SpokEasy

SpokEasy

Food

Prison?

BACK ISSUES, Food /

Prison? Do protein bars ever feel like dietary prison? Don’t you sometimes wish for a change in your on-bike food? Sure, MET-Rx bars and the like are convenient; but let’s face it, sometimes they get monotonous. They can also get expensive when used exclusively as ride food. Feed Zone Portables offers some alternatives. This book includes a discussion of digestion and what an active rider — more specifically, a serious competitive rider — needs; and, of course, recipes. These include rice cakes; mini-pies; and baked eggs, among others. Rice cakes are a favorite of many serious cyclists. I’ve experimented with them, using sushi rice. Mine tended to come out too soft; when I tried to pull one out of my snack bag, it would fall apart in my fingers. I guess I used too much water in the cooking. It’s been some time since I last tried making rice cakes; and I keep saying that I must try it again. So far, I haven’t! I remember making one batch with three or four different kinds of cheese; and that one tasted pretty good. I bet currants would be good; or maybe grated carrot mixed with lemon juice. As with Hoppin’ John variations, the sky’s the limit. Mini-pies are out as long as I don’t have any flour on hand; and eggs aren’t a favorite of mine. Until I can kick myself into culinary gear, I’m stuck in the prison of protein bars.

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The Road Goes On

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, equipment, Food /

The Road Goes On “The road goes on, and ever on”; or something like that. Tolkien got that part right. During a long ride, our road sure can seem endless! What can we do to make seemingly endless miles more bearable? First, a proper bike fitting. This admittedly can be costly; but it’s well worth it. Then there’s conditioning. Trying to bang out 100 miles in a day with little or no training is unwise; although supposedly some riders have done it. How they got through those miles, I don’t know. Their legs must have given them agony in the following days! So, you’ve gotten a bike fit; and you’ve been working up to longer and longer rides. What else makes long rides more comfortable? Good bike shorts certainly are far more comfortable than regular shorts with underwear beneath them. Cycling shorts are meant to fit smoothly, and to be worn next to the skin. The other option is apt to mean two layers of fabric bunching up under you. That causes nasty chafing; and the last thing you want after a ride is saddle sores! Chamois Butt’r can help prevent skin irritation, so use it pre-ride; and take some to along so you can freshen up as the road goes on. Don’t forget about fueling during your rides. The best bike fitting; the most comfy bike shorts, can take you only so far. For rides of an hour or less, on-bike eating might not be needed; just have a snack before rolling out. For longer rides, there are many options. I like to try different kinds of bars, such as RXBars. And don’t forget hydration! Even when it’s cold, for rides much over one hour, plain water doesn’t make the grade. I need electrolyte drink, too. They say, once you’ve reached a certain fitness level, you can ride infinitely as long as you have an adequate fuel supply. So let the road go on!

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What’s Up?

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, equipment, Food /

Add Your Heading Text Here What’s Up? I’d like to know what’s up with the tropics. Hurricane Lee seems to be dissipating; but Tropical Storm Margot is crazy. She keeps changing direction;  and it’s a good thing she’s not close to land. If she were, people in her potential path would be having fits: will she strike here; or not? We’re at the peak of hurricane season; and have to stay alert. Of course hurricanes bring the prospect of an electrical outage; perhaps for days or even weeks. In a hot, humid climate, that’s miserable. I have a battery-operated fan, plus a supply of batteries; but a wearable device such as Ontel Arctic Air would be great! But here’s the snag: after six hours, the device needs recharging; and you can’t do that if the power is out! I have to think about what’s up with the weather for tomorrow. Low of 75 degrees tonight, they say; a little cooler than it’s been lately. Is Fall going to come, after all?  For my ride, I think I’ll wear sun sleeves again; but I’ll still need plenty of sunblock. I just tried KINeSYS; and it’s less heavy on my skin than my usual sunblock. Several weeks ago I was in a sports shoe store; and they had sample-sized bottles of KINeSYS. The drawback was, this version of the sunblock was only SPF 30. The spray-top kept twisting around as my hands got slippery from the sunblock; and I’d wind up spraying the stuff at nothing. That was quite annoying; not to mention wasteful. Alba Botanica has been my go-to sunblock for years. I like the shorter-size tube, because I can fit it into my under-saddle pack. This sunblock does feel a bit smothery, though; and it’s rather hard to wash off. What I like most about it is, it’s fragrance-free! Of course, what’s up with on-bike food? Lately I haven’t had much luck finding ride food at the salvage store; and today I had to buy some protein bars at a different store. MET-Rx Bars seem to be quite sustaining; but some of them are more crumbly than I like. Those crumbs tend to stick in my throat. I don’t know why, but electrolyte drink seems to wash them down better than plain water. I don’t need to drive myself crazy planning tomorrow’s ride, though. It’s not as though I were arranging an expedition to Antarctica.

