Book reviews

Two books, two reviews, how efficient.

First a book from Lance’s Mom. Having a mother myself, I know how unbiased they can be. I have one thought; my mother told me if I didn’t have anything nice to say about something, then don’t say anything.

Now on to the second book



To be honest, I am only on page 50, but already I know this is a keeper. I recommend this to anyone who wants a deeper insight to what the life of a professional cyslist is about. Who knows how true any of it is, but I've already learned more tidbits of information than a season of OLN.

Don't buy it, support your local library. If the Ontario library system can get a copy, I am sure your local library can as well.

Weekend Racing

The season is not over, but I can see the end from here. The last away race of year has come and gone. I flatted on the first day, actually hit a pot hole, more than a pot hole as I saw a person sorting the mail at the bottom. The Mavic guy changed my rear wheel in the pits, but unknown to me the front was going flat too. Bummer, as I was then under the lap rule and had to abandon.

Sunday’s race I was able to stick with the field, which is a good result compared to last year. I was not active partner in the peleton, rather one of those guys in the middle who neither contributes or is jeopardy of getting dropped. While not a steller performance, it was a huge emotional win for me. I wasn't a slave but I wasn't a master either. Next year, I bring the whip.

High Notes

The guys in the pits did their job with a smile, quite an accomplishment in today’s service challenged industry. I was able to borrow a set of wheels to complete my weekend as I didn’t bring a spare set. I wish I had brought some beer to share, because you Mavic guys deserve it. Thanks!

Watching NASCAR

Its like cycling, only they are going faster, and not working as hard

Milk Carton

I got some milk to go on the way home, and someone in the marketing department at Crowley deserves a raise.

Wegmans Pasta Bar

For those who don't know the Wegmans brand of grocery stores. Guys and Gals, you are missing something special. They have made grocery shopping more fun than going to Disney World when you are child.

Low Notes:

Pot Holes

You guys suck

Ok 4 highs and one low.

A Week in the Life of my Stomach

In the nooks and crannies of free time that exist between work, family and cycling I thought I would mimic the work done by this book which is a photographic essay on everything the author consumed of the period of a year. Mine is only about a weeks worth, and to be honest I did not remember to photograph each meal, and I certainly only took a single picture of each unique meal. Breakfast and lunch is usually taken at work, and I either have an omelet of some sort or my morning breakfast gruel which is equal parts of Grape Nuts, Oats, Raisins, Walnuts and skim milk. Lunch is either a sandwich of some sort, or Tuna fish with a salad.
Click here for a slideshow of the weeks calories. I have a new found respect for those professional photographers and cooks who attempt to make their food appetizing.

Yvette's Recovery Banana Bread

One of a couple of recipes on loan from a fellow cyclist. I had the chance to enjoy this from the cook during our stay in Park City. Look Ma, no oil, no egg yolks, and 100 percent good. A great post ride snack. I added 1/4 cup of whey protein powder and used only 1 1/4 cups of flour, but really with 4 egg whites it already has sufficient protein. Mamma, you where wrong, these Yankees can cook. The original recipe is:

1-3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2/3 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
1-1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (3-4)
4 egg whites
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Bake at 350 degrees for one hour in greased 8x4x2 loaf pan. Test for doneness - when an inserted wooden toothpick comes out clean from the center. Also really good toasted with a dab of butter in the morning.

Climbs I Have Known

Click on the above picture to see a bigger view of a graph of some "not so famous" climbs I have done. Some with regularity, others on special occasions. I wasn't surprised to see that the climbs in Utah were a bit longer than some local climbs, nor was I surprised to see that the local climbs are generally much steeper. I'll add some more as time goes by. Everything is in feet. The data was gathered by my Polar 720, and further processed by some custom software I wrote to extract Polar data and finally graphed using Excel. For non locals, Miller is the big climb on West Lake Road in Canandaigua, Naples is coming out of Naples, North on Rt 21, The Highlander Prologue is that monster climb going up to the Park. Parish Back is the easy side of Parish Road in Victor.