February 2009

You are currently browsing the monthly archive for February 2009.

Confessions of a food-a-holic

February 23, 2009 in Cycling, Food by CyclistRick | 5 comments

I admit it, I love food. Wonderful, tasty, edible items are a weakness. I know that if I were to become less active and let the love of food take over that I would likely be on the larger end of Clydesdale cyclists. One look at family photos and it is apparent that if being overweight has a genetic component then I am doomed. And that is a great thing about doing so much cycling; I do not have to pay extreme attention to the intake side of the equation as the burn rate helps to counter balance what I eat. The motto of the San Luis Obispo Bicycle Club ["Volamus ut Edamus, Edimus ut Volemus" (We Ride to Eat, we Eat to Ride)] sums up my relationship with cycling and food; they are part of a duality that serves me well.

One of the great things about cycling in western Europe is that there is a bar and/or restaurant at the top of virtually every major pass. After climbing 4000, 5000, or 6000 feet up some mountain having a refueling station close at hand is great. Here at home, if I climb Mt. Hamilton the only caloric items available are what is in the candy machine at the back of the visitor center. That is rather lame, in my opinion. We need some mountaintop restaurants here in the states. In 2004, as The Wife (then friend) and I got to the top of Passo dello Stelvio in a light snow storm it helped the psyche and the bodies to go into the restaurant at the top and fill up on Pasta Carbonara chased with a helping of Strudel before descending down the other side. Much better in many ways than a Snickers Bar from a machine.

I am a bit of a food agnostic. I will eat most anything if necessary. I’ve consumed cuy (Guinea Pig) in the Andes and macaw soup, crocodile, agouti and several other wild animals in the Amazon basin. And I am sure I do not want to know the identity of a number of things I ate in Southeast Asia. When push comes to shove, however, I have a preference for the cuisines of the mediterranean region. Don’t make me choose a country, just give me all the tastes of that part of the world. Besides being my favorite region, the cuisine works well with our attempts to become localvores as much as possible, eating what is grown and produced here rather than having For my last birthday The Wife gifted me the book ‘mediterranean Fresh’ by Joyce Goldstein which pays homage, for the most part, to salads of the region. We have started making our way through the book, but slowed down until some of the key ingredients become available from local sources.

Part of my food obsession is watching cooking and food shows on PBS, which are usually a great source of inspiration for things to cook. This fall I had high hopes when PBS debuted the series ‘Spain… on the road Again’. But other than the eye candy of Gwyneth Paltrow and Claudia Bassols there was not much to recommend the show; too little time spent on the food, scenery, and culture, and too much time on Mark Bittman and Mario Batali (in either florescent green or fluorescent orange crocs, depending on the episode). But, I am totally hooked on “José Made in Spain” with José Andrés. Not much of a looker, but that is fine as the show is all about food and it is evident that he is very passionate about the subject matter. We usually catch it just was we return home from 3-4 hours of riding on Saturday, in a caloric deficit and all too willing to be seduced by the rich, flavorful looking food he is either eating or preparing. Last Saturday it was roasted rack of lamb with sauteed potatoes and garlic. Every episode is a call to buy a plane ticket to Madrid or Bacelona from which to launch a culinary adventure. Until I am on the plane I will be attempting to recreate as many of these dishes as possible. Of course a good bottle of Tempranillo will help me get in the proper mood.

Mr. Subliminal at the ToC Women’s Crit

February 16, 2009 in Cycle Racing, Cycling by CyclistRick | 3 comments

Apologies to Kevin Nealon

The Wife in the rain at ToC

The Wife convinced me [threatened me into conceding] that doing a bike tour of the Sonoma wine country was not a good idea this weekend [or any other between Oct and Apr] due to weather concerns. She still wanted to watch the Women’s Crit in Santa Rosa [and check out George H. in person] so we made plans to spend a couple of days up in the northlands as a combined ToC visit/Valentines Day celebration.  Sunday morning we did our obligatory training [relieve the guilt] sessions in the garage, The Wife on the trainer and me on the rollers.  We then packed a few clothes, jumped in the toaster and drove [paddled] north to Santa Rosa.  Fortunately, everyone else seemed to be working on important business [nursing hangovers] so the drive through San Francisco was not too unpleasant.

After our arrival in Santa Rosa the first order of business was lunch [or suffer The Wife chewing off my arm] so we wandered around the barricades looking for some eateries that were open.  A few along the closed streets seemed to think it was a holiday, but we soon found a serviceable establishment near where the GoldSprints competition was setup.  A quick snack [and some beer] and we were ready to find the start/finish for the Women’s Crit [as soon as the downpour stops].  On our way we ran into Cathy and the mouse squad preparing for some GoldSprint action [better them than me]. A chat with some volunteers [guys in XXL orange shirts] and we were oriented to where the race was to be held.  We were only about 15 sec late for the start, enough to see a split starting in the field as they rounded the first corner. TBeth tries to find Michael Ball in rainy Santa Rosa Working our way towards the start/finsh line we found Beth [thorn in Michael Ball's side] cheering on Karla [looking for a sponsor] who was in the break and looking strong.   We lined up along the railing and cheered on our favorites [friends] consigned to the reality that we were going to get a bit wet [soaked to the bone].   Tibco Director Linda J. kept coming up alongside me, watching the action, then passing info into the radio to here riders which I ignored [relayed to the competition].    By the time the officials started the lap countdown it was clear that the break would stick, so pre-race favorites Brooke, Ina, and Laura VG were going to be denied podium positions.  I have to give major props to all the ladies who went out and endured that sloppy mess.   After Emilia [roowr] Fahlin nipped Lauren T. at the finish for the win, it was time to move towards cover [see if I could get a glimpse of Amber].

