Double the Workout

A couple of weeks ago my husband and I went on a long bike ride along the American River Bike Trail. We strapped the two kids in the bike trailer, hoping they wouldn’t fight or get too bored. It’s not easy to find activities to push us physically when our kids are both toddlers, but this seemed to be working.

The trail was surprisingly beautiful. I didn’t expect much since it’s in the middle of the city, but the area is a nature reserve and with the trees it felt like we were in the middle of nowhere. We crossed under a freeway here and there, and watched a train go by—Eden loved it!—but it was mostly just us, nature, and a few cool bikers who zoomed past us in their skin-tight biker shorts.

We rode until we were satisfyingly tired and the kids were getting a little fussy. There was a picnic table off the road in the shade, and we pulled out our lunch. After eating and trying without success to catch the squirrel that came to visit, the kids piled back into the trailer and off we went.

It was then that I realized that we would have to bike the entire distance back to the car. It’s one thing to run on a circular track until you get tired; it’s another thing to get tired and realize you have to retrace your way back to the starting point. We were only half done! I felt every muscle in my legs and my rear end, believe me.

It actually wasn’t too bad though. I have now formed a new strategy: if you want to push yourself to go longer and harder in exercise, go on a trail instead of a track. It will force you to exercise longer. I would have stopped at the picnic table if this had been a track. Instead I got double the workout.