Hungry Like the Wolf, Steady as She Goes, Im Sexy and I know it

The road to the Alps is paved with biking. And food. Dear god I was so hungry for lunch today I could have eaten a horse.  I actually had to go eat because I couldnt concentrate. I also got a cramp in my leg. EAT FOOD NOW says body. OK. 

The weather this week has been magnificent so after weeks of indoor only training during the week I was finally able to get outside.  Outside = more fun, more miles and more friendly faces to ride bikes with! 

I logged about 90miles last weekend. Saturday AM I headed up Skyline via my new favorite approach, Cornell. Its a  nice long climb, which I need to work on.  Surely spring is upon us; last time I was up there a few weeks ago it was snowing, on Saturday the sun was peaking out and temps were a good 20degrees higher.

Long unrelenting climbs always bring out the demons. "Why am I doing this?" "I missed brunch for  this?" "You are completely insane to think you can climb the Alps if you are whining about this puny little hill at sea level"  I keep pedaling, alone with my thoughts.  Trying to focus on my pedal stroke or some scenery instead my mind eventually moves on.

I cut my climbing short due to concern about my recently inflammed IT band and turned around at Skyline Elementary.

I deftly dodged a wolly bear on the road.

Sunday's ride was spectacular.  I headed out about noon for the Gorge. The wind on Marine drive was merciful and the Gorge scenery didnt dissapoint.  Coming down Larch Mtn I pondered what kind of clothing Ill need to get for descending the Alps.  I own 1 long sleeve jersey that I rarely wear. Im guessing arm warmers and a windbreaker probably wont cut it.

Heres a short video of my Sunday ride:

I find myself lately obsessed with having a 6pack.  I figure Im more active now than I may ever be again. Over the last few months my legs have turned into rocks but a stubborn layer of belly fat still remains. Its interesting how attached Ive become to being physically fit and that I worry about losing it.

While Ive intensely focused on other things in life, studying engineering comes to mind, Ive never had this kind of intense focus on something physical.  I find myself struggling with the lack of social life but at the same time relishing the zen simplicity of my life.  I work, eat, sleep and train.  I know pretty much how I will spend my time and I feel at times a freedom from having to plan but also a restlessness.  Its helping me prioritize my time better; Ive realized how important it is to eat good food and how weak willed I am when it comes to eating out, so I make sure to set aside time on the weekend to make food for the week.

Im also becoming hyper aware of my body.  Right now I have a cramp in my thigh that happened right before lunch, Im wondering if Im not getting enough electrolytes.  Im monitoring a muscle ache in my right calf that happened this week, I think riding in the cold Tuesday night started it and cramping after sprint intervals Weds made it a little worse. I kept my eye on it at Tabor last night and it seems to be ok today, or at least not any more stiff than my other calf.

Its hard to balance what I want to get out of training and accepting where my body is at. Its hard not to obsess over miles, heart rate targets and elevation gained week to week.  With something as big and unknown to me as climbing the Alps I never quite know if I'm doing enough.  For now Im trying to focus on meeting myself where Im at physically, mentally and emotionally on a day to day basis. And enjoying the really amazing things my body is already able to do!

Barbra Streisand

I can't get that song out of my head!

Im sitting in the Ft Myers airport 2hrs before my flight leaves, sissy dear was leaving earlier than I. They're rockin some pretty sweet 70s music, I just heard Shaft.

In just over 6 months I'll be riding my bike in the Alps. The trip route isn't posted but should be about 1000miles and 100,000ft of climbing over 2 weeks. And because that isn't a daunting enough goal I gained some extra holiday weight. I got a GoPro for Christmas (thanks Mom!!) so I'll be chronicling my training rides ahead of the big trip.

The trip description is here:

http://www.veloski.com/bike-tours/italian-alps-classic-climbs.html

This will be an interesting process. I don't like feeling trapped, and setting a big goal that I need to train a lot for definitely gives me the feeling that I have to do certain things. I have to be on my bike a lot. I plan to work up to riding my bike to work everyday (40miles, 2000ft elev) which will take a huge chunk of time. But I expect it will also give me a lot more energy, lower body fat and other good things. ;) I've decided 2012 will also be the year of 6pack abs for me. They are there underneath the Christmas cookies.

I'm really glad I have a lot of friends with ambitious cycling goals. I can't imagine taking on something like this without the support of others to ride with and be encouraged by. We all know how tough the mental aspect of the sport can be, especially when training for road riding happens during the time of year when the weather in PDX is rather abysmal.

I remember a particularly gritty ride from last winter. I have a pic of some teammates and I after the ride, covered in road grime, sopping wet, and grinning from ear to ear. I know during those rides I have the WTF moments - "wtf am I doing out in the cold?" "wtf am I doing spending my vacation biking in the Alps?" or just a string of obscenities running through my head. After those rides I'm pretty much comatose for the rest of the day. Then why all the smiling you ask? Because of my friends. My friends that suffer with me on the bike and then delight about reminiscing the especially epic rides. My friends that don't bike that encourage and uplift me. And of course express suitable amounts of awe at my epic tales ;) Then there are the "great ass" compliments. But I digress.

