With just under two weeks until Father’s Day, time is running short on finding something for that cycling dad in your life.  I’m a dad, right…so I know there is never a shortage of great cycling gift ideas.  This year, I actually couldn’t wait for father’s day and bought myself a gift back in March (Garmin Edge 500)…our family likes to buy it when we need it instead of waiting for a particular day for gifts.  But anyway, if you’re looking for something to knock his cycling socks off this year…..have a look at Ascendant’s men’s cycling retreat.

Now with a price tag of around $1,295 (all inclusive – not including transportation) I understand that it’s a few dollars more than getting him a new cycling outfit….but the mileage everyone will get out of this is so much better.

Chris Kyle and Ray Arata founded Ascendant with the notion of “A better man is a better husband, father, friend, partner, and leader”.  They do this by way of a 5 day men’s personal development retreat…and the coolest thing is that it focuses around the bike.  When I first heard about this concept, I knew right away that it was a recipe for success….when I saw this video below I was sold.

Believe me ladies, I’m not promoting this so that your man can take off for 5 days of riding and partying….it’s not like that at all.  Guys generally think they are too cool for support groups and creating a better “you”….the cycling is there to hook them into the life changing stuff.  Naaaahh, it’s all good.  If you’re also a cyclist or athlete, you’ll know just how much camaraderie comes along with a group ride…..the riding is totally part of the whole 5 day transformation.

Our five-day Active Learning Journeys are designed to create a safe environment for you to explore, develop, and cultivate the Man Inside that lives in your roles as father, husband, leader, professional, and male friend. We will assist you in raising your awareness to what’s getting in the way, and aid you in moving past the blocks and self-imposed limitations that may prevent you from being the man you aspire to be… and into the more potent man your family, spouse, colleagues, and community need you to be.

Chris and Ray are active cyclists themselves and when they realized that in many ways cycling had become a metaphor for their lives, they knew that they just had to incorporate the bike into their retreats.  This metaphor business isn’t new to me…..I know that how you do one thing is how you do everything but I also know that I need a lot of reminding on it.  The patterns that form in your life all come down to that one common denominator….yourself.

They have upcoming cycling retreats (mountain and road bike) in August, September, and November.  I honestly do think this is one father’s day gift that truly can create a better father and better man….it’s worth checking out.

Ray and Chris have given me a handful of discount certificates which brings the cost down to $995. A huge $300 savings….so thanks to them for that.  To obtain a promo code for your discount, please shoot me an e-mail and I’ll get one to you.

Remember the cycling dads on June 20th.

Disclosure: When I wrote this post, I had absolutely no affiliation with Progressive (the makers of VegeGreens).  I simply liked their product and wanted everyone to know how I felt.  As always, the Loving the Bike reviews is totally and completely a 100% honest review.

Anyway, after the post went out Progressive found out about it and were very pleased to see what was said about their product.  So impressed that they wanted to become a sponsor of this blog.  So when you read this review, please be ensured that what was said about this product was a completely honest and non-biased opinion.

I’ll guarantee that this product is not normally found in most cyclist’s kitchen cupboards….but it really should be.

VegeGreens by Progressive is a self proclaimed “Ultimate Super Food”, and in my opinion they aren’t far off in that statement.  Get this, VegeGreens is packed with over 6o land, sea, and cruciferous vegetables.  If you don’t know what cruciferous vegetables are….let me say this, it’s the scientific name for a group of vegetables that just might provide protection against certain cancers.  They contain antioxidants and are high in fiber, vitamins and minerals. Examples of cruciferous veggies are broccoli, kale, cabbage, rutabagas, and turnips.

Basically, it is a nice old glass of goodness for your body in a quick and easy to drink mixture

Okay, so why do I think you need to get this stuff into your kitchen cupboard?

Well, I would say that there is a lot of great foods and supplements that will help make you a better cyclists and help increase your athletic performance….but the benefits found in just one small scoop of this bad boy can’t be beat.  Of course it would be better to go out and shop for each of these 60+ ingredients and get them fresh….then clean and cut them and blend them up into a drink.  If you have the time for that, I say go for it.  But if you want all this goodness with the simplicity of just having to mix it up in a glass of water, you’ve got to get on board.  You know what?  VegeGreens doesn’t even have any artificial flavors, colors, or sweeteners….so it really is the absolute closest thing to the real deal.

What will it do for you?

The first day I took VegeGreens was about a month ago.  I’m not sure if it was psychological or really happening, but I swear that my immune and digestive systems were smiling from the moment I chugged back the glass.  We all know that we’re supposed to take our vegetables, but what’s most important is getting the right vegetables inside of you.  Taking a look through the ingredients of VegeGreens….I cannot find anything that could possibly be missing. This stuff rocks, and it’s got what your body needs.

I can’t guarantee that it will make you a better cyclist, but I can guarantee that it will help keep your body functioning at it’s highest level.  Try telling me that won’t do something for your cycling.

How does it taste?

What else can you tell me?

VegeGreens is not cheap….well at least it doesn’t appear to be at first.  Picking up a small container for $60 sort of makes you shake your head when walking out the store.  But it works out to about $1 per serving and in today’s world, that isn’t too bad.  If you’re wanting to make it last longer, I would suggest taking it every second day and at that frequency it will still be valuable to your body.

I was going to list off all the benefits taking VegeGreens will provide you with, but that would make for a very long list.  So please visit their benefits page and see why there isn’t too much this stuff won’t help you with.

I should also mention that you should steer clear of it if you’re a child, pregnant, or lactating.  This was actually an issue here in my house.  My wife is currently breast feeding our 2 month old baby boy and I really couldn’t see it being a problem.  But it does say this on the label so we checked it out with our family doctor and he suggested doing as it says.  That’s good enough for me and she’ll be off it for now.

I really am impressed with this stuff and I know there are other similar products in the market, but I’m standing behind Progressive and VegeGreens. I’m sold on the benefits it provides and I’m suggesting this to you because I honestly feel that everyone should be in-taking what this product has to offer. Progressive is a Canadian company, so if you aren’t able to pick it up in your local health food or grocery store, ask them what they have in the way of Phytonutrients or “Green” veggie mixes.  Get this stuff in your cupboard and then come back and tell me how glad you are that I pushed you into it.

For the past month I have tried to sit down and lay out a review of two different products…..Action Wipes and CarboRocket.

Both of these companies sent me samples of their products for the purpose of reviewing it on this website, and although this has been super tough for me I am finally going to honor that agreement.

If you’ve never heard of them before, I can say this…Action Wipes are “natural, full body wet wipes, for when you can’t shower” and CarboRocket is an “all-natural sports drink for your hydration and nutrition needs”.

You see, I am totally committed to giving my complete and honest opinion of the products I review…..It’s part of my nature and so it is the only way for me. It’s also in my nature to be nice.  Hey, I’m Canadian….aren’t we all like that?  But seriously, I like to be nice and I have a hard time acting any other way.  Now the reason doing these two reviews have been insanely difficult for me is exactly because of these two traits….Honesty and Nicey Nice.

So for the past month I’ve sat at my computer trying to figure out how I am going to tackle this, and what I’ve decided to do is leave this review to you, the reader. These two products may not be for me, but I am just one opinion.  Let me know what you think of them. Be honest now.