Category: Bikes

The Lowell 50 is a dirt and gravel road race that partially runs along the Flat River in Lowell, Michigan. This classic race used to feature a 27 mile and a 50 mile course, but seven miles were recently added to the course, making a 34 mile and a 57 mile race.

Marc entered the 34 mile race in the all inclusive fat bike class, and I entered the 34 mile race in my age division for women. The weather forecast for April 11th was sunny, low winds, and 45 degrees at the start of the race, with temperatures rising during the day to 55 degrees. We were excited at the prospect of  not having to wear our winter gear.

The morning of the 11th, I set my alarm for 4:00 am. We planned to leave the house at 4:45 to pick up Marc’s friend Jeff in Chesterton for the 2 1/2 hour drive to Michigan. We estimated that the drive, along with the hour time difference, would give us just less than an hour to change clothes and pick up our racing numbers. The drive to Michigan was blissfully uneventful.

We arrived on schedule and quickly found parking in a grassy lot in the park where the race was to start. This was a much different experience than Barry-Roubaix, where we had to drive through the town to find parking, and stand in a line stretching outside into the Ace Hardware parking lot to pick up our packets. We changed into our racing gear and rode our bikes a short distance to the pavillion to register and pick up our numbers. There was no waiting, and we simply walked up to a table and signed a release form and picked up our numbers. We also got a red and black day pack with “Lowell 50” written on it, and some stickers. We then rode back to the car to put our packs away, where we learned that Jeff had forgotten his helmet! Race rules will not allow any rider to race without a helmet. Our friend Eric, who had come in another car, immediately sprang into action and went walking through the parking lot trying to find a helmet for Jeff to wear. He quickly found a girl with an extra helmet. Jeff is a big and tall guy, and the helmet that Eric managed to borrow was a women’s helmet with pink accents on the side of the helmet and polka dots on the back! Jeff was going to race in style.

By this time, it was about 20 minutes from the race start time, so we all tried to warm up by sprinting up and down one of the roads in the park for a few minutes. Then Marc took a picture of me, and I took a picture of him. By then, Eric and Jeff were already in line for the first wave of the race. There were only 3 waves of less than 100 riders each, compared to 17 waves in the Barry-Roubaix. The first wave included all the 57 mile racers. The second wave started just two minutes after the first, and then we lined up to go last. The fat bikes and all of the women riders, along with the older male riders, were in the last wave.  Kelly and Marc lined up with other fat bikes, and I lined behind them.  The area where we lined up was so packed tight, I ended up sandwiched between other riders on the right.

A woman in a tent next to the starting line started counting down.  She made a point of skipping numbers, and said “19 seconds”, “13”, “8”, until she finally said “start”.  Then we were off. It was a neutral start, which means all riders had to ride no more than 15 miles per hour with a pace car in front, until we rode through a covered bridge. Once we passed through the bridge, the race was to really begin. This was an extremely frustrating start, as the pace car in front would not keep a steady pace. Riders were off at 18 mph, then the car slowed down and riders were throwing their hands back and yelling “slowing!” to warn riders behind them to slow down so there wasn’t a pile up. This continued until we got to the bridge. It was extremely tight passing through the bridge, and once we were through it riders were all around me and I couldn’t move. I noticed two very tall women who looked to be about my age on CX bikes, zooming past riders on the left. Then, almost immediately after clearing the bridge I heard someone yell “rider down!” I saw a rider on the ground and learned later that this rider had actually clipped the back of Marc’s wheel and several riders on CX bikes had gone down like dominoes. I thought that this wasn’t a good omen, to see a crash when the race had barely started.

Shortly after clearing the bridge, I looked up and saw a wall. I anticipated this hill, because I had read on-line that the hills started within less than two miles of the race start, and most of them were in the first ten miles of the race. As I started struggling up this hill, I looked around and noticed right away that this race was going to be extremely different than the Barry-Roubaix. There were no recreational riders here, as no one was walking this hill! In fact, most riders I saw climbed it quite easily. I was thankful, however, because at this point the crowd had started to thin out and I was able to get around other riders. The second hill came quickly, and then another and another. I kept looking down at my Garmin, hoping to see the 10 mile mark, so I could have some relief from the incessant climbing. I watched my Garmin and saw that we were climbing at the rate of about 100 feet every mile. Because I often don’t really warm up until 20 miles into a ride, the first 10 miles was very painful. The 10 mile mark on my Garmin had come and gone, and I was now 12 miles into the race and there was still one hill after another! Then I looked ahead and saw that we were turning what I thought must be north, onto some flat farmland. I was relieved, but the relief was very short lived, because without the protection of the hills, we were now being blasted by wind. I struggled to find a rider to draft behind, but there were no riders going fast enough. Most were struggling, and the fast riders ahead of me were riding too fast to catch. It was then that I noticed a very small woman on a CX bike who looked my age passing me. She was very fast and quickly zoomed out of my sight. She definitely had an advantage by being able to get down low on her drop handlebars, and her small size was a huge advantage against the wind as well. At this time I calculated that I was in 4th place, because I had only seen 3 women who looked to be my age pass me, unless there were riders at the front of the wave that I hadn’t seen.  I also realized at this time that my mountain bike wasn’t the best choice for this race.  The roads were far more packed and solid than I had thought.  The road conditions, together with the wind, gave all the CX bike riders a huge advantage.

