Flagstaff, and then some

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Today I drove up to Boulder and rode the route pictured above. I've been meaning to give the Flagstaff climb a go for quite a while now, so I started from there and made a good loop out of it. I wrote down my turns on a strip of masking tape and stuck that on my top tube so I would be sure not to get lost. But maps rarely tell the whole story when you're planning a ride in unfamiliar territory.

I parked near Chautauqua Park in Boulder and went straight for Flagstaff. I knew that I should have rode around a little bit to warm up first, but I'm not exactly known for my patience.

The climb up Flagstaff did not disappoint. My lungs were burning, heart was pounding, legs were threatening to quit, and in short, I was in pain until the exit from the Boulder Mountain Park and the turn downhill. Not that the climbing was completely finished or anything, but there's a pretty good reprieve from it for a while after that.

I stopped briefly at the turn onto Gross Dam Road (point B), caught my breath, and verified that I was on the right track. Everything from point B to point C on the map is dirt and gravel. It took me by surprise and made me a bit nervous, but my road bike handled it just fine. Admittedly, I took it really slow. A wipe-out or a pinch flat would really have put a damper on things.

Gross Reservoir

The stretch on Coal Creek Canyon Road (Highway 72, from D to E) is some very scenic, very fast riding. I'd been on that part before last summer. Traffic on Highway 93 can be pretty hairy, but it doesn't last too long.

Shortly after point G, there is a sign that indicates that you have to abandon Marshall Drive and get back onto Highway 93. But that only applies to cars. A multi-use path picks up where the road leaves off. The route is mostly on paths until you get back to Baseline, and a good bike lane will take you back up to Chautauqua Park.

I envy those who live close enough to the mountains to be able to do this kind of ride from their front door. But I'm going to be making every effort to get out there and hit the hills in the coming weeks. My climbing legs aren't anywhere near where they were at the end of last summer. Hopefully I'll get them back in shape in time for the Mount Evans Hill Climb in July.

Rainbow Restaurant, Fort Collins

Last Sunday we met a friend and her daughter in Fort Collins for lunch at The Rainbow Restaurant. None of us had ever been there before - it was just something C. found on Google Maps that she thought would satisfy everyone's tastes and dietary requirements.

It was a bit of a wait to get a table for six people, but the weather was pleasant, so we hung out on the front walk and let the kids run around and play. It was well worth the drive and the wait. Their Sunday brunch menu was pretty impressive, and they have many vegetarian and vegan options.

I've never really thought about having to distinguish between a child-friendly restaurant and a child-savvy one. Based on this experience, the Rainbow is definitely the former. Everyone was very friendly and willing to accommodate the kids. They just weren't always sure how to do it. That's fine. It was easy enough to switch from a booth to a normal table that worked better with the high-chairs. And the glass of milk brought out for my 1.5-year-old son was quickly replaced with a disposable cup with a lid.

My main course was a vegan sweet potato burrito, which was huge and delicious. The normal version of that burrito comes with eggs and cheese, but tofu can be substituted for egg for free (tempeh comes at an additional price), and I think there was soy cheese standing in for its dairy counterpart. I also ordered steamed vegetables and a fruit cup. Both were made with fresh produce and tasted great. The waiter looked a little uncertain when I ordered the two side items, but my appetite was up to the challenge. By the time I finished (and had some of my friend's hashbrowns), I was pleasantly stuffed. I followed the meal up with a cup of spiced orange tea, which tasted just as great as everything else I had.

The pumpkin bread French toast ordered by my wife and our friend looked delicious. My daughter had a quesadilla and fruit cup, while the boy just got a fruit cup and shared some of his mother's food. As a bonus, the total bill was quite reasonable. I'm looking forward to eating there again some time.

While I wasn't really very hungry when supper time rolled around, I still worked up the motivation to make and eat some really good mango lentil curry based on a recipe I recently found. Yum. The house still smelled like an Indian restaurant the next day.

Lookout Mountain race postponed

The morning of Saturday, April 23, I went out to Golden to spend some time riding up Lookout Mountain in preparation for the race on the 30th. It was cold and snowy and generally unpleasant. So rather than the 2 or 3 times I thought I was going to do the climb, I just went up once. I even skipped the back-side loop on Paradise Road.

On the way back down I saw something I've never even heard of before: a black fox. From what I've read, it's just a red fox with a genetic mutation. They say it's more common in young foxes, and that they usually grow out of it. But this one was pretty big, so I believe it was a rarer adult specimen.

