Point Du Sable

For our bike ride on Sunday four of us met up, one of whom was Sister Glavin and a conversation prior to the ride included history of Jean Baptiste Point Du Sable, who in history is known as the first Chicago resident, and later in life moved to St. Charles, for reasons which are unknown. Sources say he was of African descent, however, may have been a native of Santa Domingo. He married a Potawatomi woman named Catherine, had two daughters and was an avid Catholic. And, I need to get my facts straight on this part, however, I believe Sister Glavin told us that Dusable was believed to stay with a daughter or grand daughter when he moved to St. Charles and that her home was located where the workshop for the Academy is on the corner of 2nd and Decatur.

I had already decided to try to go the North direction on the Katy for our ride, as I wasn't sure that everyone knows about out newer Eco-Park which lies right along the river and goes under the 367 bridges for trains and also the highway. The Eco- Park shoots off of the parking lot of the boat loading ramp area down to the river and goes through to Dusable Park. The kids and I have been going to Point Dusable for a while now as it is a nice walk from our house. The park is a little older, however, there usually aren't that many people there and it can be a nice place to exercise while the kids play.

From Dusable Park the Eco-Park continues with a trail that goes under the bridges and now includes several areas where you can lookout over the river, and in one particular area there is a circular meeting point with benches and a middle campfire spot.

There are several informational stands on the trail with history of the Missouri River, Riverboats, St. Charles, and the Native Indian Tribes.

The Katy Trail was extended sometime last year, and the Eco- Park leads back up to it- where we rode up to the point of about 5 miles out. It was amazing riding along the river, as for the third week in a row we have had pure sunshine which glistened off the river right next to us.

I think I can honestly say that everyone was floored by this hidden gem right in our own backyard. I am so happy that I live in the area and have walked and biked it - so that I can show others how wonderful St. Charles is. Anyone whose children are attending ASH should really take advantage of seeing these beautiful areas right from Dusable Park- on a path that is all easily walkable.

I plan to ride up further in the near future to see how far the trail actually goes, and we wondered if it goes all the way to the confluence.

On a different less historical note, biking has been tough during the week for the past three weeks with all of the cold and rain. This truly has been an exceptional spring. I need to get out there more during the week as the weather gets warmer.

Tomorrow we are again scheduled for sunshine and if there are any cancellations I WILL POST ON THIS BLOG, by 7 a.m. on Sunday morning.


My own pictures to post later- as that makes this so much more interesting... :)

Angel Wind

When I rode from my house to meet up for Bike Club on Sunday, it was freezing. The ride down literally requires almost no pedaling as we live atop the hill from Main Street between 7th and 8th streets in Midtown, historic St. Charles. Before I left, Alex (the hub) was in the kids bed (don't ask- we do a lot of that game musical beds in the night...) playing with his phone, while my little one followed me downstairs. I told him I was going to go ride my bike with other mommies to which he replied: "I go wif you mommy on the bike..." (He loves to ride with me on the back in the baby seat). So cute, but not today kid! I briefly wondered when Alex would get him as I did leave him downstairs as I left out my back door.

This Sunday, there were seven of us riding with a few new faces to join us, one of which was Sister Glavin. I'm so happy that she came. Although it was chilly starting out, it was warm as you got the legs pedaling. I stop sometimes to make sure everyone is doing okay, let them pass, then try to move ahead to lead again. Sister Glavin was the first to pass me while I waited on the (right) side of the trail and then after everyone moved by, I passed everyone except Sr. Glavin. I kept riding, thinking that she couldn't have gotten that far, but if I'll be honest- I really had to hustle to finally see her! I eventually caught up and started thinking about why she was doing so well.

After some reflection I think the answer is twofold: firstly, she is a positive thinker, and secondly, she had angel wind. I am a firm believer in 'mind over matter' philosophy and positive thinking. I believe that anything can happen if you first picture it in your mind with a positive attitude. This brings whatever you are thinking of into the field of pure potential, and then whatever you picture in your mind can be manifested. This is also called "Creative Visualization".  (reference: Shakti Gawain - Author.)

The second aspect of Sister Glavins success on our little bike ride was what I termed 'angel wind'. What I mean by this of course is that she has God behind her to push her through, maybe even the angels as well. If you tap in to your spiritual resource (be it God or otherwise), whether through meditation or a tiny prayer, do you think it helps? I most certainly do- this is how I live my life. Little prayers and meditations throughout the day help me achieve my goals, and in the larger picture help me live my dreams and co-create my own reality. Nothing is too small, or to large to ask for, in my opinion, including exercise help, and a positive attitude towards my body. 

Go ahead and call me crazy or a mystic, but one of the things I do is visualize my perfect body while exercising, AND little hint here- I frequently say what weight I want to be (not that weight is everything, it's NOT). Additionally, when I exercise, I focus on the muscles I am using in order to make them stronger. So, when I am riding up that tough Page Extension hill, I focus/visualize on all the muscles of the legs- the quadriceps, hamstrings, inner and outer thighs, and also the calf muscles. It also doesn't hurt after you make it up that hill to thank those muscles and your body for helping you to achieve your goal!

