Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Jewel Warmer
This looks like a simple and clever solution, the name of the product explains exactly what it does.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Apology
I apologize if my previous nutrition post sounded like a shill for Hammer products or strawberry Yoo-hoo. I'm not paid or endorsed by anyone to write.
If you expected to read something bike related, this time check Matthew's blog at no one line. He's a good writer and I really enjoyed the Stephen Roche video on his site.
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If you expected to read something bike related, this time check Matthew's blog at no one line. He's a good writer and I really enjoyed the Stephen Roche video on his site.
.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
An Idiot's Nutrition - Avoiding The Bonk
One of the things about being a cyclist is that at some point, you will find yourself in an unfamiliar situation, ill prepared, and success will come through perseverance and maybe improvisation.
Last week I scheduled a longish morning ride with two friends, both bike messengers and strong amateur racers. I also decided to skip breakfast. Instead of eating I'd prepared a flask of Hammer Perpetuem mixed with Hammer Gel for the ride.
A few miles into the ride, I realized that I'd left the flask at home. A banana wasn't going to be enough to keep me from bonking on this ride, so we stopped at a bodega in Spanish Harlem before heading over the George Washington bridge into NJ. Unfortunately the deli did not have any energy bars or useful food. It was mostly beer, chips, kitty litter and pet food, and two friendly cats.
My friend JP had once mentioned that Yoohoo can work as a cheap recovery drink, and it was available so I bought myself a strawberry Yoohoo. The stuff is pretty foul in my opinion, but I suppose I prefer fake strawberry over fake chocolate flavor.
I didn't think the Yoohoo would be enough for me. Luckily they also had sweetened condensed milk (scm) and I asked to have it opened at the counter. Scm is used to make dulce de leche and also makes a nice thai iced coffee. It's delicious and very sweet.
I mixed a bit of scm with water in a bottle, and it dissolved nicely - but the taste was gross. I added a bit of Strawberry Yoohoo to the mix. The tartness of the Yoohoo made the mix drinkable, and in fact quite good. I was able to log just under 70 miles with no breakfast and NO BONK. The cool thing is that I rode a personal best for max 5 seconds effort two hours into the ride. Personal bests don't mean much, but for this time of year I was surprised.
Wikipedia explains that condensed milk was invented in the 1850's and issued as a field ration for soldiers during the civil war.
To have an idea what kind of calorie rocket this stuff is, a full can (14 oz) contains about 1,300 calories, and 30g of protein + 30g of fat, with 225 g of carbohydrate. I'd used about 1/2 a can and had some left over after finishing the ride.
The amount of Perpeteum that I'd planned on using was about 3 scoops, or 400 calories with 3g of fat, 9g of protein, and 8Og of carbohydrate. I also added a bunch of Hammer Gel to that.
The expensive energy drinks have almost the same ratios as sweetened condensed milk, though the carbs in condensed milk are indicated as coming entirely from sugars, while the carbs in Hammer are described as only about 7% sugars.
Hammer Nutrition fills their products with something called "Long-chain Maltodextrin," which seems to be an easy to digest complex carb. Milk contains lactose - a double sugar but still not a complex carb. Complex carbs are good because they provide energy for endurance, while simple sugars like those in milk give a quick spike but burn out fast. On the other hand, milk is still pretty good nutritionally.
Anyway, it worked pretty well. For the long term I'm going back to Hammer... I think.
I'm not paid to endorse Hammer products but you can use the link below to get a discount on your first order.
Click this link to get 15% off at Hammer Nutrition.
.
Last week I scheduled a longish morning ride with two friends, both bike messengers and strong amateur racers. I also decided to skip breakfast. Instead of eating I'd prepared a flask of Hammer Perpetuem mixed with Hammer Gel for the ride.
A few miles into the ride, I realized that I'd left the flask at home. A banana wasn't going to be enough to keep me from bonking on this ride, so we stopped at a bodega in Spanish Harlem before heading over the George Washington bridge into NJ. Unfortunately the deli did not have any energy bars or useful food. It was mostly beer, chips, kitty litter and pet food, and two friendly cats.
My friend JP had once mentioned that Yoohoo can work as a cheap recovery drink, and it was available so I bought myself a strawberry Yoohoo. The stuff is pretty foul in my opinion, but I suppose I prefer fake strawberry over fake chocolate flavor.
I didn't think the Yoohoo would be enough for me. Luckily they also had sweetened condensed milk (scm) and I asked to have it opened at the counter. Scm is used to make dulce de leche and also makes a nice thai iced coffee. It's delicious and very sweet.
