Didn't think we'd do it, did ya?

Yesterday after work, the hubby and I went for a run.  The hubby was running significantly faster than normal.  So much so, that I was having trouble keeping up.  I asked him where all this speed was coming from, and he said that his quads are feeling stronger since we've been mountain biking and that's just how fast his legs wanted to go.  Well, OK...cool!

Later in the evening, our friend Jair (who just got the new mountain bike) called taunting us about when we were going for our next ride together.  It was super windy, cold, starting to rain, and getting dark, but Jair suggested, "why not tonight?"  Despite the weather, we were up for an adventure and said, "why not?"  I don't think Jair though we'd actually agree to go for a ride right then and there!  When the hubby told him to grab his gear and come over to our house, it took a second for the reality of that to sink in!

At this point, the creative streak in my hubby kicked in and he started rigging flashlights to the stems of our bikes.  He was so adorable.  He was excited that he had come up with such an ingenious idea for make-shifting a light on a bike.  He started talking about product ideas and how I just had to blog about this!  I almost couldn't bring myself to tell him that the flashlight thing has been done before.

Then the hubby also grabbed his oversized camping headlamp and attached it to his bike helmet.  I put my flashback on my hydration pack and pulled out my windbreaker.  When Jair arrived, we were ready to go to Plaster Creek!

I definitely prefer to be able to see what's coming in front of me on the trail, but as long as I took it slow, the ride was fun.  I know that many people mountain bike in the dark...with much better lighting equipment than what I have.  I don't think I'll be investing in that stuff anytime soon, though. ;)

Also of interest, the strong winds of the day had knocked down several trees in the woods.  Two of them fell across the trail in one area.  We tried to move them off, but they were too heavy.  So we ended up clearing a path around the fallen trees in order to complete our ride for the night.  The city will have to come out with a chainsaw to finish clearing the trail at some point.

After about 5 miles or so, our legs - already tired from the afternoon's hard run - started to protest, and the rain started to pick up, so we headed back home.

I love these little athletic adventures!

Running
2.5 miles total
Warm up, 2 miles at moderate to high intensity, cool down

Mountain Biking
5 miles total
In the dard and rain