Those 70’s Shall Return

If you are not a skier, you are most likely anxious for spring, and aching to get out for a ride. Let your heart not be troubled. Though the 70’s, a near perfect temperature range, may be a ways away, this very weekend there is a bike swap in La Crosse (Feb.28). La Crosse with their La Crosse Omnium people are even now promoting their first event of the season; a time trial, criterium and road race; May 1st–3rd. It is the same weekend for the WORS season opening event The Iola Bump and Jump; one of my most favorite WORS races (wink wink). Road bike or mountain bike your next fix is a mere two months away.

If you happen to be a woman, I suspect I have many women readers, Ray’s Indoor MTB Park is having a women’s only day March 13th. It is a whole weekend dedicated to women. It is also the very same weekend of The Bike-O-Rama in Madison. Of course your all counting your secret stashes and dreaming of the Bike Expo in Milwaukee; April10th-12th.

Some say “Preparation is the key to success.” I say, “Succeeding is the key to success. It’s time to prepare to succeed.”

The odd part of this Winter is that it started early, very cold, is ending late, very cold, but the middle was just right. It must be heaven for the ski hills right now with the frequent extreme cold, not to mention the late snows we enjoyed. They will make up a lot of lost ground if it doesn’t warm up too quickly, but wouldn’t the 70’s feel nice right now.

Speaking of the 70’s, and the Bulletproof Diet, I was looking over bulletproof cooking techniques and my mind went to this Turbo Cooker Plus our friend had given us some years ago, that I had been trying to sell for $20 as rummage the last few years.

It’s a steam/convection kind of cooking thing, that if you enjoy attentively creating your meals you can cook your whole meal in this one  not too little thingy. You just put the stuff in that cooks slowest first and keep adding items respectively. It appears to be a bulletproof way of cooking from how I understand it. …Yeah, I know, our stove looks like its from the 70’s too.

Some of the literature was dated 2002 but the recipe cards, not to mention the instructional video, scream 70’s. My wife was happy how quickly she cooked some whole boneless skinless chicken breasts last night. We looked at the guide to see how long to cook the breasts. The guide had listed large boneless skinless chicken breasts (as opposed to instructions for smaller breasts) at 5-6oz. My wife had bought a package of four breasts, on sale. It was a three pound package. …That’s 12oz a breast! Twice the size of forty years ago.

It’s called GMO chicken people; Genetically Modified Object. My wife and I both felt we bulked up over night, after our chicken dinner. Makes me wish we had gotten to the farmer’s market this last Saturday. The chicken was moist and nicely cooked and my wife steamed the broccoli on one of the racks at the end while the chicken was still cooking.

The Oscars? Did we watch? I was waiting to throw my hands over my eyes, when Lady Gaga tore off that princess gown she was wearing. It never happened and I ended up pleasantly impressed. We still have all those movie gift cards. Just haven’t been interested and when we catch some time to see a movie… “American Sniper” is just too long for the times we could catch it. “Jupiter Rising” looks interesting because Mila Kunis stars in it. (I bet she’s getting paid more than the other actors and actresses in the movie) My wife and I have been fans of Mila Kunis since we saw her on “That 70’s Show.” We thought then that She and Ashton were a perfect couple. Everyone around my age knew a couple, just like their characters in the show, when they were growing up.

I was 267lbs today after lunch. If I am soundly under 265lbs by the end of the month I will be supremely confident in the Bulletproof Diet, even though I will have missed my goal.

Now for the $87 question: What were my three most favorite WORS races? Still the same question. Check out the Charity Jackpot Page link in the sidebar to possibly triple the amount.

The Cravings

Are you craving a Pizza? The last Metro Mountain Bikers’ monthly meeting was at a Pizza joint. It was busy, noisy and the service… well there wasn’t any if you weren’t there before the meeting started and chased down a server.

Fat Tuesday passed without a Punchki or Paczki. Regrettable, though I always feel a warmth in my heart recalling working in New Orleans some decades ago on Fat Tuesday. Police of every stripe, civil and military, form up across the streets at midnight and pummel, beat and manhandled anyone who doesn’t get off the street. A story I have related to various degrees on several occasions in the past. Am I wrong to delight in the well deserved sufferings of others? Drunken and depraved fools getting their up commence; a metaphor for justice in which, if not lacking in our daily lives, all would be happier and looking to a brighter future.

