Join me by pulling up a chair and pouring yourself a cup of coffee. As always, though, I’m sticking to water since I don’t care for coffee or tea. Let’s take a break and try to talk about more than just fitness-related topics. Sound like a plan? I’ll kick us off…

 

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that…..

May turned out to be a great month overall. Even though a multi-day trip to the farm forced a few down days into my schedule, my cycling miles skyrocketed toward the end of the month. I made the decision to go all in for the Great American Ride to support my Dawn Patrol teammates. We’ve been pushing hard, and as of Thursday evening with only 24 hours remaining, we’re trailing the first-place team by a mere 37 miles.

 

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that…..

A couple of my  blog readers have asked how I decide between my two spin bikes for indoor rides. Honestly, both my Life Fitness bike and the Peloton Bike+ offer an incredibly smooth ride, perform beautifully, are very comfortable, and both leave me a sweaty mess.

However, they serve very different purposes in my routine. Here is how I choose:

Why I Choose the Life Fitness Bike:

  • • The Ultimate Multitasking Station – The handlebars provide the perfect, stable base for my laptop, making it my go-to choice when I need to train a virtual client via FaceTime.
  • • Blogging on the Fly – For that same reason, it’s my preferred bike when I’m catching up on blogging—whether I’m reading and commenting on other posts or drafting my own.
  • • Mindless ‘Hop-On-and-Go’ Rides – When I don’t want to think about a structured class and just want to log steady miles, this bike is the perfect option.
  • • Scheduling Synergy – It’s my default choice whenever my husband is using the Peloton, which is his indoor bike of choice.

Why I Choose the Peloton Bike+:

  • • Focused, Dynamic Workouts – Peloton rides require real focus, ranging from recovery to high-intensity efforts with constant resistance and cadence changes. Because they require my full attention, they don’t pair well with multitasking.
  • • A Different Setup – The Peloton handlebars don’t accommodate my laptop, so if I do need to FaceTime, I have to rely on my phone.
  • • Preset Time Limits – Because Peloton classes have set durations, if I am aiming for a longer endurance ride, I have to stack multiple workouts together to reach my mileage goals.

In summary, if I need to work, blog, or train a client, the Life Fitness bike wins every time. If I want a focused, structured workout to push my limits, I clip into the Peloton!

 

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that…..

I use WordPress to host my site, and I’ve always liked adding a clean bit of spacing right after a picture. Lately, though, simply hitting return twice isn’t working anymore. Instead, I’m having to go into the HTML and rewrite the code just to get the layout I want. It is so annoying! Any other WordPress users out there dealing with similar formatting glitches?

 

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that…..

In case you missed it a couple of weeks ago on my Weekly RunDown, my brother and I officially sold the family farm. Getting the property market-ready was a massive undertaking that required countless trips to Southwest Virginia over the last two years. However, we are absolutely thrilled that, in the end, a family member purchased it. I know my parents would be so pleased!

By the way, the top picture with the water bottle was taken at the farm, but the field you see just beyond the fence no longer belonged to us—my parents actually sold the majority of the surrounding land when they retired.

 

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that…..

While our son and daughter-in-law were away hiking the Scottish Highlands, they sent us some incredible pictures of Highland cows. My absolute favorite was this shot of a mama and her little calf. They are so incredibly cute that, for a split second, I caught myself thinking, ‘Maybe I shouldn’t have sold the farm… maybe I should have moved there to raise Highland cattle!’ Just kidding, of course—having grown up on a farm, I know exactly how much hard work that actually takes!

 

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that…..

Speaking of Highland cows, look what our son and daughter-in-law brought home for us! These adorable Walker’s shortbread cookies shaped like Highland cattle were just too cute. Needless to say, they were absolutely delicious—and they didn’t last long at all!

 

  • Questions:
  • • Do you prefer a mindless, hop-on-and-go workout or a structured, high-intensity class? ~ both
  • • What’s the most unique or unexpected animal you’ve seen on a trip? ~ While we fully expected to see grizzly bears in Glacier National Park last summer, it was still a shock when three of them came bounding out of the woods toward us just as we neared the visitor center after a long hike on a pretty secluded trail.
  • • If we were having coffee, what would you tell me?

 

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Today I’m joining Deborah at Confessions Of A Mother Runner and Coco at Running With Perseverance for their monthly Ultimate Coffee Date linkup which goes live the first Friday of every month.  Be sure to stop by their blogs for a cup of coffee and to say hello; and while you’re there, be sure to check out some of the other bloggers who are participating in the linkup.