Pre-ride eats, squirrels, Cheetos, & paint job theory

There’s a lot written about what’s best to eat to get maximum performance riding the bike. But what works for some doesn’t for others.  It’s an individual thing.

But whatever is taken in, I think it helps to keep it simple.

Here’s my pre-ride nutrition routine: I make myself a fruit smoothie to drink with a multi-vitamin, drink a large glass of water, eat some energy chews, and that’s it, I’m good to go.

I have a little smoothie mixer called the Magic Bullet that I highly recommend if you want a quick and easy way to blend a drink sized smoothie.  I throw into the plastic Bullet cup a cut up banana, frozen blueberries, almond milk, a heaping spoon of whey protein, and a drizzle of some flax seed oil. I screw the rotor blade top/bottom on the cup, pop it upside down on the Magic Bullet, and it mixes up in less than 30 seconds. After downing that, the vitamin, the water and energy chews, I’m hydrated and fueled up. Sometimes, if it’s cool out, I take a couple quick gulps of hot coffee, and that really revs up the engine.

For the ride I pack a protein bar, some beef jerky, a piece of fruit like a small granny smith apple or a plum, and a little string cheese. I just put water in my cage bottle and keep extra energy chews to take before tough parts of the ride.

I just started reminding myself to drink the glass of water before shoving off, because I found I’d usually be far into the ride before taking my first swig. They always say if you wait ‘til you’re thirsty to take a drink, you’re behind in getting the hydration the body needs. That’s what I had been doing, and it took me longer to get up to speed.

But the pre-ride water gets me warmed up and into a good rhythm right away. I perspire more than before at the beginning of rides, and that shows it’s quickly working to cool me off.

You no doubt have your own routine of pre-ride food, or hydration. Try out a few variations and you’ll learn what gives you the best balance of fuel and hydration for a strong start.

On the trail

Met a guy on the bike path this week, riding a Belgian Ridley bike. He told me he and a buddy took the Campagnolo hardware off his old bike and put it on the new Ridley carbon frame. Did a nice job, sweet looking ride.

“I do all my own bike maintenance,” he said.

We talked about all the squirrels running across the bike path these days. I told him I recently couldn’t avoid running one over, but was grateful I managed to keep from crashing.

“They’re rutting now,” he said, meaning the little buggers have hook up fever. Not to mention their haywire nut-collecting for the coming winter. “I’ve run over three recently.”

I assumed he didn’t crash from the runovers, he had no detectable road rash or nicks in his nice paint job. “It’s like running over a rock,” he said. “They’re unpredictable, making decisions (based on humping prospects) that make no sense. Kind of like we did when we were 21.”

We agreed we both made such mistakes when we were young and dumb, and convinced we were smarter than anybody. But at least we survived, unlike some of the squirrels sprinting for a score, only to be clobbered by a fast moving bike.

But it’s the smart and the lucky, not necessarily in that order, that make it through the hormonally challenged brain, be it animal or human.

Check out a recorded riding experience of just clipping the back of a darting squirrel. Note how the rider seems to be trying not to have a heart attack…

Love that Cheetos jersey

Taking a mid-ride break recently I chatted with a guy wearing a bright orange Cheesy Riders Cheetos bike jersey, which sported the large paw prints of Chester the Cheetah, the cartoon pitch cat for Cheetos.

“I want that,” I told the guy. “I’m a lifelong Cheetos fan.”

“I think they’re pretty hard to get,” he said. “I lent a guy my bike in Texas. He was with Frito Lay, and he gave it to me as a thanks.” I looked around and there are a few Cheesy Rider bike clubs around the country who sport the coveted Cheetos jersey. But they really aren’t readily available. I think there might be one or two on eBay. I need to loan my bike to a Frito Lay guy. But that’s a stretch. Doesn’t mean I’ll ever quit having a few Cheetos now and then. Probably next to bacon, a bag of them is no doubt among the best tasting, most satisfying, full on junk food. But hey, the unavoidable Cheetos fingers, the neon orange color not found in nature? Hard to beat.

But no, I don’t take a bag of Cheetos along on any rides. Post ride? All bets are off…

That looks sweet…

If a rider is in the market to buy a new road bike, what is the factor that makes he or she choose one bike over all others?

I have a theory. The paint job.

Sure, gotta have a respectable name brand, and there are plenty of those. And reliable components. But if all things are relatively equal, I think the cool factor of a bike’s paint job will ultimately swing the rider to buy. Or not.

I’ve seen road bikes for sale that have it all, but then come in a drab, uninspired paint job that pretty much has no mojo. And if I’m throwing down top dollar for a new bike, it’s gotta look good! A great color combination and slick design.

Anyway, bike manufacturers, here’s a strategy that I’m almost positive will boost your bike sales: Colorful, wicked paint jobs.
Now, I have no stats to back this up, but I'm pretty sure...

Until next time, remember to strap on a helmet every time you get on a bike. Then do all in your power to keep the rubber side down, have fun and return safely from a great ride.