As I was battling the wind, I reached down to get the energy gel that Eric had taped to the frame of my bike with black electrical tape. Marc had bought chocolate gels because he thought they would taste better than fruity ones, and it tasted like chocolate syrup mixed with frosting. It was very difficult to choke down! But sports gels are a miracle food, and I almost immediately felt the difference as we turned out of the wind and I saw more hills in the distance. By this time,we had climbed over 1200 feet, and it had become apparent that the hills weren’t going anywhere!

Also by this time, I had settled in to a group of four of five riders, all men, who were going about the same pace. One older man in a blue jersey with a moustache commented that he was never going to do this race again. He hadn’t anticipated the wind or the hills. For the next 10 miles or so we continued to pass each other. I would pass him and he would struggle to catch up, then he would pass me and I would struggle to catch up with him. I told him I was grateful that he was keeping the fire under me.

At about 20 miles we turned onto a flat paved road where we once again were blasted by wind. I managed to find a rider who was riding about 16 mph hour against the wind, and I hung onto his wheel until we got back to the gravel. I then thanked him for the brief respite. He laughed. After we got back to the gravel, I realized that I was getting tired and I needed to eat the second gel that was taped to my bike frame. Eric had wrapped this gel several times with electrical tape and I couldn’t get it off! I finally managed to get it off the bike and tore it open with the black tape flapping in the wind.

After more hills, we turned onto a paved main road which was like a roller coaster ride. For a very brief moment in time we flew down a hill at over 30 miles per hour, and I tried to tell myself it was all downhill from here. But it was over way too soon, because I looked ahead and saw a wall. This paved hill was the hardest hill in the entire race. My second gel hadn’t kicked in, and I rode up this hill at no more than 8 miles per hour. I thought I wasn’t going to make it to the top. When I finally crested the hill, I noticed that the group I had been riding with were all gone. I was now all alone. As we turned back onto gravel, a woman on a CX bike who looked to be about my age passed me. This was just what I needed to put the fire back under me. I quickly caught up with her and passed her, then rode as fast as I could until I knew she wasn’t going to catch me. I then looked up and noticed another wall, and that I had also managed to catch up with the group of men I had been riding with. By now we were at over 31 miles, and I thought this hill was particularly cruel, being so close to the end of the race. This hill rose through a vineyard, and I was momentarily grateful for the scenery that took my mind off the pain. It was at this point that I caught back up with the moustached man in the blue jersey. I passed him and didn’t see him again until the end of the race.

Shortly after the vineyard, I saw a policeman directing traffic at the intersection where it looked like the park was. He motioned left, and I started to turn left to go up a hill and he yelled “hard left!” I had almost gone the wrong way! I then immediately saw the stone arch where the race had begun.  I sprinted as fast as I could towards the finish line, where someone announced my name as I passed it.

I saw Kelly and Marc waiting at the end of the finish line, and I asked Kelly how he did.  He laughed and said he finished 5th, 6th, 10th and 11th.  He had apparently walked back and forth with his bike near the finish line, and the computer had picked up his number.  He actually finished 5th and Marc finished 9th in the fat bike class.  I walked to the finish line to see if I could get a picture of Jeff or Eric coming across the line. I waited for about 10 minutes and then I saw Eric, who did a fist pump as he crossed the line.

It was shortly thereafter that I checked results in the pavilion and saw that I had finished in 5th place in my age group. The older women are the most competitive group, and I noted that if I had been racing with the 19-29 year olds I would have made the podium!

The Barry-Roubaix killer gravel road race in Hastings, Michigan is said to be the largest gravel road race in the world. It runs through Barry County, where most of the roads are rolling dirt and gravel. It was scheduled for March 28th and the weather forecast for weeks prior to the race was predicted to be 40 to 45 degrees and sunny. After riding in the snow all winter I was excited about the prospect of a race in temperatures above freezing! However, since I am primarily a road bike girl and had never raced a mountain bike before, I had no idea what kind of performance I could expect from a mountain bike up hills in dirt and gravel. I looked at the winning times from the previous years and couldn’t believe the speeds. I really had no idea if I was going to kill myself and be able to pull out a 12 mph average, or if I could expect something closer to a road bike average. I was about to venture into completely unknown territory.

The day before the race, temperatures in Indiana plummeted into the teens and 20’s. I went out to make final adjustments to my bike and ended up in a mini lake-effect blizzard! The temperature for race day was now predicted to be 20 degrees at the race start. Now I was wondering not only how I would perform on gravel hills, but I was also worried about how my legs would work in the cold. It’s also a problem for me doing sprints in the winter because I can’t breathe through a mask, and super cold air hitting my lungs when I am going all-out will send me into a coughing fit. The ante had just been upped!

