Bad Food, Good Food

Todd picked the perfect time to start ranting about unhealthy food - right before Thanksgiving. It won't spoil my Feast of Thanks, but it got me thinking about my diet (what I eat and drink). After reading Todd's first rant I came across a post on BoingBoing about diet and fat which linked to an article, What if it's All Been a Big Fat Lie, that challenges a lot of notions most Americans have about what constitutes a healthy diet, especially the notion that fat is bad for you - definitely worth a read. My wife read the article too and we had a good discussion about it. Here's my favorite quote:

If you work out the numbers, you come to the surreal conclusion that you can eat lard straight from the can and conceivably reduce your risk of heart disease.

So now what?

In my late 30s I started getting a little pudgy. Not a big deal to most people, but I have always been thin and blessed with a metabolism that would allow me to eat most anything without gaining weight. But the unmistakable message from my body was: "I've been spoiling you all these years - now you're on your own". As I enter this phase of life the choice is mine to ignore or heed this message.

I've taken a few small steps toward a better diet - I've cut down on soda pop and other sugary drinks, switched mostly from white to whole or multi-grain bread, try to eat more fruits and vegetables and drink more water. Good stuff, but I could, should do more - Todd's rants and the other reading I've done have given me some prodding.

From the Big Fat Lie article I'm less concerned about fat and more concerned about carbohydrates - especially highly sweetened and processed foods. My wife and I read up on the Glycemic Index (GI) and Glycemic Load (GL)and browsed through a table of common foods and found some surprises. Most people would suspect sugary foods as having a high GI and GL, and this is generally true. But mashed potatoes can be higher - the simple starch elevates your blood sugar level higher and faster than table sugar. In general, raw fruits and vegetables are low but cooking usually increases their GI - explains why mashed potatoes are high, but raw or boiled potatoes are pretty low.

Well, obviously there is a lot to learn about diet, and since the body is so complex, not all of the data agrees. But in general I'm going to work on making small changes to eliminate bad foods and add good foods. For instance, I'm addicted to cold cereal for breakfast. I'll start by replacing the sugary cereal I now eat, with healthier kinds. Maybe some day I can go off cereal altogether and switch to unsweetened yogurt and fruit. But for now, baby steps. This is not the year for Tofurky.

Night Rider

According to the weather forecast, this is the last warm day for a while. I took my mountain bike to work, but forgot my cycling clothes - doh! Tonight we had a family get-together at the in-laws. When we got home after 9 pm I felt I had to go for a ride since it was still 58 F and I wanted to give night riding another try.

If you remember, my first attempt to ride at night didn't go so well. This time the battery was fresh off the charger and I drove up to the trial head to make sure I had maximum dirt time.



I put the light on medium and had no trouble seeing as I rode up the trail (BST from above the Orem Cemetery). The pool of light on the trail was much brighter than it appears in the above photo. I couldn't see every tiny rock and stick like during daylight, but I could easily see enough detail of the trail to ride pretty aggressively. In fact, I think I rode faster because of the light - it's like I was trying to catch up to that spot of light ahead on the trail. I got a good workout going up and the few downhills were fine.

After the climb past (north of) Dry Canyon, I turned around for the (mostly) downhill. I kicked the light up to high to give me the maximum light for the higher speed. It worked pretty well. I'm sure I can ride it faster in the daylight, but I cooked along OK. I hit 17 mph and averaged 10.8 mph on a fairly narrow trail with lots of sidehill.

The verdict: Night riding is fun! Just as Sly said. I kept expecting to see some critters, and I finally startled some deer on the way down - seeing glowing eyes looking at you is a bit eerie. The city lights looked cool as I rode along, but this photo doesn't do the view justice. I'm looking forward to my next night ride.

Family Sunday up AF Canyon

While this blog is mostly about my cycling (habit), I want to mention the nice Family outing we had up American Fork Canyon today. Again, I must note that it's November and there was no snow on the ground and we only wore light jackets (temperature in the 50s).

Saturday, after our mountain bike ride, Jolene and I noticed a trail that crossed a bridge opposite the Timpanogos Cave visitors center and we decided that if the weather were nice, we'd come back on Sunday to check it out with the family. Sadly, the trail wasn't very long. We thought it went up the side canyon, but it only went down to the Swinging Bridge picnic area (note: we saw no swinging bridge). Still, it was fun to get out. We went down to the river, wandered around the paths and made our way back along the trail to our car.



