Nutrition

Jet fuel


To say I'm a little slower and a little softer than I was last year at this time would be an understatement. However, I started to pay closer attention to my nutrition on and off the bike and I think its helping.

A couple of weeks ago I was locked on to Debbie Dust going mach speed on a nice straight stretch of Green Bay Road when she opened it up. I do not ride with a cyclometer it's not clear how fast we were going - but my eye's were about to pop out of my head and a few days later she set a new course record and a new personal best in a 20K TT - so let's call it 30 mph. I held on, barely, but a few miles later I was all alone - out of gas.

Last weekend, determined to hang on all day, I focused on fueling. As an experiment I ate a caffeinated Clif Shot every 45 minutes. Magic. I held on all day, and even pulled passed Alex at nearly 30mph after he had escaped the group while drafting a jeep.

Lesson learned. Eat.

And oh boy have I been eating. With the kids it's not always easy to escape for a long ride, but we do a lot of fun family stuff at home, like cooking. A few weeks ago I read an article in the NYTs about burgers. It lead me to try grinding my own meat. Hallelujah!

Last Sunday Ruby and I pulled out the Kitchenaid to make some lean, spicy Italian sausages to grill up. Ruby loves the meat grinder because its just like her Playdough extruder, I love it because it's easy and makes every ground meat product deliciously fresh. I've also become a bit hyper sensitive to what is in my food - I want to know. When you buy a two pound hunk of pork shoulder and add all the spices you know what you're eating.

Long story short. Fennel, garlic, paprika, red pepper, parsley, and the obligatory salt and pepper converted a dull block of protein into a low fat Italian grill fest.

You need a little fat for the grill - this was about 20%


Flavor!


Roll'm if you got'm


Smelling good!


Served with fresh pomodoro, grilled asparagus with a garlic and pistachio mash, and a buttery white wine - lunch is on


BTW, my bathroom rehab that started in October 09 wrapped up a few weeks ago. That took forever. And went like this: Flooded, insurance catastrophe, asshole neighbor, construction zone, spend too much money, contractor messed up, contractor messed up again, asshole neighbor, lawyer?, spent too much money, contractor messed up, insurance catastrophe, finished bathroom.

No, I don't shave my legs