On race day we got up at 4:00 am to get ready so we could be out the door by 4:45. The hour time difference, added to the 2 1/2 hour drive to Hastings, made the morning pretty stressful. We managed to pull out of the driveway before 5:00 am. It was 14 degrees when we set out, and we nervously watched the temperature to see how quickly it was rising. Unfortunately, the weather man was spot on. It was about 19 degrees when we pulled into the Hastings Ace Hardware where we were to pick up our packets. The line at Ace Hardware winded out the door and into the parking lot, where we jumped up and down in place to stay warm. Once we were inside we got our racing numbers for our bikes, and a bag of various goodies from sponsors. My racing number was 3384. I took this as a good omen. 33 for basketball superstar Larry Bird’s ISU jersey number, and 84 for the year I graduated from ISU! As we were leaving Ace Hardware I had to go to the bathroom and noticed a long line for the men’s bathroom and no waiting at all for the women’s. This would never, ever happen at any other event other than cycling, where men out-number women 10 to 1. I told Marc that this was the highlight of the day so far.

After we picked up our packets, we drove through the town to try and find parking. We ended up parking in a school parking lot, and changed in the car to our racing gear. It was so cold and I really had no idea how I should dress. I knew I would be freezing while waiting for my wave to start, but I didn’t want to be overdressed. By then it was only about 20 minutes until the race start. I knew I had to warm up, so I headed towards the race starting line, where riders were doing sprints up and down the street parallel to the course. Fire trucks had blocked off the street for a two block stretch of road for this very purpose. After making a couple of trips up and down the road and then sprinting for a few minutes, I knew immediately the face mask had to come off. I was also second guessing my decision to wear goggles instead of glasses, but I had left my glasses at the car. I also knew that the fleece I had put under my jacket was a mistake, but there was nothing I could do at this point. I then headed to the wave start, with only about four minutes to spare. I snapped one picture while waiting, then put my phone back in my pocket. At some point I also turned on my Garmin, realized my mistake, then turned it off.

All of the girls were assigned to the last wave, wave 17. Because I was trying to warm up, I ended up near the back of the wave. I made the conscious decision at that point to stay all the way to the left, because I figured it would be easier to pass people. Once the wave started, I took off as fast as I could. I quickly began passing lots of riders and rode quickly to the front of the wave. The decision to stay left was a really good one, because I had no trouble getting around riders. I had my sights on the girls at the front of the wave and tried to catch up with them. There were a handful of girls that sprinted ahead and quickly became unreachable. There were three of four girls who stayed with me for most of the race. After about a mile, I looked behind me and saw that most of the riders in my wave had fallen pretty far behind.

After about three miles into the race, I realized my Garmin wasn’t on, so I turned it back on. Since I had turned it on, then off, I knew my average speed was going to be calculated from the time it first got turned on, so I knew I couldn’t count on it to tell me my overall average speed. I then looked up and noticed that we had quickly caught up with the wave of men in front of us. There was a traffic jam on the first hill, and I stayed left to pass riders. It was exhilarating passing the men, many of them on faster CX bikes! On my first downhill, I also passed most of the riders on the hill with me. My Trek Top Fuel could go as fast at 30 on the downhills, and it ate up the gravel. There was no slipping and sliding, and I felt totally confident. I continued to be amazed at the number of riders I kept passing, as I continued to catch up with different waves. After about 5 miles, I noticed that I started passing riders on fat bikes, which had started in the wave 10 minutes before me.

After 10 miles and about 700 feet of climbing, I began to get really worried about my energy level. I couldn’t get my ShotBloks out of my back pocket with my big heavy gloves on, and there was no way I was going to stop. I was worried I was going to bonk, especially since I knew the climbing wasn’t even half over. As I was trying to decide what I should do, I noticed a woman standing at the side of the road handing out gels! I grabbed a gel as fast as I could. It was strawberry-kiwi and it burned as I gagged it down. I’m not a fan of gels, but I do admit they are miracle energy. By the time I got to the hill where someone was holding up a sign that said “Killer” I was zooming. Killer was a slow steady incline that turned to the left and kept going up. I had no problems spinning up this hill. I looked at my Garmin and saw the elevation and figured “Killer” must have been the last big hill.

By this time, my goggles had completely fogged up and I had them dangling around my neck. The cold air and dust was hard on my eyes, but I had no choice if I wanted to be able to see. It hadn’t rained and the gravel roads were very dusty. At times on the downhills there were dust clouds so bad that I was afraid it would send me into a coughing fit, so I kept covering my mouth with my buff. I was also worried because the cold air was quite painful on the lungs. All around me I noticed riders coughing and spitting out dust.

Since I had forgot to turn on my Garmin I was wondering how much farther I had to go, when I saw a sign that said “3 miles to go!”. Shortly after this sign, we turned onto smooth pavement for the final sprint to the finish line. The road was hilly and smooth, and I noticed immediately a pretty bad headwind. I was actually grateful for the headwind, because I was in my element! Where I live in Indiana, brutal winds coming across miles of farmland is what I ride in every day! I quickly began passing struggling riders as I looked for a fast rider to latch onto and draft behind. Unfortunately, there was no one riding near me that I was able to do that with. As I crested the last hill I noticed the 3 girls that had been riding close to me throughout the race. I came into town sprinting as fast as I could and caught up to them as we all four passed the finish line within less than a second of each other.

