Off Season Mission--Accomplished

Well, a little bit of background should come first from 2011.

Like most cyclists, triathletes, and other endurance sports fanatics I tend to gain weight during the winter. For me the weight gain "was in the 4-5 pounds" range and an inch on my waist. Much to my disappointment last year I had trouble shedding the extra baggage in the Spring like I had done in previous years. It seemed that the weight would not shed when the weather improved, the days were longer, and my training hours increased. Much to my frustration I carried the "4-5 pounds" in to May.

Prior to my sabbatical last Summer I was carrying about 173 pounds and I am normally in the mid 160s for race season. I stepped on a scale at the Breckenridge rec center the week prior to Ride the Rockies  and I came in at 174 and was really disappointed. About 10 days later I was back in Breck after RtR and the same scale had me at 165. Whew................it took a week of riding long every day and not overeating to get down to "Race Weight".

Fast forward to Fall of 2011 I set a goal of working hard during Cross season and not to gain weight during the winter months. This would only be achievable by cutting calories as almost all athletes ease back on the training in Winter.

So.................my challenge would be to give up something...............but what?????? I decided to give up eating three meals a day and stay focused on multiple small meals a day that would allow my metabolism to keep my weight down. In addition I kept swimming at least twice a week as it a great way to burn calories.

In the end nothing too fancy but here is a look at my typical Monday-Friday eating routine.

Morning Breakfast Burrito

The above burrito is nothing more than a tortilla and a couple of eggs with some occasional crumbled cheese. I eat this at about 6 AM before I leave for the office. I started making them at home only after a bout of food poisoning from the breakfast burritos I would buy at the office cafeteria.

A Real Treat--mid-morning snack and lunch

After a few hours at work I nuke my oatmeal and berries at about 9am. This will get me through the rest of the morning. I will occasionally take some of my coworkers honey and drizzle it on top!!

At about 11AM I break out the green concoction from the fridge or "British Racing Green" smoothie. This 20 oz of nirvana includes:

-a handful of frozen fruit with half a banana

-scoop of greek yoghurt

-spoonful of orange juice concentrate

-flax seed

-tablespoon of spirulina

-tablespoon of wheat grass

-handful of carrots

-tablespoon of chia seeds

-several vitamin pills
-half cup of muscle milk vanilla protein powder
-scoop of maltodextrin

-a squirt of agave nectar

-some water 

And then I put it all in my Vita-mix Blender--a vintage beauty from circa 1988--to make it creamy. 

The Varsity of Blenders

Needless to say when I started to add the spirulina and wheatgrass it took a few weeks to get used to the color but now drinking it is the highlight of my day.

Stirfry!!

Later in the day I will snack a bit and it will include some cottage cheese, maybe some quinoa, but almost always a tupperware container of StirFry that I made on Sunday night. I will toss in to my wok a big pile of veggies, some chicken or sausage that I have cooked almost all of the fat out of and then divide it up for the week. 

I decided that I needed to cut back on some carbs as well but not entirely as I need them for energy and my sanity but adding more veggie based proteins was definitely needed.

For those that know me well I can confess that I have not given up beer, chocolate chip cookies, nor pizza. I do however have fewer cookies, do not eat the whole pizza anymore, and have french fries twice in the last 4 months.  On weekends I still make my smoothies, may have waffles in the morning, and will go out to eat and it is such a treat!

JOCMO: In cycling you can get free speed 2 ways. Being aerodynamic and losing weight--i.e. watts to weight ratio. In this instance I am approaching race season at race weight!!

Chile Road Trip--Day 7-9

Another day of Summer south of the Equator...........................way down south in San Martin!! Last night I chatted with Ernesto and Coco that I wanted to ride a bit more than the scheduled 50km so we agreed that I would break from the group and head in the opposite direction for a while before I turned around to meet the group for lunch at the end of the ride..............

Shortly after heading through San Martin I was side by side with some kid of about 12 on a Mtn Bike. He asked, in Spanish of course, why I had such skinny tires. He had to say it a few times while I translated in my head and finally understood. After my explanation he seemed satisfied and he went his way and I went mine.

Nahuel Huapi Lake

Cruising in the opposite direction really gave me the full reality of the volcano eruption from last year and even though the volcano is about 40 miles away from where I was riding the ash was everywhere and in places several feet deep. It was obvious the ash had a BIG impact on the local tourist economy as these towns would be packed this time of year.

