I couldn’t wait for the weekend  this week.  I sometimes forget how  early it gets dark these days.  I’m finding it hard to get in any cycling throughout the week due to the lack of light.  On Saturday I was excited to finally get out for some quality riding.

Currently I’m just finishing up a rest week so my exercise volume is much lower.  My plan was to ride my cyclocross bike in Gatineau park for a couple hours.  The trails are endless here!  The riding is mostly up or down as it is quite hilly.

The pre-quill of this story is I was cycling down a steep pavement section where I grabbed a gel from my profile box that I attach to the front of my bike.  Pulling it out caused my phone to come out too and it goes skidding on  the ground at 45Km/h.  I brake, pedal up to see if it’s alright.  A couple scratched but its all good!  I decide that it’s probably a better idea if I just put the cell in my bag attached to the seat post for safe keeping.  I keep pedaling.

After 90 minutes I’m riding along when I hear something drop.  I was in a technical section so I couldn’t look behind me.  As my mind is concentrating on going through the rocky terrain I feel something brushing my leg, my tube!  When I got onto some softer ground I looked back to see that all the contents of my bicycle bag had been strewn over the last 25 meters.   Apparently the zipper got lazy and stopped holding.

I looked up the trail where I had just been down and saw my yellow tire lever and my tube.  What I didn’t see though was my phone.  I made a deal with the forest that if they returned my phone they could keep my multi-tool (didn’t work because I found the tool). 

For the next 45 minutes I tried searching for the phone.  I tried calling it from someones phone and also telling about 45 people what had happen because I was walking my perfectly intact bicycle.

I had been riding for awhile, covering 30-35K, so retracing my steps would take a couple hours.  I figured the phone would turn up with someone else or it would be plant food.  I rode for home.

For those that don’t know, this spring I broke a perfectly good cell phone (my expensive Xmas gift).  It was a huge fiasco because I drove the whole western seaboard of the states without one, relying on calling card.  How did people use to travel?!

Upon getting home Amanda gave me the good news that someone had found the phone.  They had called just before I had (I borrowed someones phone to say I had lost it).  It sounded like it wasn’t near to where I was, which meant I would  have been searching forever.  Good news!

I was trying to think at why I had been punished for loosing my phone.  I sometimes think the world has a funny way of getting even, so I figure it was me feeling good about getting my job.  Jerk world.

Anywho, no harm done and I get to keep my phone!  For those that think I shouldn’t own expensive electronics this phone is the cheapest you can buy.  So I atleast know myself!

Thanks for reading!  I’m racing next weekend which means I’ll have some footage to show!

Happy Tranin!

Cliff

Crazy weekend.  I did the math and I spend 1/3 of it driving!  Driving almost 25 hours, leaving Ottawa Friday to trek back  to Freddy Beach to attend Chris Gairns wedding, then turning around and returning on Sunday!  Lots of sitting!

I got a couple good workouts in over the weekend.  Had a partially hungover brick on Saturday and then went for a relaxing rainy run with the groom on Sunday.

So I’m putting together my next video, in my head, but it will make it out pretty soon… 

Thats my story. 

Also, I’ve got a confirmation from my work, now its up to my negotiation skills for my salary.  Looks like I’ll be in Odot for the next little while at least.

Anywho, I’m off to make more cookies!

Happy Trainin

Cliff

My last post was the quest to eat more and this week, I achieved that goal.  I upped my calories by about 500 a day and man what a difference in attitude + strength!  One of my key food supplements was eating cookies! 

I took an ordinary recipe but  added my own twist.  I recommend them to everyone!  What I like the most is that they are much lower in refined  sugar than regular cookies but still taste good.  I’ve found that since going on a few low sugar diets, I dislike eating energy bars especially Power bars.  I find they put way too much sugar and also include high fructose corn syrup. 

So below is my Cliff bar recipe.   Try it out and make your own twist.  I’m going to keep experimenting with the recipe and find what else I can put in them!