While I was riding, I thought that it felt 50 degrees outside. I had become so overheated that I had unzipped my jacket halfway so my underlayers could breathe. However, once I stopped I immediately started freezing because I was so wet, and it was only 25 degrees! I moved throughout the crowd, trying to stay warm, and trying to catch Marc as he came across the finish line. Unfortunately, there were so many people along the finish line route, I gave up trying to get a picture of the riders.

After the race, we were able to check results online, where I saw that I finished 12th out of 71 riders in my age division. My average speed was 15.3 mph, which is something I could have never anticipated. I was extremely pleased with my performance. After the race was over, we met up with friends in the beer garden where no one seemed to mind how cold it was!

Race results are posted at:  http://www.newtontiming.com/results/15/brx/24.html

One day when my very precocious oldest son was three, he was running through the house screaming in delight, jumping behind the couch, bounding up and down the stairs, and acting like someone was chasing him. I asked him what he was doing and he very excitedly yelled “I’m lost in adventure!” He wasn’t playing with any toys or playmates, but he was completely and excitedly engrossed in being “lost in adventure.” I learned something very valuable from my three-year-old that day. Life is what you make of it!

In Northwest Indiana, the time changes around November 1st every year, and we “fall back” one hour. We are the small pocket of the state that clings to central time, while the rest of the state is on eastern time. This means that our very short winter hours of daylight seem even shorter. It is pitch black by the time I get off of work at 4:30. This means that for just over four months out of the year, if I want to ride my bike, I have to ride not only in the cold winter winds and snow, but also in the darkness, five days a week.

I used to suffer on the winter trainer and treadmill, trying to maintain some type of fitness during the never-ending winter. I tried riding at 40 degrees and it was just unbearable. I didn’t think I could ever manage to ride outside during the winter. Then I changed my way of thinking.  “Cycling” throughout the winter was impossible, but getting outside and getting “lost in adventure” was possible!  My husband was the first one to think outside of the box when it comes to winter gear.  Skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling are all winter activities that people enjoy.  So why not look at their gear? I discovered that ski boots were completely incomparable to any other footwear.  Mountain bike shoes and road bike shoes are out of the question, even with toe warmers and neoprene booties. Ditto for my ski helmet and goggles in lieu of a winter cycling helmet.  With my ski helmet, goggles, and full coverage mask I can ride comfortably in weather below zero.  My tried and true winter gear is detailed on my gear page, and is available in my Amazon store.  All of the gear listed has passed the test through trial and error of dozens of gear that didn’t pass!

If you’ve read my About Me page, you’ll know that my dream since I was 16 has been to ride my bike from coast to coast. It’s not just winter that gets in the way of dreams; life has a way of consuming us. Work, family, financial obligations and time get in the way. So I made the decision long ago, when my toddler was running through the house being “lost in adventure” that I would try to make my own adventures every day. I’ve learned to embrace the adventure in every one of my bike rides. After all, someday when I set sail on my coast to coast odyssey, each and every town that I ride through will be someone else’s backyard! So why not look for the excitement and adventure in my own backyard? This is one of the reasons why I always try to take pictures on my rides. I’ve discovered incredible beauty in my night rides, and sometimes I wish I had a better camera than my iPhone to capture the moment.

The past two Indiana winters have been particularly hard. Last year the Polar Vortex brought temperatures below zero for weeks on end and the ground wasn’t visible for four months because of the 70 inches of snowfall. It’s inevitable that Indiana winters will bring snow, and Northwest Indiana gets a double whammy because of the lake effect snow that comes off of Lake Michigan every year! The lake effect snow and the shelf ice that forms on Lake Michigan is so incredible, that I find myself being thankful for living in an area with such an amazing winter landscape.

Today I looked outside and saw freshly fallen snow. I was so excited, because I was really needing to be “lost in adventure”! I deliberately set out early before the snow plows had a chance to get out so I could be one of the first ones on the road. I found a county road that was completely unplowed, with no car tracks. It was so incredibly awesome, forging my own adventurous trail. This is the first photo on this blog. I hope that anyone reading this blog will get lost in adventure today in their own backyard!

The day my husband left for the Arrowhead Ultra 135 race in International Falls, Minnesota, I awoke to find a water fountain in my kitchen. Marc left for his adventure at 2:00 am, and I woke up at about 7:30. I walked into the kitchen and saw a cascade of water spraying across the foyer and across the kitchen floor. I looked up at the ceiling, not really knowing what I was looking for. The ceiling was completely dry, and I stood in the kitchen totally dazed and confused. Then it registered. The 55 gallon fish tank in the foyer between the dining room and kitchen had sprung a leak. What timing! The leak was at the seam, about 3/4 the way down the tank. I called Marc, who called his brother to do a fish rescue, in a mad dash to save the fish. Marc’s brother luckily was home, and made it to my house within 1/2 hour. After the fish were safely in a plastic container and on their way to another tank at Marc’s brother’s house, I proceeded to drain the tank. I had intended to leave the tank for Marc to deal to when he returned home, but the smell was so bad I knew I couldn’t leave the tank unattended for five days. That meant draining the rest of the water, scooping out the rocks and gravel, and taking the tank outside. I was proud of the way I handled the situation, because when Marc got home the fish tank was disposed of and new furniture was in its place. The disaster was handled, and all was well…or so I thought. I pulled some tendons in my lower back in the process, although I had no idea until about three weeks later.

