Nutrition

That's how I feel lately. In fact, people are starting to comment on how much healthier I look. Which is just a nice way of saying my face is getting fuller and my belly is getting bigger. I wouldn't consider myself fat by normal standards but I am approaching obease in the cycling world. I've lost a few pounds the last week or so but it's been so damn cold here that I'm loosing my motivation to ride and eating less is a hard option for me (and those around me). It hasn't been above freezing for more than an hour at a time this week.

I went for a ride with the one and only Nick Martin today. He's getting married in six weeks so with the exception of his bachelor party this weekend, it may be the last time he'll get to ride. Just kidding, nothing will change?

Eat healthy!

Tonight was the night I had been looking forward to and dreading at the same time. When the co-founder and self proclaimed leader of the Tuesday Night Bike League first gave me the official invitation I was a little intimidated. Especially after the sub-co-founder started leaving threatening messages on my machine about how slow I was. The man rides a Surly and weighs 239 so I had to respect him. Once on the ride he proved his beastyness by passing me through a corner in the ditch. The total ride was around 30 miles on some gruelling terrain.

I had the pleasure of joining Ian MacGregor, his fiance Jen, and a good friend of my wife's Krista at Dr Allen Lim's house for dinner last night. The fare was spectacular, as was expected. The guy just has a knack for nutritious food that tastes phenomenal. We had excellent food, conversation and a few wines that covered about half of the major continents of this planet, the best part about the selection is that they improved as we delved deeper, from France, to Spain, on to the Americas. Very satisfactory indeed. We finished off the night at The Kitchen for some dessert.

Earlier we talked about what we do for the pre-race. Now let’s talk about some post race ideas to help you get recovered and gain the full benefit from your ride. It’s all about recovery!!! If you don’t recover properly from a hard ride you’ll end up tired and burned out, not in better shape.
1) Consume some recovery drink within 20 minutes and eat some real food within the hour. This is the optimal time for your body to absorb the nutrients. It’s been shown that a 4 to 1 ratio of Carbs to Protein is the best. This can be as simple as chocolate milk or more specific like Endurox R 4.

Everyone prepares for an important ride differently and it’s truly up to the individual to know what’s best for them. That being said, I also believe that there are a few general rules that are beneficial to all riders.

In my experience, it is the sleep two nights before the ride that affects you the most. There have been many times I slept horrible the night before a race and still performed great but if I sleep bad two nights before it’s not good. I also read that 64 degrees is the optimal sleep temperature.

The day before, go out and do some short hard efforts to open up your legs. Don’t fatigue your legs, just get them ready. Stay rested.

Nothing says happiness like a cupboard full of Powerbars - The feeling of being "SET" for 100 straight days with bars, gels, and/or drink mix is something we should all be lucky enough to experience once (or twice) in our lives.