Tour de Felasco 2015

It's a dark, dark Monday afternoon in Satellite Beach.  Pounding rain.  Lightning.  Thunder.  They tell me it rained all weekend.  

Three hours north in Alachua, Florida, the weather is vastly different from ours.  Normally, one would NOT rather be there.  Especially not in January.

But when there's sunshine, the cold doesn't count.  Not as much, anyway.  This year, the stars aligned with plenty of both for one  chilly, sunny Tour de Felasco.


Saturday January 10, 2015

Hopping out of the car, I am positively giddy.  

No matter what discomforts the ride has in store for us today, I am ecstatic with the bright, clear, 35 degree, north Florida morning. 

I can see my breath!  And it's cold enough to wear my once a year Maine s***kickers!

And there is...  a horse?  Yup.  Complete with Conquistador astride.  The horse apparently loves people, pats, and praise, and keeps us company in the packet pick up line.

A "real" conquistador at the start!

 

 

 

Promises, promises.

 

 

 

A dozen years ago, I attempted my first Felasco.  30 degrees and zero experience.  Ice skimming the puddles, and just a few snow flurries. 

 

50 miles seemed beyond impossible.  The aluminum hardtail may have been a factor, but not so much as the violent shivering.  Hanging in until the 35 mile bail out felt absolutely heroic. 

 

Enter high tech clothing and carbon full suspension.  Unless it's lightning or blowing a gale (or I've gone up to my knees in icy standing water), I take for granted the completion of the 64 mile distance right from the start.

 

Which, this year, was the right place to be mentally. 

 

Because they changed the choices.

 

Previously there was one choice for extra distance - at the fifty mile mark.  Take the extra mileage loop - or bail out to the parking lot. 

 

This year there were five choices.

 

Where did the mileage go?

Better not miss any turns!

 

Choosing all five extra credit loops resulted in completing the extra mileage.  Being cautious at the start and skipping any, would bring you to the end with no way to get back the missing mileage. 

 

Here's the map.  Make of it what you will.  I'm just glad they had  sufficient arrows!

But that's just mileage.  You can do mileage anytime. 

 

It's the company that makes the ride!  There is always a huge group from Melbourne.  And this year, it is bigger than ever.  At nearly every turn it seems there is someone you know.

 

Mike, Robin, Gobbler, Scott

 

 

Lunch stop.

Uh oh.

Where the heck did I leave my bike?

 

 

Each year, Jeff comes all the way from California. 

  C'mon, let's go!

He calls me Sag Nazi (as he does every year) 

then cranks up his music and goes anyway.

 

Gobbler - always in for the long haul.

 

 

I confess.

Before we finish

I take just one for my favorite Facebook page,

"Look at my Bike Leaning on Stuff".

 

 

Back at the lodge in time for the happy hour.

Our favorite bartender hooks us up.

Bloody Mary, please.  Lots of olives!

 

 

Dinner at the Alehouse, another favorite.

Then back to the Lodge

for Extra Credit Happy Hour by the fire.

until....

 

Yup. 

I know exactly how ya feel.

 

 

Another Felasco in the bag.  

 

Best one ever.  

 

But then, it always is.  

 

 

A Cure for Run Procrastination. Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Crunchies.

 

 

 

 

This happens to a lot of my clothes.  I don't know why or how - although lifting the bike in and out of the car four or five times a week could have something to do with it.   

Even if there were extra money to spend on new clothes all the time, I'd still have a problem. 

I hate shopping. 

I just like to have stuff.  I don't like to buy stuff.

I don't even like shopping for fun stuff.  Like a new bike.

I have finally come to terms with selling my road bike. 

Yes, I'll get right on that as soon as I sell some of this old furniture and my old hardtail.  Thank goodness the new furniture is picked out.  That was an ordeal!  Lord help me when I have to decide on a rug!  But a new bike - that's actually tougher.  So many choices.  

Popeye and I do spend more time on our bikes than we do on the couch.  And, truthfully, most good bikes cost about five times what a new sofa cost. 

 

So you can imagine the decision.  Or the indecision, rather.

