Hills, Hills, and More Hills

The highlight of our weekend was definitely our ride on Sunday.  We biked 11 miles up Emigration Canyon, gaining 2000 ft.  It was a nice cool morning and Brad and I didn't experience that lung-burning feeling we had the first time we went out on our bikes.  The 11 miles back down was a breeze too.

A view of SLC valley from atop Emigration Canyon.

The reservoir at the top of Emigration Canyon.

I had a beautiful run this morning and got to explore a new neighborhood.  I'm also loving my new kicks.  The color of my shoes motivates me to get out and run!  My runs are still hurting (a lot) - I think I just need to get used to this hill theme...my first 2 miles were all uphill, and then my next 2 miles were all downhill.

My new snazzy Mizunos!

Brad and I went mountain bike shopping on Saturday and test rode some bikes.  I'm going out again today to test ride a few more bikes and then hopefully I will purchase one before the end of the week.   

So far, this is my top contender - a women's specific design (WSD) Trek Mamba,  but I need to do some more researching and chatting with local bike shops.

And this is Brad's top contender so far.  A Cannondale SL 2 29er.

We made a new friend in our neighborhood.  She is a birman cat with bright blue eyes and is very sweet.  We enjoyed her company as we dined outside on our patio on Sunday night.  We also saw another cat in our backyard, so I will have to remember to pick up some cat treats at the store.  Our landlords have a fondness for cats and there is a lot of catnip planted around the house, so we may make a lot of cat friends in this next year.

Our cat friend looks like this.  We will have to give her a nickname.  "Cat friend" simply won't do.

Brad and I joined a gym that has 2 pools - one being an outdoor 50 meter pool.  I'm off to go swim some long course in the sun!!  Yahoo!!!!!!