SpokEasy

SpokEasy

Food

Bananas

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Food, Uncategorized /

Bananas! Bananas are a popular food with cyclists! Today I finally got to the supermarket; and picked up some bananas. A favorite pre-ride snack of mine is a banana with peanut butter; and I was without bananas for something like two weeks! I didn’t have grapes, either; and grapes are another pre-ride favorite. They’re good with peanut butter; and also with — can you believe it? — hummus! This morning I discovered that there will be no more pre-work runs to the supermarket. I thought about going there first; then feeding the cat; and then heading out on the road bike. I decided to go take care of the kitty first; and when I got home from that, I changed into cycling shorts for the ride to the store. When I got there, I saw a sign posted at the entrance announcing new hours; and that new schedule began several days ago. They now open at 7:00 am; not 6:00 am. It’s a good thing I didn’t go to the store first thing! When I got home from the store, I put the groceries away; and got ready to go out on the road bike. The bananas I got aren’t as ripe as I like; but it was great to have one again. Then I filled the Camel-Bak; cut up a protein bar; and changed my blouse for a cycling jersey. It felt weird to start a ride so late: it was at least 8:30 by the time I got rolling. Maybe that’s why it seemed so hot; and that, in turn, was why the Propel tasted weird. I made this short for a Sunday ride; largely because I started so late; and because it was already getting hot. Besides, tomorrow is a holiday; and I can put in some more miles!

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Ancient History

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Food /

Ancient History Ancient history isn’t limited to Rome. The tricycle is ancient history, you might say. It seems like an eternity since the day I ordered it from the bike shop; and I didn’t expect to get into cycling as much as I did. I hope I never have to give up riding; and there are ways to keep riding even if you have trouble pedaling! Something to keep in mind in case my legs give out. The trike rode off into the sunset almost nine years ago; and I did my best to give it a second life. It was about worn out by then; but I figured somebody could use it for something. Some ride foods are ancient history, too. I’m always watching for new things to try; and sometimes I don’t find a certain product again. That’s a drawback to shopping at the salvage store. They have what they have; and the merchandise is unpredictable. I love chocolate; and I love cherries! I remember my early days with the hybrid. At first it seemed like I’d never get going; and that, too, seems like an eon ago. If I might say so, I wish I had had something like this to help me through that frustrating beginning on two wheels. History repeats itself; and I had to adjust all over again when I got the road bike. At first the road bike felt very twitchy. It’s much lighter than the hybrid; and even the riding posture is very different. But it wasn’t long before the hybrid began to feel slow and heavy; and I realized that the road bike had spoiled me for the hybrid! All that is ancient history now; and I can’t imagine not being able to ride a bicycle!

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What the Doctor Ordered

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Food /

What the Doctor Ordered Is this what the doctor ordered? Pills might be just what the doctor ordered. Or increased exercise; or maybe a change in diet. Helpful if you’ve got prediabetes hanging over your head I’m not elated at having to take any medication long-term; but if an ℞ is what the doctor ordered, what else can I do? But today I rode to the salvage store; and to my delight, the grab-bag bins were well stocked. It took some digging; but I found a dozen — yes, that’s right, twelve — RXBars! I found me some ride food today! Some were Peanut Butter Chocolate; some were Chocolate Sea Salt; and some were Blueberry. If this is what the doctor ordered, then the doc should be very happy with me! I also found a half-dozen Special K Protein bars; and five or six junky snack items. I sat down after I was home to calculate my savings; and the grab bag meant major savings: it boiled down to about 13¢ per item; and at the drug store RXBars are usually 2/$5.00. Multiplied by 12, I saved over $26 right there! I don’t want to bore my readers by elaborating on what I saved on everything I got at the salvage store; but suffice it to say that I saved something on just about every item, even if was only three pennies. Pennies add up, though! Today I took the trailer; and what a welcome relief it was to have almost no wind! Even so I stayed on my granny gear most of the time. I just didn’t feel like working hard; and I didn’t need to. There was no need to hurry; and why not take it easy now and then? Sometimes rest is just what the doctor ordered!