Ingredients:

2 table spoons olive oil

1/3 cup brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1  whole egg + 1.5 egg whites

1 teaspoon vanilla

1.5 cups of multi-grain flour

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup of raisins

2 cups of rolled oats

Heat oven to 375 and mix in a bowl the liquids.  Mix thoroughly and then add eggs and then powders.  Add oats last.  Cook for 10 minutes and voila!  Cliff bars!  I make mine into huge portions so I can eat them on a ride or at work.

Enjoy!

Happy (Eating!) Trainin!

Cliff

We all learned from this Olympics that Michael Phelps eats a lot.  As the legend goes he eats about 12,000 calories a day.  That is quite a lot of food to ingest.  In fact you have  to try really hard to eat that much…  Adding maple syrup or Nutella to everything would certainly help.

Lately I’ve started to wonder about my own diet.  You see I think I eat a lot about 3500+ calories a day.  I try to consume small  meals spread out over the day.  Since I’ve started training again, I get  so hungry.  Hungry to the point where all I think about is food!  Eat my son you might be thinking but it’s hard to eat a lot of good food.  I’m talking fruits, veggies and whole grains.

For those that don’t know me, I routinely eat a loaf  of bread.  I do feel like I eat enough but apparently my body needs more.

So, what foods are high in calories but low in sugars/saturated fats..  Well let’s see what Phelps eats:

Breakfast:

Three fried-egg sandwiches loaded with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, fried onions and mayonnaise.

After his morning workout:

Two cups of coffee, a five-egg omelet, a bowl of grits, three slices of French toast topped with powdered sugar and three chocolate-chip pancakes.

Lunch

A pound of enriched pasta and two large ham and cheese sandwiches slathered with mayo on white bread .

After second workout:

1,000 calorie shake

Supper:

A pound of pasta and an entire pizza.

Night time snack:

1,000 calories worth of energy drinks.

THATS GROTESQUE!  But also understandable when your swimming 8 hours a day.  He needs that much to survive. 

So looking at how Phelps did in the Olympics (pretty well) do you think fine tuning his diet would make him better?  I mean he’s ingesting some of the no nos such as white flour, cheese and condiments.  I’m sure he’s got a high matabolism, much like me, that eating lots isn’t going to make him pack on the pounds.  Although he also has about a foot and 40 pounds on me so I don’t need to eat quite that much.

I guess everything in moderation shouldn’t hurt right?  Maybe I’ll have  to be a little less strict around the dinner table.  I really need to start eating more if I’m going to make it through this block of training (for my survival!).

Anyone have some dishes they’d like for me to try? 

Thanks for reading, I think I’ll go have a 1,000 calorie energy drink (thats like 4 gadorades)!

Happy (eating) Trainin!

Cliff

This year has been a little different than the past, I’m trying to race less and keep my body/mind focused for the fall.  However, just because I don’t sign up doesn’t mean I’m not out there busting it out.

Each week I try to commute to work a couple of times (gotta do my part for the environment!).  It’s a10K bike which is mostly flat.  Each time I go out it’s a different adventure, battling cars, trucks and of course bicycles.  Today I got a surprise when a no helmet wearing yuppy (also had no brakes) drove past me after I was caught standing at a stop light. 

This set up a cat and mouse fight.  I didn’t like the fact that this guy thought he could beat me.  He also did a couple of shoulder checks to see if he had dropped me.  I said hell no and biked full bore to catch him. 

Although there really is no tactics in these little skirmishes, each one can be so much fun!  No need for high-tech bikes, spandies or expensive gear; just hammer time!

Anywho, back to the race, I lost a lot of time to DUI as I said because  he caught me on standstill (I was also at the bottom of the hill; he at the top).  Needless to say I had to stand up on the pegs to catch up.  Legs pumping, backpack swaying but I closed the gap.  As if he knew I was coming he took a short cut (cheater) cutting through a Tim Hortens parking lot and then blew through a stop sign.

I got the last laugh as I took the longer route and again stopped at the intersection only to catch and then drop him.  So I’m a little competitive at least I didn’t bark at him (inside joke).

Anywho, I hope everyone is enjoying Canada winning medals!  Great watching!  Go Simon!

Happy Trainin

Cliff