Golden Beets

Yesterday was another rainy day here in Seattle, I had planned on getting out for a roller ski but it poured rain all day and I wasn't sufficiently motivated to ski in the rain. Instead I did some work planning out how much trim we will need to complete our recent home renovations, and took a bunch of debris that had been hanging around the yard to the dump.

I did fit in an hour long ride on my rollers in the evening, while watching the 2009 Giro d'Italia on DVD. The workout I did was called "Spin ups", where you slowly increase your cadence for a minute, then spend another minute holding it as high as you can without bouncing on your seat, then recover for 3 minutes and repeat. I was able to consistently hold it in the 130-135 rpm range, with bursts into the 135-140 rpm range. I would love to be able to keep it above 140 rpm, maybe if I keep working on it. Although, I'm not sure it is much of an advantage for me. During the last group ride I did, Jake and Chad complimented me on my fast cadence as they rode away from me on the climbs using their slower cadences but much higher power outputs. Darn these spider legs of mine! Oh well, if you're going to ride slow you might as well have a smooth and buttery pedal stroke.

Another double-edged compliment had come my way earlier in that same ride, when I had been letting some gaps open up between myself and the rider in front of me, and was forced to sprint out of the saddle to close them down. When I really try hard during out of the saddle sprints I tend to lean forward a lot to try and eke every possible watt out of my spider legs (as Phil Liggett would say "put your forehead on the stem and nail it back!"). After one of these episodes, Jen (another member of the group ride) asked me "Can you teach me how to do that?". At first I thought she was "having a go" at me, but when I realized she was sincere I tried to carefully explain that the technique was borne out of desperation rather than cognitive intent, and it was most definitely not a good thing that I was being forced into it at this early stage in the group ride.

Anyways, how did I get started on this discussion of my cycling inadequacies? Let's move on. Last night I cooked up another few items from our Produce Delivery, some roasted golden beets, onions, potatoes, and garlic (pictured at left). They were pretty good, even though I don't normally like beets much. Finally, another good weigh in this morning, equaling the 2010 record set earlier in the week.

Weight: 163.4
Body Fat: 5.8%