I had been having terrible pelvic pain for weeks, and I was concerned I could have some sort of female issue going on, so I went to the doctor. The doctor did an exam and asked tons of questions and decided I had pulled muscles in my back that support the pelvic floor. He advised me to take two weeks off the bike to see how I felt. Two weeks! I told him I didn’t think that was possible, but I reluctantly agreed to try it. And an amazing thing happened the first two days. My pelvic pain completely stopped, but I had terrible lower back pain, which was confirmation that it was an issue with pulled tendons in my back. The doctor was right!

Today was the first day back on the bike in almost two weeks. I promised myself to ride very slowly and to go only a few miles. I started riding, waiting and anticipating the possible pain that was to come. Then something happened. I started singing along with my iPhone playlist, and I kept going and going….Paul McCartney was singing about the wind in your hair of a thousand laces… Yes! “Climb on the back and we’ll go for a ride in the sky…” Yes! I felt like a heroin junkie who had just shot up for the first time in two weeks! I passed an old abandoned farmhouse with a “Keep out” sign on it, and I had to stop and take a picture. I didn’t want to keep out! Then I rode by the Fatty Forest, a little section of woods with a Boy Scout Eagle project trail through it, and I saw the sign “Stay on the trail”. I didn’t want to stay on the trail!! I just wanted to ride!

I had promised myself to take it easy and just ride 10 miles, but I kept going. I passed an old farm that is a member of the Indiana Historic Homesteads and I stopped to take a picture. I was hoping the goats would be out, but I guess goats don’t like to graze in the snow! Then I passed some grain silos that had snow piled up out front from snow plows. A farmer in a pickup truck watched me as I took a picture.

I kept riding and riding. Then I looked down at my Garmin and saw I had ridden over 20 miles, which I hadn’t planned on. I wanted to keep going, but the sensible part of me knew that I needed to head home.  So I reluctantly headed home, singing “Climb on the back and we’ll go for a ride in the sky…” all the way.

In September 2013 my husband came home from a long weekend with friends in Pennsylvania and announced seemingly out of nowhere that he wanted to go vegan. He had spent four days dining in vegan restaurants and being served vegan meals, and he had been instantly converted by friends who jokingly referred to themselves as “vegangelicals”.

He was so completely excited by the idea, that I reluctantly agreed to Google some vegan recipes and cook vegan dinners. Other than that, I told him, all bets were off. It wasn’t the thought of giving up meat or eggs that bothered me…I couldn’t imagine giving up skim milk or cottage cheese!

When the four boys were little, meat was something that we could never really afford. Ground beef, frozen chicken, and fish sticks was about all the venturing we did into the meat world. Vegetarian meals were much better for the budget! I learned to make fabulous vegetarian stuffed peppers, and we ate a lot of meals like grilled cheese, tomato soup and cheese pizza. I thought altering my vegetarian meals to vegan meals would be simple enough. I was wrong!

My first trip to the grocery store as a vegan was an incredible eye opener. I found that 95% of the items in the store had either milk, eggs, or meat as an ingredient. I must have picked 100 items off the shelf, read the label, then put them back. Who would’ve thought that croutons have milk in them?! Or granola bars? Or bread? I had never realized before that these three items are the staples of the American diet. That first trip I came home with some almond milk and some produce and little else. And I had to forget about altering my vegetarian meals, because they all included cheese as the main ingredient!

Marc was so incredibly excited about how eating vegan had made him feel, and I had promised him vegan dinners, so I made a promise to myself not to give up. As a start, I Googled “easy vegan dinners” in search of recipes. I included “easy” in the search because I knew if it wasn’t easy it wouldn’t happen. I had a full time job and way too much to do to spend any more time in the kitchen. If the recipe had a dozen weird ingredients I had never heard of or a dozen steps, I quickly moved on. I also learned quickly that recipes have to be modified. The creator of the recipe might think, for instance, that black olives taste fabulous in nachos, but I hate black olives! And yes, happily one of the first totally simple, awesome meals I found was vegan nachos!

Vegan Nachos

This meal takes minutes to make. I buy vegan black bean burgers (remember, keep it simple!) and fry and crumble them with an onion and a can of black beans. This gets poured over tortilla chips, then I top with lettuce, tomato or salsa, guacamole, and soy sour cream. Even meat eaters admit this is crazy good!

