Biking Archives - Cruisin with the Colemans

IF Series, Part 4: The Gym Rat Turns Fat, Again

Posted on February 2, 2021 by Cruisin Michelle

I have always loathed going to the gym. Even though I loved the girlfriends I met and the friendships I made in spin class, I hated the “eat less, move more” bandwagon I was on. I felt like if I didn’t go to the gym, I would get fat. I was trying to earn more Weight Watchers points so I could eat more. Sometimes I would go to the gym twice a day just to earn those dang exercise points. I was desperately trying to be the skinny girl people saw on the outside. But inside I hated my life. I didn’t hate myself, I hated my life at the time. Today I am talking about what has changed since those gym days, how exercise fits into our intermittent fasting (IF) lifestyle, and how we have come to enjoy exercising again.

During those intense gym days from 2010-2016, I was teaching a full day, getting two hours in at the gym, and listening to Brian complain at the thought of having to join me. I may have loathed the gym but Brian out-right despised it. The gym rat life wasn’t for either of us. If you are a gym rat and you are happy, I am happy for you. I am not here to judge anyone else’s journey. Just like with food, we all have to find the exercise that best fits our own lives. I am here today to talk about our journey. Our bottom line: We are the happiest going on adventures in the great outdoors. We love where hiking takes us. We love where biking takes us. We love exercising together.

We can’t hike every day, except in the summer when we find ourselves outside almost every minute of every day. But we also know we can’t keep up with the grand adventures we’ve had in our younger years without exercising throughout the year to maintain our health. We both turn 50 years old this year and we are well aware of how muscle mass deteriorates as we grow older. Just like a carousel, here we are again, learning to find an exercise regimen that works for both of us.

Let me be very clear about one point. I did not gain weight because I stopped going to the gym. I gained weight because I didn’t eat well, my Hashimotos was not controlled well, I was experimenting with new medications, and I entered peri-menopause. My weight gain happened before I started practicing IF. I have not gained any weight since we started IF two years ago. My Hashimotos is currently under control and IF has helped to control my hormone fluctuations during menopause. You can read about our food journey by going back to the start of this series, just click here. Additionally, I have only stopped exercising completely because of injury and I have had my fair share of injuries. ☹️ Since my days at the gym, I had skin removal surgery that took 3 surgeries and a rough healing process. I was thrown from a horse, breaking both my arm and pelvis. I have had surgery on both of my feet from overuse, bunions, and hammertoes. I had to stop running and doing triathlons because my bladder hated all of it. Life has changed a lot since my gym days but my love of being active is greater than ever.

Walking, hiking, and bicycling make me feel invigorated, young, and free from stress. It brings both of us great joy to wander through old towns, climb big mountains, explore quaint villages in other countries, and see all that our world had to offer. We want to live out our favorite adventures for the rest of our lives, and as our tag line says, we want you to take that adventure with us. The gym didn’t bring me joy, sometimes I cried in pain, but seeing a grand vista from the top of a mountain can bring me to tears in a way nothing else can do.

The question is how do we stay active during our busy school year so we can continue to climb those mountains? Honestly, the answer is simple. Do something every day. Sometimes I just work on my balance ($20). Other days I sweat on my spin bike ($500) or walk up a mountain on my treadmill ($900). Sometimes, but it takes a lot of internal motivation, I swing around my kettlebells ($95). I have linked all of my home gym items for your reference, and yes, I spent quite about $1500 on setting up our home gym but it’s still less than 2 year’s gym membership times two people and we bought these items over time. However, I am much happier working out at home and I work out more often than I went to the gym. Earlier, I said you have to find what works for you, this is what works for me. I can work out with or without Brian, at 7 a.m., noon, or 7 p.m. I don’t get distracted by driving past McDonald’s on the way to a gym, talking for longer than I worked out, and nobody has to look at me while I sweat. Oh, and I can watch whatever motivates me on TV and nobody has to see my 80s vibe! 😂

The point is we continue to be active. More importantly, the other point is nobody can outrun a bad diet. I am spending more time learning to eat well, eat less, eat less often, and as a bonus, exercising as I can for the purpose of being ready for our next big adventure and adding to my overall health. I don’t depend on running off calories so I can eat more. I no longer believe in the calories in, calories out mentality. If you want to know what I am talking about, I highly recommend you head over to Dr. Fung’s website, click here. He is the expert on understanding why calories in/calories out is a myth.