I have the perfect 29r and it's not dead.  Not yet, anyway.  Last week it's computer rolled over to 10,000. 

Considering the computer only works about two thirds of the time...  So, retirement time is coming.  It will be an awesome back-up bike.  

But... oh no, not shopping.

So what to do? 

Procrastinate, of course. 

Meanwhile, there's plenty of other endeavors around here that are coming up on the already-procrastinated-long-enough list.

Running:  The Dirthead Du is coming up fast.  Dec 7, just two weeks away.  Um.  Time to start running, maybe?

Blog posts:  Five sitting in draft over the last few weeks.  Zero published.  But I do have a new idea about that.  For later, of course.

Thanksgiving. Christmas. Boat Parade:  Truthfully it had crossed my mind this year that by now I should at least be thinking about the holidays.  

So yikes,  I gotta go.  But before I do, I wanted to rave about one last thing.  Some cookies I suckered for at Publix last week. 

Now it's been since last Christmas since I surrendered my soul to any cookie other than the occasional Oreo, but these called directly to me from their eye level rack at the end of the cat food aisle.  (No, one doesn't have to be anywhere near the cookie aisle.  Yes, Publix can be downright demonic that way.) 

These devilish concoctions were called "cookie chips", and they were awesomely chocolaty and super awesomely crunchy.  They were also over $4.00 for a six ounce bag! 

Ouch.  Do NOT do that again.

Instead - do this.  Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Crunchies. 

I've got mine in the freezer as future protection from the demonic store bought bag o' cookie-chips.   The plan is to enjoy one or two per session instead of an entire $4 bag.  Well, assuming the end of any run procrastination, anyway.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Crunchies

3/4 c. butter 
1 1/2 c. packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 c. water
1 tsp vanilla
1 c. flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 c. rolled oats
1 c. choc chips
1 c. dried fruit and/or nuts.  I used dried cranberries and pumpkin seeds, just because that's what I had.  Apricots, or even raisins, could be good too.

Cream butter and brown sugar in mixer bowl until light and fluffy.
Add egg, water, and vanilla; beat well.
Combine flour, soda, and salt; stir into creamed mixture.
Stir in oats, fruit/nuts, and choc chips.

For about 2 dozen large cookies, drop by the tablespoonful onto parchment covered cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.  Remove from cookie sheet and cool completely. 

(Not my style, of course, but you can always drop by the teaspoonful for about 5 dozen small cookies.)

Now, forget about the carrot at the end of the stick. 

Get.  Run.  Shoes.  On. 

And get going!

There's a cookie in it for ya.

Tuesday's 2-4-1 Slow Cooker Broccoli, Guinness, and Cheddar Soup

Tuesday is crockpot day.  

 

Popeye has done the Tuesday night road ride for years.  So did I. 

Until I got a job in a bike shop. 

Silly bike shop - closing at 6pm in Merritt Island - making it impossible to be all the way down in Palm Bay for a 6pm ride. 

But the bike shop did one thing right, and that was the awesome Trek discount.  With which I bought an awesome Superfly 100.  (The previously awesome road bike went to the attic, and hasn't come down yet.)

Leaving the bike shop eventually led back to Palm Bay on Tuesday nights.  Only now, Killer the Superfly and I go there for the Tuesday Night Beer Can Scramble at Turkey Creek.  

Tuesday =  Two rides.  Two riders.  Home late.  Hungry.  

Tuesday = Crockpot day.

See how the universe just falls together? 

The favorite slow cooker meal around here is Ribs According to Kurt.  2nd is chili - in just about any form. 

But when Publix has a triple BOGO and the stars align for something a little different?  Well, who am I to argue with the universe?

OK, so I've never made broccoli cheddar soup in the crockpot before.  But how hard could it be?

I check all my favorite recipe websites, and read at least five blogger versions.  None of them quite suit me.  Either they require mid day attention to the crockpot (not likely to happen) or some form of condensed soup or frozen packages of broccoli.  Not what I am looking for.

OK, so just wing it.  How hard could it be? 

