Sunday morning Alex and I woke up before the sun! We headed up north in ELBY the LOVE BUS for what would be a LONG but EPIC day of fun! Our good friend, Jen, from 34 Degrees Crisp Breads, rallied a crew of girls to ride in the Venus de Miles, while the boys worked one of the rest stops spreadin’ the LOVE!

It was a very spontaneous, last-minute decision for me to ride…especially when Jen said 67miles! But the day couldn’t have been any better! Here’s a summary on what VENUS DE MILES is all about:

“Venus de Miles is a lot of things – a celebration of sisterhood, support for Greenhouse Scholars, and crazy fun – but one thing it’s not is a race. So, don’t be afraid to walk your bike up that hill, stop to listen to a band, and, most importantly, enjoy yourself.

provides comprehensive personal and financial support to high-performing, under-resourced college students. Using our unique Whole Person© approach, which offers intellectual, academic, professional, and financial support, we are cultivating the next generation of community leaders. The day our Scholars leave college, they’ll be prepared to succeed in their professional endeavors and make significant contributions in their communities.”

This incredible event was such a blast to be a part of! It was amazing to see so many women riders…2,500 of them all riding together for such an amazing cause! The day was long, but the rest stops full of great people and delicious treats kept us going! We climbed from Longmont to Jamestown up to Lyons and over to Hygiene…67 miles and 4.5hours later we returned to Longmont…exhausted but with a huge feeling of accomplishment!

It was great to know that only my 6th time on my bike this year that I could put in close to 70miles. Luckily summer is still lingering so I can rack up some more rides before the snow begins to fall!

HUGE SHOUT OUT TO ALL THE AMAZING WOMEN WHO PARTICIPATED IN THIS RACE!!

Spread LOVE,

Maddy

The below post was taken directly from Oh One More Thing:

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You know what I think is great? It seems that there are more and more conscientious people starting up businesses. With that, means that we actually have more choices. Choices that support whatever morals and values we may agree with. Something that I prioritize is being aware of how I, a person, may affect another person or anything else in the world.  How something I may be doing could either benefit something else or contribute towards a seemingly vicious cycle. I’d say the decisions I make for myself, for the most part, are ones that I feel at peace with; from how I treat myself and others, to not littering, to the food I eat. Whatever it is that you believe in, those beliefs are expressed and reflected in so many different ways. Yeah, I know it’s not up to no one person to save the world, but we can make it a more peaceful place. Awhile back I was sent some granolas by Love Grown Foods to sample and share. I am a lover of granolas, and there are few things that make a great recipe in my eyes. First, let me share with you what Love Grown Foods is all about: Here at LOVE GROWN FOODS, we take pride in the fact that all of our recipes are made with LOVE!

• Free of Refined Sugar
• Free of High Fructose Corn Syrup
• Free of Trans Fats
• Free of Hydrogenated Oils
• Free of Artificial Flavors
• Free of Preservatives
• Free of Gluten (my gluten-intolerant mom’s stamp of approval)
• Free of Genetically Modified Ingredients

“[...] we choose ingredients that are wholesome and nutritious.”

When I read what their intentions are behind the yummy things they make–well, it’s nice to know that some companies are started have real people with hearts behind them, and actually care about people’s well-being. And honestly, who purposely adds hydrogenated oils to their food when they’re making something in their own kitchen? Although some may do it accidentally when they cook with an oil at a higher temperature than its burning point. Anyway, let’s get to the real test because in the end I’m pretty simple… it’s taste that matters to me.

That’s actually one of my criteria for what makes a good granola–chunks! And lots of them. This was the ‘Cocoa Goodness’ flavor, for all the chocolate lovers out there. On top of the oats being dusted in 100% cocoa powder, they also use 63% dark chocolate chips. Oh yeah. This granola would say “psh and so what” to anyone that laughs it off as hippie food.

Sidenote: that ‘shake’  was Angela’s recipe (highly recommended by moi) for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ‘Blizzard’.

Comparatively speaking, this flavor wasn’t my favorite (doesn’t mean it’s bad) out of the three I was sent, but this granola gets an A+ for texture. I’ll give it a B+ for taste.

The granola all the kids hated because it always got extra credit in grade school: A++…+! Personifying these granolas makes for a more interesting review, don’t you think?

How can you go wrong? You can’t. When I first tried it, it was straight out of the bag and I almost ate the whole thing. Then I thought to myself “hey, save some for tomorrow!” Actually all of the granolas had me munching out of the bag. In fact, each one lasted me two or three days tops. I think by now you can tell what I think about Love Grown Foods’ granola. Take my word for it.

The recipe below is courtesy of Amie at THE HEALTHY APPLE

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Gluten-Free and Vegan

1 large avocado, peeled, pitted and chopped
½ cup almond milk
1 Tbsp. almond extract
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
1/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1 Tbsp. ground chia seeds
½ cup Love Grown Foods Raisin Almond Crunch Granola
Agave nectar, for topping

Combine all ingredients in a food processor; pulse until smooth.  Serve alone with a drizzle of agave nectar or atop bagels, crackers, toasted cinnamon raisin English muffins and as a dip for fresh fruit.

Alex and I snuck away to Aspen Tuesday night to watch the COLORADO PRO TOUR stage on Wednesday. As we drove over Independence Pass Tuesday night there were already crowds forming! IT WAS SO COOL! If only we had brought ELBY to park along the road!

The race was BEYOND EPIC! We haven’t felt energy like that around a sport in a long time. Despite the weather, people filled the streets to cheer along the riders! It was a blast!

It felt like we were in Europe watching the TOUR de FRANCE! It was incredible!

We heard a rumor that Colorado signed a 5 year contract to have the Pro Tour here–fingers crossed it will only get better and better with each year!

Congrats to Tejay for taking the Yellow Jersey that day!  WHAT A RIDE!

The below post was taken directly from the blog Squirrel Snackin‘:

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Love Grown granola and running..hot yoga style!

I immediately tore open the apple walnut bag and dug in! I loved the sunflower seeds, apple chunks, cinnamon, coconut chips, cinnamon coated walnuts, and..everything.

I even changed up my breakfast and added this granola on top! Big change, I know.

For another change, I decided to head out for a 4 mile run BEFORE lunch. Even though it was at least 95 degrees and humid, my stomach was so much happier with just breakfast in it.

Plus, John met me at my one mile marker on his lunch break just over the bridge…after trying to chase me down in the parking lot before the bridge. Oops! I got a good 3 minute rest while we chatted before finishing my last 3 miles. Phew. Definitely felt like I was running in my old hot yoga studio.

Lunch was made immediately and I wanted something COLD and refreshing. Chocolate covered strawberries Shakeology smoothie bowl was the only answer.

Even though I’m tempted to tear all the bags open to sample them, that wouldn’t be very logical since we can’t eat that much granola at one time..maybe. Instead, I opened up one of the individual serving bags and did some snacking!

I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this flavor, but once I bit into the clusters held together by chunks of chocolate, I quickly changed my mind. SO good. It’s best that they didn’t send a huge bag of cocoa goodness!!


I’ve still got 2 more flavors to try, so stay tuned.

After getting some cleaning done and talking with a job recruiter(yes!) I finished todays Insanity workout, core cardio and balance! I’m supposed to do only this workout every day all week, but I’ve been incorporating my 4 mile runs and some extra ab work in!

John asks for apples and peanut butter for a snack after work every today, so today I tried to incorporate our Love Grown apple walnut granola into it. The mini organic apples we bought were the perfect size!