Now, for the part you might not want to hear: consistency in practice (and this applies to most practices and disciplines) will TRUMP intensity ANY DAY OF THE WEEK. We teach this to our kids- "if you practice your piano three times a week, you will do better for lesson...rather than cramming your practice all into one day...." The same is exactly true for getting better on the bike. If you want to be better at biking, ride harder and faster, and get up those hills, you have to put in what bikers call 'saddle time' or 'time in the saddle'.

However, if once a week is all you've got, then that is 100x better than doing nothing. Over time, it WILL make a difference. I promise you that...

And, if you are still reading, I came back and took the little one in the seat on my bike for a spin while Alex got some 'shower time'. It was more beautiful than ever with the sun shining and warm weather finally on our skin!

Is That You?

I've gotten this question a couple times this year: "Are you the same person that I see walking/jogging to school with a huge stroller?"

The answer is, "Yes, yes that is me."

There is also this notion that I must have it all together in order to walk to school, as it must take more time to do this, most conclude. The truth is that I DO have to be more prepared in the morning with being dressed in proper fitness clothing, and I need to eat something small, however, I can't eat too much or I'll feel sick if I jog. I put my hair back in a bun after I shower though, so I don't take the time to fix my hair, and my face goes completely au natural- I moisturize with olive oil and/or coconut oil so I probably look greasy and sweaty by the time I get to school. I put a visor on and usually wear sunglasses, and look completely different than I would at a function, which might be why some people don't recognize me at all when they see me with a stroller that's about the size of a 'smart car', with my two kids riding comfortably in their chariot to school, swathed in the Mexican blanket.

Additionally, I have found it actually takes LESS time for us to walk rather than drive, and the same is most definitely true for the pick up, because we don't have to wait in the car pool line at all. It takes me less time to get both of my kids (ages 2 and 5) into the stroller rather than get them strapped in the car, and pull out of our garage. We also made the conscious decision several years ago to stay in the neighborhood of Midtown with the hopes that our children would eventually go to the Academy. We live only about a half mile from school, so really it's not like I'm marathoning every day.

I try to walk the children to school at least once per day, when the weather is nice, and after we drop my oldest at ASH, I walk over to First United Methodist Church where my little one goes to the Mothers Day Out Program three days per week. During the hours that he is there, I work from home.

Sometimes I think that the short walk there and back doesn't really make that much difference, yet after this long, LONG, winter I can notice a huge difference (definitely in my body, and most certainly in my mood) even though I still exercise in other ways during the winter.

In other words, consistency will trump sporadic high intensity any day. :)

Back In The Saddle

I thought if people actually showed up to the first ASH Biking Club ride, I might start a blog about it, in order to let people know what it is about. We/I am new at the Academy (Academy of the Sacred Heart, St. Charles, MO) and I started this 'biking club' without knowing anyone really or having any other friends at our sons school, as he just started their pre-primary program this year. My husband made a comment when I conjured up this whole thing in the shower one morning: "You might want to meet at least one other mom there and have them do this with you first before you try this". Eh, phooey, I say. Lets just do it: dive in head first- I figured the worst that would happen is that I would have several bike rides alone without my 2 year old and 5 year old, and wouldn't THAT be terrible?

I've had a lot of support from Sister Glavin, (the headmistress of ASH) and the school has been posting an intro piece on Bike Club for several weeks in our bible of information about the school- the TM: The Thursday Mail. (Don't miss it, we've gone to school at least once when it was closed)  I've had some e-mails about Bike Club, a few phone calls, and generally speaking there has been a lot of interest in my idea of starting a bike club primarily for ASH moms. I had a small meeting as well a few weeks ago to go over some of the basics of what the Bike Club was about and specifics (safety, clothing, rules of the road, etc.) on biking on the Katy Trail. This is our state park that is a couple blocks away from the school.

I packed all my gear for our bike ride last night, laid my shoes out, and Alex (my hub) and I went over how to change a tire, in case someone had a flat. I tried to be good, and went to bed early on a Saturday night as we have an early start at 8 a.m.

Surprisingly, five people showed up (besides me) and I think the general consensus was that everyone there was wanting something like this, or that they thought it was a great idea. There was a lot of talk of how some were wanting to get in shape, yet finding the motivation, and/or time was hard. No doubt, we are all busy, and all of those fitness experts say if you have someone to exercise with, you will have more success. Now, who those fitness experts are, I can't say right now, but if we keep going on the Bike Club I'll try to get more serious about legitimate resources.

You really couldn't have asked for better weather, and I was glad we started today rather than earlier in March. Everyone did really well, and made it to the Page Extension and back which is 8 miles. Afterwards, four of us had breakfast at the Bike Stop Cafe, where we started from, and it was really good to listen to details about life with middle school (and beyond) children. This is a place I will be in not too long from now.

I thought to myself that it was really good to just get away on a beautiful morning, to sit and reflect and just 'be'.

I'd like to give special kudos to Amy, who has a 12 week old, her third child- who was out with us and had to leave right after the ride because she is nursing. Awesome job... I remember those days, but only did it twice, not three times!

And, I would like to say 'Thank you, thank you, thank you!' to Tony Caruso and his family team at the Bike Stop Cafe for being there early for us in case anyone had any biking issues before the ride. The Triathlon wrap was great and the new location is perfect.

http://www.bikestopcafes.com