Tuesday's 2-4-1 Slow Cooker Broccoli, Guinness, and Cheddar Soup

2 heads broccoli 
1 c. onion (about 1/3 of a large Vidalia)
1 1/2 c. sliced carrots
1 1/2 c. golden potatoes, cut in chunks
1 clove garlic, chopped fine
1 1/2 c. ham, diced

4 T. butter
5 T. flour
2 c. Swanson's Tuscany Chicken broth
3 c. Swanson's Chicken broth
1 c. Guinness  (or a 6th cup of broth if Guinness doesn't appeal)

2 blocks of seriously sharp cheddar, grated.  (To stir in just before eating.)

(OK, so the Guinness was an afterthought.  Not a terrible one, I hope.  And the flavored broth was something new.  No doubt why it was 2 for 1 at the store.  Swanson's Tuscany Chicken broth.  I poured in about two cups and it absolutely reeked of rosemary, so the other three cups were regular old chicken broth, thanks to other half of the BOGO.  Also why there are no other spices or herbs, like rosemary, added.)

Make a roux from the butter and flour.  On medium, melt the butter in a pan and stir in the flour to make a paste.  Cook, whisking, for a couple minutes until light brown.

Gradually pour in 2 or 3 cups of the broth and whisk.  Cook for a couple more minutes.  Keep whisking. 

Here's where the idea of Guinness popped into my head.  Suddenly a choice had to be made.  Use my new power tool, a supercool immersion blender, for a creamy-milky-cheesy soup?  Or forego the fun of blending for a chunky-vegetably-beery clear soup?  

With only a brief pang of regret over the blender, I pop the Guinness and stir a cupful into the broth.  

Put the chopped vegetables, garlic, and diced ham into the crockpot.  Pour in the broth/Guinness mixture.  Add 2 more cups broth to the pot.  Stir, then cover.

Cook on low for 8 hours. 

Grate the cheddar and store it in the fridge so it's ready when you get home hungry. 

Cross your fingers.  Go for a muddy, fun ride.

 

Hooray! 

The bridge that was under water last week has reappeared. 

 

When you walk in the door the aroma will hit you.  Wow!  That crossed fingers thing really works!

Scoop it out.  Pile on the cheese. 

Oh yeah.  Gotta love Tuesdays.

100 Days of Doing.

June 30, 2014

Do you cringe when people declare in a blog that they are embarking on a weight loss attempt?   Aren't you just afraid for them that they will have to slink off the radar in a few weeks after an epic fail?  

Weight loss attempts fail all the time.  I always root for things to be different, though.  I sincerely want everyone who diets to succeed.  I also want them to share every twist and turn of their weight loss path. Anything that might help me find my way too! 

I like overeating.  Love overeating, actually.  Not a lot.  Just a little.  A few extra bites.  A little every day.  It is a primal force from within.  Get. Yourself.  Full.  Plus a few bites more. 

There is probably some anthropological explanation for this drive to go one step beyond just-full-enough.  No doubt the habit helped cave men survive an extra crucial day of starvation or something.  OK, so I am the descendant of genetically blessed Paleolithic survivors.  At least there's an explanation for all that refrigerator gazing.   

What do you think of when you think of dieting?  Not-doing, right? 

Not eating.  Not indulging.  Not having seconds.  Not having birthday cake.  

Ugh.  Not-doing.  What a crummy way to spend the day.  And certainly a crummy way to spend your life.

I want to DO stuff.  I want to take action.  I want to get yesterday's fat off me - like yesterday.  If only!  No, time is the prime ingredient.  Nobody would be fat, if fat would come off in a day. 

Numerically well intended news segments, blogs, and books always catch my eye.  The 100 Thing Challenge.  The 30 Day Detox.  30 Days in the Zone.  Today, the news has twice mentioned 100 Days of Happy.  

100 days.  Wow.  Now that seems like a good long time.  

I add it up.  100 days.  100 days stretches from tomorrow, July 1st, until Oct 8, in fact.  That's like, forever.  Or at least an entire hurricane season.  I can lose the 5 lbs. that has crept back on since my last diet in far less time than that.  (IF I do not overeat, of course.)

But no, dammit, that's back to not-doing.  

