Elimination diet day 1

Today I my wife and I are starting an elimination diet to find out what foods cause problems with our health. She already knows she has issues with dairy, corn, some whole grains, and alcohol. She want to narrow that down further. My only problem with food is that sweets seem to contribute to my chronic skin isdues but I don't know how to end acne once and for all. I quit drinking soda and quit eating instant oatmeal and that has helped but I need to find the other half of the equation. 

The goal of the diet is to cut out everything but basic fruit, vegetables, rice, and white meats to eliminate health problems. After establishing a clean simple but boring diet for a month, start re-introducing foods one by one 2days at a time and observe effects. The negative effects will be more obvious after not eating those things for a month. 

I already avoid obviously bad foods such as deep fryed and fast food but what about the sugary supliments I use to exercise? How bad are they? I will have to make my own sports drinks out of salt, baking soda, and fruit juice and I better get a mix that works because I have a mountain bike race this weekend!

My biggest concern is maintaining wieght. I have kept my 5'9" body at 140 lbs for the past 6 months through all my training. I am thin, and don't have much to loose but muscle so I need to eat lots of food right now.

Sara's super food energy and recovery shake is shown above. Ratio of ingredient vary but it seems to serve me well and keep me going. It costs about the same as a 6 pack of micro brew to make a pitcher. Not cheap, but worth it. All the ingredients are allowed by the elimination diet.  

April showers, hiking a biking.

 

After racing two weekends in a row I decided my nect race would be BuDu #7 on Wouldbe Island so I have had a few weeks to listen to my body and get a break from competitive cycling. On the 13th, we hiked up to Wallace Lake. At around 10 miles, this was a good fairly strenuous hike on the fist day of the year over 70 degrees. Nice hike but it was a little too cool at the top!

The following week, Sara and I got fed up with the constant rAin and decided to go on a 20 mile tandem ride after work. Good ride. We still have not gotten the hang of riding 15% grades on this beast. 

After trying everything to sole the deafening squeal in the front brake, I finally determined it was the carbon fork. A brake booster should solve it. I was amazed by how much brake fex it had, even with the booster. 

Easter Sunday, April 10th was a real test of my endurance. I want for a solo ride our to lake Stevens and back. 

It was my first day of this year leaving the house without bringing my knee warmers with me.. Even if I was still wearing my toe warmers. 60 degrees and very thin cloud cover. Spring in full effect! 

Upon returning home, Sara waned to walk the dog. I figured 1.5 miles around the hood would be a nice recovery after a rather fast 47 miles. That wasn't enough for Sara or Suki so we went off to Japanese gulch for a proper hike with camel backs and my Niterider mini newt headlignts. 

I have enjoyed the hikes and a few nice spring days. I am feeling fast but most days my legs feel a bit stail. I need to put in some longer rides. I'm looking farward to a 100 miler some time very soon.

Budu #5 XC race at Lord Hill

Today was my second cross country race in as manny weeks. I pre rode the rout on Friday after work with some of my team members and the course marshal. Lots of climbing, lots of techie singletrack broken up by frequent segments of narrow gravel road for passing. This would be faster than last weeks race and I will have good opportunity to get myself up to the front at the start on the 2 mile double track climb at the start. 

With a little effort I was panting over the first crest in first place in front of my team mate, Matt Seguin. I lead the first singletrack decent but Matt needed to get by me as he was faster on the singletrack. 

After the late lap mud bog, the steep climb toward the first lap finish hurt a lot but I still had gas in the tank. The course was much wetter than 2 days ago after heavy rain the day before, adding to the callange of getting over the wett roots. 

Thankfully the second lap was not the full length of the first. I remaind in 2nd place the rest of the race. My legs felt quite good but my lower back was giving out on me. Ouch, lack of trail training is becoming apparent. My drive train was beginning to skip in some gears as the cassette was totally packed with mud and grass. Near the end of the lap some riders were breathing down my neck. No idea if they were I'm my class but I gave it all I had on the very steep finish climb and held off the wolves. 

That was fun! Just the right amount of suffering for a Sunday afternoon. I felt much better at the end than I did last weekend. Matt killed the competition yet again this week. Fischer plumbing took up most of the podium for cat 2 men 30-39!

Today was not over yet. Sara has been begging for a road bike of her own lately so we have been bike shopping. We popped into Snowhomish Bike shop and found a Felt road bike that was perfect for her. It was the right size, full carbon frame, full Shimano 105 components and hundreds less than the Specialized Ruby Sport. Snowhomish ordered the seat she likes and was willing to upgrade her to Gatorskin tires for a $40 up charge so I won't worry about her getting flats when she goes out on her own. 

Another killer weekend in Washington!

BUDu #4 XC race at Souring Eagle

March 31st I had my first bike race of the year. The forecast was not in our favor after the wettest March in recorded history but we lucked out and the 60% chance of rain never came through. I am racing as sport and very much enjoying the reduced pressure of not being in the same class as the Pro's as I used to be when I was 19.

The 30 to 39 age bracket had about 30 racers and I started near the back so I can stick to my old slow and steady race pace. Little did I know, there would be literally 100 feet of double track per lap on this race coarse. The train was muddy, rutted, and littered with slick roots. One guy laid his bike down right in front of me forcing me to do the same but I ended up on my feet. Close one! The coarse also had 4 or 5 log stacks. Some were very rideable, and others, not so much. I ended up passing several riders by dismounting and re-mounting cyclocross style while they crashed and tumbled over them.

