Alien Abduction

...Just got back... last night I was abducted by Aliens. That's right, I was kidnapped and zoomed away in their Tachyon drive space craft to the planet Merckxon-7. What an adventure! The inhabitants of the planet looked and acted much like us with some subtle exceptions. First they all looked really fit, and they like lived until the ripe old age of 150. The most natural cause of death was an accident of some sort. I learned that their k-college education was centered around endurance athletics. Classes ranged from nutrition to physiology. Much like our students take exams at the end of every semester they would have some large track and field or team sport exam. Yes, each student was required to take one hour of basic reading/writing/arithmetic and some of the real nerds actually played in high school scholastic events after school in Math league or spelling competitions, but most every normal person was just skilled in the art/science of endurance athletics.

All this of course is a dream, but in reality I wonder what prepares us better for life, formal education or participation in sports.
I like most adults don't use 1/4 of what I learned in college. Yeah, Yeah I know that learning just for the sake of leaning is a good thing. I had a physics teacher in grad school who used to tell me that certain undergraduates while maintaining an "A" average in school would fail in life, because they had no passion. It took passion to be really successful in any endeavor. I began thinking about this while watching a high school band concert. The difference between what these people are doing and what the swim team does is that I did not sense any passion among the band members (granted I might not be able to detect musical passion from my seat), while the swim team was full of passion, team work and drive to be the best. Which behavior do you want on your next team, whether it be a pick up game of basketball or your next team for some work project.

Celebration Food

One of the greatest enhancements to the science of training for cycling has been the concept of rest. Not so long ago, the only rest day was just before an event, every other day was just a hard slog. This not only dulls you physically, but also mentally. Sure you don't want to rest every day, but distinct periods of rest allows you body and mind to recover. Along those lines I don't think one should eat poorly every day, but every now and then a particular meal or libation is at least good for the mind, if not the body.
Celebration recipes are not meant for every day, but I use them as rewards for a particular job done well. It could be something as simple as a good week of training, a good result in a race or a new best time in a time trial.
That concept shouldn't be too controversial, but my recipes may be. I am going to present two alchoholic drinks. Thats right, alchohol and an endurance athlete don't usually compliment one another. Again, I don't suggest either of these in large quantities the day before any serious competition.
For those conservatives in the crowd, who may chose something as provincial as an apple pie for their celebration meal, let me show you the contents of the crust.

Look at the second ingredient, Hydrogenated Lard. I am no nutrionalist, but I would rather ingest a glass of red wine than a mouthful of hydrogenated lard. Hydrogenated vegetable oil is terrible for the arteries, and lard pretty much comes with a warning label these days, so the combo can't be good for you.
For those of you who prefer the lard route, then my recipe for coconut fried shrimp in lard is for you, but I digress.

Mulled Red Wine

1 cup sugar
1 pint water
2 cinnamon stick
1 tbl whole cloves
zest from one orange
1 fresh pear, sliced
fresh apple, sliced
1 fresh peach, sliced
1 bottle red wine (between $8 and $10)
1 1/2 oz Cointreau liquor

Combine everything except wine and Cointreau in a large saucepan. Heat until boiling. Boil for a couple of minutes. Add Wine boil one minute more. Reduce heat and carefully add Cointreau. Remove cinnamon and cloves (as best you can). Serve Hot.

Kir Royale

Chilled Champagne
Creme de Cassis

Serve chilled champagne into a normal flute. Add one tbl of creme de cassis. A good way to enjoy sorry cheap champagne.

A Day to Forget

They continue to build cruise ships after the sinking of the Titanic, and I will continue to race after last weekend. Not the most steller performance. Physically I felt fine, tactically I goofed and let down the team. In the end I didn't even try hard enough to place. Oh well, I am mentally recovered and physically feeling great. This is a rest week for me, which I hate. I'm beginning to wonder if I am too hard on myself and should lighten up a tad. I still have many months until my performance really means anything to me. And if you believe that...

I won't be racing for 2 weeks, which now seems like a long time. Next post, I promise a celebration recipe.

"Watson, come in here..."

I'm a big believer in evolution, not "The Theory of Evolution" which outlines how man evolved from protozoa to Homo Sapiens. That one I am a bit skeptical on, and while elegant doesn't always leave me comfortable. No, I am talking about the day to day evolution that one goes through by trial and error. Mistakes or "Random Pertubations" often generate a situation that is better than the norm. For example, the other day I injured my tail bone somehow doing crunches. The following day I was forced to put a big pillow under my butt to reduce the pain. The elevation of my rear end caused crunches to become very difficult, a seeminly new set of stomach muscles were required to complete my normal set. The soreness the next day on the bike told me that I was exercising new muscles that obviously were being recruited when cycling. See, your everyday mistake turns into an advantage. BTW, my butt is healed, but I'm keeping the pillow, they are not only more comfortable, but more difficult. Not only scientist benefit from laboratory mistakes, athletes also are able to benefit from them. As long as we can quatify if the change is for the better or not, we all can benefit from the process of evolution. QED.

Past Behaviour is the Best Predictor of Future Behaviour

Thanks to http://photos.escaperadius.com for the above photo. Not me, but a team mate.

The racing season began for me last Saturday. Somehow over the winter months training I was expecting to come out of the blocks with Lance like Power. Well it didn't show. Actually given Lance's recent performance, maybe my wishes did come true. So what did I learn, or more importantly re-learn, forgetting all the nonsense about comparing power/hr/recovery, I learned that in order to make things happen, you have to be willing to risk everything. I am not as fit as many others with more recent racing experience, nor is my team as deep as Discovery Channel, but If I want to win, I am going to have risk being dropped and be a bit more aggressive at getting into the move that I know will be the winning one. So let me write up my next race report starting now.

