SpokEasy

May 2020

Building Up

Building up to any event includes quite a range of things. There\’s building up mileage, starting far enough in advance of your event so that you can do it gradually. This could require months, depending on your current level of fitness and the difficulty of the event. As some non-race events have a cut-off time, you might also have to work to improve your cruising pace. That\’s one of the things on my current agenda. When I rode the 50-mile Tour de Cure in 2018, I squeaked through with only two minutes to spare. I want to do better this time! Today I rode 36.8 miles, but averaged under 12 mph. What a slowpoke! I had decided, however, that today wasn\’t going to be about working on my pace, much less hard efforts; so my sluggardly progress didn\’t matter. Maybe I need more lunges and squats to help develop my leg strength. But not today! The day I do my weekly long ride, I skip off-bike work. The trouble is, I\’ve been skipping it to often. Core work shouldn\’t be neglected if you don\’t want an aching lower back. These exercises look tough; I suspect they aren\’t intended for anyone just beginning core work. See here for a beginner\’s core workout. And don\’t forget this aspect of building up : gut training! Gut training is why I now need to start working to push the pace during long rides. I\’ve already noticed that fueling at 12-13 mph is very different from fueling at 14-15 mph! What to use as fuel is an individual thing. For me, commercially available bars seem to work fine. I\’ve tried making rice cakes, too, per the recipes in Feed Zone Portables. They tasted good, but I think I got too much water in them. When I picked one up, it would fall apart. I guess I need some building up as a cook?    

Building Up Read More »

I Dood It!

Yep, I dood it. In fact, I\’ve done two things. Last night I got to work and made the potato tikka masala. It was the same recipe as the cauliflower tikka masala; except, of course, with spuds instead of \”flower cabbage\”, as German calls it. Note to self: next time use the FIVE-quart pot. The two-quart one was barely big enough. Also, next time try some Old Bay Seasoning instead of curry powder. Maybe not a whole tablespoon of it, though. I find Old Bay to be strong stuff. I dood it this morning, too: I finally hitched up the trailer and rode to the salvage store. And did I find some good stuff! I must have hit it at just the right time; sometimes it happens. Lately I\’ve been experimenting with using various salsas on rice and beans.  One aisle in the salvage store always has some \”Hispanic\” grocery items, I guess you could call them. Today there were 10-oz cans of mild red enchilada sauce, three for a dollar! On the opposite side of the aisle were 5-oz cans of water-pack tuna, 69 cents each. I picked up six cans. Soon afterwards, four aisles over, I found a different brand of the same thing; but 59 cents each. I took eight cans, and put the other tuna back where I\’d gotten it. In effect, I got the seventh can of tuna for 58 cents; and the eighth one for free! Of course I visited the grab-bag bins, but this time most of the things I picked weren\’t candy. I\’ve got enough goodies to last me for months! And of course I got some \”luxury\” items, such as a can of black cherries in apple juice. There were 5-oz bags of NUT-rition squares, for $0.99 each. I bought three bags; I think they might make good ride food. Incidentally, one variety of those NUT-rition squares is \”digestive health\”. It makes me think of digestive biscuits!  

I Dood It! Read More »

Cooking

Cooking up a storm? I should think not. The Southeast has had more than its share of storms in the last month. And in one more month, hurricane season begins! Leaving storms aside, I always seem to be cooking up something. Using a certain Feed Zone recipe as a starting point, I\’ve fixed hot dogs about half a dozen different ways. Then I made it with cauliflower! I bet it would be good with potatoes, too. A month or two ago I found Taco Complete in the salvage store. I added a can of it to a pot of cooked lentils. Success! I tried it in black beans, too, and finally ordered a six-pack of Taco Complete online. Then, day before yesterday, I stopped in the local Walgreens to get a few more Quest Bars. On my way to the checkout, I walked through the aisle where canned goods are. To my astonishment, I found Taco Complete there! I\’m sure it wasn\’t ever there before. I grabbed two cans, and now I can try \”TC\” in pinto beans! What about the aforementioned hurricane season? I\’ll have to watch things. Cooking up too much stuff to freeze could result in loss of a lot of frozen food! What if the power goes out for more than a day? It might not happen, though. Meanwhile, I\’ll keep on thinking up more things to cook.

Cooking Read More »