Finding other simple, quick vegan meal ideas has been quite the journey. I learned early on that I am extremely allergic to nutritional yeast, which is an incredible cheese substitute in vegan meals like macaroni and cheese. I also learned that supermarket vegan cheese is terrible. It melts and looks like the real thing, but has a taste that can’t be described. Rancid? Plastic? I’m not sure, but I am sure that I steer clear of vegan cheese! The one exception I have found is soy cream cheese, which is amazingly like the real thing, although I find it has been easier to completely change my way of thinking and to quit trying to find a “substitute”. For instance, why do nachos or pizza have to have cheese on them?

After 6 months of vegan dinners, I still held on stubbornly to my cottage cheese and tuna for lunch. I discovered long ago that a high protein lunch didn’t leave me sleepy at my desk in the afternoon, and cottage cheese and tuna was so simple! No preparation! What was I going to eat for lunch if I went totally vegan? Peanut butter sandwiches every day? By this time, Marc had been fully vegan for 6 months. He had lost 10 pounds and was constantly talking about how much energy he had. His decades of sinus trouble had also vanished! He assumed dairy had been the culprit all along and he hadn’t known. So after all of those months of Marc being a “vegangelical” I decided to go all in. My first mission was to find easy high protein lunches. I quickly found two of my absolute favorites, vegan “tuna” salad and vegan “chicken” salad.

Almond “Chicken” Salad

Chickpea “Tuna” Salad

And yes, these are pictures of my actual recipes! Vegan “tuna” salad is made from one can of drained chickpeas that are crushed with a fork. I stir in two stalks of chopped celery, two tablespoons of sweet relish, one teaspoon of Dijon mustard, and a few tablespoons of vegan mayonnaise. That’s it! It’s amazing in a wrap with vegetables like carrots, tomato, and lettuce. The almond “chicken” salad is just as easy. A cup of natural almonds are soaked overnight and drained, then put in a blender. I add a few tablespoons of mayo, a teaspoon of lemon juice, a teaspoon of Dijon mustard, a stalk of chopped celery and apples, pecans, and red grapes.

So it has now been almost a year since I went “all in” as a vegan. And the verdict? I love it. I just had my annual physical and my protein and calcium are normal, so it is possible to get plenty of calcium and protein with a vegan diet! I feel fabulous, I sleep better, I have more energy, and the absolute best part is that I NEVER count calories or watch portions, or join in on conversations when people at the office are talking about the latest fad diet, or fretting about the weight they gained over the holidays. I just eat! While it may seem to be an extremely restrictive diet, it’s actually very liberating. I read recently that when we are faced with multiple choices we experience stress. For instance, I used to walk into a fast food restaurant and go over the menu in my head. Should I get a hamburger or chicken? Which has more calories? And should I get the fries? Or should I get a salad? Or does the salad with blue cheese have as many calories as the sandwich? Now I never fret over what to eat. If I eat out, which is rarely, my choices are extremely limited. If restaurants have any vegan items on the menu, I usually have only one or two things to choose from. My meals are extremely simple, and nothing is easier than grabbing a piece of fruit or veggies for a snack. My weight is also more stable than it’s ever been, and, as I mentioned above,  I never count calories or watch portions.  I eat if I’m hungry and I stop if I’m full. I also smile when I see commercials for fiber supplements or laxatives. Those two things are NEVER something a vegan needs!

But, because I’ve got two non-vegan boys still at home, I make my vegan meals with them in mind. Potato tacos, made from nothing but vegetables, is my youngest son’s favorite! I also broil potatoes, peppers, onions, squash, mushrooms, or whatever vegetables I have on hand and serve them with a veggie burger, which is one of Marc’s favorite dishes.

Potato Tacos

Broiled Veggies and Veggie Burger

As I sit here writing this, I can tell you honestly that going vegan is a journey I never thought I’d take. I always wondered what the point of living such a restrictive lifestyle was, and why people subjected themselves to such misery. Now I understand that being vegan is actually being free and isn’t restrictive at all. I’m free from the health woes that plague so many people like diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure, and I feel better than I’ve ever felt. And, more importantly, I never have to eat anything that has a face or parents!

In Heaven, where all the roads are smoothly paved, the sun is shining, and it’s always 70 degrees, the Trek Madone 6.2 would be the bike I would want to ride every day. The Madone has a carbon frame and weighs less than 15 pounds. It has Dura Ace pedals, and a 11 speed Ultegra groupset. I changed the stock Bontrager RL wheels to Dura-Ace wheels with Continental GP 4000S tires. I managed 10,000 miles in 2014 without a single flat on those tires! It’s my best friend all summer long.

The Trek Top Fuel 9.9 is a mountain bike I borrowed from a friend for the Barry-Roubaix gravel road race in Hastings, Michigan. This bike is such an incredibly sweet ride that I had to find a way to buy it! It’s a carbon framed bike with an XTR groupset with full suspension, and it tears up gravel and dirt hills. On pavement it is almost as fast as a road bike.

The Niner RLT 9 gravel specific bike is the latest addition to my bike collection. It is as comfortable as a road bike and is my bike of choice when I someday leave for my trek across the country. It’s super fast on the road, but eats up gravel like nobody’s business! The RLT9 is constructed of hydro-formed aluminum and comes equipped with a chunky, carbon fork. Compared to a cross bike, the RLT9 has a taller, slightly slacker head tube and a longer wheelbase, which it gains in the chain stays. This makes for a super stable gravel ride.  Plus, it’s pretty!