I mixed a bit of scm with water in a bottle, and it dissolved nicely - but the taste was gross. I added a bit of Strawberry Yoohoo to the mix. The tartness of the Yoohoo made the mix drinkable, and in fact quite good. I was able to log just under 70 miles with no breakfast and NO BONK. The cool thing is that I rode a personal best for max 5 seconds effort two hours into the ride. Personal bests don't mean much, but for this time of year I was surprised.
 | + |  | = personal best? |
Wikipedia explains that condensed milk was invented in the 1850's and issued as a field ration for soldiers during the civil war.
To have an idea what kind of calorie rocket this stuff is, a full can (14 oz) contains about 1,300 calories, and 30g of protein + 30g of fat, with 225 g of carbohydrate. I'd used about 1/2 a can and had some left over after finishing the ride.
The amount of Perpeteum that I'd planned on using was about 3 scoops, or 400 calories with 3g of fat, 9g of protein, and 8Og of carbohydrate. I also added a bunch of Hammer Gel to that.
The expensive energy drinks have almost the same ratios as sweetened condensed milk, though the carbs in condensed milk are indicated as coming entirely from sugars, while the carbs in Hammer are described as only about 7% sugars.
Hammer Nutrition fills their products with something called "Long-chain Maltodextrin," which seems to be an easy to digest complex carb. Milk contains lactose - a double sugar but still not a complex carb. Complex carbs are good because they provide energy for endurance, while simple sugars like those in milk give a quick spike but burn out fast. On the other hand, milk is still pretty good nutritionally.
Anyway, it worked pretty well. For the long term I'm going back to Hammer... I think.
I'm not paid to endorse Hammer products but you can use the link below to get a discount on your first order.
Click this link to get 15% off at Hammer Nutrition.
.
Friday, January 09, 2009
Spring is not here... (yet)
But it's coming soon. One thing about winter riding is that the roads often contain hidden surprises.
Starting in November I installed a set of Ritchey's tom slick "fortress" tires. I don't know if these are still made or not, but they're pretty tough. For example, I pulled this metal shard out of the tire and the innertube was undamaged.
The Ritchey is even tougher than the Continental all season or gatorskin tires.
Starting in November I installed a set of Ritchey's tom slick "fortress" tires. I don't know if these are still made or not, but they're pretty tough. For example, I pulled this metal shard out of the tire and the innertube was undamaged.
The Ritchey is even tougher than the Continental all season or gatorskin tires.
Monday, December 01, 2008
Staten Island Cyclocross
It was a lot of fun and a huge success!
Kudos to the organizers, the sausage and waffle makers, the DJ, and everyone who participated. I hope it returns next year, in multiples.My bike got a little muddy.
Can anyone hold back a smile? We had fun sloshing around in the mud. My team mates were faster than me with their Gin and Trombones (gins and tromboneses?).
Get the full scoop at http://statencx.wordpress.com
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Power : 2 or 3 lightbulbs worth
Depending on whether we're talking about 75 or 100 watt bulbs my spindly legs could power more than two of them... for an hour. It seems like such a waste of energy... but I'm still pleased to be producing more power than in 2007.
It looks like the sprint is the area most improved. I got the powermeter in August 2007, so the 2007 numbers are probably less than perfect, but I wouldn't say they're irrelevant.
Signed up for my first cyclocross race of 2008 coming up this Saturday. Haven't been riding much so it will be interesting to see how it goes.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Fall Winter Summer Spring
Thursday, September 04, 2008
8/29 - 9/1
The Green Mountain Stage Race 2008.
Friday, day 1. Prologue. 5.7 hilly miles.
Never got the feeling of going fast. Average heart rate 174. Could have rested a little better before the start instead of doing 5 and 8 minute intervals on Tuesday. Finished 31st.
Saturday, day 2. Circuit race. 65 miles.
We're doing two laps on this 30 mile circuit. There is a KOM competition on the first lap as well as a sprinter's competition.
KOM: I'm feeling good. Somehow I seized an easy opportunity. With 100m to go to the KOM there are two riders up the road and a third struggling in between. I am sitting 10 wheels back, but nobody is making any moves. We just watch him struggle. At 50 yards to go I find a hole and sprint up to take third. I have two points in the KOM competition, this is a bizarre surprise to me.
The KOM is followed by flats and a long descent. At the end of the descent is a sharp right turn and a straight line to the finish line / sprinter's competition.
