Look Who’s Loving the Bike – September

01
Sep
2010
By

Is it really September already?  As you know, at the top of each month we like to feature the amazing stories and memories of why people are loving the bike. Please take a look at what our September lovers have to say.  We’d love to hear from you as well….feel free to submit your “Look Who’s Loving the Bike” story to us at any time.

Jeremy Durrin – Northampton, MA (@vomaxtechnical)

“I am 22 yrs old. When i was in high school i played baseball non stop. I graduated and went to a community college and needed some type of outlet. I bought a cannondale from the early 90′s and started riding it to classes about an hour away.

For me, that time on the bike is MY TIME. I enjoy getting lost in thoughts on long rides and then snap out of it and realize you don’t know how you got where you were going. Thats the greatest feeling when riding.

Seeing things that most people dont get to see like sunsets from the top of a hilltop while going 35 MPH to get home before it gets dark. Riding on dirt roads in western MA and not see a car for 4 straight hours.  Its my time to reflect on everything.

But on the weekends, i throw that out the window, and use it as an outlet to push my body to the extreme and race as hard as i can in the hilly New England races.

I don’t know where I would be without my bike and the people i surround myself with when im riding bikes.

Bikes make me happy.”

Bob Rogers – Tucson, AZ

“We all know, or think we know, the concept of Shangri-la. For some it is the perfect place, for others the perfect lifestyle, for some it is a plush resort on an exotic isle, others the No Tell Motel on the edge of town.

My wife, Claire and I set out to find out for ourselves, and of course our mode of transport was our trusty touring tandem, Zippy, nearing 40,000 miles of self-contained touring around the world.

We began our search in Chengdu, China. We turned directly west into Sichuan Tibet, and mountains much higher, and steeper than we’d imagined. Okay, I was the researcher and thought there might be one high pass, not several over 15,000 feet and one 16,000 feet. Oh well. The Tibetan people fit the bill for living a peaceful life in a beautiful place, and they are friendly, laughing with us, and sharing their food and even a floor to sleep on.

After we left the mountains of Sichuan and Yunnan (beautiful both) we crossed into Laos, and found the happiest people we have yet seen in our travels, okay, maybe the Fijians but that’s another story, beautiful and laughing all the time. Again they were sharing with two wandering Westerners on a strange bicycle in the middle of nowhere. They have even forgiven us for the bombs we dropped on them during the Vietnam War (The American War they call it here) even thogh up to 100 of them are killed each year by unexploded bombs. We found out how they feel, when we became lost for two days in jungle mud tracks (one of the old branches of the Hoh Chi Minh Trail) where there had been no bomb clearing yet. A bit dicey pushing a loaded tandem for 30 kilometers one day. We decided Laos was our idea of a Shangri-la; we could live there.

Vietnam, particularly the Mekong Delta was also welcoming and the food was wonderful. Cambodia was as poor as Laos, and nearly as friendly; Angkor Wat was all you might dream it to be, an we could have lingered a week. After just under 3,000, sometimes very difficult miles, we arrived Bangkok for an eight day day in one of our favorite world cities.

Did we find Shangri-la? For us, always, Shangri-la is the journey, as long as it is on our bicycle.”

Read more from Bob at his New Bohemians Blog.

Sandra Foerster – Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

“Cycling is … when your heart is pounding from the excitement of speed and the feeling of control.

Cycling is … when you can feel the hurt in your legs but it is a good hurt and you don’t even actually know if you are still pedalling because you are one with the machine.

Cycling is … when you know you are stronger than your opponents.

Cycling is … when all your muscles in your body are taut, ready to pounce, when your senses are alert and you zoom in on the finish line, almost in trance, forgetting about the other riders around you.

Cycling is … when you shoot for the line and the hurt is nowhere near as painful as what you have endured in hard training sessions in the past and it is sweetened by the prospect of victory.”

More of Sandra’a cycling writing can be found at Competitive Cycling.

Kavindra Joshi – Bengaluru Area, India

“I rode in the Himalayas in India. I climbed from 3500ft to 10000ft. I was difficult and to top it all I was not sure whether i would be able to complete the ride. Last 7 kms of the climb was deadly with cobbled roads and very steep incline. I kept on telling myself i will do it. Viola i did it. Was the only 1 in the group not to hike the bike and completely ride the distance.

I forever had streched my mind and my self belief.”

Todd Witkin – New York, NY

“Any time I find myself surrounded by beautiful scenery, and I take an extra deep breath and think “It’s great to be alive!” Cycling gives me something to look forward to, even on the most stressful days of my life (weather permitting).”

Enjoy Your Ride

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Which individual supplements should I take?

I generally eat pretty healthily and stay relatively fit but I wonder if I’m getting enough vitamins and minerals. Is there a product (available in the UK) that contains the right mixes of daily vitamins and minerals and if not, which individual supplements should I take to compliment a healthy lifestyle. (ps… I don’t want to take so many pills that I rattle!)

Kelli’s Answer:

Thanks for the question!  First a disclaimer: It’s always important to talk to your personal health care provider about supplements -some should not be taken due to medication interactions and individual conditions.

Now, my general recommendations:

Although a healthy and balanced diet is most important, I do believe that most people, and athletes especially, need a good multivitamin/multimineral, extra vitamin D, and fish oil (or another source of DHA/EPA omega-3s) in addition to healthy foods.  Mostly, I recommend this because our soils have been over-farmed (which decreases the amount of nutrients in our foods), our waters are polluted (which is one reason we can’t eat as much seafood as we’d like), and our ability to get outside and get sunlight year round has decreased with more time spent inside and at a desk.  And, there’s a lot of exciting research that supports higher levels of vitamin D supplementation than previous recommendations.

Generally, I recommend these daily supplements:

  1. Rainbow Light multivitamin (see http://bit.ly/AwnPQ1 - they have a separate multivitamin for men and women).  This is one of my favorite brands as it contains a good mix of vitamins/minerals, probiotics, enzymes and “green” nutrients.  And, it looks like you can get it online in the UK, at least, according to what turned up in my trusty google search.
  2. 1000-2000 IU additional vitamin D (in addition to the amount in the multivitamin and in addition to what you get from sunlight)
  3. 1000-2000 mg DHA/EPA (in combo, and in addition to ~12 oz. fatty fish per week).  Nordic Naturals is a really good brand – you want the source to be small, low-mercury fish such as anchovies, shrimp, sardines, etc.

Additionally, individual athletes may need extra iron, probiotics, calcium, etc.  But, these 3 pills are a good place to start for most healthy athletes.

As you look for supplements, the keys are to find ones that 1) have what they claim they have (no exaggerated claims) and 2) don’t have anything that’s harmful.  You don’t want lead or other dangerous heavy metals, and I try to stay away from colorings, flavorings, and unnecessary additives.  Since this industry is not really regulated, it can be hard to find good brands that have support from a 3rd party expert.  I often www.consumerlab.com, a completely impartial 3rd party site that tests supplements and reports on their ingredients.  They don’t have every brand, but it can be a good starting point.  I hope this helps!

Please send us your questions for our Expert Sports Nutritionist, Kelli Jennings to “Ask the Sports Nutritionist“. Kelli Jennings is a Registered Dietitian with a passion for healthy eating, wellness, & sports nutrition. For more information go to www.apexnutritionllc.com.

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