Anyway, I was all ajitter as I prepared for the race Saturday morning. The wind was quite blustery on the drive out, and the temperatures were cold. I tried to convince myself that the previous weekend's training effort was going to serve me well. But when I got to Golden, I found out that the race was postponed to a later date due to dangerously strong wind farther up the mountain.

It was pretty disappointing, but it wasn't quite as breezy and cold near my home, so I got out for a ride despite the weather conditions. The rest of the day was spent hanging out with the family, reading, napping, and shopping for groceries.

Sunday morning I got up and did an indoor workout on the trainer. I tried a new CTS video with some criterium-specific work in preparation for the Superior Morgul Classic coming up on Memorial Day weekend. I had planned to only do the road race, but a bundle package came up on Handlebargains (it's like Groupon for bike stuff), so I put aside my fear of fast cornering and signed up for both races. Anyway, that CTS workout is a butt-kicker. It was nice.

Artificial food colorings considered harmful

In Food Rules, Michael Pollan prescribes "Don't eat breakfast cereals that change the color of the milk." Quite some time ago our pediatrician suggested that artificial food colorings should be avoided, as they may be linked to behavioral problems. Now it looks like the FDA is getting in on the act and considering warning labels for foods containing artificial dyes (via That's Fit).

While I don't agree with everything Pollan has to say about how we ought to eat, Food Rules is definitely worth reading. And one of the things Pollan and I do agree on is that we should be very cautious about ingesting things which are food-like but not really food, i.e. things which our great-grandmothers would not recognize by name as something edible.

During a recent trip to Costco, I made an interesting observation: the heat-and-serve frozen food aisles were so crowded, they were nearly unnavigable. But the aisles of raw cooking ingredients were almost empty. Whether or not it's accurate, this has become my mental model for the way I think about how most people eat: they would prefer to consume manufactured food-like items than to spend the time creating meals containing known-good ingredients. Seeing all sorts of health problems proliferate in our society, I gain more and more appreciation another of Pollan's rules: eat whatever you want, as long as you make it yourself.

Even when we feel motivated to do it, it's difficult to hold ourselves and our families to these standards. Good meals take a lot of time to prepare, and time is a scarce and precious resource. Eliminating dyes from our diet while allowing my kids to eat things they enjoy is not easy. Nor is it easy to always be aware of what is in the convenience foods that we buy.

So while I still believe people should be allowed to make their own decisions about how and what they eat, I'm in favor of more prominent labeling for things like artificial food colorings. As a parent, I'm trying to strike a balance and make informed decisions. It seems worthwhile to make the information I need to arrive at a decision easy to identify while trying to rush through a chaotic grocery store before the kids' (and my) patience runs out.

Happy Spring, Everybody!

Today is the Vernal Equinox, the first official day of Spring. While it's likely that we in Denver will be seeing a few more cold days before warm weather is here to stay, it's still a good time to celebrate.

Yesterday while C. was off at the Phoenix Asylum working on some paintings, the kids and I spent some time outside. While I cleaned up the flower beds a bit, F. sang a little song calling for the plants and animals to wake up from their Winter sleep. I was excited to see that we have crocus already in bloom and daffodils soon to follow suit.

After lunch, we went to the craft store to get some supplies to make decorations for our Spring-time celebration. I felt like we were channeling my mother's spirit while we built bird nests and painted little wooden eggs. My mother was an amazing home-maker, and loved to make decorations for every season of the year.

This morning we attended a birthday party at the Butterfly Pavilion (what could be more Springy than butterflies?). After we got home, it was time for my long-awaited ritual shaving of the Winter beard. I started growing it out around the Solstice back in December, and it did a good job of helping me stay warm while snowshoeing and commuting to work on my bike. But it feels great to have a smooth face once again.

Goodbye, Winter beard.

It's good to have my face back.

While C. was preparing our meal, the kids and I went out in the back yard and played for a while.

M. making a funny face

F. showing me a "moon rock."

Our Equinox dinner was delicious! We had broccoli and quinoa frittata, steamed asparagus, roasted root vegetables, and an awesome rabbit-shaped carrot cake. I'm going to have a tough time trying not to over-do it on the leftovers for the next couple of days.

Mmm, carrot cake. Great job, C!

So here's wishing you and yours a beautiful, fruitful Spring.

Bike fitting

Last week I went and got a professional bike fitting for my Motobecane Immortal Force. I've had the bike for a year, and while the setup wasn't bad, there were a few things that I felt could be better. Based on the recommendation from a couple of coworkers, I scheduled an appointment with Annie at Integrated Cycle Fit in Lyons, Colorado. Now that I've had several training sessions, I can say with certainty that I'm pleased with the result.