(Uh oh.  I feel a rebellion coming on.)

I want to DO something.  Something to help myself.  Every day. And, as a bonus piece of pie-in-the-sky, I also want this doing something to be effortless.  Happy, even.

Dieting is hard.  But so is being fat.  (So pick one, right?)

The thing about diets is that they really do work.  

Sticking to a plan.  Paying attention.  Being stubborn.  If you can make that mental shift, diets work just fine.  I know this for an absolute certainty.  I spent a fair hunk of last year doing exactly that.

But maintenance.  Whew.  That's been a bear.  And to think I was looking forward to it, that I thought it would be easier than a diet. 

How does one DO maintenance?  How do you open the door of indulgence a crack without releasing the floodgate?

There's gotta be a hundred ways, right? 

100 ways.  100 Days.  Doing has to be easier than not-doing.  Especially if you are facing an endless sentence of repeating a diet of not-doing, over and over, again and again.  

I have no idea what could happen over the next 100 days.  After all, I have dedicated myself to many diets, only to fall apart at the sight of say, an Oreo cookie at a sag stop in the rain. 

So, first and foremost, this is not a diet.  (No need to cringe.)  It's a gathering of tools.  A growing of the arsenal.   A search for a hundred things to do instead of the emptiness of not-doing.

Tonight is the Beer Can Scramble, thank goodness.  It's not a lot, usually about 12 miles on sandy trails.  But it's something.  Check off Day #1. 

Oh, and take a light beer. 

Postscript:  October 7, 2014.

100 Days of Doing.  July 1 - Oct 8.  Fast forward.  Day #99.  

Wow.  For someone who thinks of herself as a persistent failure, it is weird to have it in writing.  I am not as idle or lame as I thought.  I actually did do something - found out something - wrote something - every single day.  AND I maintained my weight within the four pound range I set for myself! 

Been thinking about what the overall conclusion might be from this 100 day project.  What started out to be weight maintenance turned into a mission to accomplish that little bit of something extra each and every day.  To live a little extra.  Ride a little extra.  Enjoy a little extra.

Scribbling notes down by hand kept me involved in enriching my own life.  There was focus.  In a way that just going through each day unrecorded could never do.  And I think, after recording the highlights, that not only do I normally do more than I ever thought I did, but that to add just a little bit, some lagniappe, is easier than I ever thought as well. 

I just realized something.  I am not just some happy go lucky total loser after all.  

Then again, I am not a gainer either. 

(And, I've got that in writing.)

Kill the Enemy. 10 things I Hate(d) About Fall.

The end of summer. 

The start of fall.  

The season for sneezin'. 

Cold.  Dark.  Shoes, socks, long sleeves.

Pumpkin brews instead of summer ale.  Football instead of the Tour de France.  Negative campaign ads. 

Comfort food.  Too depressing.  Just the thought puts on a pound.  Or five.  

Am I up to ten yet?  That was easy. 

But the Autumnal Equinox will come tonight, no matter how I feel about it.  

 When the Blackfoot had to find a way to ally with enemy tribes in order to face a greater threat, they played a game called Kill the Enemy. 

The tribe would gather and each member would take a turn to say something good about the former foe.  "They are fierce warriors."   "They have fast horses."  Eventually even the most resentful braves had "killed" the enemy and gained themselves allies instead.

Worth a try...

10 things I don't hate about fall:

1)  New bike lights!  Even the most familiar trails seem exotic in the dark - like riding on another planet.  

2)  The Walking Dead.  Finally.  What the heck has been going on in that box car all summer?

3)  Our new "double".   Popeye's idea.  Instead of the two Gainesville road centuries back to back in October, we realized we could mix it up along the way.  The off road Ride of the Living Dead on Saturday, then Horsefarm Hundred on Sunday.  Half a weekend of mountain biking is (much) better than none.

4)  Tis the season to start running again.  (OK, I am still trying to embrace this one.)  But the Dirthead Du was fun last year.  And we won hats.  So there's some motivation for getting through the first couple weeks of run resumption.

Ok, that's four.  That wasn't so hard.