Breakaway: After coming out of that sharp right turn I find myself 100 yards ahead of the field. This is interesting, so I pedal on at good pace and gain a few more yards on the field. I can hope that other riders will join me. After a little while, Robert Carmen bridges up and we start to work together. I think this is going to be a 2-3 mile break but the sprinter's points are much further away than I expected. Although we establish a good gap, I think we should have waited until the 5k mark. After riding the break for a few miles I ask Robert if he knows where the finish is? He says we have about 8 miles to go... 7 miles more than I expected! I should have dropped back at this point, but we had such a huge gap that we both press on with all the force we can muster. I feel we can make the gap insurmountable. With 250 yards to go our gap is worthless, only 10 yards, and it's over. No sprinter's points for Robert or me.
Lap two: Halfway through I drink all my fluids and start to feel crampy, another rider at the back notices this and kindly offers half a bottle. Finished 14th.
Day 3, Appalachian Gap. 75 miles.
No cramping!!! 4 bottles fluid.
Sprinter's competition: From 3k all the way to 1k a bunch of skinny non-sprinters are all battling for position. I try to stay away from them since it is a downhill sprint. At 1k, I am at the front, waiting. There is still a lone rider rider off the front. The yellow jersey passes on my left and I accelerate to take his wheel. I stay on the wheel for a second too long and another big dude flies past me at 200m. I jump... but but it is too late for 2nd place so I have 3rd.
I stay with the leaders all the way to the top of Baby Gap. I've decided to ride the Appgap at my own pace, but an error in judgement causes me to forget the long descent from babygap to appgap. The support vehicle passes me and they are screaming to catch back on! Mentally I decide the effort is not worth it and lose a few minutes riding alone to the start of Appgap.
Day 4, Criterium, 21 miles (34 laps)
The day starts out with an unpleasant surprise, a $35 penalty and retraction of my sprinter's points. The rule is cited as 4H9A (p.91 of the usac rulebook). Basically the motopace driver decided that when some rider behind me crossed the yellow line at 800m to go it was my fault -- I never crossed the yellow line and never had any physical contact with any other riders. Nor did I obstruct any other riders. It is the other rider's responsibility to mind the line and I did not do anything erratic. So I search for 20 minutes until I locate the chief referee and she is not much help. I didn't file a protest in writing before the start of day 4, and there is no chance to contest the penalty. I must pay the fine.
Once the race starts, I decide that the smartest strategy is to not contest any of the midrace sprints and save it for the finish. I drop my chain right before the neutral start, but the racing feels good. Towards the end there are 2-3 riders whom I'm consciously trying to avoid, they seem tired and erratic. At 7 laps to go I give a little jump up the hill to test the field. Nobody seems to have the legs to respond. I do it again with 4 to go and again nobody responds. I decide I must start riding at the front.
The crash: With two laps to go, I am 3rd wheel (I think). Unfortunately the GMBC rider in front of me cooks the turn pretty badly as I'm going around him and we smash into the hay bales. I start to get up and another rider comes slamming into my head. Ouch. I decide to curl up until everyone finishes piling up. Finally, when I can get up, I check my wheels and although both are out of true I release the brake adjusters and they spin. I spend what seems like an hour getting the chain back on. The free lap rule ended at 8 laps to go. I pass 3-4 riders and finish. I am disappointed. Finished 21st.
After the race I notice the carbon seatstay on my gorgeous Lemond is completely broken. I decide that racing cat4 sucks and I'd rather have my ass handed to me in the 30+ master's field (with former pro's all the way down to cat 4s) than do this type of race again. The 4b race is full of old beginners. Until my wrist stops aching, my roadrash heals, and I have a bike to ride, I may be a bit surly.
Friday, day 1. Prologue. 5.7 hilly miles.
Never got the feeling of going fast. Average heart rate 174. Could have rested a little better before the start instead of doing 5 and 8 minute intervals on Tuesday. Finished 31st.
Saturday, day 2. Circuit race. 65 miles.
We're doing two laps on this 30 mile circuit. There is a KOM competition on the first lap as well as a sprinter's competition.
KOM: I'm feeling good. Somehow I seized an easy opportunity. With 100m to go to the KOM there are two riders up the road and a third struggling in between. I am sitting 10 wheels back, but nobody is making any moves. We just watch him struggle. At 50 yards to go I find a hole and sprint up to take third. I have two points in the KOM competition, this is a bizarre surprise to me.
The KOM is followed by flats and a long descent. At the end of the descent is a sharp right turn and a straight line to the finish line / sprinter's competition.