Then we drove up to Tibble Fork Reservoir. It was colder here with a cold breeze blowing down from the mountains to the north. It's a pretty place. We skipped rocks, went up a trail along a small creek, and walked along the dam to see water flowing down the spillway. Kade got cold so I gave him a piggy-back ride back to the car and we went home. A nice little family outing.



I was going through some photos tonight and thought I'd share a few of our youngest, and only boy, Kade:


Future lady's man? (Practicing his wink on Mom.)


Robo-boy! (I was installing new ducts on the dryer.)


The Creature from the Pile of Leaves.

Bi-Bicycle Saturday

This morning I took my road bike for a spin up the South Fork of Provo Canyon. It was a nice 20 mile ride with some moderate climbing. The temperature was nice and I played a little game to keep the speed in the double digits all the way.

This afternoon Jolene and I road the mountain bikes up American Fork Canyon. The Alpine Loop gates are closed so we had to start at Pine Hollow and pedal up the road to the Timpooneke trail head. Two weeks ago when I rode these trails there were a few wet spots, but today it was wetter and even sloppy in a few spots. I felt bad riding the soft spots, but it shouldn't cause any permanent harm. We just rode out on the Ridge trail a ways then reversed course. Yet another gift to be riding in the mountains this time of year, but this may be the end (although I said that last time).

Super Blood

Forget EPO and blood transfusions, enter oxygen therapeutics - substances that can carry 4 times more oxygen than red blood cells. Right now it's in clinical trials to treat stroke and brain injury patients by carrying oxygen past blockages. But it hit me that this stuff would work for cyclists to carry more oxygen to the muscles during a race. It lasts 4 hours or so and eventually works it way out of your body through natural processes. However, it should be easy to detect in blood or urine samples so it's not a stealth performance enhancer, but for cyclists willing to take the risk they might try to use it between doping checks. If a pro cyclist shot up with this stuff I bet it would be like a nitrous boost to a hot rod. Oxygent is one oxygen therapeutic in clinical trials.



I found this while looking around the WIRED Science website after I caught one of their shows on PBS. I've seen 2-3 of these shows now and they're quirky, but cover cool science and technology like a table-top touch-interactive display and how to put up your own satellite (they didn't really do it, but they went through the process). They have most of their program segments online so go check it out, if you're interested.

I also caught the NOVA Science Now show about Epigenetics. I'd never heard of this field, but the basic idea is that there is more diversity in life than can be explained just with the genetic code. One analogy is that the genetic code is like a book and epigenetics determines what parts of the book are read. Epigentics explains the apparent paradox in genetics of an identical twin that develops autism (or cancer or other such health issues), but the other twin does not. Researchers are already experimenting with epigenetic therapies for cancer with some sucess. Fascinating.

The Competition Trap

The 2006 Frozen Hog was my first mountain bike race. 2005 had been a good cycling year for me and thanks to spinning sessions after work during the Winter, I was feeling pretty strong. The Frozen Hog came up in conversation at work and a few of us decided to do it. I didn't really know what to do, I was nervous at the start, then I just pedaled hard until the finish. It was a heady experience and I wanted more.

The next race was Lava Rama (held at Lava Hot Springs, Idaho and part of the Intermountain Cup Race Series [ICup]). It was a tough race, but still thrilling. The competition inspired me to push myself hard and it felt good to probe my limits.

I attended most of the races that year. I was just in the Beginner class, but I placed well in most races and was having fun until the last few races of the season, but I chalked that up to burnout.

The next year I moved up to Sport (I wanted a longer race and felt like I was ready for it) and raced the first ICup race, the Desert Rampage. I liked the longer distance, even though it was more trying. I finished in the bottom half of the pack, but I expected that. It felt good to get out and ride and the race provided a great excuse for a road trip.

The next race, the Cholla Challenge, beat me up pretty good. It was a long course and I fizzled at the end, going slower and slower, but I finished. I think it was this race that I started losing my excitement for racing.

I did the next race, Showdown at Five Mile Pass, and did OK and enjoyed some of it, but my racing fire just wasn't there. I did the Draper race, but the race mojo was fading.

I reflected on why I lost my enthusiasm for racing. The thought that surfaced the most was, I missed trail riding. Racing had taken me away from what I've enjoyed about mountain biking for 15+ years - exploring new trails and revisiting old favorites, grinding up a climb just to see if I can make it, taking on technical challenges, flying along sweet single-track, and bombing downhill. Sure many of these elements are present in racing, but for me, in the rush to go fast they lose their sweetness.