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Dang It

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Food /

Dang It! My latest ride-food experiment! Dang it, I was actually rather disappointed in Dang bars. I found a coconut one in the salvage store day before yesterday; and got it to try as on-bike food. Eating the same old thing Sunday after Sunday gets a bit wearisome; and I can’t know what will be a great taste sensation if I don’t try it. The Dang bar that I found was coconut; and I tried it during my long ride yesterday. Taste-wise, it was OK; but to me it seemed a bit too dry and crumbly. And to be honest, the Dang bar is smaller than I like for ride-food bars. So dang it, I don’t have a new ride food, after all! Weather Our weather is heating up; and “the muggies” are setting in, too. All too soon hurricane season will begin; and I hope no storm comes along and keeps me from riding for several weeks. I’m working towards my Super Commuter badge; and to get it I must ride to work 200 times this year. So far, I’m 26% there; so I have about 150 days of riding to work to go! Before I worry too much about hurricanes, I have to get through tomorrow’s weather. At present, there’s a T-storm in progress at the airport, 11-12 miles from here; and as weather typically moves West to East, it might be headed our way. I’m glad I’m not trying to go for a ride right now; and I hope tomorrow morning’s “slight chance” of T-storms doesn’t materialize. I want to get in some more miles for Love to Ride! What if it is raining at ride time tomorrow? That depends on whether there’s lightning; and if there is, I can hitch the hybrid into the trainer. But dang it, “riding” in the trainer is very boring! Better than no ride at all!

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Haute Cuisine?

BACK ISSUES, Food /

Haute cuisine – not! On my budget, I can’t expect to have gourmet dining anywhere; and especially not on the bike! Not that I care gourmet food. The important thing is to be properly fueled; and I’ve tried many different things as ride food. Feed Zone Portables presents recipes for many easy-to-carry snacks; and I’ve tried making my own rice cakes. They tended to be too soft; and I guess I cooked the rice with a little too much water. I was always afraid the rice would be too dry; and if it was, the rice cakes would be too crumbly! I’m always on the lookout for new bar-style foods; and when I find one, I try it, such as this one: That holds true for any store: the salvage store; the regular supermarket; Whole Foods; and so on. Thanks to the salvage store, FitCrunch Birthday Cake has become a favorite. For a while, the grab-bag bins had plenty of them; but since the pandemic began, I haven’t found any. For a month or so, the salvage store has had Gatorade Whey Protein bars. They’re much cheaper than similar bars in the drug store; and while supplies last, I’m buying those Gatorade bars like crazy! These protein bars are far from haute cuisine; but that’s OK. I’m not quite “eatibus anythingus“; but I guess I come pretty close sometimes. These protein bars are far from haute cuisine; but that’s OK. I’m not quite “eatibus anythingus“; but I guess I come pretty close sometimes. Just look at my “garbage” soups — I just throw it all in the pot; and I get what I get.

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Spare Us the Obscenity

BACK ISSUES, Food /

Spare us the obscenity! What\’s all this about Tastefully NUDE? This variety of GU-Gel is unflavored; and uncolored as well. Hence the designation \”nude\”. It can be a nice change from flavored gels, especially if you eat a lot of them. Eating \”goos\” is something that I generally reserve for my Sunday long rides; but I always have a couple of them my road bike\’s top tube pouch. Occasionally I need one while out on a weekday morning ride; and I also keep a couple of them in my bike trunk\’s pocket. Now and then I need one as emergency rations. GU-Gel comes in many other flavors; including one for the coffee lover. A great favorite of mine is Chocolate Outrage; and I like Salted Caramel a lot, too. As for going nude, please spare us the obscenity.

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Hoppin’ John

BACK ISSUES, Food /

Hoppin’ John Hoppin’ John? Who on earth is that? To be honest, I have no idea who Hoppin’ John is; nor where he comes from; nor why he’s hopping. Maybe he’s a jackrabbit. Jack is a nickname for John; and what do jackrabbits do? They hop! Whatever the explanation may be, that Hoppin’ John character was famous enough to have a recipe named after him. I found it in the course of reading What Do I Eat Now? (page 151) and thought it looked interesting. Yesterday evening I tried it; taking liberties, of course. This dish is meant to be layered in a pan, but I don’t have the pan. I mixed it all up in a five-quart pot. I needed that big pot to cook the rice, anyway. One of the ingredients in the recipe is green bell pepper. I’ve never cared much for bell peppers; especially not the green kind! I substituted chopped celery; and a small amount of red bell pepper. Hoppin’ John also uses red onion. Fortunately that’s my favorite kind of onion. Raw celery can take quite a bit of chewing, so I cooked the onion and celery with the (canned) black-eyed peas while I was waiting for the rice to cook. The celery still had some crunch in it at the end; that’s fine with me. When the rice was done, I used my slotted cooking spoon to transfer the legume mix to the pot with the rice; I didn’t want too much liquid in the finished product. This recipe uses some cheese, too; I chopped up about 2.5 ounces of Monterrey Jack cheese and stirred it in. And diced canned tomatoes. “HJ” is pretty good. I began to think of variations on it right away. I think I need a chest freezer for all this stuff I keep cooking.

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