Some may crave food, others justice, some just a good ride on their bike. Lapham Peak State Park is, or was at the time of the meeting, in good shape for fat bike riding. The Lapham Peak Fat Bike Series was a great success. They will be donating the profits to Lapham Peak. If you ever visited the park, went into their buildings, you would see that it is supported and cared for by many user groups who donate time and money to support park use. Much in the same way Metro Mountain Bikers supports mountain biking, by building trails with their own money and volunteers. Word is, when it warms up, their will be not only Odd Tuesday Rides but newly established Even Monday Maintenance Days. It will make volunteering a bit more convenient for those who need to plan ahead or don’t keep a close eye on the Internet.

Justice? It’s only for those who are above it. I seriously doubt that there are not people in my neighborhood who know exactly whose plow struck my car in our alley. And they had to swing in several feet to hit me. The first thing my friend asked me when I told him what happened was, “Did they do it on purpose?” (my neighbors snow blower cleared the snow beside my car) I guess I am not deemed as important as others and will suffer far greater financially than the guilty party would if he would fess up. But my book sales are beginning to move. Another novel and short story coming out this summer.

So I did some weight training and really got hit with the cravings. This always happens when I exercise. I thought it might be different with the bulletproof diet. I drop weight when I don’t expect it and add a pound or two when I expect the otherwise. For many years a went through a cycle of gaining ten pounds in the Winter, then dropping five in the warmer months. I leveled off the last few years, but I hold great confidence that warmer weather will really have me dropping the pounds on this diet. We are not 100% into the bulletproof diet. Our idea of throwing out everything that isn’t bulletproof (as the author recommends), is to eat it.

The bulletproof coffee creates a baseline from which you can judge the effect of other foods on your body. Yes, high fructose corn syrup causes cravings. I consider it near a crime that people are forced to live off corn syrup, if they are buying anything but produce and fresh meats and eggs. Of course most all your meat and fowl are fed corn, and even worse soy.

Sometimes the official bulletproof coffee (the grounds) goes on sale, if you’d ever like to try it. They keep their product fresh, so they have to keep the inventory moving. Not sure if you have to sign up for the e-mail to get the offer.

Despite the fun I make of myself here on the blog, for the entertainment of you my readers, we have been eating fairly healthy with moderate portions for many years. We don’t suffer greatly with cravings. I have a goal to get below 260lbs by the end of the month with this new diet. Not sure if I’ll get there but I have to try. The first twelve pounds were easy, now it’s little by little.

There are the Pizza cravings and Oreo cravings. They pass about fifteen minutes after the contraband is consumed. Are Oreo’s more addictive than cocaine? I never used cocaine but I imagine Oreos could be. Fortunately the withdrawal is over before you can get back to the grocery store. (no I haven’t recently indulged in Oreos)

Lent has begun. A time to abstain and attend Friday fish fries. Is it just me that finds a contradiction in the feelings and hopes we hold on Christmas and the regrets and humble gratitude experienced on Easter?

Peace on Earth Goodwill to Man, and stay warm, even if you’re fasting.

But not before the $87 question: What were my three most favorite WORS races? Still the same question. Check out the Charity Jackpot Page link in the sidebar to possibly triple the amount.

The Meat, The Meat, The Meat

As MacArthur would have said if he had had a Bar-B-Q show on PBS. So, as my wife was in a cultural panic, her husband telling her what we should eat, in bewilderment I asked her, “Is it that hard to understand? Buy protein, not root beer popsicles and fudge bars.”

So she came home with a peperoni pizza.

The Metro Mountain Bikers’ monthly meeting is tomorrow, Tuesday, evening at Magellan’s/M2 on Main Street in Waukesha. If we go and buy a pizza it will be a thin crust.