I also couldn't ignore several annoyances that are a part of racing. In general, the best race courses are also the worst and least scenic trails (i.e. Five Mile Pass). And conversely, the races on good single-track aren't good for racing (i.e. hard to pass). The expense was also an issue - for $35 I can buy enough gas to get me to some really good trails where I can spend the whole day riding. (And if my wife and I both race, that's $70!) Time was also a factor - the race would only last 2 hours tops, but with the pre-race prep and the after race awards it seemed to consume most of a Saturday - and Spring/Summer Saturdays are precious! Now had I really been into racing, these issues would not have mattered. But because they annoyed me it was a sign I just wasn't a racer at heart.

About this time I read an article in Cycling Utah that spoke to me. The cyclist recounted his experience of loving to do long climbs on his road bike. He got pretty good at it and decided to see how he stacked up against other climbers so he started racing. At first it was fun, but then as he focused on racing, he found his love of riding soured. He realized he needed to make a change so he stopped racing and came back to climbing solo and found his love of cycling returned.

My experience was similar. I found that when I put the brakes on racing and went back to trail riding (and other forms of recreational cycling), my enjoyment of cycling was there. I still plan to race a few times each year, as I do enjoy some of the aspects of racing. Like most things, it's all about finding the blend and balance that works for you.

Here is a brief list of things I enjoy about recreational riding:

For the mountain bike it's cruising sweet single-track, tackling some technical terrain, hitting my stride on a long climb, being out in nature (even if it's just the foothills), Moab, etc.

For the road bike it's finding my pace on a long country road, climbing the canyons, tucking a fast descent, motoring along at 25+ mph in a clockwork paceline, socializing on a century ride, etc.

Many would say that the pinnacle of cycling is racing, but I disagree. Sure competition has many positives aspects, but it has negatives too. Many racers enjoy the challenge of competition and pushing ever harder. But racing can also spawn an obsession with wining. Just today I read about an incident of poor sportsmanship at a cyclocross race, resulting in this rude gesture from one teammate to another. Nice.

No absolutes here, just find what works for you and don't be afraid to dump what doesn't work.

Adventures in Wheelbuilding

I've never built a bicycle wheel before, but I'm giving it a try. I figured it would make a good Winter project. But first the backstory:

My current mountain bike is a 2005 Cannondale Prophet 800 that I bought used last year. It had a few problems, but I got a good deal on it so I budgeted in some repairs. Both wheels were not true and when I tried to true them, it became apparent the they had been bent badly enough they couldn't be fixed by truing. So I bought a 2nd set of wheels that were cheap and OK quality (I'm running them on the bike now), but I wanted better wheels eventually.

I've been slowly collecting the parts. I found some Mavic X223 rims for cheap on eBay months ago. I wanted a better rear hub, but couldn't stomach the price for the good/light ones so I settled for a Shimano XT freehub - tough and reliable, but not light. With the rim and hub chosen I used SpoCalc to determine the spoke lengths I would need. As of Friday I had all the parts so today I decided to assemble my new rear wheel.

I used Sheldon Brown's article on Wheelbuilding as my guide. His instructions are pretty good, but a few points were unclear and I made a mistake somewhere along the way and had to tear the wheel down. But the second time I got it right. Here's the wheel with the right and left trailing spokes installed (feet shown for scale - hehe):



And here's the wheel with all the spokes installed:



Yes, this wheel isn't going to win any beauty contests. For looks I should have gone with a black hub and spokes, but silver was available now and at a better price. As if it isn't obvious already, I'm going for value with this wheel, but still trying to use decent components.

I'm also planning to run this wheel tubeless. I'm going to use the yellow 3M tape as the rim tape / rim sealing for tubeless. Mike did and it worked well for him.

The next step is to true the wheel. Hopefully Yamabiker will have some time to help me with this - he has a truing stand, dish stick and spoke tensiometer.

When this rear wheel is done I'll start on a new front wheel. I have the rim and spokes and I'll rob the Lefty hub from the old, bent wheel. Lefty hubs don't fit in truing stands without an adapter - I may buy one, or jury-rig something or take it to a shop to be trued. The front wheel will also be tubeless. I'm looking forward to running tubeless next year.

Once this wheelset is done I'll even take a stab at bending the old rear wheel (rim) back into shape. I've got nothing to loose - if I can get it true I'll have another spare, if it breaks I'll have a spare rear hub (maybe I'll build a new wheel from it).