My old Trek 7.3 FX is a nice, heavy duty hybrid bike that is suitable for gravel or dirt roads. It’s a 3 X 8 speed that is geared nicely for climbing, but its lack of suspension can make for a bone shaker ride. However, it is a nice, solid ride with the early winter or spring winds, whereas the Trek Madone can get battered by a heavy crosswind.   It weighs close to 23 pounds, and its heavy weight makes for a very speedy ride downhill or with a tailwind.  Surprisingly, I have some of my best speed records on this bike!

Posted on February 12, 2015January 5, 2016Categories Bikes

The forecast for today was a high of 39 degrees and rain all afternoon. With a foot of snow still on the ground, that meant the day was going to be extremely dark, misty, and gloomy. When I woke up at 7:30, the melting snow was already starting to produce a fog that hovered over the ground.

Marc and I decided to take the fat bikes up to the beach in the car, because he had to pick up his commuter bike from a friend’s house in Michigan City that afternoon, and the beach was on the way. It sprinkled all the way there.

When we got to the beach, we parked at the Kemil Beach Visitor Center. It’s about a mile from the visitor center straight to the shore. As we headed onto the shore, we noticed the sand was not very compact and was very difficult to ride on, and the shelf ice was soft, making riding in some areas even more difficult. After about 1/2 mile I was ready to give up. My bike was sinking in the sand and a higher gear made me sink deeper. Shifting to a lower gear didn’t work. Marc stopped and took 8 pounds of pressure out of my tires, and the bike immediately took off. It was amazing the difference it made.

We rode all the way to Porter Beach, where we were to hook up with some fellow fat bike riders. By then the mist and fog was so thick that I could barely see 100 feet in front of me. I could hear the 5 fat bikes coming long before I could see them.

The seven of us continued down the beach, and I was very happy to see that some of the guys had found a very fast moving path along the ice. Some of the guys opted to ride on the ridge of the shelf ice. At one point Eric fell through some ice and soaked his shoes. Melanie and I decided to go to higher ground to some sand. By this time we were all moving pretty fast.

I rode ahead and then turned around to see that the guys had discovered something. It was a cave of sorts in the ice shelf caused by the waves. It was so cool, and was the perfect photo op spot.

After we took pictures, we walked our bikes down off of the ridge and Mike slipped and slid all the way down with his bike. It was an oops moment that Marc captured on video. (Mike wasn’t hurt!)

We all continued back down the beach and turned down Kemil Beach Road to head back to the visitor center. The whir of 14 fat bike tires riding in unison on the pavement was awesome.

Marc and I packed up our bikes and got ready to head to pick up his commuter bike. Eric tried drying his feet, and then the rest of the fat bike group headed home.

Today I woke up and the sun was shining. When I stepped onto my deck outside, it felt like Spring. After temperatures in the low teens for the past week, 30 degrees felt fabulous! I checked the weather report, and high 30’s were predicted for the day. I was so happy that I could go for a ride without my ski helmet and goggles!

Normally I ride either directly south or east of my house. I hate traffic and going into town, so I seldom go north or west. Today I decided not to head south into the open fields and blasting wind. I was in need of an adventure. So I headed northwest.

The main road that I turn onto after my subdivision was completely clear. I could have ridden my skinny tire bike, I thought briefly. Then I turned onto Lockerbie Drive in the Aberdeen subdivision. The road was completely covered in snow, and parts of it were pretty slick and slow going.

I turned north on 600 West, and decided to follow it across Highway 30. That is something I never do. I had never taken the bike that far north on that road, and it had been probably 10 years since I had driven that way in my car. The road was very slushy with melted snow and I was sprayed from head to toe by passing cars as I flew downhill to the highway.

After I crossed the highway, I knew if I kept going I would find myself in Wheeler. After two curves in the road, I rode straight over to County Line Road. The road was very slushy and slick, and luckily there were no cars on the road. I then turned onto County Line Road, and then turned right to go to Deep River County Park.

When the kids were little, the old mill in Deep River was a working mill, and you could buy freshly ground cornmeal there. The mill has long since stopped working, and it is now a museum with old quilts, pictures, and other items inside. There is also an old church that serves as a gift shop. Both buildings were closed for the winter. The park also has a gazebo, which is a popular site for weddings.

The park has a nice walking and horse trail, however, the trail was so packed with snow it was impassable. I rode on the shoveled walkways and took pictures, while memories flowed. I took a picture of the old wagon, which was always a photo stop when the kids were little. I have lots of pictures with the kids at varying ages, posing against that wagon.

I rode around the park and took more photos, then headed home. It had been a long time since I’d driven a car out that way, and I really wasn’t sure which way to go home. I headed east and then took 750 W, which to my surprise, crossed back over Highway 30. I made a promise to myself to find new adventures on roads I don’t normally ride more often.

