Stabbing at Local VA Clinic

No one gave their opinion on yesterday's post, so I will present my opinion Wednesday. That gives all four of my readers the great opportunity to voice their opinion about the Shootout. Just kidding. I have more than four readers. ;-)

I haven't ridden since I last rode. I can't remember when that was. Looking at my log, it was Thursday when I had to ride to the VA Clinic for a fasting blood draw. That was fun.

I rode six miles with only water in my stomach so someone could stab my arm. It wasn't very fun. She missed the vein on the right arm, and left a nice, knobby hematoma on the left. Translation: she went through the vein. In all fairness, I'm getting to be a pretty difficult draw as I age. That's a scary thought considering I'm only 31. At this rate, they'll need to put a PICC line in when I'm 51 to have any kind of access to my veins. ;-)

The blood actually tracked up my arm, so there is a "tail" to my bruise. It's kind of cool, but I prefer the kind of bruises that result from colliding with chainrings and rocks. They want me to come back for another draw so they can test for iron because my hemoglobin count was low. That's ok. I can already tell them I haven't been eating enough iron. I think I'll put off the next great opportunity to get stabbed until I heal from this last trauma.


In recent years, I tend to bruise after blood draws. This one hurt.

Some of you are probably thinking I'm a bit morbid with my terminology, but that really is how "we" in the medical profession refer this blessed event. In brief, you are a "draw" and they "stab" you to get the vein. Fun stuff!

I didn't want to return home without something in my stomach, so I packed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and bagged some strawberries. I took along two bottles of Heed as well. I ate the strawberries when I walked out of the clinic and ate the sandwich while riding home. I really like the concept of eating real food on the bike (as opposed to gels and bars). I got the idea from a Lance Armstrong book I bought.

So, I hope this post has been useful by teaching you how you, too, can successfully ride your bike to your next fasting blood draw.

Cast Iron Dream

A couple of men have argued with me that added iron is quite unhealthy for my diet. "Iron is something we don't need an excess of." That's fine and dandy, but as a menstruating female who has felt the effects of anemia, iron is Heaven on Earth. It is no wonder that my carnivorous side overwhelmingly takes control of me after a ride. This is evident towards the end of a ride as I discuss thick, juicy burgers with my riding partner, Pat. One day, as I rolled into Calumet, I said, "I smell BEEF!" That was it. Onward to the Michigan House for a burger.

Maybe it is of no surprise that the rather untalented chef in me prefers my only cast iron skillet. I bought it for making Steak au Poivre, as seen on Good Eats with Alton Brown. I was particularly surprised to find that the best fried eggs I had ever made were out of that skillet! Oh, yes. It was better and easier than the ever-so-carcinogenic Teflon I have used all my life. What is even better about cast iron is I no longer hear the "use a plastic spatula" comment verbalized by my mother for oh, so many years (yes, mom's voice sticks in your head even when you live eight and a half hours away).


Cast iron is ideal for cooking all types of food. I bought my cast iron skillet for making Steak au Poivre (pictured), but found that fried eggs out of this skillet are just as easy and equally delightful.

As a female cyclist, cast iron is not only a great tool for producing splendid post-workout meals, but it provides me with that oh-so-necessary iron that promotes adequate transport of iron throughout my body. While I absolutely love beef, it is not something I eat very much of. In fact, I've answered the "are you a vegetarian" question many times because my diet consists mostly of fruits, vegetables, and faux meat (I love Morningstar Farms soy Chik products).


Cast iron cookware adds to the iron content of food. Steak au Poivre with scalloped potatoes, corn, and an oh, so yummy biscuit.

I succumb to the temptation of beef rather easily and I can say with quite a bit of certainty that I am most certainly *not* a vegetarian. However, with beef tenderloin prices beyond what I can afford on an average day, faux chicken is usually my choice. That means I usually sacrifice the benefits of dietary iron . . . unless, of course, I cook with my cast iron skillet.

Spring Training is Here

I woke up this morning with one thing in mind: long ride. I wanted to do a moderate ride for about three hours. I had three goals in mind:
1. Average about 15 mph
2. Maintain an efficient pedal stroke
3. Ride for three hours

I ate a healthy breakfast:
* Malt-O-Meal
* Yogurt with raspberries, vanilla, and chocolate chips
* Grapefruit
* 2 slices of toast
* Water

It took me longer than expected to get my lazy butt out the door, so I had a salad:
* Leaf lettuce
* Tomato
* Croutons
* Homemade French dressing

I made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, cut it in two, wrapped the halves, filled two water bottles with Heed and left.

I didn't meet the first goal. I took it fairly easy starting out. I maintained a speed of about 17 to 18 mph for the first hour. After the first hour, I unwrapped one half of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich and washed it down with some Heed. I continued out of town and headed in the direction of the next town four miles away, according to the sign.

