Biking Across the Border (to Jersey)

Sundays are often the only day the fella and I can spend any real, relaxed, unhampered QT together because of our hectic and oft-conflicting schedules. Though I often take the spinning class he teaches, we rarely have enough time to take our bikes out together, so we jumped at the chance to ride out of Manhattan and spend the day cruising. Destination- Nyack.

40 miles, we're coming for ya. #cycling #NYC #nyack #bicycle

A photo posted by @keeliesheridan on May 17, 2015 at 8:40am PDT

This was my first time riding a bike across the GWB, and I found it pretty horrifically stressful. The bridge was packed, the lane is insanely narrow and shared with pedestrians and I'm not the world's most technically proficient rider, so you do the math. We made it across and started heading up 9W when our plans were quickly dashed.

The Gran Fondo was happening and 9W was closed TO EVERYONE (including bicycles that were not registered for the race). A police officer at the barricade cautioned us against a few of the side roads that could re-route us to Nyack. "Full of potholes. Insanely steep." He was probably just trying to avoid congestion in Nyack and deter more riders, but it worked. 

Yelp to the rescue- we scouted out nearby towns with lots of talked about restaurants and then veered off course. 

We spotted the outdoor seating at Simply Vietnamese and our minds were made up.

We each ordered a Vietnamese iced coffee. There is no doubt in my mind that if I do well in this life, I'll be reincarnated as one of these in the next. I drank A LOT of this stuff when I was in Vietnam. Read about that love affair here, here and here.

We split a Pork Bahn Mi sandwich and Lemongrass Chicken. I was expecting something grilled, but the curried, peanutty dish we received was pretty tasty. 

Food makes my boyfriend smile. Always.

We hopped back on our bikes and cruised down Dean Dr. to Englewood, where I had heard tell of Cupcakes by Carousel. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup and Snowball. Awwwww yeah.

Washed it all down with some amino-y fruit punch-y thing (BLAH) and we headed back to Manhattan. The delightful downhill rides betrayed us on the return- the hills were punishing and even though we only ended up doing 25 miles, it felt like a whole lot more.

Trainer Jorge recommends you treat yourself to the following stretches after a nice long bike ride.

Important questions:

-Ladies (or anyone)- do you wear underwear under your padded shorts? I didn't... and I regretted it.

-What is the absolute most padding I can get in a bike short? Because seriously, ow.

Limeade and Sweaty Runs

My students at the Brooklyn Apple Academy organized a Limeade Sale yesterday in Prospect Park to benefit relief efforts in Nepal. 

They also accepted tips for the ice fund (which fund them getting ices from the park vendor). We had an intricate discussion about full disclosure of funds and how important it is that customers can decide where their money goes. 

I did 5.18 miles in 52 minutes yesterday (including cool-down)- this brings me up to about 10.25 miles for the week plus a spinning class.

Sweat makes me proud.

Dinners have been sweet & simple lately- myself and the fella both get home so late that we usually toss a protein into a skillet, some couscous into the microwave on carb-loading days (Far East 5 minute mixes, you complete me) and serve with some raw greens. 

 Above: a pan-seared pork chop with coconut-oil caramelized onions and a mixed green salad- so easy to make and so, so satisfying.

On mornings like this one when I don't have to teach until the afternoon, I've been whipping up some single skillet meals, like this one- Al Fresco Sundried Tomato Chicken Sausage, red peppers, bok choy, an egg (over easy) and some avocado. Veg and protein and happy fat heaven.

While catching up on computer work, I'm sniffing this intoxicating branch my fella brought me last night. We had a lilac tree in the backyard of one of the houses I lived in growing up- it was perpetually trapped in the shade of this giant pine so it grew almost parallel to the ground desperately seeking sun. Every spring and summer our house would be filled with snips and snaps from that magical little tree. It's the simple things...

I'm currently DEEEEEP into post-production for my film directing debut- Father's Day. I'll write about the process some day, but my spare time is currently gobbled up by Adobe Premiere- I've learned by watching my fellow editors and now I'm wading into the water on my own to try to speed up our post-process. I'm hoping to submit to a few festivals this fall. Fingers crossed.  

Today I'll be swinging around some kettlebells before going to teach and then meeting up with some fellow Mitchell Scholars for a drink and a bite this evening.

How have you been sweating this week?
What's your favorite lazy morning breakfast?
Have you ever taught yourself a program/ software?