That is not snow on those peaks

Ash Drift?

After leisurely heading back toward Chile for about 45 min I turned around and began moving back in to Patagonia on our route for the day. Along the way I ran in to Uta and Menk--a couple of swedes taking the summer to tour Chile and Patagonia by mountain bike. Like most euros they spoke English well and we chatted for a few minutes. They had been in Chile for about a month and had bought their bikes upon arrival. Needless to say they were doing the Chile on $15/day kind of thing and having a great time. 

Coming Around the Lake

After saying adios to the Swedes I continued on my journey and there are times when riding alone is more satisfying than I can explain. That is not to say that I don't like riding with others, which I do, but I do look forward to long rides when it is me, the bike, the road, and my thoughts. Today was one of those days. I was incredibly relaxed and awash in my thoughts and enjoying the scenery. I call this kind of ride a "solve the world's problems" kind of ride.

UNFORTUNATELY, my cycling joy was crushed about 20 minutes after I took the above photo. Apparently Jorge, one of our drivers, was told to come look for me and when we met he had this real worried look on his face and we chatted a bit and I asked if it was okay for me to keep riding to the lunch stop and the look on his face said he really wanted to get me in the van.

Well, I was pissed and cursed a bit and put my bike in the van and during the 20 min van ride to the lunch stop Jorge informed me that from his view I was holding everyone up. 

So......................when we got back the rest of the gang was "waiting" or so it seemed and as I took my bike out of the van the tension was palpable from my North American pals as I sensed anger and frustration that they had to wait for me. It did not matter that back in Pucon our tour directors gave us a 90 min grace for people to catch up and I was under this cut off. Apparently some of my travel mates were inconvenienced. Okay it was hot out but it was not miserable hot like Florida or Las Vegas in July but for reasons unknown to me my desire to ride longer was fine as long as it did not keep them from whatever they wanted. So I put my bike on the trailer and we loaded-up in to the vans. 

Much to my surprise when we got to our hotel about 30 min later the first thing most the gang did was pull out their phones and IPADs to see if they had a wireless signal. ARE YOU X$#%# me!! We are in Argentina, cycling, in awesome weather, likely will never be back, and they wanted to check their e-mails. NOW I was the one that is pissed. Sheesh......................back in the room I probed a bit with Trent to see if I was on the mark and he started to comment and then I waved him off and did not want to hear it.

Needless to say I talked to Ernesto and Coco a few hours later to clarify the rules and expressed my frustration with the welcome I received back at the lunch stop and that I did not like being pulled off the road by Jorge. We reached an understanding that it was not their intent to pull me off.

To cool off both physically and emotionally I swam in the lake and it was BUTT cold. I mean 60 degree cold and if it were not 90 degrees out I would have been hypothermic. The cold water was amazing on my legs though and it really helped them recover. In the end I swam about 500 yards or maybe 20 min and that was all I could handle. 


Back in the hotel room the shower was awesome to get my core temp back to the living!!

Prepping in the AM

After a walk around town and dinner at a swiss-style restaurant and more adult beverages I was down for the night........................but awoken at about 1am by some local having a party outside with singing and music..............why was I not invited??

Coco, Jason, Fernanda, Liza

The next day had us roll out toward the loop as it is called. The first part of the ride was a bit sketchy as it was on a crowded road but when we left town and made it to the park entrance the traffic eased and we entered an almost idyllic area with a golf course and one of those hotels that goes for about $500 a night. We did not go in for tea and scones! ;)

Island on the Loop

The ride around the loop was a blast. Great photos and chit chat and I know that I would ride back here later in the day as I was determined to get some miles in today.

After the loop we worked our way back to Bariloche and when we returned to town we headed up for a climb up to Cerro Cathedral where Ernesto told us we had a bit of an "up hill time trial" so when we made the turn me, Liza, and John were heading-up and working together. After about 10 min Liza dropped off and John and I continued to work our way up the climb to the ski resort. This was a great road and climbing up we could overlook the entire town, several lakes, and see the ski slopes off to our right.

After the climb we waited for the rest of the crew and then we headed down to Lago Gutierrez for lunch.

Chillin the Quads

 Lunch was awesome and Chino brought beers as I asked him if we could have some for those that made it to the top of Cathedral first!! I only had a sip or two as I had another 30 miles to put in that day.