It's a good thing we braved the rain for The Rocky Waters Brew Fest this weekend.  There were easily six more things there to love about fall!

Because the last six items on my kill list are really tough to love.

 

 

 

 

 

 

10 days of Kitty rehab. A bike ride with a very happy ending.

 

I love riding with friends, but if I end up solo, I try not to let it bother me - and just have fun with it.

 

 

 

Once in a while, if I'm on my own, I take an eclectic ride around town.

  

Saturday before last I rode my favorite mtn bike on a Melbourne safari.  First, checked out the new bridge by the old dam, and then on to Wickham Park, and out to Lake Washington. 

 

I always have fun cutting through the alleys of Eau Gallie on the way.  Gets some dirt under my tires.

 

 

 

 

One of the alleys in Eau Gallie.

 

 

 

This is Kitty.

  

I was on my way home through the alley. 

 

There she was, right in my path - barely able to stand, bleeding, covered with bugs.

 

I didn't think she would live through the hour-long wait for Popeye to come with the car to pick us up. 

 

But she did. 

 

Kitty eats like a horse all day, even with a sore mouth.

By Sunday she is strong enough for a flea bath.

And on Monday, a trip to the vet for blood tests and shots.

 

A week later...

 

This is what eating like a horse four times a day can do for a Kitty!

 

 

 

 

In one week, Kitty is strong enough for sedation. While she is out, she gets more blood work (all normal!) and a shave.  She has gone from 5 lbs to 6 lbs, and her mouth is on the mend.

   

 

 

 

It might be a bit chilly with the matting all gone, but it has to feel good.  It sure isn't pretty, though.

 

Kind of glad for the delay on the sedation and haircut now.  How scrawny would those bones have looked if we could have seen under all those mats a week ago? 

 

 

 

 

Not liking me so much after the vet visit and the shave.

 

That's OK.  Another plate of food = Kitty forgiveness. 

 

 

 

Kitty went to her new home today.  Happy ending!  For Kitty, anyway.  Because, darn.  We are really going to miss our beautiful boarder.

 

So, how about that eclectic Saturday safari ride now?  You probably want to come next time, right? 

 

Because, who knows? 

 

You might just find yourself a real treasure. 

 

As long as you don't mind a little dirt.

 

 

 

 

Prepping for 8 Hours of Labor at San Felasco, 2014.

"An eating contest disguised as a bike race."

OK, so Fat Cyclist's friend, Kenny, was referring to Leadville. 

But hey.  It's true of our little, low altitude, 8 Hours of Labor as well.  Actually it's probably true of any long'ish bike race.  If you want to do well you better get the food right.  If I look back at anything I've ever written about the 8 Hours of Labor, it pretty much centers on food.  Even the fastest riders can be laid low by poor food choices.  For those of us at bare-survival level, it's crucial.   

Having a disorganized mind can make your life interesting.  Like every day - a surprise!  Of some sort, anyway. 

One of my surprises last week was the realization that the 8 Hour is not in September at all this year, but rather in August.  August 31st to be exact.  Like, in a week.  

Kind of a relaxing notion in it's own way.  It is certainly way too late now to worry about building distance or speed.

Which really only leaves logistics and food.  Popeye is pretty good with the logistics, so that leaves me with just one category to prep - the food.  Cake, right? 

(Only not cake.  I wish.)

The old rule is the best rule.  Never try anything for race day that you have never tried before.  This goes for equipment too, but especially food. 

So, I have a pretty short list.

Stock up : V-8 and green olives. Gatorade and Perpetuum.  Gu and Endurolyte capsules.  Gallons of water for mixing.  Coke (for the end lap). 

Make ahead:  Sushi rice bars.  Sandwiches, in case of a craving for "real food". (Skipping the protein balls - we never used them last year.)

That's about it.  Then just show up. 

Find a pace you can live with.  Keep going til they tell you to stop. 

Eat.  Drink.  Ride.  Repeat.

How easy is that?

 

 

 

2 recipes for sushi rice bars:
http://bikeeatsleeprepeat.blogspot.com/search/label/sushi%20rice%20bars