Yes, I got a new home gym, and working out on my terms is wonderful. But there is another big change since we started IF. This one may be too much but stay with me. We exercise while fasting. If that surprised you as much as it surprised me two years ago, I get it. The thought of exercising while fasting horrified both of us. But now, understanding the science, we exercise even if we have been fasting for 20 hours or multiple days. We don’t exercise the same way I did during my gym rat days but we do exercise. We have hiked 10+ miles, worked out in our home gym for 60-90 minutes, or enjoyed a good yoga class, all while fasting.

Here’s what we have learned about fasting while exercising: My head is clearer and I can work harder when I exercise in a fasted state. Honestly, my head is clearer all the time when we are practicing IF well! It’s the best feeling ever! Click here for a great article about exercise and fasting. We have been working on building our “fasting muscle” for two years and have built up to what we can do now. We started easy, going for a walk while fasting, then working out a bit hard at our home gym, hiking 10+ miles while fasting, and ultimately hiking much of the Camino in a fasted state.

Historically, people didn’t work out in a commercial gym because they didn’t exist on every corner like a McDonalds. I know commercial gyms have been around since the mid-1800s, but the purpose and accessibility was much different. The average person didn’t need a gym to work out, they just lived an active life. That’s where I am at: We should all want to live an active life full of activities you enjoy doing for the purpose of being able to move well as you age. It shouldn’t be tied to the thought of losing or gaining weight. We manage our weight based on what we eat and when we eat it. We manage our physical health by moving our bodies in a way that makes each person happy. These are two separate ideas and should not be linked together.

Next week I am going to talk about our relationship with alcohol and use it as a metaphor for life. The following week I am going to recap the lessons we have learned from our 2-year journey practicing intermittent fasting. Finally, I will round out where we are today on our journey as I discuss the changes we have made in 2021 and how they are impacting us. Hint: 2021 is going very well even with a few hiccups along the way.

Thank you for coming along on this journey of self-reflection. Subscribe to our website to get notified when we post new blogs. I pray these blog posts help you on your own journey to good health and even better living. Ultimately we have one life to live. The goal should be to live it well.

To go back and re-read this series from the start, click here. To read post #5 in this series, click here.

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Mackinaw City/Mackinac Island

Posted on July 24, 2018 by Cruisin Michelle

Two places where we have never seen so many fudge stores! As a matter of fact, the residents of Mackinac Island are called “fudgies.” Yes, fudgies! But let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. We started with a day in Mackinaw City which is a small little town. In our opinion, the draw of this town is the Mackinac Bridge with views of both Lake Michigan and Lake Huron and the ferry to Mackinac Island. For us, there isn’t a lot to do in the city, and I don’t know how, but we managed to leave without even sampling a piece of fudge.

We stayed at a fantastic campground called Mackinaw Mill Creek Campground which has been run by the Rogala since 1964. This campground was the largest one we have ever stayed at, but it felt surprisingly small; it was also the one of cleanest and nicest campground with plenty of staff around to take care of business. Mill Creek has campsites for all types of people – on the beach, on the lake, in the woods, primitive, full hook up, and cabins. There were easily over 700 campsites. They had playgrounds, a pool, a beach, mini-golf (though it could have used a serious face lift), and a huge camp store. The best part for the kids was an old time fire truck, re-named the fun truck, which drove kids around most of the evening. We had a lake front campsite, made friends with fellow Apex owners, and enjoyed a couple nights around the campfire by the lake visiting with them. I seriously love camping on the lake, it is so relaxing just listening to the water.

On our first full day we decided to walk in to Mackinaw City from our campsite. The town was 4 miles away and I believe we walked about 7 miles that day. We planned to walk on the bike trail but it was a haven for mosquitoes so we had a nice walk on the shoulder of the road, really it was nice because we could see the water for much of the walk. We spent the day wandering in to gift shops, smelling the fudge, visiting the pier, and watching the sailboats come in. Then we took a free shuttle back to the campground which was fantastic, thanks to Star Line Ferry!

The next day we rode our bikes in to town and took the Star Line Ferry to Mackinac Island. This island is one of a kind with no motorized vehicles on the island (except for a fire truck and an ambulance). You can get around the island on your bicycle or a horse drawn carriage. I was told there are 600 horses that reside on the island in the summer and there are 492 permanent residents on the island.

