USA vs. FOOD

Walk in to any public place and one thing will hit you every time, as a general population we are overweight. Not just five or ten pounds but significantly overweight. The scary thing is accepted as the norm and kids are raised not knowing any different.

The main problem is Americans don't know how to eat. We wake up and eat a pop tart followed with a carnation breakfast drink for our daily vitamins. Seriously? What happend to an egg sandwhich, cereal, homemade pancakes, oatmeal... and a good cup of coffee? Make time in your day for real food. It is more fun to make, tastes better, and you will be much happier. The scary part is this happens all day every day for most people.

We need to eat real food made in our own homes, not in somebody elses factory. There are some basic liquid staples: water, coffee, tea, wine, good beer. If you are drinking "water" that is purple and has more than one ingredient, put it down and chug a glass of tap water out of a cup, not a plastic bottle. Eating and drinking needs to be simplified. Our bodies are very complex and built to handle anything nature can throw at them. The problem now is the things we are throwing at our bodies are not from nature, they are made in labs in Midland. We are made to eat things that are grown and running around, nothing else. There is no superfood or miracle food. A nicely balanced diet is the miracle many are looking for. Eat fresh blueberries in your oatmeal, make some homemade pizza and muffins, cook eggs in the morning, fire up the grill and throw some veggies on it, eat an apple with peanut butter. DO NOT eat: packaged breakfast, fast food, food you can't trace the origin of, miracle foods or pills.

These are my basic rules of eating, it should be fun, exciting, and different everyday. Eat slowly and cook slowly. Eat REAL food all the time, it is always better for you than the new protein bar or recovery shake. Never, ever, pull through fast food unless the circumstances are dire. Eat what you want when you want but be concious of the taste, fuel it provides, and consequences. I love chocolate, ice cream, pizza, and can eat a batch of cookies in under five minutes. The key is to know what it does to your body.

The more in tune you become with your body the better your eating habits become. This is a natural process becasue you know what fuels your body the most efficienctly. Go to your local farmers market and stock up, it's cheaper and more fun. Don't drink from plastic bottles and make your own food, the end result is worth it. Remember to have a good glass of wine or beer with dinner to keep yourself in check.

WB

2009 WORLDS

Congrats to Cadel Evans! Cadel rode away with the Mens Road Race today taking the gold. This should silence some of the haters after his Tour performance. He has a bunch of World medals from MTB but this is the first Goooold. In the mens TT Cancellara destroyed people and won by 90 seconds. Damn. That is the equivalent of playing Lebron his senior year of high school when you're a freshman.

Nice work to Armstrong on the womens side. Gold and 4th to close out an amazing career.

The only worlds I'll ever make is Single Speed and that's an open entry.

Fall, Beer, and Bikes

Fall reminds me of why I ride. I spend the winter and spring training to constantly get faster and faster, often times forgetting what I'm doing in the first place. The training is fun and keeps me motivated through the winter months. Once fall rolls around though my legs and head need a serious break. This is where bikes and beer come in. I can't imagine trying to head out M119 doing 5x3 intervals or repeats on North Conway right now. Fun in the spring/summer, hell in the fall. Instead, I'm watching football and waiting for T-Stone to come over with a bike and 6-pack. Our ride might be 30 minutes or 90 minutes and I don't really care. Either way it will be a blast. I'll probably try to climb slowly and descend fast, eat shit, laugh, and drink an extra beer or two to wash it all down. Perfect.

Finally

I have been meaning to start this blog for about 2 years, now is finally the time. I was having a beer the other night with a friend of mine you know as T-Stone and we were throwing around some ideas. Twistedstone.com is a great site that is in the growing and learning phase. The goal is to promote mountain biking, get people off the couch and outside, get dirty, and have a damn good time. I'll have race reports, stories, product reviews, nutrition ideas (i learn what not to eat all the time), and some hilarious photo's. Thanks for checking in, time to get outside and go.