Team Moose Tracks

Energy Foods Review: One Good, One Bad

If you’ve read my past entries, you know how important eating right is while riding an endurance event.  With this in mind, I’ve been experimenting with high-energy (high-carb) foods that I can use as I ride in centuries this summer.  So far, my testing has revealed one clear winner and one big loser:

·     Clif Bars – This is a clear winner!  If you’re like me, you’ve probably had your share of foul-tasting, “healthy”, “natural” foods.  In fact, I think it’s a rule that most nutritional bars taste terrible.  So I purchased some Clif Bars with great skepticism.  But once I tried them, I loved them.  They taste great, are easy to handle and chew (important when you’re on a bike), and have lots of energy-producing carbs per bar.  They are also all natural.  You can get them at your local bike shop, sports store, or at Wal-mart.

·     Energy Gels – These are just what they sound like – tubes of gel-like substance that are high in carbs and energy.  I tried three different varieties and hated all three.  They are gross!!!  They taste like someone chewed up some food, added gel to it, then put it in a tube.  Yuk!!!!  They are not only nasty-tasting, but they also leave a coating in your mouth that takes at least a bottle of water to get out.  They get a big thumbs down from me.

I’ll keep looking for new, portable bike foods, but the Clif Bars are a sure-thing while I’ll never eat another gel.

Why We Have Ads on This Site

We have added ads on this site to help us raise additional funds for The Sparrow’s Nest.  Every single penny earned from our ads will be donated to our fundraising efforts.

How to Donate to Our Cause

If you’d like to donate to our efforts, you can simply:

1. Make out a check to “The Sparrow’s Nest”

2. Mail it to:

Team Moose Tracks

c/o Denali Flavors

4666 Leighton Lakes Drive

Wayland, MI 49348

Or, if you prefer, you can donate directly to The Sparrow’s Nest.

Finally, if you have any questions about donating, just send me an email and I’ll get back to you.

Thank you so much for your support!

Pic of The Sparrow’s Nest

Here’s a photo of the main orphanage run by The Sparrow’s Nest.

Pic of the Kids

Just received a photo of some of the kids from The Sparrow’s Nest, courtesy of Alissa Stemple, the Director of the organization.  I thought you would all like to see who/what we’re raising money for.

Food and Drink Needed Before, During, and After an Endurance Event

In previous posts here and here, I’ve talked about the need for eating and drinking during an endurance event.  But in order to perform to the best of our abilities, we need to eat and drink properly before, during, and after the event.  In addition, there are specific amounts we need to eat and drink.  I’ve been researching this topic, and here’s what I’ve come up with:

Three Days before Event

·     10 grams of carbs for every Kg of weight (1 kg = 2.2 pounds)

·     Drink lots of fluids

Just before Event

·     2-3 hours before event, have a high carb meal – enough to feel comfortable, not stuffed

·     Drink 16 oz. of fluids just prior to race

During Event

·     Need 16 to 20 oz. of fluids every hour

·     Need 30 to 60 grams of carbs every hour (by combination of food and drink).  Note: fluids are preferred as they empty more quickly from the stomach)

After Event

·     Consume 50 to 100 grams of carbs within 1 hour (15 minutes is better) of finish

If anyone has anything to add, I’d sure appreciate your thoughts.

The Sparrow’s Nest Connection to Moose

I just discovered something pretty cool (or at least interesting, depending on your point of view).  Try to follow my train of thought…if you dare.  Here goes:

·     The Sparrow's Nest is based in Jelgava, a town of approximately 100,000 people approximately one hour drive south of the capital Riga.

·     The main image on the crest of Jelgava is a moose.  Check it out here.

So, don’t you think it’s ironic that it’s Team Moose Tracks that’s riding to raise money for an organization based in a town where a moose is the main part of the crest?

OK, maybe it’s just me.

Pro-Atkins to Anti-Atkins

Almost two years ago now, I was the poster child for the Atkins diet.  I was several pounds overweight (even though people referred to me as “skinny” I knew I had let the extra weight pack on over the years).  So, I went on the Atkins diet.

I have always been a meat lover, so the Atkins diet was for me.  I ate all the meat, cheese and Atkins products I could find.  And it worked.  I lost 30 pounds over three months and my cholesterol went down – dramatically on one measure.  It was great.

Then I took up cycling.

As I studied cycling, I found out about the importance of my arch-enemy – carbohydrates.  Yikes!  Was it true that the forbidden fruit held the energy I needed to ride better.  Alas, it was.

So now I eat the opposite of the Atkins diet.  I eat pasta, bread (whole wheat), oatmeal, and on and on.  I drink drinks (like Gatorade) just for the carbs.  And I have the energy I need to bike.

My weight?  It’s stayed down even though I’ve changed eating patterns.  I guess that’s what riding 25 miles four times a week will do for ya, huh?