You can stay busy with one day on the island as there are gift shops, fudge shops, a state park, you can have afternoon tea at the Grand Hotel, wander through the historic fort, and of course, make the 8.2 mile trek on your bike around the island. I have to pause here and tell you that I will not do this island justice in my blog post. I can only tell you it is gorgeous. It is a step back in time and will mesmerize your soul. The buildings, homes, and hotels are in pristine condition and all belong on a post card. I could easily see spending a quiet, romantic weekend on the island.

We decided to start our visit by riding our bikes around the island. It is an easy ride if you only consider the terrain. However, they rent bikes to anyone and everyone. They rent tandems, mountain bikes, small bikes, and regular bikes. No biking experience required. Every single visitor wants to rent a bike and ride it around the island – which is a big challenge. The perimeter loop is set up like a road with a yellow dashed line down the middle. The problem is that tourists think since there are no cars they can ride where ever they want on the road, even 5 people wide, with no regard for oncoming bike traffic. They also randomly stop on the road without warning. Needless to say I had two very close calls and I was done with biking the island ever again. I don’t need that kind of stress on my bicycle.
Once we put our bikes up we enjoyed a fantastic lunch outside at the Pink Pony overlooking the marina. This was the highlight of our day as we watched the sailboats come in. The Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac was going on and sailboats were coming in all day long. This is a 333 mile distance race from Navy Pier in Chicago to Mackinac Island. About 300 boats participate with more than 3,000 sailors. Needless to say, we left the island before the parties began that evening. 😉 After lunch we once again wandered the gift shops and smelled the fudge before we left the island. All I can tell you is if I don’t see anymore gift shops or fudge shops on this trip, I will be just fine.

We are heading to the Upper Peninsula next to see the fifth Great Lake to complete our tour of all five of the Great Lakes! We are excited to see Pictured Rock National Lakeshore again, it is a true natural wonder!