Cortado with a view

After Lunch I headed back out to do the part of the Loop again and when I was at the overlook of the lake I stopped for a Cortado and had my picture snapped while doing so. Needless to say the coffee was great and gave me the boost I needed to get home. Another swim upon return and then time for some beverages--i earned them!


While sitting on the deck during Happy Hour and sipping a cerveza with Trent, and while waiting for Liza, is when Trent mentioned "Liza and I used to date" and I deadpanned "that is something else we have in common". We chuckled and then Liza arrived and it never came up again.....................

The Witches Coven for dinner

For dinner we went to this real cool pizza place that served the BEST BEER of the trip. Me, Trent, Alan, and Liza had some laughs, great conversation about things besides cycling to include our gun loving friends and listened to Los Piojos in the background.

Great Beer and average Pizza

 After dinner we chilled on the porch for some view and a nightcap or "LBF" per our Irish traveler Neil.

View of the Lake

JOCMO: The cortado of course. It was worth the climb back up the hill in 90 degree heat.

Fat Tire Trail Ready

The new rig is done and I just came back from a 1 hour test drive. So far it has held together and is my first complete build. The only mistake that I have noticed is I cut the chain about 2 links short so I can't get up to the 36 when in the big ring. I will live with it for a while as I will likely never use that combo anyway. Many thanks to my awesome LBS.

Here are some pics and for the gear junkies and weight weenies out there the specs are:

Race Ready

Eriksen Ti 29er HT with beefed-up chain stays for stiffness and tapered steerer tube

Fox Float 29er fork with 15mm thru axle

Cane Creek 110 headset in Blue

Industry Nine 29XC hoops blue hubs/spokes, ceramic bearings, Stan's Arch rims

Schwalbe Racing Ralph tires with the snakeskin sidewalls. The standard Ralph's sidewalls are too thin for NOVA single track

Hope rear skewer in blue

Magura Marta SL Disc Brakes in Blue

Thompson Elite X4 Stem with Blue Bling Kit

XTR DynaSis Drivetrain 2x10 with 38x24 Trail Crankset

Eriksen Ti Sweetpost with 20 degrees setback

Selle Italia XRC saddle (took this off the Truth)

Easton EA70 Carbon straight bar with 9 degree rake

Ergon Grips

EggBeater Pedals--these are my blue pedals I took from the Truth that I upgraded with Ti spindles

Fast?? We shall see.....

I9 Hoops and Magura Discs

Cockpit

Weight: Approx 22lbs but I don't have a scale

JOCMO: I just got off the trails on the rigs maiden voyage. That says it all. I do need to become accustomed to the HT though! ;)

Chile Road Trip--Day 4-6

Okay, after two days of finishing off the ride with some high heart rate hammering with Ernesto my legs were feeling a bit heavy and a touch sore. So today I vowed to enjoy the ride a bit more, chat a bit more, and take some more pics along the way. 

Like the previous two days we had some amazing weather this far south of the Equator and it was hot, not a cloud in the sky, and unfortunately no wind or breeze to help cool off. If there is any blessing in the Chilean Summer weather it is no humidity.

We piled in to the Green Van and Red Van and departed Pucon but a few miles out of town we came upon a terrible auto accident and it jammed up traffic for miles. Sadly there were two deaths and the road was closed so we had to take an alternate route. This route took us, and about 100 other vehicles, off on some remote farm roads that were designed for trucks and tractors and not our vans and definitely not the big tour buses that were also looking for alternate routes.

Snug Fit--our trailer with bikes in front

Easy on the eyes

Because of the delay from the accident we made it to our start point for lunch and ride prep about 2 hours late. Much to my disappointment all of the crew opted to shorten the ride that day so we could finish and make it to the hotel in a timely manner. This was kind of a bummer because we had some good roads and awesome weather.

Alan and the Lake

This ride was amazingly scenic along a national park where we did not see a boat besides park rangers. There are a handful of small beaches along the way and since this was New Year's day there were mucho Chileans out enjoying the sun and water--albeit cold water.

Jason on the move

Cooling Down on Day 3

Waiting for all the Riders

While waiting for all the riders I was able to cruise around a bit and went back to the below river about 1km away. After I took the pic below I chatted with a few Russians (sorry, no pic) that were in Chile for a month to get out of the butt cold winter. They had just finished Kayaking part of the river and were sipping some wine. They offered me some but I told then "I am a beer man" and they laughed and pointed to my stomach and said "where is your belly?".   

