random rando
I’ve got a lot on my mind this week.
Chris and I are going to ride Permanent 0189 this Saturday by ourselves. That puts us over the 3 mountain passes from last year’s 400k. I’m not really scared about the passes anymore, but they really have me thinking about my equipment and nutrition again.
I got off Hammer’s Perpetuem last year when I had one too many cases of stomach sickness. I can’t recall the last ride I did with the stuff, maybe around May or June. My sickness on the Fleche has got me thinking that it might be other things, like a lack of electrolytes, pushing my body over the edge. Still, I seem to be doing better now than when I first started. I’d like to get through more 200k+ rides without a serious low or headache though.
Somehow I came across a website that had “Cooking with Allen” videos up. Allen Lim is the nutritionist for Team Garmin Slipstream (apparently the Chipotle burritos weren’t cutting it) and he had plenty of neat little treats for eating on the road. Racing is obviously a different sport than what I am doing, but there are certainly some truths that hold amongst all bicyclists over-exerting themselves. If it is good enough to get a bunch of scrawny punks over 200k+ and multiple mountain passes every day for 21 days, hopefully it will be good enough for me.
Shopping last night, I picked up some stuff to try out the “rice cakes” and the sandwiches. I’ve always made a sandwich of some sort, but these are especially calorie dense with cream cheese, Canadian bacon, and jam on a croissant. My mouth is kind of watering just writing that down. Normally you cut it in half, but I found these little mini croissants at the store that are perfect bite sized portions.
As far as my gear is concerned, I’ve added a third water bottle since we won’t have any support/control at Blewitt pass. It is looking like a relatively hot day on Saturday so I want to be prepared. It is confusing though because the weather should be pretty darned chilly in the morning on the passes and at night. I want to bring enough clothing, but hopefully not too much. I don’t want to slog an extra 15 pounds up the mountains for nothing. I already have that in my gut, thank you.
I sent Chris and early morning text about my confusion and some other rambling. Sorry Chris. Not everyone has to get up at 5:30am to go to work I guess.
None of this will really mean much when it comes right down to it though. These are just a musings of someone antsy to get out of his office and get on the road.
May 21st, 2009 at 6:37 pm
Dude. Those rice cakes are super sweet. I remember seeing the vid last year during the TdF and pretty much running out and making ‘em the next day. Definitely make sure you wrap ‘em in a way that’s easy to open while you’re rolling. Cracked me up that they were bartering with the cakes in the peloton.
I’ve had similar issues with “on the road” Hammer products. Somehow, they just don’t sit right. Love Recoverite, though.
May 22nd, 2009 at 6:44 am
To be fair, I still use and love their Gel products as well as their Endurolytes, and I know plenty of people that can’t imagine getting through rides without Perpetuem. Nutrition is just a very individual thing. I really kind of wish that it worked better for me, to be honest. It is tough to get that kind of intake from normal food (not to mention a much heavier load).