Why We Love Traverse City, Michigan

Posted on July 18, 2018May 26, 2024 by Cruisin Michelle

The first time we visited Traverse City we came for the wine but we have kept coming back for the fun! There is so much to do here in the summer (which is the only time of the year we have been here so far). From the Traverse City Cherry Festival, the Traverse City Film Festival, the TART and Leelanau bike trails, lake activities in Traverse Bay, the wineries, breweries, and distilleries, and all of your other normal tourist activities. This is our third time visiting the area and we always find something new to do.
Every time we visit we stay at Traverse City State Park. We have camped in our tent the first two times and the third time has been with our new rig. Check out our blog post about parking the rig if you are looking for a laugh.
The first time we came we stumbled in during the cherry festival – what fun it was to taste everything cherry flavored! The second time we researched a bit better and learned we were coming during the film festival. Fortunately we researched early and scored tickets to two different films! This time we are too late for the cherry fest and too early for the film fest but that is fine with us because there was still plenty to do!
I (Michelle) wasn’t feeling too good at the beginning of the week, I was thoroughly exhausted from our son’s wedding festivities that were the week before. But that’s ok because we meandered around the state park, walked across the street to the beach, and walked two-tenths of a mile to play mini golf at Pirates Cove Adventure Golf (where you can also zip-line, climb the challenge course, ride go-carts, and play bumper boats). We visited a few wineries on Old Mission Peninsula. We have a few favorites on Old Mission including Chateau Grand Traverse and Brys Estate Vineyard. But seriously, they have wine for every palette.
After I was feeling better we decided it was time to get some real exercise in; what you will learn about us is that we are very active. We love to walk, hike, and bike anywhere! It was Saturday morning and the farmers market was going on in downtown Traverse City so we decided to lace up our shoes and head out. It’s 4 miles just to get downtown and we love a day that involves a long walk for exercise and fun things to see and do when we get there. We ended up walking 10 miles on Saturday! We could have spent the entire day there between the farmers market, downtown shops, food trucks, wine/spirits tasting, and the beach.
On Sunday we were itching to bike because it had been two weeks since we had gotten any real cycling in. From our campground Suttons Bay on the Leelanau peninsula is 21 miles. The Leelanau trail is 17 miles so you are on the TART trail for the 4 miles. We weren’t too confident in our abilities to ride there and back because we haven’t been biking a lot lately and it was going to be a hot day. Therefore, we opted to use their bike-n-ride program. We parked our truck at a bus stop, rode 17 miles to Suttons Bay, wandered around, and when we were ready to leave we put our bikes on the bus and we rode back to our truck. This made for a gorgeous day of riding and enjoying the quaint little town of Suttons Bay!
One of the new activities we have learned about on this trip is that you can “Kabrew” – don’t know what that is? Neither did we! It’s kayaking from brewery to brewery! Check out The River Outfitters to see more about this activity. Of course you can always do a bike and wine tour – check out Grand Traverse Bike Tours for information. The last time we were here we did our own bike and wine tour on the Old Mission Peninsula. Unfortunately it was about 90 degrees that day so we only hit 3 wineries and we drank a lot more water than wine. But it is still an amazing day when you are biking on Old Mission Peninsula because you spend most of the day with the water on in view.
If you want to just play in the water, there are many water activities on Traverse Bay. However, be mindful of your expectations. This is Michigan. This water is a part of Lake Michigan. It is not Florida. The water will be chilly and sometimes downright cold even when the air temperature is 90 degrees. On Monday, we rented jet skis and parasailed from TC Watersports. We have kayaked in the past and you can rent a boat, go out on a sailboat cruise, rent a stand up paddleboard, or just hang out on their beautiful Michigan beaches. The water is so clean and clear. It will certainly cool you off on a hot summer day!
I would be remise if I didn’t mention one more place we love to visit when we are here and that is the Grand Traverse Village. On the grounds of this “village,” you can hike, bike, shop, visit the arboretum, taste wine, get a great meal, or are you ready for this? You can take a guided historic tour of as this village used to be the Traverse City State Hospital. Check out their website for cool photos of the old hospital! One more thing, before you leave leave the village, go to Left Foot Charley and enjoy a glass of Reisling. Left Foot Charley has great wine, good stories, and a very cool building!
When you go to Traverse City, you can use this as your hub to visit so many other cool places. For example, Sleeping Dunes National Lakeshore is a short 40 minute drive west. You can head north to the quant towns of Charlevoix, Petoskey, and Harbor Springs. We are heading to Petoskey to camp for a few days. So until next time Traverse City – we love this town! Have you done something else in the area? Leave us a comment and tell us about it!

“Peopling” at Niagara Falls

Posted on June 21, 2018 by Cruisin Michelle

When I think of the Niagara Falls, this is not what comes to mind. But if you come to the Falls, you need to be prepared to drop a lot of money, be ready to be surrounded by people who randomly stop in the middle of the sidewalk, and be forgiving when employees are less than patient.

The Niagara Falls are breathtaking, and genuinely overwhelms the senses. However, like many other Wonders of the World, they are filled with tourists. But with tourists comes tourism and a lot to keep the average person busy for a week. You can enjoy a glass of wine from a Niagara-on-the-Lake vineyard while getting soaked on The Hornblower boat as you get up close and personal with the Falls; you can zip line near the Falls; you can eat a great meal while overlooking the Falls; you can watch a movie about the Falls and you can walk under them. That’s just what’s near the Falls. When you wander up the hill you’ll find Ripleys attractions, Hard Rock Cafe, Rainforest Cafe, an IMAX theatre, a Casino, dinosaur mini-golf, and more food than you’ll ever need to consume.

The Niagara Falls are truly something everyone should experience. We’ve been here several times and never get tired of seeing the Falls from every angle. The only thing we get tired of is the people. There are days where it feels like everyone is in a bad mood and nobody learned manners. There are days when I feel like I’m going to snap if someone else bumps in to me or cuts in front of me.

On those days, when we can’t “people” anymore, we escape to a place where few tourists go. It’s funny tourists all stay within about a half mile radius of any attraction. This is true when we’re in the Great Smoky Mountains, Yosemite National Park, the Grand Canyon, or any other major attraction. All you have to do is walk a bit further than the average tourist and you’ll have a quiet paradise all to yourself.

We’re staying at a small campground on the Canadian side of the Niagara River and we were able to bike to the Falls. The Niagara Parkway bike path is quite impressive and will help you get away from all the people.

This morning we were even able to get out and just walk about 5 miles on the parkway. We enjoyed the Niagara River and only encountered about a half dozen people. Now that’s a good way to start the day.