This river fed the lake we rode around

After an 11km ride on a dirt road we arrived to the hotel. This place was absolutely amazing..............................really off the beaten path and if a person is traveling to this hotel they are going there to get away and be left alone. The entire place was designed to be quiet, natureal, and unobtrusive to the environment.

The Pool

The Hotel Shaped Like a Mushroom

Stream under the center plexiglass

The Volcano Hotel

Dinner that night was, as expected, awesome but to sit next to Ernesto and talk cycling, high-level performance, and of course PEDs amongst the best in the world was a lot of fun. He is a talented and intelligent man who can really push the big ring

Day 5--no riding today--travel only

Behind Huillo Huillo

We started our day off with a low-stress hike through the forest on catwalks and paths. Some of it was a bit touristy and a lot of banter about the local flora and fauna and it made me wish we were staying another day at this hotel.

Cooooold

This water fed the local brewery

Waterfall behind Huillo Huillo

After the hike we piled in to the vans and were on our way to cross one of the lakes and journey to Argentina. We had about 2 hours to kill waiting for the ferry and I went for a swim...................much to my surprise it may have been 85 degrees and not a cloud in the sky but that lake was damn cold. It was deep and clear blue and I did not see a fish moving. The only way to keep warm was for me to keep moving!

Liza and our drivers

The Lake from the Ferry

The ferry ride ended and back in the vans heading in to Argentina. We stopped for lunch and we took the above photo when we went in to another lake. This time around (that's me in the blue cap) the swim was much more comfortable as the lake was shallow and the swim across it, about 300 yards, was quite refreshing and I actually saw fish. We also were seeing the signs of the ash from the volcano eruption last Summer.

We arrived to San Martin and this town was a clone of Tahoe or Lake Placid. It looked like so many mountain towns in the US so I was a bit disappointed but this is also because of the European influence on the region. But.................the real disappointment is that the hotel did not have AC and our room was a cauldron when we checked-in. They were nice enough to let us switch to a room on the other side of the hotel and out of the sun but it did not matter very much.

Appetizer

Dinner was awesome at an Argentinian steakhouse. Great beer and the above appetizer was worth every Peso. I had wild boar for the first time since the late 80's.

Climbing out of town

The next day we were back on the bike........yeaaaahhh......................Fernanda had the bad news of 2 flats to get her day going but otherwise it was a cool morning that would warm quickly. We started right off with a 15km climb of about 5 degrees. Rhythmic and a great road.

Trent and John

John, Trent, Liza climbing

90 Degrees outside and a Waterfall

Lunch at a Lake with an Ash Beach

 After the climb we rode along several lakes and here was where we started to see the effects of the Ash from the volcano eruption. The ash was all over the place and several inches deep along the road. When we stopped from lunch the flour-like ash was everywhere and covering your feet and socks.

Total miles for the day was about 40-45 and like other days we just ran out of paved road so I back-tracked a bit to add another ten or so to get me over 50 for the day.

The end of the day had us take an amazing van ride over the dirt road to San Martin. The road was being reconstructed and paved so maybe in 3-4 years there will be another 20 miles of amazing road.....................return trip??

La Angostura was another Tahoe-Like mountain town but because of Ash from the eruption it was almost empty. Our Hotel looked like it saw only a few guests per week and the economy in general had taken a big hit.

So.....................another day in low 90s so I opted for another swim in the lake..............this one was damn cold again so Alan and I did about 500 yards between some buoys and some of the other gang had jumped in as well.

View From the Hotel--Nahuel Huapi is Blue from the Ash

Dinner in La Angostura

Chimmi Churri--addictive

The last pic is Chimmi Churri. A wonderful Argentinian condiment that goes well with almost everything. A dip for bread, pour it over meat or fish, heck almost anything. All of us were hooked and we asked for more everywhere we went. I chatted with one of the chefs at the restaurant and she gave me her recipe and Amy got the below from another restaurant..............it is eerily close to the Chilean Pebre recipe sans the hot peppers. For the foodies out there the Chimmi Churri from central America is made with cilantro and green onions and no peppers.......

Argentinian Chimmi Churri Recipe

1 kg of Parsley ( think this means "one bunch) or about a cup

4 cloves garlic

--chop the above finely in a processor

Mix the above with 2 level spoonfuls of oregano

add powdered pepper (yellow pepper or red pepper) salt

Add a 3/4 mix to 1/4 mix oil and red-wine vinegar

JOCMO: That climb to start the day reminded me of Skyline Drive in Virginia. Great rhythm and a cool morning.

