DH on the lowdown

To continue on the theme of vegan baked goods and pastries I would be remiss to mention again that around the holidays, Cakewalk makes the most amazing vegan peanut butter cups. They are also typically very large. Anyone who has traveled with me or even ridden in my car knows that previous to my vegan eating change that I ate  Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups all the time. In all the dietary changes I made this is probably the only one that stressed me out a little.

Thank goodness for Kelly at Cakewalk! Missie knew my love for pastries as well as peanut butter cups and brought us a few one day. I can’t remember which holiday it was but I was hooked. Lori brought a Valentine’s gift bag to me this past Monday and she had bought a variety of Dillos as well as 8 vegan peanut butter cups. Oh yeah! This week has been filled with cacao intoxication. Lori told me when she went in to Cakewalk on Monday to pick it up that there were only 4 peanut butter cups in the display case.

Guy at the counter: “What can I get for you?”

Lori: “I want all the peanut butter cups.”

Guy at the counter: “You’re going to make a lot of people sad” as he walks over to a large container with numerous peanut butter cups.

Lori: “Oh, I only want 6, well, maybe 8.”

We take our treats seriously and it’s a good thing we found some vegan options.

In other news, Lori and I are proud owners of mountain bikes! Lori had one before but it was old and beat down. When you see her on the dirt on an S-Works Epic she’ll have a big smile on her face. Wait a minute, that’s what she looks like all the time riding a bike. I’ll be rolling an S-Works Stumpjumper FSR. Yep, full suspension for me too. After my 2 week training camp last fall to get ready to get my butt kicked in the 24 Hours of Moab team ride I remembered how much fun it is to ride the dirt. Lori and I followed that up with a week in Moab over Thanksgiving and I was rehooked! I’ll try to get some photos rolled up on this thing soon.

See you out on the road for now. Oh, and if you see me eating a Dillo, looks like a twinkie, don’t slap it out of my hand. They are pricey and delicious!!!

Every so often I get things that make me smile. Today I logged in to write a blog entry and had lots of ideas running through my head but nothing was materializing. It’s been a great weekend. Got some fun rides done, spent a lot of time with Lori, accomplished some home projects (amazing, I know), got a lot of coaching work done, spent Sunday evening with Lori, Missie and Marie ( I know my grammar is not that smooth here), and felt tired from my week of training. It was a great Valentine’s weekend! By the way, Tyler Riedesel of Canyon Bicycles Racing Team finished 5th OVERALL at Valley of the Sun Stage Race.

So while trying to come up with an idea and staring at the screen I saw that the blogging software shows search engine results related to this blog. I almost couldn’t stop laughing. What was making me laugh so hard? The search engine result listed was: “dave harward doping”. Pretty funny. It made me try to imagine who was searching on that.

So you now no longer have to search for it, I’ll give you all the dirty secrets if you really want them. Over the past 10 years or so I have spent 8 of them eating mostly a vegetarian diet and the past 6 months transitioning to a vegan diet. The best “stuff” out there comes from Cakewalk vegan bakery. Missie dragged me down into the hell-hole of vegan desserts. It falls under the category of Caketastrophe. They are called Dillos, or as Kelly states, think Twinkies but vegan. They come in a variety of flavors: Naked Dillos, Choco Dillos, Raz Dillos, Ding Dillos, and Scribbles.

My favorite by far are the Naked Dillos, just like a good old fashioned Twinkie that I would eat as a rambunctious young monkey. Although my favorite way of Twinkie preparation was to put them in the freezer. My brother and I would fight over them. Check out their menu on the link and you’ll realize how easy it is to become a junkie. Unfortunately the cupcakes are difficult to manage when you are trying to dig them out of your jersey pocket. It’s so frustrating when you get that much frosting all over your race gloves. If you see me eating something that looks like a twinkie during a road race, slap it out of my hand. I can’t help myself.