The best spaghetti sauce I have ever had is made with ground venison. So I bought some ground elk at the Winter Farmer’s Market Saturday, located in an auxiliary building at the Milwaukee Domes. You can sign up for their weekly e-news letter to find out what is available week to week. Parking is free.

I also bought some beef liver from a grass fed cow, or rather from the farmer that took his liver. Last week we got us some Lamb at the Farmer’s Market. Real Lamb, less than one year old, unlike the mutton from New Zealand that I heard has been marketed as Lamb here in the US. Sweet savory mouth watering Lamb, and that was just the stew meat my wife put in her curry. It was delicious; Wisconsin Lamb. They give a special feed to the Lambs a few weeks before slaughter to create a consistent flavor as they supply many restaurants. It includes some grains, so it isn’t bulletproof, as in the diet, but did I mention that it is delicious.

You can also buy fresh farmed fish. Farmed fish is also not bulletproof. I almost bought some trout but since my wife hasn’t been around the last few days it wouldn’t have been cooked up too soon. In a documentary we watched on the Paleo Diet; “The Perfect Human Diet”, they found that modern man from the Paleo period, existing together with the Neanderthals, outlasted the Neanderthals. The only difference in their diet, determined from bone testing, was fish. In the orient fishing is often considered a form of meditation.

You can find much of what is at the Farmer’s Market at a place such as Whole Foods or The Outpost, but the open market is a nice way to start a Saturday. You can find locally grown fresh vegetables, better than organic (you have to check that stand out, there every week), and stuff like Hickory Syrup (the syrup guy only comes in once a month).

I went to the gym today. A bit of weightlifting, and some chocolate whey protein mixed, in non-homogenized batch pasteurized cream on top whole milk, when I got back. Whey protein is bulletproof. A first entry in my fitness log for 2015. For now I will keep my log on my Yahoo Group page. I was debating whether to transfer it all to a spread sheet on one of my older computers. Yahoo has really been dumbing down their features over the years. They had a perfectly good spreadsheet function that they changed to something that freezes up and cannot collate by date; only by order of entry.

Now I have one more fudge bar to dispose of.

But not before the $86 question: What were my three most favorite WORS races? Still the same question. Check out the Charity Jackpot Page link in the sidebar to possibly triple the amount.

Off Season Prep, But for What?

USA Cycling has a great promotion to get you to apply for your racing license; insurance included. They are offering 1,000 hours in training videos for free. That’s half a year of full time viewing. Certainly if you are a series racer, such as in the WORS Series, that is a great deal.

Actually WORS participation numbers were down slightly last year. I suspect, since mountain biking trails are being used more than ever, that it is a sign of our tight economy. Racing takes just a bit more investment in time and equipment. Series racing takes a big commitment.

The single event races are a different animal. Less $$$ than trying to compete in a full series of races. Registration for The Trans Alp is open; twenty-four weeks away. If you’re not that brutal of a racer it is never too soon to register for the Ore to Shore. And if you are an outright nut case on a bike, I’m sorry, but the Trans Iowa has reached its limit. I recognized a few names on the list.

‘But Phillip’, you say, ‘You’re the only nut case we’re interested in.’ I understand, so here we go.

Yes, we bought the MCT Oil, which is a refined version of the coconut oil, for the Bulletproof Coffee, at least the simplistic version we consume. Misao still likes the coconut oil in her coffee, with the butter from grass fed cows. The MCT Oil is more conducive to using in tea; it has little to no flavor. The Bulletproof book recommends green tea and yerba matte. Teavana would not recommend a tea. Many still believe butter and fats in general are bad for you, not necessarily a good marketing strategy to promote butter in your tea, and besides, they sell teas. They don’t promote a particular concoction designed for a specific purpose. I can actually taste the black tea I currently have, through the butter and oil.

My wife considers quality teas a bargain, as you can use them several times over with great result. Fava Tea Company has two stores in the Milwaukee metropolitan area. Of course you can always go Internet. There is the Mark T Wendell Tea Company, quality teas since 1902. Then there is the ESP Emporium, as well as many others I am sure. The Bulletproof Diet suggests that coffee provides great things for your body, that tea just can’t.