I saw the move being made by ____ and ______ and felt this was the one to go with. I hung in there with them and did as well as I could. I was totally spent after the race, which was a very good feeling.

While that may not seem upbeat it sounds a lot better than the one I could have written for the last race, which is much like every race I participated in last year.

I saw the move, didn't go with it and did ok in the field sprint.

Its time to change my behaviour.

All this work is toward my year goal of doing well at the Master's Nationals. I must get used to not only being in the right moves, but causing the right moves, and to suffer while doing it. It won't be easy I know.

On an upbeat note, I have been cooking a few things that may turn out as real winners. More later when I am ready to do show and tell.

Foundation Napster Biscotti

I stole this recipe from a friend who had previously stolen it from a cookbook... share the wealth.
The original did not have orange bitters and had 6 pitted dates instead of apricots. It also specified soy protein instead of whey protein. The original comes from this book.

nonstick spray
3 large eggs
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tsp grated orange zest
1 tsp orange bitters (optional)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp almond extract
1.5 cups unbleached all purpose flour
.75 cups rolled oats
.5 cups whey protein powder
.25 cups cornmeal
1/2 tsp salt
.75 cup minced almonds
6 minced dried apricots

1. Oven to 375. Spray a baking tray
2. Beat eggs, sugars, oil, zest, and extracts in a bowl till smoth.
3. In a second bowl combind remaining ingredients and mix till blended.
4. Add dry ingred. to the wet ones and mix, using a spoon at first and then mixing with hands as it thickens. (it will be a stiff batter - almost a dough)
5. Divide the bater in half, and form it into 2 equal logs. each about 2 inches in diameter. Place them side by side on the prepared baking tray.
6. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the tray from the oven. Transfer the logs to a cutting board, and cut them into 1/2 inch thick slices. (serrated knife)
7. Return the pieces to the tray, laying them flat on their sides, and bake for 8 minutes longer. Turn them over, and bake for another 8 minutes on the other side. For extra-crunchy, turn off the oven, and leave the tray in there for an additional 15 minutes or so.
8. Remove the tray, transfer the biscotti to a rack, and allow them to cool for at least 10 minutes before consuming.

Define vs. Enrich

Today was absolutely awful. I questioned more than once why I was riding today. It was just above freezing, the absolute worst temperature. It snowed, the roads were wet, and the wind picked up to dangerous speeds. It was tough coasting downhill into the wind. There was not much enthusiasm to do more than usual today. My bike felt great though. The gear situation seems to be all solved. Of course the bike was an absolute mess this afternoon when were to put our names on the bike. (picture coming soon!) The highlight of the day was that I was able to consume 2 lunches. I do love to eat.

Today Lance came in 140th in the prologue of Paris/Nice. Perhaps we should all think about this and ask our self really how hard should we be pushing ourself in early March when we want to be in top form in July? If the master and commander can't muster better than 140th this early then perhaps we should not be too concerned about our placings in the upcoming winter/spring Giros, and use them to help us get in proper form, but don't be too concerned about either our current fitness or out finishing results this early. Not too many people remember who wins these early races. You can't stay in top form forever, and the more gradual you get there, the longer you can stay there. Ok, perhaps I am just convincing myself.

I watched a great movie the other night called "The Italian Job", sort an Oceans 11 type of movie. There was a great line in it, that got me thinking about all sorts of things. Here it is a bit edited for the current context.

There are two kinds of cyclist, those that cycling defines their life and those that cycling enriches their life. I've known both sorts. I guess at 45 cycling now just enriches my life, as it should. Although you won't meet many people who are more passionate about the sport than me.

Another Milestone

This weekend was the first time I was on a road bike for the usual weekend long rides. The fixed gear rides certainly were enjoyable, and for sure they improve lots of areas. 1) The spinning most likely help your peddling form. 2) The lack of gear builds some leg strength on hills. 3) The innability to rest and coast at the top of the hill helps with recovery.
I noticed today that those who had not used fixed gear bikes during the winter suffered a bit more than usual, as the speed was a bit higher since the majority of riders had switched to road bikes.

The ride today was pretty tame which was a blessing as my gears on my new road bike skipped. Turns out it was a bad link in the chain.

The fixed gear bike was a Frankenstein bike, made from a nice frame and parts from the dump to hand me downs. I've cleaned, oiled and hung up the beast until next winter. Thank you god of cycling for blessing me with no flats on the fixed gear in the recent fridgid temperatures.

Foundation Roasted Red Pepper Soup

This soup has incredible flavor, texture and visual appeal. There are many options but I’ll write up my favorite rendition.

3 red bell peppers
1 white onion finally chopped
1 cup chicken stock
2 garlic cloves minced
Olive oil
Huy Fong Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce (available in the Asian Section, any hot sauce will do, but this one has lots of flavor)
3 small potatoes

Peel, roughly cut and boil potatoes until done
Roast the red peppers to blacken their skin. There are a variety of ways to do this, under the broiler, on top of a gas burner are the ways that I have done. This is about the only tricky part to the recipe. Smoking the peppers might be an interesting variation.
Once they are blackened remove the skins, core, and roughly chop.

Sauté onion/garlic/pepper pieces in a few tbl of olive oil. Add broth, and add cooked potatoes to the vegetable mixture. Cook on a slow boil for 10 minutes.
Puree in a food processor or blender.
Return to pan and simmer a few minutes more. Add 1 (medium) or 2 (hot) tbl of the Hot Chili sauce. This could be omitted but I think the chili sauce really makes the soup. Heavy cream or butter could be added, but I think the soup stands well on its own without the extra fat.

Serves 2 for dinner.