Breakaway: After coming out of that sharp right turn I find myself 100 yards ahead of the field. This is interesting, so I pedal on at good pace and gain a few more yards on the field. I can hope that other riders will join me. After a little while, Robert Carmen bridges up and we start to work together. I think this is going to be a 2-3 mile break but the sprinter's points are much further away than I expected. Although we establish a good gap, I think we should have waited until the 5k mark. After riding the break for a few miles I ask Robert if he knows where the finish is? He says we have about 8 miles to go... 7 miles more than I expected! I should have dropped back at this point, but we had such a huge gap that we both press on with all the force we can muster. I feel we can make the gap insurmountable. With 250 yards to go our gap is worthless, only 10 yards, and it's over. No sprinter's points for Robert or me.
Lap two: Halfway through I drink all my fluids and start to feel crampy, another rider at the back notices this and kindly offers half a bottle. Finished 14th.
Day 3, Appalachian Gap. 75 miles.
No cramping!!! 4 bottles fluid.
- 2 big bottles: sustained energy
- 1 big & 1 regular plain water
- 4-6 electrolyte tabs
- Full flask of perpetuem gel
Sprinter's competition: From 3k all the way to 1k a bunch of skinny non-sprinters are all battling for position. I try to stay away from them since it is a downhill sprint. At 1k, I am at the front, waiting. There is still a lone rider rider off the front. The yellow jersey passes on my left and I accelerate to take his wheel. I stay on the wheel for a second too long and another big dude flies past me at 200m. I jump... but but it is too late for 2nd place so I have 3rd.
I stay with the leaders all the way to the top of Baby Gap. I've decided to ride the Appgap at my own pace, but an error in judgement causes me to forget the long descent from babygap to appgap. The support vehicle passes me and they are screaming to catch back on! Mentally I decide the effort is not worth it and lose a few minutes riding alone to the start of Appgap.
Day 4, Criterium, 21 miles (34 laps)
The day starts out with an unpleasant surprise, a $35 penalty and retraction of my sprinter's points. The rule is cited as 4H9A (p.91 of the usac rulebook). Basically the motopace driver decided that when some rider behind me crossed the yellow line at 800m to go it was my fault -- I never crossed the yellow line and never had any physical contact with any other riders. Nor did I obstruct any other riders. It is the other rider's responsibility to mind the line and I did not do anything erratic. So I search for 20 minutes until I locate the chief referee and she is not much help. I didn't file a protest in writing before the start of day 4, and there is no chance to contest the penalty. I must pay the fine.
Once the race starts, I decide that the smartest strategy is to not contest any of the midrace sprints and save it for the finish. I drop my chain right before the neutral start, but the racing feels good. Towards the end there are 2-3 riders whom I'm consciously trying to avoid, they seem tired and erratic. At 7 laps to go I give a little jump up the hill to test the field. Nobody seems to have the legs to respond. I do it again with 4 to go and again nobody responds. I decide I must start riding at the front.
The crash: With two laps to go, I am 3rd wheel (I think). Unfortunately the GMBC rider in front of me cooks the turn pretty badly as I'm going around him and we smash into the hay bales. I start to get up and another rider comes slamming into my head. Ouch. I decide to curl up until everyone finishes piling up. Finally, when I can get up, I check my wheels and although both are out of true I release the brake adjusters and they spin. I spend what seems like an hour getting the chain back on. The free lap rule ended at 8 laps to go. I pass 3-4 riders and finish. I am disappointed. Finished 21st.
After the race I notice the carbon seatstay on my gorgeous Lemond is completely broken. I decide that racing cat4 sucks and I'd rather have my ass handed to me in the 30+ master's field (with former pro's all the way down to cat 4s) than do this type of race again. The 4b race is full of old beginners. Until my wrist stops aching, my roadrash heals, and I have a bike to ride, I may be a bit surly.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Staying motivated
When you have to wait 4 hours for a 15 lap scratch race at the velodrome...When you have to wake up at 5:00am to race counterclockwise loops in a park...
When this is the motopace vehicle... life must be good!
I would race faster to catch up to it, look at all of those delicious donuts.
Remember to thank officials, referees, and marshals... without them a season of racing and results would be impossible.
photo credit velocitynation.com
Friday, August 15, 2008
Colors
A friend edited a picture and made this for me.
Here's the original.
Here's what he did to it. It looks fast with a neon-green helmet and purple kit.
And inspiration coming from fixedgearlondon.com.
Here's the original.
Here's what he did to it. It looks fast with a neon-green helmet and purple kit.
And inspiration coming from fixedgearlondon.com.
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