“No.” I told my wife, “That’s my favorite t-shirt.” as she suggested I throw it away; she likes to cut up old t-shirts and sheets for single use cleaning clothes. So I was grabbing up some towels the other day to scrub the floor and what did I find?

My favorite t-shirt. …The Horror! …My wife has me scrubbing floors.

Trying to convince my wife that coconut cream pie, cheese puffs and daily bowls of Shin Ramyun were not part of the Bulletproof Diet, we have been watching food documentaries. I watch many food documentaries, though mostly dealing with the growing and processing of food. We saw one that promoted juicing. Jack LaLanne had an incredible life transformation through juicing. I read one reviewer that didn’t rank his juicer in the top tier.

The Bulletproof Diet, which trends to Paleo but references biological science more and recommends supplements, lists many vegetables as being best for you only when cooked, such as spinach and most kales. This is something that is contradictory to the juicing culture. Both the Paleo and Bulletproof, backed by irrefutable science, declare the vegetarian diet, especially the vegan diet, in the long run, in the long run I say, as being extremely detrimental to your health.

Yes, we watched a documentary on the Paleo Diet, which follows a logic I have always believed in; eat like we’ve been eating the last two million years. Paleo promoters suggest that the Paleo diet, a high (mostly) protein and plant diet, drove evolution and that the modern diet, since the introduction of large quantities of grain (10,000 years of agriculture), is driving a de-evolution of man. Our brains are getting smaller. Paleo man (identical genetically to modern man) not only had a larger brain, and jaws big enough to fit all your teeth, but was also taller and stronger than modern man. Reminds me of the history of the German people, known for their great size and wild living, when they began encroaching on the Roman Empire.

I am looking into the Paleo diet because there seem to be a good collection of recipes. The Bulletproof diet has recipes but not nearly as many. The Paleo recipes fit with the bulletproof diet. My wife seems lost menu wise because she doesn’t know what meals to make for the diet we are trying. Or she just doesn’t want me to shrink out of the nice new clothes she just bought me for Christmas.

So, in both of the above mentioned diets baked goods are considered bad for you, even labeled a non-human food. Always? Is it always bad for you? It’s hard for me to believe that Paleo man didn’t bake Christmas cookies.

Here is the $85 question: What are my three most favorite WORS races? Still the same question. Check out the Charity Jackpot Page link in the sidebar to possibly triple the amount.

Supplements

If you would like to supplement your competitive drive, to feel on top of the world, to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations,… than perhaps the Hero MTB Himalaya 2015 is for you. Sponsored by Hero Cycles, it is considered the World’s 3rd toughest MTB race. And they’re on Facebook. An event one should start planning for now. The IMBA Great Midwest Summit is also something you should start planning for now. It will be in Marquette Michigan; June 12-14.

The low prices at the pump are supplementing all our pockets. Makes a long drive to Ray’s Indoor MTB Park much more attractive.

On the Bulletproof Diet I am trying to follow, there are several recommended supplements. I discovered the great advantages of Magnesium before I found the diet. The first thing one should understand about supplements is that multivitamins are a waste of money. They often have too much of what you don’t need and not enough of what you do. But the greatest scandal of the multivitamin world is that the vitamins are in such a form that your body most likely wont be able to integrate them. Take the vitamins you need individually in the proper form.

Vitamins and other nutrients should come from your food. Some vitamins and good stuff require fats to be assimilated into your body. Put butter on them vegetables. When I was young it seemed like a lot more people drank milk with their meals. Agricultural and food processing procedures have stripped much of what we need away from what we eat. Here are the Bulletproof recommended supplements with lots of interesting information.

The Bulletproof Diet frowns upon all dairy except for butter from grass fed cows. They explain why in the book. But dairy has been in demand throughout Asia in the last several decades and the results are very clear; taller bigger people. The BBC had a report on milk. They wondered why those adults who were lactose tolerant, could drink milk, prospered and those who couldn’t drink milk didn’t. It could be as simple as, that those lactose tolerant types just wiped out those who weren’t. Bigger, taller, a longer reach and boom, right on the head. A supplement of martial proportions? Maybe Cain drank more milk than Abel when they were growing up. Bottom line, according to the Bulletproof Diet, pasteurization and homogenization of the milk destroy all its good qualities and even make it bad for you; go raw and be careful not to come down with tuberculosis.