My other super-secret is dark chocolate, preferably in the form of cacao bean nibs mixed with goji berries. Cacao beans give you that oh-so-pleasant-mellow-dude feeling. Eat a handful and 10-15 minutes later you start talking about how great life is and how good you feel. Unfortunately I recently was shocked to find out that Fig Newtons contain milk and eggs!!! WTH!!! I always was able to get the freebie out on the group ride with Mike Pratt of The Claw since they would buy a large package of Fig Newtons and always offer to share half with me. Fortunately I drink enough beet/fuji apple/carrot/spinach/broccoli/ginger juice to make up for it. Yes, all organic!

So there you have it. I’m a vegan dessert junkie and I honestly think it makes me go faster!

To begin with, Lori had a rolfing appointment downtown yesterday and she was early so she stopped by Cakewalk near 9th east and 4th south in the SLC. They make amazing vegan baked goods but around the holidays they make amazing vegan dark chocolate treats. Lori brought me a hugantic peanut butter cup: peanut butter candy filled with a dark chocolate shell. I ate it just before my afternoon ride. Dark chocolate does amazing things, like make you feel slightly euphoric. I rode along in the chilly sunshine enjoying everything.

While I was riding along the farm roads south of Lehi I almost got run over by this old guy in a 4Runner. He finally pulled over, stuck a camera out the window and pointed a camera up to snap a shot of a bald eagle.

About 6 miles later on the American Fork boat harbor road I had to pull over for these guys.

This week was great and I saw a lot of this. This is what Wednesday through the weekend looked like. Fun stuff for tomorrow too!

Rode out to Five Mile Pass today and enjoyed the fresh air today. From the corner of Redwood Road and I think what turns into Lehi Main Street, you’ve got around 15-17 miles of uninterrupted riding out to the Five Mile Pass area. The shoulder is wide at least until Fairfield. From what I’ve experienced over the past few years riding out that direction is that the drivers are fairly considerate. Last winter I was out near Fairfield solo and hadn’t been paying attention to the bad weather that was building to the northeast. When I turned around at Five Mile I knew it was going to be a blizzard of a ride home. Half way between Fairfield and Cedar Fort I, of course, flatted. As I was changing the flat a truck stopped to make sure I was ok and offered a ride.

Being my optimistic-about-weather-self I declined, imagining that the storm would clear up. I got the flat changed and started pedaling again. As the road turns direct East the snow was blowing sideways. At least it was cold enough that it was just piling up on my tights and jacket. When I got to Lehi I figured it was a rough enough day so far that I could call for the extraction. Unfortunately for me, Lori was with the girls and no one was home. Maybe it was a good thing. I made it home, none the worse for wear and I pushed through when I didn’t really want to.

Back to Five Mile Pass today and my burning question of interest. The south end of the Oquirrhs look like they could provide some decent skiing. Anyone ever ski out there? While I have for the time being turned into a non-skier I always see pitches that look like a lot of fun to ski.

I saw Sohmy’s post about seeing a bald eagle today near Scipio. I wonder how close he came to hitting it!?!?!

Wickie Vom Gleisenauer Schloß is a German Shepherd Dog. She joined the family almost a year ago and will be 8 years old this Sunday. She is, by all accounts, an amazing dog. My life has been changed significantly since she entered our home.

Here is some cool information about her pedigree as well as a cool picture when she was a young lady. You can see some great photos of her at her facebook page, thanks to Marie and Missie. Make friends with her. She occassionally makes updates.

Spending time with Wickie brings a supreme sense of calm. Today Lori and Wickie went for a snow-trail run in Corner Canyon. Wickie and I have had some fun in deep snow hiking/running Grandeur Peak and in Yellow Fork of Rose Canyon.

Happy Birthday this Sunday Wickie!

The new road shoes finally made their debut. I go through a lot of internal stress about new shoes. Changing cleats makes me nervous, so when it’s time for new shoes I get worked up. Nearly 30 minutes went by as I tried my very best to match up cleat position on the new shoes to my old shoes. The new shoes have been sitting here at the house for a good 3 weeks. I just kept putting off the cleat installation.  It seems like every time I install new cleats the left shoe always feels a bit off and I end up correctly my foot position throughout every ride.