I spent most of the first lap behind riders slower than me, trying to find a place to pass. One by one, I got by them until the beginning of the second lap. That is when I found myself settled into my own pace. That was also the time my rear brake all but stopped working. Brakes are overrated! I need to use them less and look for lines that allow me to do so. I gapped a rider that was on my wheel on the decent because I was using my brakes much less than he was. Ah yes, older and wiser I have become.

8.6 miles and over an hour latter, I am very ashamed to say, my legs were toast as I rolled  across the line. That was the most tiresome sub 10 mile rout I have ever taken part in, mostly due to the mud and wet roots. What I blast! I was pleased with my 6th place finish. Another Fischer Plumbing rider took first. Go team!

After the race, my wife Sara wanted to ride but she is a beginner and would not do well at all on the race rout. I wouldn't either at that point. We were very close to Duthie Hill bike park so we decided to check it out. What a good idea!

90 minutes and 1,000 calories after my finish, I was ready to see the mt. bikers dream come true that is Duthie Hill. This place has something for everyone on two wheels. We took a look at the map and decided to ride the Boot Camp trail since it was an easy "green" rout. I attempted the harder options, mostly successfully.

 Duthie Hill has a big clearing in the center for skills development. I didn't realize I was so bad at riding on a plank until I tired going down to 7 inches wide. I need some work! Drop offs were fun too. I did the one just over the baby drop with some good speed. What a rush! This place is so fun! Can't wait to go back. Thank goodness for the great weather. It was an awesome day to be on a bike in Washington. Racing at Lord hill next Sunday, April 5th.

Rid the Plank

Drop off skills!

Sara testing her balance on the planks!

More equipment wear and tear

I put a new Ultegra 10 speed chain on back arround November and a used 11-23 dura ace cassette with a claimed 2500 miles on it. I kept a close eye on my chain wear with the park chain checker. My drivetrain was a black nasty mess most of the winter and was put away wet more often than not. No surprise it was new chain time after only 1000 miles.

Sadly, the last ti cog, the 19t I used often was worn and the new chain skipped under power on the first ride. I pulled the old chain back from the trash. I can get some more life out of the old dura ace if I put the old chain back on. Guess that can be my race setup next cross season. 

To make matters worse, the freehub body on the Xerox Lite wheelset has already devleoped some play. These obviously won't last long. I'm back on my old 105 3 cross w/cxp 22's. I'm wishing for a lighter more aero wheelset but, for now I'm on my tough old comutter wheels which are in need of re-greasing. I knew winter rain riding would be hard on my equipment. Time to bombproof my ride. I light ride really isn't a big help on the road anyway. Cyclocross on the other hand can really benefit from light wheels and a light ride with all the accelerations and lifting over obstacles. 

Even with my slow heavy wheels, I really kicked som butt last week after taking a 50 mile rest week. I always wondered how much fenders an a big messenger bag slow me down and now it know. I crushed all my commute times on my way to the Bicycle certers Silver lake 8:30 Sunday ride. 

My fitness is progressing nicely. Last we I did my daily 10 mile commute plus some extra hills durring the week and then another mostly hard and fast 67 miles on Sunday. My body is really starting to get used to this! It's taken a full calander year of riding 5 days a week. Looking forward to this summer. My first mt. Bike race will be April 5th and I'm stoked for that. 

Spring time, tandem and mt. Bike season begins

Daylight savings is back, and so is the sun! Last week we had so much rain the rivers began to flood but after that, we had 3 days of sun and highs in the 50's. The weather has been good enough to talk the wife into some tandem road rides and her first trail ride in Washington! 

Last year I logged 1000 miles and 100,000 feet of elevation. I should exceed that distance early April this year and my endurance is really professing well. Now I can ride an aggressive 50 miles with hills and sprints after putting in 50 miles durring the week. I would say, I'm am just about ready to race at a cat 3 level and actually hold my own. 

My equipment is a little worse for wear. My headset and bottom bracket bearings were both shot. Thankfully the replacement units are quite cheap with the new designs. My left crank arm spline is also shot but red loctite is filling in the gaps well so I can put off a full replacement for a bit longer. Poor design IMO. 

New cane creek headset bearings and carbon spacer:

My toasted Shimano bottom bracket 

Lord Hill Park:

The Redline trail:

I took Sara out to lord hill for my second trail ride having never been there. It was hilly! About 130 feet of elevation for every mile! I was happy to clear a 25+ % grade climb without putting a foot down or maxing my heart rate. Not beginner trails at all which is what Sara needs to ride. We will have to keep looking. She could also really use disc breaks around here. I could also really go for a rear hitch for a bike rack instead of the trunk rack we have been using. Not items for the wish list. Spring has just begun! 

Tandem bike and trail ride

Last week we had some nice weather and as a result I managed to talk the wife into a group ride out of Snowhomish on the tandem. What fun it was! She did fantastic for her first bike ride of the year logging 25 miles as my stroker. I rode in knickers and no shoe covers as the temps were in the low 50's. 

Our tandem has 26" wheels and Peach is a gear masher so we always ran our of gears but not today. I installed a 54 tooth big ring and a 1.6" rear tire so we didn't spin out till 38 mph. 

On Saturday, I gave my brand new Manatou R7 100mm fork a proper test ride at the Paradise Conservation trail system near Woodenville Washington. My team mate Joe just built up his new BMC hard tail that morning and put the bike though it's paces with a big smile on his face. The loops were short but very sweet and the roots across the trail made the ride fun and chalanging. Half way into the ride it began to snow which was cool with us. It added to the experience. Theses trails are very popular among Seattleites in the summer. I must say, 100mm of travel is plush and gave me a lot of confidence in the rough sections over my old 2004 80mm Manatou Skereb. My trail bike is ready to race! My legs are about ready too.