The diet is first and foremost about eating healthy, in a way that promotes the proper function of all the complex interactions going on in your body, and building energy to live a full and productive life. I have lost ten-pounds but that was halted when my wife, after our feast at The Cheesecake Factory, kept loading my meals with carbohydrates. This despite the fact that I told her low carbs (there are dangers with not getting enough carbs) and lots of protein (meat from grass fed animals) and vegetables. I kept looking at her, as she piled the pasta and other noodle dishes before me, with the stink eye, until finally, I had to use my words and say, “What are you doing?” Sometimes its like Pearl Harbor all over.

To lose weight, you need to restrict your intake. The diet, packing your gut with healthy fats every morning, makes it easy. It makes it easy to restrict yourself if you want to. I used to incapacitate myself, restricting my intake and/or exercising excessively and trying not to eat too much afterwards, with physical lethargy, a lack of focus, becoming ornery and feeling like crap. It was like throwing time away, and I still didn’t lose weight.

Sorry no pictures but here is the $84 question: What are my three most favorite WORS races? Yes, same question. Check out the Charity Jackpot Page link in the sidebar to possibly triple the amount.

Eating Well

I missed the monthly Metro Mountain Biker’s meeting to have an anniversary dinner with my wife, but I didn’t miss the Citizens for Responsible Government’s petition event, against the street car, this afternoon. I brought in sixteen signatures. I bet they have enough signatures to submit their petition this week. You can go to their site for a copy of the petition.

I reject the doubters of a Packers victory tomorrow, and I further reject the continual bad mouthing of the wonders of Winter by just about everyone with a forum on the public airways. People need to be more optimistic. Maybe it’s the street car / Trolley that the mayor is trying to force down our throats that is getting everyone down? …No, they bad mouth Winter every year.

That being said, if you’re an IMBA member and go to Ray’s Indoor Mountain Bike Park this evening, tomorrow is free. And if you’re not an IMBA member you can join on the Internet. Why is IMBA always competing with football? Registration is still open for the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival, or if you’re more adventurous, as well as highly competitive, registration is open for the Sudety MTB Challenge; staging through Poland and the Czech Republic.

So what about the Bulletproof Coffee? I guess I am not truly bulletproof. I don’t buy the official bulletproof beans or their coconut oil extract but it works with the regular coconut oil. Finding the right coffee is a bit tricky. We switched to tea for a couple days and my energy levels went way up. We must have some toxic coffee right now. When the coffee is roasted it kills any mold but the toxins the mold created are still there. From my reading, and some you/tube clips my wife found, your best bet, without buying the $$$ official bulletproof beans, are single source Central American beans, medium roast. South American beans have a greater probability of being highly toxic due to agricultural practices there, from what we understood on you/tube.

We went back to coffee today and I can feel the difference. We need better beans because the tea, while energizing, just can’t hold up in taste to the butter (unsalted from grass fed cows) and coconut oil. Teavana will be getting back to me on what tea might go well with the good fat concoction that sets the foundation for the bulletproof diet.

My enjoyment of what I eat has increased immensely since I started with the bulletproof coffee; emphasizing good fats. So, my weight loss has stalled with our anniversary dinner. We went to The Cheesecake Factory. We enjoy The Cheesecake Factory, unlike Panera Bread that always messes up our service. At Panera we waited so long for our drink, you have to pick it up at a separate counter, that I just grabbed what was there when they said it was ours. It wasn’t ours. A man at the next table was drinking our Chai Latte which cost twice as much as what we got. I didn’t realize it till we were leaving, and I was too disgusted to say anything. I think they brush the cheese onto their grilled cheese sandwiches, just enough to keep the two pieces of bread together. Wait, did I say I’m enjoying what I eat more now. Actually that was before we started with the bulletproof (downgraded as it is) coffee. I wonder if we’ll get better service at Panera now that II;’m on the diet. My mother really loves Panera Bread.