I should have taken care of it 3 weeks ago. The 2010 S-Works shoes have felt great from day 1. Each time they would feel a bit tired I got a new pair of insoles. Riding the 2011′s was revealing. The new shoes felt significantly more supportive and the compression of the Boa system felt much more even. Best part is I got the cleats dialed on the first attempt. Remember it did take around 30 minutes before I stopped messing with them. Happy feet.

Hopefully the roads are a bit drier tomorrow to get out. Oh yeah, almost forgot. Training plan quote of the day: “…had to get up at 4 to get it in but it was worth it.” That is serious!

I do have to make a political rant. Gray Wolves do not need to be killed. One of our dishonorable members of Congress from Utah thinks that there are enough Gray Wolves again in this country and something should be done about it. Let there be wildness people!!! If there is no more wild then we have truly destroyed ourselves. Save a little bit for those coming after us.

On another note, it sounds like even though there is no registration or race information on the website, the Tour de Sol is still happening. Sweet!

Not sure why I’m back to this. I’m trying to write this blog from my phone so that it is more difficult. Not sure if I’m going to commit to writing all future entries with the phone or not.

Rode bikes with some great guys this past weekend. The Claw was there and that made me pleased to be as well. The Claw digs riding bikes. He loves it. If you get a chance join our group ride on Saturday and Sunday mornings and I guarantee you will laugh harder than you ever have before while riding bikes. Spend some time riding alongside The Claw.

Mondays are typically off the bike days for me. Lori and I spent some time together and then she rolled out for Rolfing and I made my way to the torture chamber as well. If you need to have your legs ripped apart you should go see Stephen at Massage Envy in Draper. Piriformis and IT Bands feel much better.
I followed this up by stopping in at Barbacoa. Please tell me their tortillas are vegan. To my surprise I was able to sit down with Rowdy Cody Rohovit and Nate Dog Arnim. I dig chatting with these cats. Great guys and good friends.

I’m in Draper for a good part of the day on Mondays. Come see me if you want a BG FIT. A couple riders did today. It is very satisfying to help someone get comfy on their bike. I hear this too often: “I thought being somewhat uncomfortable on the saddle or having pain in my hands and/or feet was just part of cycling.” It isn’t! I can help and I have a blast doing it! During the first fit of the day we were treated to a thunderstorm and snow. Exciting mix. Crazy.

Got home tonight and Lori was in the process of making juice. Awesome recipe:
3 organic carrots
2 organic fuji apples
2 organic beets, leaves included
Lots of organic broccoli
Good size piece of organic ginger, peeled
Large handful of organic spinach

I drank this while eating delicious veggie chili over potatoes and pouring over emails. Best quote from training plan entries for today: “It was incredibly windy which made the intervals more painful but ultimately more valuable.” Kick ass! Best quote from training plan entries in 2010: “I hate you Dave.” That is also kick ass!

The bike room at the house has been a complete disaster as of late…ok, the past 6 months. It is now completely organized and I also have a Vittoria Corsa Slick 23 prepped to glue to a Easton EC90 Aero front wheel. Numerous SRAM 1090 11-26 cassettes and one 11-25 required cleaning and are soaking in degreaser. This project has also netted a number of items destined for sale. Big item: S-Works Transition built with SRAM Red and Reynolds wheels.

Tomorrow should be fun. Plenty of Plan 7 Coaching projects in the AM hours and hopefully some bike riding in the afternoon. New Plan 7 Coaching stickers are in production thanks to Chris! They’ll be coming soon so hit me up if you want to have a cool sticker on your car or bike. If anyone wants to ride in the South Jordan area around 1ish PM we should rally. I’m hoping the snow will have disappeared and the roads mostly dried.

Typing on the phone started to not be cool. Don’t get me started on the legislative session!