A Commuter Cycles On Their Stomach

Hi all,

A few days ago a friend, taken aback by the kilometres in the commute, inquired as to what it was that I eat for lunch sustain myself over these distances while trucking with Silver Wing.  I must say that my diet (rather lack thereof) does get some attention in the office from time to time.

Recall, that Seat Co-worker is a very serious cyclist with a strict regimen of both training and nutrition.  She frequently shakes her head in heavy disapproval (all in fun, I think) of the meals I consume for lunch.  I'm told that my salads from Soul Food take-away of hot lightly (?) buttered yet crunchy vegetables and  lean (?) soulfully seasoned meats (potent jerk chicken, peppered beef sportly dressed with gravy, or spicy battered fish) are not salads.  Visitors from other offices apparently, for some unknown reason, share her view when the subject is broached.

"Salads must have green vegetables", they say.
"Look, there are vegetables", I respond.
"Well, they must not have meat", they pronounce.
"What of chef and niçoise salads", I inquire.
"It has gravy, and salads don't have gravy", they gleam.
"They certainly do.  It's called salad dressing", I redress.
"No matter, they must have some leafy greens", they proclaim.
"But potato and  pasta salads don't have leafy greens", I recall.
"Those are exceptions", they instruct.
"Then your definition is flawed.  A rule with exceptions is not a rule.  It is a suggestion", I close.

Taking into account the flawed and prevalent salad suggestion, I decided to build my own approach to sustaining my commute.  I've dubbed this system Robinson's Dianetics.  It is a lifestyle system that encourages a healthy balance of both cardio and resistance training coupled with delicious fuels in reasonable proportions.  In spite of its detractors Robinson's Dianetics works as I am proof positive of its success.  Even now I am still maintaining my steady burn of around 1kg per month and its been 15 months.  I'm developing it as I go along but one day I'll compile my extensive research and field experience into a free ebook for all to benefit.  It will be my gift to commuters and serious cyclist everywhere; I'll give Seat Co-worker a bound hardback archive-paper autographed limited edition copy.  Yes ... it brings a tear to my eye just thinking about it. (I promised myself I wouldn't cry.)

In reality, I'm not much of a salad fan  and so only have one about once a fortnight or thereabouts.  My latest craving has been for yummy sandwiches; which brings us to the catalyst of today's post.  I decided that I could make a better, fresher, less expensive, and more tastier sandwiches than those found at nearby eateries.  Therefore, I set about to collect the finest ingredients and proportion them in just the right ratios.

From my years of field experience with sandwiches and sandwich building I selected the following combination as optimal:

• Lightly toasted whole wheat bread
• ⅛ pound each of two types of deli meat
• Cheese
• Tomato
• Sweet pepper
• Hot pepper
• Leafy greens
• A trio of condiments

Last week this recipe was realised with smoked turkey and sun-dried Italian ham, Swiss cheese, plum tomato, orange bell pepper, jalapeño pepper, and arugula. 

These are the makings of a beautiful sandwich. 

From these humble elements the masterpiece that is A Bicycle Commuter's Lunch is created; four times weekly (Thursday's I order Indian).

Say hello to my little friend.

And there you have it; my commuter lunch.  It takes me about 15 minutes to prep and construct this magnificent treat but it is worth every millisecond.  There have been some cursory calorie calculations applied that suggest that this little gem approaches 650 cal.  However, this is of little consequence in the Robinson's Dianetics scheme of things as it is jammed packed full of quality proteins, essential fats, vitamins, minerals, dietary fibres, and complex carbohydrates.  Yes, it is a high cadence road to fitness but every now and again you get to coast a little.


Thanks for reading,

Edmund

Any Bags To Check, Sir?

Hi all,

When I spec'd the accessories for Silver Wing I included a pair of panniers.  They arrived a month or so after I began commuting. This actually turned out be a experience as I am now able to compare commuting with daysack versus commuting with panniers. Similarly, commuting flag arrived a couple of weeks after I began and I am able to compare my experience with and without as well.

No checked bags; carry-on only

Before the Bontrager Interchange Waterproof Panniers arrived was forced to haul the requisite accoutrements in a daysack.  For this I used the wife's Timberland pack.  It has easily performed a decade or more of service.  In fact, I believe she first  purchased it for casual cycling.  Since then it has severed us well employed as vacation pack to diaper-bag and everything in between.  The shoulder straps and back are wide and cushioned and it has a waist belt as well.  I fashioned my reflective vest about it so I could be visible from the rear and fit it securely.  I guesstimate that the contents where about 8 to 10 pounds, consisting of shoes, clothing, tier repair, and wet weather gear.  It was reasonably comfortable with a noticeable lingering presence along the clavicle. Later, after I switched to the panniers, I noticed that additional pressure was put on the buttocks and legs from carrying the weight on the shoulders.