I geared down and began climbing. I knew it couldn't be far before I reached the top of the hill. I continued to climb. I concentrated on my pedaling and was afforded the luxury of being able to shift up twice and increase my speed. The hill wasn't ending, though. I finally reached the next town and realized I was still climbing. Four miles of climbing. Fortunately, I still felt good.

I decided to make the descent northward. Oh, yes. A descent. It was a long descent. I rode through two more towns, drank some Heed, and turned around to face my next climb. By the time I got to Calumet, I took out the other half of my sandwich and washed it down with some more Heed. Most of it was downhill from there. I proceeded to ride, but the sun hid and the wind picked up. It was cold. I rode into the wind until I reached the bottom of the hill. What I fail to tell myself every time is that this homestretch is also all uphill.

I did meet the second goal. I maintained a proper pedal stroke and it became second nature after climbing a couple of hills. The reason why I chose to pay attention to this is because I have a tendency to point my toes down when I get tired. I think the proper stroke was one of the reasons why my climbing was so good today. So, even though I didn't meet my mph goal, I had a very good ride.

After three hours and thirteen minutes, succeeding with my third goal, I reached home with 41.6 miles under my belt. My mileage averaged about 13 mph, which is actually quite respectable considering how many Keweenaw hills I chose to ride.

I walked in the house, had a tall glass of Ovaltine, did part of my yoga routine, and took a shower. I felt a little weak in the shower. I rushed through it so I could eat dinner. For my post-ride meal, the following was on the menu:
* Spaghetti with olive oil and spices mixed with a MorningStar Farms Chik Patty cut up
* Caesar salad with tomatoes
* Water
* Glass of Breckenridge Avalanche

Cyclists do long rides because they recognize the importance of endurance training. Riding slow and long can make you faster when combined with other training techniques. Another reason why I like long rides is that they help me meet my weight loss goal.

Looking at the details of this post, you will see that I've taken in a lot of calories. My breakfast alone equaled half the calories I should take in on a sedentary day. A long ride requires a lot of calories, though! According to Bicycling.com, I burned 2,023 calories - over 800 calories more than I should on a sedentary day*.

Ideally, I would have ridden my bike two hours after breakfast. My lallygagging made it necessary to consume another quick meal before I headed out the door. Normally, I wouldn't choose a salad for a pre-ride meal, either.

I am not sure what I'll do tomorrow. I have to work after class, so I am planning to drive to work, then bike to school and back. This way, I can drive home at night when I get out of work. If it's raining, I won't ride because it's too cold right now. However, I do feel a light ride like the one I have planned will do me a lot of good after this endurance ride.

* I base my caloric need on the Weight Watchers Points program. According to Weight Watchers, about 23 POINTS is what I should shoot for to lose weight. Each point is equal to about 50 calories (23 POINTS x 50 calories = 1,150 calories per day), and adjustments are made for fiber and fat content. More fiber = more food. Exercise also allows you to eat more food. So, no, I'm not starving . . . and yes, Weight Watchers works great. I lost 25 pounds on the program and kept it off using the program as a guideline.

Protein-Packed Quinoa

I have a box of quinoa that has been sitting in my cupboard for three years. I bought it because I read that it was good for you. I never opened it . . . until the other day. I was in the mood for chicken noodle soup. The only problem I have with chicken noodle soup is that it is so watery without enough substance to it. Of course, you have to add water to condensed soup, so my solution was not to cut back on the water, but add something to it. I thought the quinoa would be a great choice, and I was right! What I didn’t know was how beneficial the quinoa could be to me as a cyclist.

Quinoa is a pseudocereal – it is much like cereal grains except it isn’t a grass – from South America. It is of great value to cyclists because it is high in protein (about 5 grams per serving) and is a rich source in amino acids – it contains all the essential amino acids. This makes it a great post-ride food that can be readily available - cooked quinoa stores quite well in the refrigerator. It is also a gem for those trying to lose weight, especially while maintaining muscle mass.

The million dollar question for most of us is, “What do you do with it?” It is not something that is found in most American kitchens and some of us lack the creativity necessary to create delicious quinoa dishes because we don’t know how to tap into our inner chef. It’s a good thing we have the Internet!


Adding quinoa to soup is a great way to make a filling and complete meal.

My creativity stopped at chicken noodle soup. Adding quinoa made it an excellent, filling, post-ride meal. It doesn’t stop there:
• Treat it like rice. Make a pilaf.
• Have it for breakfast with fruit, honey, and almonds.
• Use it as breakfast porridge.
• Make soup with it.

To learn more about quinoa and find great recipes, use the following links:
Wikipedia: Quinoa
NPR: Kitchen Window – Quinoa: A Sacred, Super Crop
Epicurious: Quinoa Search Results