The thing about winter training, or really any training if youre doing it right, is that it consumes your mind. You can't worry about your job, your lover (or lack thereof) or even what you're going to eat after the ride when you're trying to squeeze your brakes on cold descent, or when your lungs are about to explode out of your chest during a sprint. Cycling is a safe little refuge from the world. It is my shire.

Cranberry Orange Granola v1

This came out pretty well for a first try.  I find that most granola I buy is way too sweet. Inspired by some yummy granola I had out at a cafe this morning I thought Id give it a shot. This is just sweet enough for my taste, and the cranberries are still slightly tart despite being sweetened.


The orange flavor I found in the extracts section.  I think I ended up using about 1tsp of it but would probably try adding a bit more next time as the orange flavor isnt very strong.  I thought about using orange juice but wasnt sure it would dry out sufficiently.  The granola came out nice and crispy, it crisps up as it cools. In general I used the low end of the measurements below (i.e. i was closer to 1/8c brown sugar than 1/4c).  I read that its good to have a mix of dry and wet sugars in granola, otherwise i would have used all honey for the sweetening.


3c rolled oats

1c flaked almonds

1/4c honey

1/4c veggie oil

1/8 - 1/4c dark brown sugar

2tsp cinnamon

1-2tsp orange flavor

1/4tsp salt (13 turns of the grinder)

1c juice sweetened cranberries

combine all dry ingredients except cranberries and mix well

combine all wet ingredients (honey, oil, orange flavor) and mix into dry ingredients.  I used my hands to break up clumps. You could also try heating up the honey a little bit to get it to mix easier.

bake at 250-275F for 1hr, stirring every 15min. Let cool and add cranberries

Im also thinking of trying cardamom in this recipe!

My other car is a chicken wing

Food with a face. Something I eat regularly. But not while looking it in the eyes.

I remember the first time I cooked chicken for myself.  The feeling of cutting through raw chicken flesh was really creepy.  I stopped.  I wondered if cutting into human flesh felt the same.  It was gross but I figured I liked eating chicken so I kept going.   After that I cooked the chicken before I cut it up.

A similar thing happened around the same time.  I haven't eaten many whole lobsters in my life but I don't think I will again.  I ordered lobster but didnt realize it was the entire animal.  While I'd had whole lobster before I always found it to be somewhat of a disconcerting experience.  For some reason especially so this time.  I couldn't deal with eating it as it watched me with its cooked eyes.

I am not vegetarian.  I eat meat regularly. Despite these occasions that I find animal products gross I continue to eat them.  Milk I've always disliked (cheese and ice cream however...) and I don't keep eggs in my fridge regularly. There are times when eggs are positively revolting to me. In general I find it bizarre that we eat these foods. Why am I eating embryos? Or equivalently sucking the teet of an animal for baby food?

Today for lunch I'm going meatless. I think maybe even vegan.  Periodically I take a meat-break. It can last for a few days or a few weeks, whatever my body seems to want.  I am struck by how different veggies look to me than meat. Meat can be exciting, but something about a delicious green salad really appeals to my senses

I was at a wing place recently and got a bumper sticker "my other car is a chicken wing."  I find these types of absurdities hilariously funny.  But the experience of eating a chicken wing, again, is also kind of gross.

Does this make me look vegan?

Fill er up again

Hello again blogging.

Ive been thinking a lot lately about stimulants. And addiction.  Sugar, caffiene, this always-on always-connected webosphere that we have been thrust into... so many sources of stimulation.  I feel that this rampant context switching is bad for my brain.  Indeed, I have started losing the ability to focus on things.  Ill be walking around my apartment with my keys in one hand and the next thing  I know I cant find them. Usually be cause I am thinking about 10 other things besides the keys in my hand.

Addiction.  Ive suspected for a while that I'm addicted to problem solving.  I remember getting a book from the library on genetic engineering after a particularly bad breakup in high school.  Whenever I felt overwhelmed with emotion I would just read about genetics.  A distraction from the pain of reality.  When my brain rediscovered the soothing effects of problem solving some years later in college it turned into a hungry beast.  My mind clung to problem solving as a source of pleasure, especially when other areas of my life weren't panning out as desired. Medicated by math.

I feel like we as a society are gorging ourselves.  Gorging on overly sweetened foods our bodies have evolved to seek out.  On caffeinated energy drinks to replace lost sleep from trying to do too much.  On social media - tweeting and blogging and sharing every minute detail of our lives with the world and soaking up everyone else's social media masturbation like a sponge.  While technology has provided us with great advancement it also seems to have given us a potential to take a great step backwards.  We are a world of addicted slaves avoiding the pain of now and therefore also its pleasure.

It is hard to see these things as 'bad' in my opinion.  My addiction to problem solving makes me a highly productive member of society and provides me with income.  Food is food, right? As long as I exercise I should be able to eat whatever I want. Besides, evolution has made my body want to eat this way. We think of cigarettes as bad, not apple danishes. But perhaps that apple danish could have just as bad of an impact on our health.  Especially if you were to chain smoke them.

My family really appreciates that I Facebook everything because I live thousands of miles away from them. Yet how much time have I lost to clicking through posts and pictures of people that mostly I dont know that well? #voyeur

It is with this irony that I decide to blog again. Because I found I either wanted to say something brief on twitter or ramble about something at length.  I think some house cleaning will be going on this winter on many levels.  Some of it Ill reflect on here.