A Tale of Two Rides, Pumpkin Syrup, and Pie-Style Apples

It was a low key, but busy as ever weekend! We started off our weekend right, with the same brunch as last weekend: waffles, with pie-style apples and pumpkin syrup (recipe included!). Other than that, I spent my weekend riding, while my fiancé relaxed and erged. My two rides were about as different as different can be! Saturday, I went on a short, two hour trail ride on my cross bike. I wanted to go for longer, but my tolerance for being bounced around on the trails is still quite low, so it seemed like I was riding for a long time. In addition to being in the woods, the weather was stunning. It was 70F and sunny, I was riding in a short-sleeved jersey and shorts!

Can't believe I was able to ride my bike through this!

Sunday, the temperature dropped and I woke up to a cold, light rain. The plan for today's ride was to ride out to Sterling MA, to check out an amazing crit course that I'm hoping will become part of the XPot 2014 ECCC Road Race weekend! I anticipated to be a 90 mile round trip on the road and convinced one of my friends (who is a great triathlete!) to come with me. Temperatures were in the 40s and as we got further away from the city, the rain turned to a light snow. Nothing was sticking, so we bravely fought on. After a few wrong turns, it became clear that we'd be doing a century ride! I haven't done a century ride in a while, but each 100 mile ride I've done has been very special and fun. By the afternoon, the skies had cleared and I believe that we found the greatest crit course in the northeast. And by greatest, I mean it's a climber's crit! So pleased that we found it.

By the end the end it was sunny, but this is what it felt like the whole time...

Anyways, I wanted to share how we made the toppings for our waffles. I am really a fan of this pumpkin syrup.

Pie-Style Apples

2 apples of any kind,
1T brown sugar
1T cinnamon

Cut apples into cubes. Transfer to a greased skillet, then add cinnamon and brown sugar. Stir to coat the apples. Sauté over high heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning, until apples are soft like in an apple pie.

Pumpkin Syrup

1/4c brown sugar
1/4c pumpkin puree
1/2c water (more or less depending on how think you like your syrup)
pumpkin pie spices to taste (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice)

In a food processor, blend the ingredients until smooth. Microwave and serve warm over pancakes, waffles, or whatever else you desire!

Bonus awesome reflections!