We had two-and-a-half hours before the men could be expected to arrive in town, so an opportunity to relax [spite the schedule planners who thought we would shop].  Time for some coffee, some relaxation [standing in restroom queues longer than a football field], and some stretching [yawning]. As the time for arrival of the men’s field got near we went back out into the rain and aligned ourselves at the barricades [knocked a couple of youngsters out of the way] to cheer the final laps of town. After a few [far too many] VIP cars and a flotilla of CHP motorcycles and cars passed there appeared …. a lonely rider [soggy body on a bike]. We waited for the rest of the field to arrive in town, then wondered why no one was driving it on the circuits to catch the lone flier. We learned later that the officials decided to neutralize the circuits after the first crossing of the finish line [when it was evident Levi wouldn't win]. I think it was the same official who made the ‘neutralize after crash within 10km rule’ [or else Levi would be too far down in time] rule a couple of years ago.

We finished the day driving north to the Dry Creek Inn in Healdsburg where we told us we would receive a free room upgrade [they gave our room to someone else]. After changing into dry clothes, we made our way to downtown Healdsburg for dinner at Scopa [don't look down while walking down the street or you will miss it] The restaurant was great; excellent food, appropriate portions, and superb service; highly recommended but make reservations [or be prepared to offer a good bribe]. Next time we go to Sonoma County we will look for better weather and maybe even do some riding [rather than sit on our duffs].

Do I feel lucky?

February 9, 2009 in Cycle Touring, Cycling by CyclistRick | 3 comments

A few years back, 2004 to be exact, The Wife (then just friend) and I were thinking of something to do for President’s Day weekend, which included Valentine’s Day as the first day of the long weekend.  We are the anti-Valentine’s Day crowd, not that we are opposed to the sentiment but rather it is opposition to the price gouging consumerist event it has become.  After some discussion we decided to spend the three days in the Napa Valley.  We decided that if the weather was good we would do it as a bike tour, and if the weather looked like it was going to be bad we would just drive up for the weekend.

As that weekend approached the weather forecasts kept switching between rain and no rain, and our plans kept shifting with the forecasts.  By that Friday the forecasts had narrowed down to a good start of the weekend, but increasing clouds on Monday with a storm coming in on Tuesday.  Armed with that information we decided to take the bike tour option and prepared our bikes, packed the panniers, and mapped out the route.  After a final check of the forecast on Saturday morning we departed from my place in Mountain View and rode to Millbrae to catch BART to San Francisco where we could catch the ferry to Vallejo.  The weather was wonderful, sunny and bright through this part of the trip.  From Vallejo we rode north to Napa, where we ate lunch, then continued on to the northern part of town where we had room reservations, all while a few high clouds starting to move in to the picture.  After checking in at the Inn we checked the weather forecasts again; it had changed slightly, now with the storm coming in late on Monday rather than Tuesday.  Not what we wanted to hear, but still not a problem since we planned on returning home by mid-day on Monday.

Sunday we spent riding (aka dodging cars) through the main part of the Napa wine country, heading north along roads through the hills west of the valley, then down into the Highway 29-Silverado trail corridor of vineyards and wineries, with short ride up towards the Pope Valley after lunch.   It was overcast all day, that is until we left the last winery we visited and headed south back towards our accomodations in Napa.  During that stretch we started to get a light drizzle, but nothing we could not handle.  And by the time we left to walk out and find dinner that had stopped, so still no major weather concerns.

In the middle of that night it became apparent that the weather forecasters had missed the mark, as I woke up to hear a steady rain outside.  Oh well, we had come prepared with rain jackets, water proof socks, and enough experience to know that a little rain was not the end of the world.

By the time we awoke on Monday morning the main part of the storm was starting to move in, and by the time we had some breakfast and were ready to leave it was right on top of us.  This was not your garden variety storm, though.  Later news reports were that the rain that morning was coming down at the rate of 2″/hour, which turned out to be quite a bit more than the storm sewers or the river could handle.  In hindsight, I should have gotten a taxi to someplace where we could rent a vehicle large enough for us and our bikes.  But we were crazy enough to ride in that mess.  We had to wind our way through flooded streets, detour around road closures, go through water hub deep in places, and then brave a few miles of Highway 29, to get to the Vallejo ferry terminal.  Of course, rain gear was all but useless in those conditions and we were soaked within minutes of leaving the dry and warm refuge of the Inn.

This coming weekend will be the five year anniversary of that trip.  And, by coicidence, we have decided to head north again, this time to Sonoma County.  The primary objective determing the location is we want to see the Tour of California Women’s Crit on Sunday, the 15th, in Santa Rosa.   So we will do our small Valentine’s Day/President’s Day weekend in wine country once again.   I wonder if I should suggest that we do it as a bike tour?