Fat Tire Update

My new 29er that I bought last August is taking shape. With CX season, cold weather, and the trip to Chile getting this built-up was low priority but after months of E-Bay shopping and great discounts from my LBS I am almost there. Yesterday I completed my first disc brake bleed and fill and today I cut and ran the shifter cables and housing..............................

Man.......................what would I do without YouTube and the internet to make this happen.

A few dangling cables.......but getting there

I am waiting on a front derailleur as I screwed-up and ordered the wrong one so by next weekend I should have it trail ready.

JOCMO: The MOMENT here is the satisfaction of figuring it out on my own!

Chile Day 3 and 4

We flew to Temuco and met with our tour guides, drivers, and became familiar with our travel accommodations--the Red Van and Green Van.

After a 2 hour drive we arrived to our hotel in the resort community of Pucon. In many respects Pucon being situated on a beautiful lake it is a lot like Lake Placid or Lake Tahoe except no Starbucks. Pucon is also a very popular vacation destination for the Chileans from the Santiago and places farther north. After checking in to our rooms a good portion of the crew, at this point there were 16 total, met for Cervezas in the lobby prior to piling in to the vans for dinner at a wonderful organic restaurant called Trawen. Dinner for me was Ciervo (venison), pisco sour, a few other adult beverages, and dessert. Best meal so far in Chile. This is also when we met our tour guides and were given a presentation of the rides to follow.

Day 1 of the riding portion of the trip began with a morning of prepping bikes, dialing in the fit, and ensuring they shifted well. For this trip I decided to bring my Litespeed as the tour company did not have a rental bike in my size. For this much riding I am pleased with my decision even if the bike box fees from American Airlines are painful.

Prepping Bikes in the AM

Today's plan was about 35 miles with some add on if desired with a stop at the hot springs and lunch. What a great morning to get on the bikes and the crew rolled out in a long paceline from the hotel toward Cabargua Lake. There was a bit of flexing going on as we were getting to know each other and our abilities.

Riding the Pier on Lake Cabargua

After the first 20 or so miles we turned around and headed toward the hot springs to relax and eat lunch. This part of the had us headed in to the forest and up in the general direction of the Volcano.

Villaric Volcano

The hotsprings were basically too hot. The weather for the day was in the high 80's so the mountain stream behind the Hot Springs was the place to be.

Hot Springs near Pucon

Downtown Pucon

Day 2 was a longer day, 80-90km, with some gentle climbing up in to the hills. Again a hot Chilean summer day with double doses of SPF 55 thanks to my roommate Trent. This ride gently works its way up towards the Volcano and snaked through some small towns and along an amazing river and mountain range.

Day 2 Lunch

 After working our way up a gentle to at times demanding climb of about 4-5 miles we made it to lunch. We really had no choice as we ran out of paved road which happens a lot in Chile! Our guides set-up a great spread with some wonderful Avocado and some staples like cookies and Nutella.

Liza after Lunch

Ready to Roll after snacks!

Trent Riding like its his last

Pacelining

Looking up while riding up

The Canadian Big Dogs--Alan and his Wingman Trent

Day 2--on the way pack to Pucon

We were in Pucon for New Year's eve and made a reservation at the Biergarten restaurant. Elke was our gracious host and she served us a multi-course meal with some amazing White Tomato soup with German beverages and Pisco Sour--definitely not German. Well..................as we approached midnight part of our meal included some bubbly, or something similar, that we hauled with us down to the beach for the New Year's fireworks.

White Tomato Soup Recipe:
Take tomatos (depends on how much soup you want), cook them, and place the tomatos in a clean towel (Culinary Comment: the recipe came from Elke so I can infer cheese cloth) and let them drip out over night. Squeeze a little.  The liquid you get is the base of the tomato soup.

Now add cream and salt, white pepper or/and herbs you like. Heat the soup up slowly. If you like to have a thicker soup you can add starch but be careful the taste of the soup is very delicate.

Local Bubbly--if it was not NYE I could use it to clean my chain ;)

Dinner at the Biergarten

NYE with Elke of the Biergarten on left

Sugar Fix

On the Beach for Fireworks

Amy, Liza, Antonio, Neil in Pimpin' Toques

JOCMO: Just getting on the bike after several days of anticipation and then hammering on Day 2 with Ernesto our Chilean National Champ guide. What a blast to trade pulls with him in 90 degree heat.