C-Day + 7

For you all who didn't catch the WWII era lingo, the title means Crash Day + 7. Feeling much better this Friday than I did last Friday. Of course it not too difficult to find a more pleasurably day when you are comparing eating asphalt at 27+mph. I took off Monday and Tuesday from riding namely because I came down with a cold on Sunday. I have a feeling that it started before Sunday, but Sunday's give everything and leave nothing on the table type of ride sent my immune system down the river so to speak. I went for a nice 2 hour ride to Mill Valley on Wed under my coach's strict rules of easy spinning. Getting on the bike Wed afternoon felt weird. I was so eager to go riding but the body felt weird getting on the bike. I would think that I would be so use to it after all the kms I have ridden this year. But good sensations in the legs came around. Some moto rider pulled up to me in Mill Valley and kept staring at me. I was quite perplexed then he flipped up his visor and tried to get me to go faster. I looked and smiled. Not today pal...Thursday was another good day on the bike. Went for 3.5 hours on Paradise and out to San Anselmo. Legs felt good in the beginning but I was pretty hungry by the end. Should have brought some food with me. Rode to work today and did some shopping at the Parkside Market which by the way has the best fruit and produce anywhere I have found in the city. Prices are excellent too. I highly recommend jumping in on the yellow peaches and fresh nectarines. They are both in season now and are excellent!

I have been following Le Tour via the live text feed on VeloNews.com b/c I am without cable. Not too much exciting going on but it was sad to hear Dave Zabriskie drop out. I have always liked his style. Very dry sense of humor. He lost 30min the other day. Reminds me of my 25min loss on the last stage of Cascade. Its reassuring to know that even the most trained athletes can have terrible days. He will be back soon enough as will I. On another note, the GC will see a huge shakeup tomorrow in the TT. Latest news out of the Rasmussen file seems a little sketchy. Former friend and riding partner told VeloNews back in 2002 that Rasmussen asked him to carry a box shoes his flight back to Europe for him. Only the shoebox carried what appeared to be bags of blood. He emptied them in the trash after speaking with a physiology friend to see what exactly they might be. Now Rasmussen has denied any wrongdoing but its not good right now for his story or cycling. Given the statements were taken back in 2002, i think adds a little more credibility than the he said accusations going on today. I hope its not true for cycling's sake.

Back to non cycling news...Since I finished cascade on Sunday morning, my appetite has just not been there. I have always found it very hard to eat during racing. Mostly b/c I can't put food down very well when i am riding hard, something I will need to work on. But since I finished my appetite has been not very high which is atypical after a multiple days of hard riding. During stage racing, food becomes a means to get through. Its no longer about taste, its about calories and energy. You eat to ride. It becomes a job to a certain degree if you are racing for 3 or more days in a row. Its often a complaint of Tour riders. Eating the same muesli, baguettes and pasta every day gets boring. I haven't had pasta since last Saturday which is quite different for me b/c I typically eat a lot of pasta, mostly b/c I enjoy it. This week I made a nice broccoli-sundried tomato-mozzerellla risotto on thursday and curry couscous on Wed. I hardly ate any of the couscous and was able to bring some to work the next day. But the risotto was the first decent meal i was able to eat in a matthew portion. I have been eating lots of spinach salad this week with fresh veggies and fruit. Tonight I ate a spinach salad with fresh peaches, red bell peppers, cucumbers, gorgonzola and balsamic. And I made some homemade sourdough croutons. See recipe below. I learned how to do it the other night from my german roommate Kristof. It was super tasty. But I also ate a salad for lunch. What is wrong with me?! I do love salads but I was just too exhausted this evening to make the indian curry I was thinking about. Ohh well, something to look forward to tomorrow night.

Try this on your salad next time for that extra bit of taste and culinary fun..

Garlic-Herb Croutons
Heat 1 tbsp of EV Olive Oil over Med-High in a saute pan
Cut a cup full of fresh bread(good baguette, or other tasty bread) into small pieces
Add one clove of crush garlic to oil
After 1 min, toss the bread in the saute pan
Sprinkle fresh basil, oregano, or rosemary or a combo of herbs to your liking over the bread
Pinch of salt and pepper
Toss bread in pan to make sure herbs are evenly distributed
Cook until golden brown
Now lay them on your salad or store them in a closed container in the fridge(probably a 1-2 day life)


Chow,
Matthew