-- Mark Eric Larson

Mark Eric Larson has written two books of essays, "The NERVE...of Some People's Kids," and "Don't Force it, Get a Bigger Hammer. To read, visit: 
http://www.scribd.com/Mark%20Eric%20Larson/shelf
His blog of personal essays is at: http://marksmuzings.blogspot.com/

Suicide squirrels? Tired legs? Pedal on...

It’s September and the squirrels are back on Sacramento’s main bike trail, and most likely yours. They’re ramping up their panic sprints in front of riders, in frenzied pursuit of nuts, or something like that, so they won’t starve during the cold months ahead.

So this seasonal condition of nature makes riding in SAM -- squirrel avoidance mode -- a must. That is, if you want to stay upright on the bike.

On my last ride a few days ago, over the course of 51 miles, I estimate I saw about 25 to 30 squirrels on or near the bike path. Didn’t hit any, but had to do my snake hiss a few times to make them run the other way. I was lucky. The ones I hissed at, ran the other way.

I feel bad for the squirrels. They’re in hyper-mode, scampering around trying to get some food the only way they know how. No cyclist wants to hit ‘em, kill ‘em, crash their bike, incur road rash, broken bones or worse. We riders just want the critters to stay clear of the bike path! Which I’m discovering is a not so fun part of the ride. Because when they’re out, you have to be on squirrel alert at all times. They can and will appear out of nowhere in a flash. The little guys, at least along this trail, which winds through a riverside nature reserve, are lightning quick and can turn on a dime.

Most are oblivious to the danger of bikes or cars in their intended paths. They sit up on their back feet like little prairie dogs on the side of the bike trail, and look right at you. Then, when you get nearest to them, will sometimes suddenly decide to run right toward your front wheel! Whoah, what’re you doing, ya little maniac? Some riders call them suicide squirrels.

Maybe they’re the dumbest of the herd, the little nut jobs that missed the dinner when they were dishing out the brains for car and bike avoidance! Maybe their fatal choices keep the squirrel population in check so the smart live longer and promote more survival brains in the species. You know, the Darwinian way of Nature.

Once I rode behind two riders at a pretty good clip and a squirrel darted in front of them, then suddenly stopped between them. It was a smart recovery move by the little guy, since he froze in the three-foot space between side-by-side riders when they flew by. The thing felt the wind of both bikes, and then knew enough to scramble to the side of the road as I rode by. Couldn’t have been a closer call without anything happening.

But a couple of autumns ago, I couldn’t help running over one darting under my front tire while I leaned into a small descending turn. I flew over the handlebars, skidding to a stop on the pavement courtesy of my ripped up left forearm. I’m sure the poor little thing didn’t make it, but it ran off. I never saw it after I got up with my crashed bike and bloodied arm.

Just this morning driving home through the neighborhood I saw two squirrels running across the street ahead where a van couldn’t avoid running over the second one. The hit shuddered through the unlucky one’s fluffy tail, and the poor little guy was finished.

Even though there are thousands of these little monkeys all over the place, to witness the demise of one getting in the way of a rolling tire, is sad and upsetting.

So other than hiss like a snake at squirrels I see that look ready to make a crazed dash in front of my bike, I do one other thing.

Before I leave on a ride, I just say a few prayers about returning safely, free of mishaps with animals, humans or vehicles. That’s about all I can think of to do.

After that, it’s up to the universe.

Tired legs conditioning

I’ve been working on improving my two-day average speed on two long rides done on consecutive days. After a few back-to-backs, I’ve managed to do so, despite having tired legs on the second day ride. Last week I was going to see what I could do with three long rides on consecutive days, but held off on the third day. There was a forest fire in the region that had mucked up the air pretty badly, so I decided to give the lungs a break. I’m thinking that doing the consecutive long rides really strengthens the legs by working them while they’re a bit fatigued from the day before. It’s also a test of mental toughness. It’s much harder to pedal for a speedy ride or even normal speeds with tired legs than with fresh ones. To do so, you literally have to say, “Shut up legs,” as the great pro rider Jens Voigt has printed as a reminder on his bike. I figure developing a “pedal strong” mindset, tired or not, is a way to break into higher, speedier levels of overall endurance riding. But taking incremental steps to maintain speed is key. If I can get conditioned to do three long rides in three days, it will definitely be a step up in riding fitness.

Speaking of pedaling for speed, here are some interesting tips on pedaling more efficiently. Check it out…

Good to know and think about…

Til next time, always put on a helmet before every ride. And then, it’s your full time job to keep the rubber side down.

Keep it fun and make sure to keep it safe.

-- Mark Eric Larson

Mark Eric Larson has written two books of essays, "The NERVE...of Some People's Kids," and "Don't Force it, Get a Bigger Hammer. To read, visit: 
http://www.scribd.com/Mark%20Eric%20Larson/shelf
His blog of personal essays is at: http://marksmuzings.blogspot.com/