But The Cheesecake Factory is simply fabulous. I tried to make my wife take the last piece of Calamari. I even went with the airplane coming in for a landing and threw in a “Tora! Tora! Tora!” at the end, but she kept the runway closed.

We watched the premier of an Amazon Original Series called “The Man in the High Castle”. When I told her the premise of the story my wife said she and Alois will laugh at me while watching it. It is a story under the premise that the Axis Powers won the Second World War. So, in the introduction they are show a map of the US covered with a swastika and the rising sun. My wife laugh. I guess she found it very amusing, but not the “Tora! Tora! Tora!”? What man can ever comprehend the mind of a woman?

The $83 question: What are my three most favorite WORS races? Yes, same question. Check out the Charity Jackpot Page link in the sidebar to possibly triple the amount.

Go Packers!

Staying Safe & Healthy in 2015

All our hopes and concerns are for Aaron Rodgers as he leads the Green Bay Packers to a Super Bowl. Why do I believe the Packers will win tomorrow? Comments by Tony Romo I heard last week. One went something along these lines, “I understand now that I need to throw fewer interceptions to get the big money.” Really? You mean people shouldn’t pay you a big salary if you don’t perform? What a revelation. Much is said of the younger generations these days…

I believe Aaron Rodgers absolutely intends never to throw an interception again, ever, and the money is just a fringe benefit to his drive to win. My calf tightened the other day when I was thinking of that.

Wisconsin Bike Patrol is part of IMBA. They are akin to the Ski Patrol. They cover many events, not just bicycling events. The Wisconsin organization has been trying to influence IMBA to instigate some standardized training, as the Ski Patrol requires. About twenty of the Bike Patrol members carry most all the demand for their services, which is extensive. Fortunately, many of those who join the Wisconsin Bike Patrol are Firefighters and Paramedics, so there are usually highly qualified individuals around that can address even the gravest of injuries. They’re at your triathlons, marathons and whatever. Thank them for volunteering if you see them.

The cold is a danger, but it is not only for the danger to one’s well being that I suggested one not remove their Christmas lights in the frigid cold. Things turn brittle in the below zero temps and you don’t want to damage your property, whether your lights or house. I like the Winter and frankly I’m getting sick and tired of people on the radio doing nothing but complain about it.  Move to Florida if you can’t take the glorious beauty in what God gives us.

As far as Mountain Biking, if you haven’t been swept away by the fat bike craze, don’t forget we have a Ray’s Indoor Mountain Bike Park right here in Milwaukee. Or you could travel to Cleveland. Ooooooor, you can go down to Louisville where they are making the world’s largest indoor mountain bike park in an underground cavern.

You know… the song “Big John” still makes me cry.

I mentioned the benefits I received from taking Magnesium Citrate last post; a slight drop in weight, less dramatic weight swings and feeling a bit fresher and stronger overall. One thing I forget to mention last post was that about 90% of my GERD, acid reflux, heartburn, or whatever you want to call I it, stopped.

Staying healthy in 2015? On a limited budget? Good food is one of the best ways to protect your health. “The Bulletproof Diet” focuses on what you eat (duh on me, it’s a diet) and natural quality food is essential. I have started with the Bulletproof Coffee and will write more about the results next post. I suspect I will have some surprising things to say about it.

I have a rough outline of my goals for this year. It started on the first of January with cleaning out every single room and recess of our home and getting rid of clutter. Then, having my office, expanded, clean and organized, to set to work on publishing two books this year (maybe three) and producing full sets of drawings for work I need done on my home and some dream projects; some that exist in my books. As I get through the bulletproof diet book I will employ their low level of exercise recommendation and immerse myself in the diet itself fist off. Then I will increase my training and alter my diet as the program recommends.

Could I be under my 250lbs competition weight goal by Spring? (a loss of 30lbs) A Magic Eight Ball moment, but I believe the answer to be “Better Not To Tell You Now”.

The $82 question: What are my three most favorite WORS races? Yes, same question. Check out the Charity Jackpot Page link in the sidebar to possibly triple the amount.