April 27, 2009
The weather was absolutely perfect last Friday so I jumped on my bike and rode to work for the first time ever, getting a head start on bike to work week.
There has been road construction near our home for the last couple years but they are finally finished and now I have a freshly paved, super-wide, 5 lane road for a nice portion of my 9 mile ride. And I can’t complain about the rest of the route; The route is flat and roads are well paved and generally plenty wide. And the traffic hasn’t seemed too bad yet. Oh yea, and I have plenty of space to keep my bike beside my desk so I don’t have to worry all day about it being stolen.
I had a nice time. Enough that I rode in again today and am planning to most days so long as I don’t need my car for anything and the weather isn’t too bad.
My only dilemma is what to do with my bike come June or so when I convert my road bike into a tricked out tri ride. The fast-forward seat post and aero bars aren’t going to make for a comfy ride with a laptop strapped to my back.
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Posted by Aaron
April 22, 2009
The TriSports.com blog’s latest post poses the question, which of the 3 sports would you give up. While I’m sure most people’s answer is swimming, I can pretty confidently say mine is running. I grew up swimming and who doesn’t like to ride a bike? Running hurts. It’s painful, it sucks, and there is only a small percentage of time where it is actualy enjoyable for me.
With that being said, I actually had a pretty good track workout today. A good five miles worth of intervals; I felt fairly fast and confident. And while I was pretty beat afterwards, I didn’t feel near death which is a bonus. I can only hope that with practice I’ll be able to enjoy running enough to make me really have to think about which sport I would give up.
What would you give up?
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Posted by Aaron
April 14, 2009
With the warm weather (hopefully) just around the corner, I started thinking about riding my bike to work again. Some new road construction last year has made for what appears to be a fairly safe and easy 9 mile commute.
So which bike do I use? I currently have a 10 year old mountain bike with a bouncy front suspension that doesn’t lock out and my road bike which when fitted with my aero bars and fast-forward seat post doubles as my tri bike.
In my local Performance bike store the other day I saw a single -speed bike from SE Bikes on sales for $179. That sounds perfect. The simplicity and ease of a single-speed nicely contrasts my typical “geek out everything” approach.
So I hit the web to find out some info on this single-speed. After reading some reviews I feel that if I buy this bike, they’re going to add me to the “chump” list that gets mailed to the scammers in Nigeria; I didn’t find one good thing written about this bike. Well then, I’ll look at what else is out there. Can you say sticker shock!?
I understand and appreciate the precision detailing in bikes and I know that my $1400 road bike isn’t anywhere near the high-end but I want a single-speed cro-mo frame with NO bells or whistles. $600 to start? Really? Ok, let’s break this down. My road bike was $1400 and has 20 speeds. $1400 / 20 = $70. I should be paying $70 for a commuter bike. Conversely, if I follow their pricing, $600 per single-speed x 20 means I should have spent $12,000 on my road bike.
Are there any good options somewhere in between?
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Posted by Aaron
April 6, 2009
So I managed to get another post in within a month… Just barely.
In past posts I talked about a couple foods that are so common in the pantry, Quinoa and Barley. I have a few more here to talk about from that March issue of Runner’s World.
Almond Butter
According to the article, almond butter has about the same amount of fat as peanut butter but almost twice as much monounsaturated fat which is good for maintaining healthy cholesterol levels. Additionally, it has magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, and Vitamin E. Honestly, I was really skeptical about almond butter. I have to say I was plesantly surprised. The texture is off for sure; Much more runny and a little on the gritty side when compared to peanut butter but once the flavor hit, I was hooked. Almond butter tastes sweeter and is much lighter than peanut butter. From now on, it’s “Almond Butter Jelly Time”. Update: Sorry Almond Butter but celery only has room for one partner and that is Peanut Butter. We tried but it just didn’t work out.
Soba Noodles
Soba noodles, made from whole grain buckwheat, offer a good alternative to pasta. They are a little thicker and chewier than your typical pasta but based on my experience, you could use them in place of pasta and nobody would even question it. Soba noodles will definitely stay stocking in my pantry. In addition to good taste, soba noodles contain rutin, a phytochemical that has been shown to lower blood-fat levels. And a 2003 Canadian study found buckwheat to regulate blood sugar levels in diabetic animals.
Bison
I discovered bison burgers several years ago when I ended up at Ted’s Montana Grill with some friends. The bison burger tasted much lighter and less greesy than a traditional beef burger. Burgers aren’t my favorite meal in the world but if I had to pick, I’d choose bison over beef. Bison has much less saturated fat than beef and typically have higher levels of omega-3’s due to the fact they bison are typically grass fed and ranchers are banned from using hormones in bison.
That’s it for now. Now get out to the grocery store and switch up the menu a bit; Keep your body guessing.
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Posted by Aaron