Integrated Cycle Fit is a small outfit, so you don't get the ultra-fancy computerized video analysis system which you see in some of the larger bike shops. Instead what you get is a couple of hours in a quiet atmosphere with someone who has a ton of knowledge and experience with cycling and biomechanics. Annie is, after all, a physical therapist and former road racer. And since she isn't selling bike components, I would have taken any suggested part replacements seriously. Fortunately, she didn't think I really need to replace anything.

She spent plenty of time examining me both on and off the bike. After talking about my background and goals for the season, we tested the flexibility and strength in my legs, arms, and back. Then we looked at my form on the bike. From there we worked to determine not only how the bike and shoes can be adjusted to fit me better, but how I improve how I use my body on the bike.

So Integrated Cycle Fit has my resounding endorsement. If you don't feel like your current bike setup is optimal, send Annie an email and see what she can do for you.

Delicious Things

While I've always been capable of it, I never used to spend much time cooking. Recently, though, my obsession with eating (or more accurately: fueling the rest of my life) has turned into a series of hacking sessions, trying to optimize great food on the nutritional dimension. And it develops good will from the wife, who doesn't mind letting me prepare some meals from time to time.

I've been enjoying a few really tasty things lately that I thought I'd share.

Tea

I started drinking more tea when I decided to cut back to 3 cups of (caffeinated) coffee per day. I've really gotten hooked on Celestial Seasonings Bengal Spice tea. It's one of the few teas that my desensitized taste buds can appreciate with no additional sweeteners or flavorings. However, a few minor additions really puts it over the top.

I put an ounce or so of skim milk in the bottom of the cup along with a dash each of cayenne pepper powder and allspice, and a few drops of stevia extract sweetener. Then put in the tea bag and hot water. (Douglas Adams teaches us that you should put the milk in first.) It's really spicy and makes a great after-dinner drink.

Soup

I've tried two very good soups recently. The first was an Avocado and Broccoli puree, which I made straight from the recipe, more or less. I halved the recipe, since I didn't expect anyone else in my family would eat it (wife is allergic to avocado; daughter is a really picky eater; it turned out a little too spicy for my son.) I did use vegetable broth instead of chicken stock. And I used cayenne pepper powder instead of chipotle (it's what I had on hand). For a garnish, I used roasted red and yellow bell peppers. The result was an incredibly creamy soup (with no cream), and the green, red, and yellow colors were just lovely. I had no trouble eating the whole thing by myself.

The second soup that I made was a variation on Gena's Roasted Cauliflower and Parsnip Soup. By the way, Choosing Raw is quickly becoming one of my favorite food blogs. Check it out.

The changes that I made (aside from halving the recipe) were that I used a large turnip instead of parsnips; pearl onions instead of shallots; basil instead of thyme. Again, that's just what I had on hand. And since I'm not vegan, I used plain fat-free yogurt instead of rice milk. Three out of four family members enjoyed this one (like I said: daughter is really picky.). That's a pretty good result in my books.

Smoothies

Liquid breakfast is a good way to go before an early-morning workout, or if you just want to supplement normal breakfast with something that tastes like a milk shake. There isn't much to it. I've been having fun just dumping lots of things into the blender and hoping that I don't wake anyone else up at 5:30.

I bought a bunch of over-ripe bananas at a discount, peeled them, and stuck them in a freezer bag. We also chopped and froze some strawberries. So this morning's version went something like this:

• 1 frozen banana, chopped
• 3 frozen strawberries, chopped
• 1/4 cup fat-free vanilla yogurt
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1 tablespoon organic peanut butter*
• 1 tablespoon dark chocolate cocoa
• 1 packet of stevia-based granulated sweetener (I've been using Truvia brand).

* I'm not trying to be snobby by specifying "organic" here. But when I compare the ingredients of "normal" peanut butter to an organic/natural variety, I feel a lot better about the latter.

The result was almost like soft-serve chocolate ice cream, thick enough to eat out of a bowl with a spoon. I put a little bit of cereal on top for texture.

I frequently do something more fruity. Maybe half of a banana, and a half-a-handful of every type of berry we have on hand (blueberries, raspberries, grapes, etc.). When I do this, I usually throw in some baby spinach, just for fun.

These smoothies are something that the whole family enjoys. The boy gets his cut with some extra milk so he can draw it through a sippy cup.