The 20 Best Bike Riding Songs of All Time (So Far)

After writing earlier about how great music is to ride to, I thought I’d list my top 20 songs as of now.  This list is always in flux (as I get/add new songs) and my taste is a bit unusual (country/oldies/Christian), but here are the songs on my list in countdown order (with their approximate title and artist):

20.  Love Song by Third Day – Songs with a slow beat are at a disadvantage on this list, but this is still a great song.  Good for the cool down after a 30-miler.

19.  Holy by Nichole Nordeman – Same comment as above.  Good for a warm-up song.

18.  Save Me by Remy Zero – The theme song from TV’s “Smallville”.  Who couldn’t get motivated by a song about Superman?

17.  Because You Loved Me by Celine Dion – My friends reading this will start laughing at this point.  But it is a good song!!!!!

16.  God of Wonders by Caedmon's Call – Still in the slow song, warm-up/cool down group.  But this is a classic.

15.  My Will by dc Talk – So inspirational that you have to pedal faster!

14.  The Cover of the Rolling Stone by Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show  – It’s not only great to ride to, but it makes me smile every time I hear it.  At least someone is honest about their music motivations.

13.  Peace Train by Cat Stevens – Not a fast song, but an inspirational one.  I try not to remember that Cat Stevens went coo-coo shortly after recording this song.

12.  Forever by Third Day – Now we’re starting to hit the “rockin’ song” section of this list.

11.  Up Around the Bend by Creedence Clearwater Revival – I’m sorry to rank this song out of the top 10, but the others are just better.

10.  Since I Met You by dc Talk – “Was at the end of my rope” needs to be changed to be “Was at the end of the road” to really make it a perfect bike song. But then it wouldn’t go with the rest of the song.  Anyway, this is one of my all time favorite songs – bike or not.

9.   Nah! By Shania Twain – My friends are really laughing now.

8.   He Reigns by the Newsboys – How can you beat a song that rocks the church?  You can’t.

7.   Spinning Around by Jump 5 – Ok, here’s one for the teenie-bopper in me.  But it’s a great song and really motivates me to push hard.  I like to save it for the end of a ride when I’m close to exhaustion and need that extra boost.  Yes, my friends are on the floor now.

6.   Gone by Toby Mac – The newest song on my list.  This is my eight-year-old son’s favorite song at the present time.  I like it too.

5.   Bye, Bye, Bye by N’Sync – Another teenie-bopper song.  But another good beat too.  Great for pedaling.

4.   Standing Still by Jewel – Yes, you are standing still.  I’m flying by you at 22 mph. J

3.   Come on Eileen by Dexy’s Midnight Runners – I told you I had strange tastes!

2.   Spiderwebs by No Doubt – It’s almost the perfect beat for pedaling.  If you try and keep in time with most of the song, you’ll be going 80-90 revolutions per minute.

1.   This Kiss by Faith Hill – What can I say?  It’s got great speed, a catchy tune, and is perfect for a 1.5 mile burst of speed.

That’s it for my list.  Are there any songs I missed?  Let me know.

What to Do When Riding an Indoor Trainer

Before I started training this winter on an indoor trainer, I read several articles about training inside and noted that almost all of them commented on how “boring” it was.  I decided it couldn’t be that bad (Besides, what choice do I have?  I live in the tundra of Grand Rapids, Michigan). 

Now that I’m three months into my indoor training, I can say – it is boring.

If all you do is ride your bike when you’re indoors, I’m convinced you’ll go crazy within a month – six weeks at max.  So unless you want to head for the place they took your old Uncle Joe when he started thinking his dog was actually an alien, consider these suggestions for making your indoor ride more bearable:

·     Music – I listen to music when I ride outside (it drums out the speeding cars that are ready to run over me, making sure my last few moments will at least be happy), so why not do it inside?   Riding to good, fast-paced music is worth 2-3 extra mph of speed during a ride – it’s that exciting.

·     Book on tape – Not as exciting as music, but more educational.  I can “read” a book in a fraction of the time by listening to it (rather than actually reading it), and I can get through scores of books a year that I would otherwise not be able to enjoy.  But books are not always the best motivators, so I spend half my time (at the start of the ride) with a book and the other half (at the end when I need a bit more umph) with music.

·     TV – Yes, I can listen to a book, watch TV, and pedal like a madman all at the same time.  I set my TV on the floor in front of me, try to find something I can watch without needing the sound (sports are great), and turn up the volume really loud.  Then I put on my headphones, start my book on tape, and start pedaling.  If I see something I want to hear about, I pause the CD player and I can hear the TV – even above the bike sound (because I turned it up so loud).  Of course, my wife and kids think I’m going deaf because the volume is up so loud (I don’t let them know that I’m actually not watching it with the volume most of the time – also, that’s why I ride in the basement).

·     Eating/drinking – You have to have nourishment on rides, so I set up a large step ladder next to my bike and put a couple bottles on it – one with water and the other with Gatorade.  Since I’m only riding 30 miles at a pop now, I don’t need to have food during the ride, but once I start going longer, I’ll add it.

So, those are my suggestions.  I’d love to hear from any of you who have some other ideas.  I’m always up for something new to do while riding.