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Extending

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Food /

Extending I’m extending my Sunday ride! Up to 25 miles today. And I think I need to start isometric exercises for my neck. That loaded Camel-Bak was pretty hard on me; and on top of that, I think I did something weird to my lower back during my off-bike exercises. It doesn’t exactly hurt; but when I make certain movements, it feels like something’s popping a bit. Not good. Ever think of using these for ride food? I had another try at finding that comet this morning; but I think I went out too late. It was already 6:15; and the horizon was reddening from the rising sun. But I just couldn’t get myself moving earlier. Of course I had to think (no pun intended) about ride food; and cut up a Think! bar. I also brought along another small protein bar, in case I needed it. As always, I had a few GU-Gels along. Today, as a matter fact, I ate two! That’s a lot for a ride of under 30-40 miles; and I might have done better to cut up two Think! bars instead. Maybe I was under-fueling a little; I got quite tired before the end. I wasn’t exactly bonking; but I didn’t feel all that strong, either. I need to start extending my weekday rides, too. One of the things I looked forward to in retirement was more time to ride. In any case, the Love to Ride September challenge is on! I hope the weather continues to cooperate. A few days ago, we had an afternoon T-storm that was right on top of us; and I was very glad I wasn’t out riding! 

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Fueled by Cabbage

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Fueled by Cabbage? No, my rides aren’t fueled by cabbage. Not entirely, anyway; although I do eat the stuff. But as I compose this blog, I’m snacking on raw carrots and hummus! If you happen to have an interest in a vegan diet; and want to know how to manage it around cycling; Complete Vegan Cycling Diet can help you to get started. The author is a former pro athlete and a certified sports nutritionist; not only does this book include recipes, it explains what you need for good nutrition.   I myself have no desire to go vegan; in part because I’m lazy. Veganism requires much more careful planning than vegetarianism, which can include dairy products and eggs. I’m not entirely vegetarian; I do eat meat or chicken or tuna once or twice a week. But usually this takes the form of canned chicken or tuna. I never have enjoyed handling raw meat; fish; or poultry. It feels weird on my hands; and I never seem able to wash off the smell! The resulting debris really stink up a garbage can, too. Also, I hate cleaning up the grease caused by cooking meat. Hence vegetarianism’s appeal to me. Today I didn’t have much riding to do; whether fueled by cabbage or by chocolate. I took a trip to the supermarket; and was home by around 9:00 am. I didn’t want to go out on the road bike by that time: the temperature was well into the 80s; and the heat index was already 100-plus. A heat advisory was scheduled to begin at 10:00 am; and I admit that I’m tired of riding in such heat. There’s yet another heat advisory forecast for tomorrow from 10:00 am; so I’d better go to the salvage store early. As a rule, I get home from such jaunts around ten o’clock; so I’ll just beat the heat!

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Belly Up

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Belly Up? I feel rather like going belly up. If not for the fact that I don’t drink alcohol, I might belly up to the bar right now. Prolonged editing sessions tend to do that to me. Today it was Bar None; and I didn’t realize how many bars I had in my Store! The editing took longer than I thought it might. The table I use is really a little too high; and that causes tension in the back of my neck and shoulders. My wrists aren’t at the proper angle, either. No wonder it’s so physically tiring. I hope I can go for a ride tomorrow morning; it might help clear my head. This morning I skipped riding because I had an appointment; and after I was back home, I was waiting for a phone call. So I didn’t “ride” in the trainer, either. Now I need some good exercise! At the moment, I don’t want to go for a ride. It’s past 7 pm, but still almost 90 degrees; and there’s a T-storm not too far from here. I have no idea which way it’s moving; but storms can move fast. No way I can outride them; and I don’t want lightning to knock me belly up! The weather for tomorrow looks iffy, too — 50% chance of rain. Well, there’s always that trainer.