Enter the Bontrager Interchange Waterproof Panniers.  These little beauties were selected due to their high visibility, built in waterproofing, ease of access, carrying capacity, and simplicity of installation and removal.

Bontrager Interchange Waterproof Panniers with 1.5L bottle

On the yellow front of the bags there are two vertical reflective white stripes that run the height.  Both sides of the bags also sport a reflective square pattern of 16 white dots; well, 15 and a Bontrager logo.  The yellow front with stripes provides good notice of your road presence along a wide arc on both sides.  Rear angles are given to the reflective dot pattern.  They have the added bonus of widening the bike which will encourage motorists to provide you an additional inch or four when overtaking.

Standing on its side with 1.5L water bottle

The material is nylon coated with TPU for waterproofing. The opening is rolled down about an attached ridged plastic guide. A female clip ends are sewn onto the top ends of both sides and they remain available throughout the roll. These join with their male counterparts attached just above the dot pattern.  The rolling method provides superior protection against water ingress through the opening.  It also affords the benefit of having no zipper to fail.  Also, the male clip strap's length is adjustable <giggles> so there is little need for much pressure to be exerted on the clips.

Plastic folding guide with 1.5L water bottle inside

The bags provide 39,329 cubic centimetres (24,000 cubic inches) of cargo space. This includes a grey internal horizontally zippered flat pouch and an external vertically zippered flat pouch for smaller items.  They are very spacious, leaving good room to search within without removing items.  This is key when performing tasks on the side of the road.

Attaching and removing is a cinch.  There is a hook located centre on the back of each bag that is horizontally adjustable.  You'll notice from the photos above that a double clasp runs along the top of the bag.  This is actuated buy the bag's rubberised handle.  Up releasing the clasp and down engages them. The hook fits about the rack's centre pole and the clasp captures the top bar of the rack.  Easy on and easy off.

Pannier clips to rack

Pannier view to other traffic

I've been using these for about a year with three to four round trips of three days per week on average.  Overall I am very happy with my choice.  I would like a shallow bowl footprint insert for each one, though. As it currently ships the bottom of the pannier is of the same material and strength as the remainder of it.  However, this portion will be stressed more then any other.  Something to resist punctures and evenly spread the load over the bottom surface would have been much appreciated.  Also, there is some wear along the folding crease where you open and close them but this appears to be cosmetic.

That being said, I've not had any issues with the panniers structural integrity.  They both are functioning well after considerable use over a year. Unfortunately, they don't appear to be on offer any longer on Bontrager's site.

Thanks for reading,

Edmund

Eyes On The Prize

Hi all,

I live!  Although it has been a somewhat quiet existence; at least as far as blogging is concerned. The riding has continued and I have seen some notable markers of success over the past four months. Also, due to my exceptional niceness over the year Santa delivered a Samsung Galaxy Nexus just in time for Christmas. With its GPS and bank of bike computer applications I've been able to collect some interesting visualisations of commuting on the island.

Silver Wing's latest look

You may recall from earlier posts (Sounds Like A Good Idea and Water, Water, Everywhere) that my initial goals were to discard 30 pounds and achieve a commute time of about 40 minutes.  Since then I've upped the ante another 10 pounds to target a total loss of 40 pounds.  Over the last four months I've been reasonably consistent, completing three to four round-trips each week (90 to 120 km per week) in varying weather conditions. 

One might be curious as to the total loss thus far.  Twelve pounds; post holiday festivities.  Not exactly meeting the goal of a pound per week but reasonably close to it considering there was an abundance of meat and sweets whom I refused to refrain from entertaining. If I batten down the hatches for the next few months by reviving conscientious eating habits I may be able to get back on track.  However, the belt pin has moved down two spaces and am comfortably wearing trousers two inches narrower at the waist from four months prior. I'd say that performance is slightly south of satisfactory given the starting requirements.

Commuting time as experienced much better performance.  I endured a commute of 59 minutes and 22 seconds on the maiden voyage just four months ago with an average speed of 16km/h.  These days the 15km is completed around 40 minutes with average speeds ranging from 20km/h up to 22km/h.  I'd like to get the speed higher and am investing in additional kit to assist this aim.

I have some maps and bits obtained with the assistance of the Android Market My Tracks app.  I'll chat about these in another post.  I'm cutting down on post length in the hopes that it will be easier to post more often.  It is quite an undertaking to maintain post of previous lengths on a frequent.

Thanks for reading,

Edmund