My New Cycling Regimen in Virginia Beach

In April of this year, I transferred to Virginia Beach, Virginia, to start with my new marketing executive job for one of the resort hotels in the city, which had a thriving tourism industry and had extensive bicycle paths or trails.

After settling in my job and in my apartment, I researched the Internet about the good bicycle paths or trails in Virginia Beach. Since I already brought my mountain bike from back home, I searched online for bike shops where I can buy high quality, but affordable cycling wear and accessories.

I have been cycling since high school as an enjoyable hobby, but when I moved to Virginia Beach, I decided to make it a part of my exercise regimen for losing weight. The number of calories you should burn depends on your weight and the distance of the riding activity you would do.

My height is five feet, eight inches and I now weigh 170 pounds, which is slightly overweight for me. Based on my online research, a person weighing 160 lbs riding for one hour at a speed from 12 to 14 miles per hour would burn about 500 calories or more. I wanted to achieve an ideal weight of about 140 lbs within two months. Since I could only go riding during my weekend days off, I estimated I have to be riding faster than 15 mph for 60 minutes twice a week if I am going to achieve my goal of 140 lbs within two months.

I found a good bike shop where I bought new pairs of cycling shorts, warmers, jersey shirts and jackets, protective glasses, and helmet. The bike accessories I bought are two water bottles and a bottle holder, frame and wheel reflectors, bike lock, and air pump.

The Virginia Beach Boardwalk is the nearest bike path from my apartment, but I cannot reach my ideal speed in this path because there are many people in the board walk during weekends. So I switched to two locations, the False Cape State Park and First Landing State Park, both of which had the flat dirt roads and rolling hills ideal for mountain bikes. It also took an average of one to two hours to finish riding the two trails so that I could achieve my goals for riding speed and distance.

Summer Camping At The Grand Canyon

After months of planning, preparation and saving money, I went on my dream vacation for three days of back country camping, hiking and taking pictures at The Grand Canyon in Arizona.

Before I left home, I made sure all the equipment and supplies I needed could fit inside my big backpack. I also did not forget to bring my camping permit, which I obtained several months before my trip.

The key to camping in the Grand Canyon with fewer chances of getting fatigue, injury and body soreness is to minimize the bulk and weight of the things I carried. Compactness and portability are the main characteristics of the gears and supplies that I had. I had my portable tent, sleeping bag with sleeping pad, first aid kit, flashlight, trash bag, waterproof matches, a gas lantern, folding stove with fuel tablets, five-piece mess kit, and food consisting of several packs of freeze-dried meals.

For my own clothing and accessories, I had my several sets of warm clothes, extra socks and rain gear, jungle hat, face mask, hiking boots, compass, camping knife, insect repellent and sunscreen, hydration systems and water gear, and water purification tablets. I also had a detailed map of the Grand Canyon National Park.

After several hours of driving from Phoenix, I arrived at the Mather Campground in the South Rim after 8:00 p.m. This camping ground has facilities for drinking water and flush toilets. After parking my car, I found a good spot to set up my camp, organise all my gears and supplies. Then, I heated my freeze-dried meal over my stove and ate my dinner. I decided to retire for the night because I had to wake up early for my activities for the next day.

The next day, I travelled by car to the Grand Canyon Village where the starting point of the Bright Angel trail is located. I took pictures of the various views of the canyon and some historical structures in the village. Afterwards, for the two days, I hiked almost 45 miles of the trail and saw breathtaking views of the canyon. I especially enjoyed the views in the Indian Garden and the Colorado River, and my final stop was the Bright Angel Campground. When I got home, I uploaded all the pictures and posted them in my blog to serve as the memories of my dream vacation in the Grand Canyon.

Backpacking Adventure in Sequoia

I'm finally here at the Sequoia National Park for a week of camping and hiking with Sam, my loyal golden retriever. Good thing there is a dog-friendly hiking trail in Sequoia. I've got all the equipment and supplies I need together with Sam's own supply pack.

My video camera is all set up so I can chronicle what I'll be doing for a week and upload them in my blog after I get home. After weeks of planning and preparation, chronicling my backpacking adventure in my blog is the best way to preserve the memories of my dream vacation.