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Ranch Eggs

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Food /

Ranch Eggs? This morning I had ranch eggs — sort of. I had some blackney beanpot that needed to be used up; so I put the beans in a bowl; topped them with an egg; and microwaved the stuff for two minutes. Then, I put some ranch dressing on top! I think this would have tasted better with a bit of red bell pepper; but I was short of time for chopping things. Our weather is still very hot; and that’s one reason I want to get going early for the ride to the salvage store. Another reason for going early is, I want to avoid traffic. For about two blocks of my route, I have to take to a traffic lane; and the earlier I go, the fewer the cars! I still have to be careful not to buy too much canned stuff; but today I got three 10 oz cans of chicken. I’ve been watching for that for several weeks; so I was glad to find it. Then, the ride back home. Fortunately there was little wind today; but I still got plenty hot. It was about 9:30 am when I got back home; and the heat index was already around 105 degrees! Tomorrow will be another hot day; but there’s a chance of late-afternoon T-storms. I hope we get one; then maybe things will cool off. We need rain, anyway. What shall I take along for ride food tomorrow? Ranch eggs won’t do, that’s for sure! No matter what I take, it’s sure to get half-melted; sticky; and messy. I need to browse through Feed Zone Portables for ideas!    

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Better with Electrolytes

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Food /

Better with Electrolytes A ride is better with electrolytes on a hot day — even a short ride! Yesterday I didn’t ride particularly late. I went out about 7:40 am, but I still got very hot; and plain water just wasn’t making the grade. I had the feeling that I would run out of water if I didn’t cut my ride short. The wind was strong enough to be noticeable; but 7 mph isn’t 15 mph! Maybe the blazing sunshine was the problem. I decided that, if I want to extend my weekday morning rides to 15 miles or so, I have to use the Camel-Bak for water; and carry Nuun or Propel. Today, I tried it. I had a doctor’s appointment, and didn’t get out to ride until almost ten o’clock. The temperature and wind speed were comparable to conditions during yesterday morning’s ride; but it was much cloudier. That helped, I’m sure; but this time I had Nuun with me. I felt better than I did during yesterday’s ride; so yes, a jaunt on the bike is better with electrolytes. If I were still riding at 5:15 am, things might be different; but retirement is spoiling me. Without the alarm clock, I might not wake up at all before 7:30 am! Naturally I’m getting out later; but it might be a good idea to try starting at 6:00 am. Then I’ll be home before things really start to heat up. On the other hand, if I have any idea of doing RAGBRAI next year, I must get acclimated to riding in the heat. The only way to get that conditioning is to ride in the heat!? But keep in mind: it’s better with electrolytes!

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Pickle Power

BACK ISSUES, Food /

Pickle Power Turn to pickle power on a hot day! Today our heat index reached 105; and similar conditions are forecast for tomorrow. I’m glad I didn’t have to ride in that heat, but if you can’t avoid it; and feel too sweated-out as a result; Pickle Ice can replenish some of those lost electrolytes. It can help you to cool off, too.  I’ve had dill pickle juice during Tours de Cure; and after an hour’s riding in the heat, it sure tastes good! That’s pickle power for you! Of course, pickle juice isn’t everybody’s thing. If you want electrolyte replenishment, Skratch Labs makes a hydration mix; and some people like Gatorade. I myself go for Nuun or Propel. I hope I can get out early tomorrow, and put in some miles before the heat gets bad. I have a late-morning appointment, though; and that might be tough. I’m debating whether to ride; or to walk. Whichever method I use, pickle power ought to be great afterwards!  

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Powder Power

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Powder Power! Powder Power is what you get with Propel Powder Packets. These are easy to carry in a jersey pocket or top-tube pouch; and provide electrolytes plus vitamins. They’re also sugar-free! Just pour the contents of a packet into 16.9 oz of water; mix; and you’re good to go. This variety pack includes three flavors: Black Cherry; Watermelon; and Grape. Five boxes of 10 packets each. $19.99 It’s been a while since I’ve had these. I found them at the salvage store a time or two; but lately all I can find are pre-mixed bottles of the drink. Yesterday I found Black Cherry and Kiwi Strawberry. But Propel Powder Packets are easier to pack along than a even a tube of electrolyte drink tablets. As for an actual bottle full of liquid added to my Camel-Bak … a few packets of powder are far preferable. Let’s hear it for Powder Power!

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