In the summer months I can average between 250 and 300 miles a week on the bike. When the sun is shining, the days are long, and I have my earbuds in my ears delivering sweet music, it seems that I can ride forever. At the end of every summer I feel invincible.

However, this all changes when the time falls back in northwest Indiana at the end of October. After November 1st, if I want to ride outside, I am riding in the dark five days a week after work. The rides are cold, gloomy, and windy. And then the snow comes.

The past few weeks have been very difficult with massive snow, cold temperatures, and roads just too dangerous to ride at night. As much as I hate trainer rides, I’ve been resorting to the trainer to try and keep as much fitness as possible.

I’m very fortunate that several years ago Marc built a movie theater in our basement so that I can watch Bike-O-Vision videos on the big screen while I pedal on the trainer with a fan blowing. However, I find being planted on the bike seat without actually moving to be extremely painful. My trainer rides are never more than an hour.

This past week I’ve hit a wall that I’ve never hit before. I can’t bear to do the trainer, and I can’t bear the 45 minutes of preparation for a 1 1/2 hour ride after work.

Today when I got home, the sun was shining. I had an extremely busy day at work and I was cold and tired. But I looked at the sky and thought, just maybe, if I hurried, I could get outside before the sun went down. I rushed to get ready, and posed my bike in the driveway before setting out.

In my rush to get out the door, I didn’t check the tires on the bike. I was about a mile from home when I realized my mistake. They were so underinflated that the fastest I could go with a tailwind was 11 mph! About five minutes into my ride, the sun started setting. The bare branches of the trees and the open fields in Indiana make for spectacular sunsets. I am always in awe. I stopped and got out my iPhone and snapped a picture, hoping there was enough light for the picture to turn out.

About nine miles into my ride I became extremely uncomfortable because I had to go to the bathroom. In the summer, the endless cornfields provide for shelter and a bathroom stop anytime you need one. However, once the corn is harvested and there are miles of open fields, there is nowhere to go. By this time it was pitch black outside and I was far away from the nearest house. I stopped and turned off my headlight and blinkie and gazed at the constellation Orion in the night sky. It was breathtaking. I laid down my bike and went to the bathroom in the middle of the road, which was incredibly liberating for a girl! I then made my way home. The ride was only 15 miles but it felt like 50 because every pedal took great effort in the cold darkness with my fat, underinflated tires.

Marc had dinner waiting when I got home. It felt so good to be outside!

The winter of 2014-2015 has been extremely mild for Northwest Indiana. Through the months of November and December there was no recordable snowfall, which is extremely unusual. The previous winter saw more than 70 inches of snow and the ground wasn’t visible between November 1st and March 1st. Today was the first big snow, and this is what we woke up to at 7:00 am. 12 inches!

We had originally planned to ride to Lake Michigan with some friends and ride along the beach, then ride to Michigan City. As we began shoveling the driveway at 9:00 am we shortly came to the realization that we would not be taking the fat bikes in the car up to the beach, because there was no way our cars could get out of our subdivision on unplowed roads. So we set off on our fat bikes, travelling about 6 mph, and trying to stay in the tracks left by cars.

The wind was blowing pretty strong from the Northeast, and visibility sucked, for lack of a better word. Marc quickly ditched his goggles but I was persistent with leaving mine on to avoid a frozen brow bone. I found wiping them from time to time with my mitten cover worked, because even though they were smeared with melted snow, it was just above freezing and I didn’t have to worry about them frosting over. On our way to town I noticed a man sitting at the side of the road in a plow trying to get his phone out of his pocket so he could take a picture of us.

We headed into town and quickly realized the roads in town were even worse that the county roads. Unplowed roads can be easier to ride through than roads with lots of slush and ruts left by cars. Marc crashed when he took a corner on a downhill that had deep snow ruts. We stopped at Franklin House to re-group, and it was then that we decided to eat lunch and head back home. On the way to eat lunch, we passed some kids having a snowball fight. I was pretty sure they were going to use us as target practice, but instead they just stared as we rode by.

We rode through town and rode onto a jogging trail that had been shoveled probably a few hours earlier, and there was about 4-5 inches of newly fallen snow. I find it much easier to ride through freshly fallen snow, than to try and follow someone else’s tracks. If you ride in the rut left by a previous bike you can be thrown off the bike if you veer out of the rut. So I rode next to Marc’s tracks rather than in them. As we drove through the KMart parking lot, I noticed an older looking man stuck in the snow in his car. He managed to rock the car back and forth and get unstuck, but it occurred to me that the fat bike was handling better than cars in the snow!

After we ate lunch, a pickup truck with two guys in it pulled alongside me in town and rolled down their window. The passenger said “Are those snow tires?!” I told him yes, and he smiled and said “You’ve got more traction than our truck!”

The ride home was much speedier than the ride into town, because after we got through the slushy, rutted, messy roads downtown we noticed the plows had been out on the county roads. It snowed the entire ride and we were both covered in snow, but I didn’t care. It was perfect weather to play in the snow because the temperature was just above freezing the entire ride. I found myself thinking about going home and making a snow angel.