, but it was fortuitous: the workout was easier this time around, went quicker and I was reminded of Nicole’s (the iFit trainer’s) encouraging words: “You are an athlete.” I can feel my body building endurance already and my recovery is becoming a bit quicker. And we’re just under a week into the challenge. High fives for everyone.🤚

Continue reading “Author: October Cycling Challenge–Utah 🌵 (Day 6/31)” →

Exercise Challenges

Author: October Cycling Challenge–Switzerland 🇨🇭 (Day 5/31)

Peregrine Arc

Oh, Geneva, Switzerland. You are beautiful. I was following my iFit trainer around, listening to him talk about the history of Geneva, the science being tested underground for particle physics, and the explosives built into the bridges we were passing under semi-regularly.  Apparently each bridge had some explosions purposely built inside. War breaks out? Down go the bridges and your enemy’s logistics are severely impeded, or so seemed the idea to me.💣

Oh, iFit. You do love to remind me of my mortality. Onto Day 5–a whole hand!

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Exercise Challenges

Author: October Cycling Challenge–Chile (Day 4/31)🚴‍♀️

Peregrine Arc

Meet Ryan, an iFit trainer. Ryan almost killed me today. Let’s go to the beach, he said. It’ll be fun, he said. Do you know how hard it is to pedal through wet sand? I didn’t either, though I had my healthy suspicions. My legs fell off halfway through and I had to get off the bike and do a kind of crab walk back to grab them. It wasn’t pretty, nor was it graceful. An allen wrench, duct tape and some W2-40 later, I was back in business.

Let’s review, the beautiful Chile.  ¡Olé!

Continue reading “Author: October Cycling Challenge–Chile (Day 4/31)🚴‍♀️” →

Exercise Challenges

Author: October Cycling Challenge–New Zealand (Day 3/31)🚴‍♀️

Peregrine Arc

Today was a day I could’ve used a pass card from exercising. Nothing worked right today, not even physics. I ran over my foot last night with a sliding closet door, I’ve been up for 17+ hours straight and I had sangria with dried ice. Yes, that’s my ten cent summary of today. You are welcome.

Still with me? Onto Day 3. Allons-y!

Continue reading “Author: October Cycling Challenge–New Zealand (Day 3/31)🚴‍♀️” →

Exercise Challenges

Author: October Cycling Challenge-Utah Again (Day 2/31) 🚴‍♀️🎃

Peregrine Arc

I used to bicycle as a child quite a bit. As I grew up, the world didn’t feel quite as safe anymore and I found myself doing it less. Now here I am, spinning my legs  with trainers I’ve never met, traveling worldwide from the comfort of my home. And the Labrador continues to snooze behind me. 

Let’s review Day 2.

Continue reading “Author: October Cycling Challenge-Utah Again (Day 2/31) 🚴‍♀️🎃” →

Exercise Challenges

Author: October Cycling Challenge–Utah (Day 1/31) 🚴‍♀️

Peregrine Arc

Day 1 of 31. And so it begins…

Overall I did well, just over 30 minutes (including the cool down) as I twisted my way this way and that across the deserts of Utah. My trainer told me we were on a trail that was used post-Civil  War to transport cattle to the eastern United States. The trail went through Native American territory and a translator who spoke 14 languages of Navajo (or was it dialects?) helped the process go smoothly to get the cattle on trains to be sold. Now you know.

My trainer liked to do a “Ye-yah!” cowgirl kind of yell whenever we almost wiped out on the sand or died going around a blind curve. If it had been real, I would have been making my peace with God many a time.

Here’s some screenshots from the iFit app. Take my stats with a grain of salt; I’m not entirely sure how accurate they are. Enjoy!

 

 

Brief Humor & Check-Ins

Author: October Cycling & Writing Goals 🚴‍♀️ (Heaven Help Me)

Peregrine Arc

Well, Arcians, I’m stepping out onto the proverbial literary edge here. I have a fitness goal for October: bicycle every day in the month for a minimum of 30 minutes.  That’s right, 31 days x 30 min = around 15.5 hours of my tush on the cush. I’m ready…I think.

Writing goals: write at least one solid chapter of my novel, GOTD. I’ve been really struggling with writing; ever since my laptop went kaput, my motivation and confidence seemed to go along with it. My protagonist has literally been stuck inside his burning house for about four months now and is glaring at me, vehemently, from offstage. I can’t say I blame him. The chapter is like watching a Roomba try to vacuum an octagonal room: we’re going to be here for awhile.

What are your goals for October? Want to join me on the fitness journey? Leave a comment below and we can drag each other over the finish line. I’ll even have Mr. Swinebotttom do an uplifting cheer. It’ll be great fun.

Oh, P.S. This has happened to me, twice (see below image). This tells me I’m  doing this cycling thing really great, or really badly. Yes, that’s a broken pedal. And yes, I didn’t think it was possible either. I pedaled the pedal off, if you will. Straight off. Twice. Lock your doors at night; I’m a mad woman. 🚴‍♀️

Ker-kaw!

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