Myth: College Students Do Not Eat Well.

Tonight, the apartment was filled with some delicious smells that seemed to be coming from the kitchen.










Upon investigating the oven and the pots on the stove it was becoming very clear. This is not the average college student's dinner. While some college students eat the stereotypical easy-mac or the infamous pizza, this kitchen seems to be breaking the myth that college students do not eat well. Inside of the pots on the stove we find steamed vegetables and rice.
Even more impressive than the rice and vegetables, is the Alaskan Salmon fillet in the oven which seems to be smothered in some sort of homemade sauce.
As dinner nears the table is elegantly set, like a showcase for this delectable meal.
Yes, it is clear that this college student does not eat like the rest. Perhaps he is gifted with the ability to prepare delicious meals. (Or he is a cyclist with too much time on his hands because he does not want to ride his bike.)

Whatever the answer may be, I am leaving now; I am full from dinner.

Busy Vacation

Not posting for over a month should be indicator #1 that things are quite busy. School ended sometime around December 19th and from that point on it has been a nonstop list of things to do before next semester and Heather leaves for Spain. Obviously the first thing on the list was Christmas and the like. A little last minute shopping through Christmas Eve and getting together with both sides of the family followed by driving back and forth between De Pere, Milwaukee, and Menominee Falls. After Christmas was New Year's at Heather's and a belated Christmas celebration. Soon thereafter Heather and I met with a friend in Chicago to sightsee and pick up Heather's Visa. Then the countdown began as there were only two weeks before Heather leaves for Spain. This weekend was more or less the climax of everything. Heather was all packed and we drove Heather to Minneapolis to fly out to Spain for 15 weeks. Now I have plenty to do, with only one more week before classes start. Getting out for a ride would also be a plus.

Ride Before the Storm

I guess, I was being a little closed minded in my last post. I somehow forget that I live in Wisconsin. (If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes and it'll change), or in my case, wait about 30 hours and it will change for the better.
I got out of bed this morning thinking I really want to go for a ride, but I kept thinking about Thursday's ride. Finally, I jumped online to look at the weather because it looked nice out. To my satisfaction, weather.com showed 21 degrees and 2 mph winds... Not bad at all. Excited to get out again, I started cooking some good 'ol pancakes and getting stuff together, got dressed and off I went.
The weather was great! I knew there was a snow storm on its way so the plan was to go past the hill on Silver Spring Dr. and turn back. On the way out I was amazed. I stayed warm and didn't get the feeling of fluid in the lungs like last time. I hit Silver Spring and then the long hill just a little further. As I hit the hill I could feel my body starting to struggle a little, but I kept at it and worked to keep my breathing slow and steady. As I reached the top, I realized I am still at a good fitness level, given I have not been on the bike much and have not raced in... almost two months.
I went a little further up the road and turned back. I realized all to quickly that the wind was mostly to my back the whole way out, so it took a little effort to get moving. As I came back through Silver Spring the snow began to fall and the winds picked up. Thankfully the snow did not get worse until the last five minutes of the ride. As I look out my window now I am quite happy to get out this morning. Over the last hour the snow has really started to fall.
Here we see the progression of snowfall between 12:10 PM and about 1:20 PM. Again I say, I am happy that I got out this morning.

The End of the Outdoor Season?

Well today may just be the end of the outdoor season for me this year. Temps have plummeted and the winds have picked up making rides outdoors difficult. The one nice thing is that the winds changed directions, so now I have a slight tailwind on the way back from a ride. With that said, I hope the weather cooperates for a few more rides; but it is almost December, so I may be breaking out the trainer. Of course this also brings me to another point... I need to find a quiet way to use a cycleops trainer on the 3rd floor of an older apartment building.

Taking a Stand for the Environment

Water is essential to life. Clean water is also important. Many of us choose to stay healthy by drinking purified water, which normally comes in easy to carry half-liter bottles. I drink about 4 of these bottles daily, and the same is true for many others too. Little do we know, while trying to stay healthy by drinking bottled water, we are actually depleting natural resources and hurting the environment. According to filterforgood.com, "Americans used about 50 billion plastic water bottles last year. However, the U.S.'s recycling rate for plastic is only 23 percent, which means 38 billion water bottles - more than $1 billion worth of plastic - are wasted each year." This is just one of the many facts about using bottled water. Even if the bottles are being recycled, plastic bottles waste the limited resources we have.

The bottom line is that you and I do not have to be part of the statistics. I am making pledge to stop (or at least limit) my consumption of bottled water as part of the Filter for Good Campaign found on www.filterforgood.com.

Here is how it works:
Buy a reusable water bottle and a filter for at home. Simply filter the tap water that comes to your house and fill up your bottle. Now you can enjoy clean, refreshing water with a lower impact on the environment. I have been doing this for a couple days, and even Milwaukee water tastes great when it is filtered. Personally, I bought a new "Filter for Good" Nalgene Bottle, dusted off the one I currently own (for a backup), and bought a Brita Filter. All I do is fill up my bottles in the morning, refill the filter, and put it back in the fridge for later.

I really think this is a great way to stay healthy and to help the environment. Who knows, maybe I'll use these filters at the races for my bottles so I don't need to bring as much water along!

If you want to know more, check out the website at: www.filterforgood.com and take the pledge.

Reason #5280 to Ride a Bike: No Parking Tickets

Well, I knew it would happen eventually. Especially with the number of "parking checkers" in the area. Everyday I watch as the little Euro Jeeps run around ticketing for anything from parking to close to a driveway to expired meters. Last night I decided to drive to campus and park on the street as usual. I plugged money into the meter and was off. I learned last night that the police check parking until 9:00 PM not 8:00 PM as I had originally thought.
As I walked back to my car at 9:20 PM, I saw it. A cute little envelope sticking out of the hood of my car. The paper said, "City of Milwaukee Parking Violation." I think the moral of the story should go something like... "Always pay until 9:00, not 8:00 PM"... More realistically it might say... "Ride a Bike to avoid $20 parking tickets."

Lesson Learned.

Wind: Good for Some...

As the afternoon came, so did some warmer temps. So I decided to get out and put in a few more miles. As usual I headed North on Lake Dr. and turned around at the lions to head back south. The weather reports I read before I left said 3 MPH Winds... Yeah Right. Nothing like a pure headwind to greet the return journey. I knew that this happens every time so I just bit the bullet, hit the drops, and hammered. It was nice to see all of the other cyclists gliding along with the wind as I pushed as hard as I could up the hills. If anything the wind has helped me with some strength training. I have been pretty surprised what regular riding can do for the legs. As I came back into town, I took a turn through Lake Park and Down to Lincoln Memorial Dr. As I took the right turn onto Lincoln Memorial, it was like someone put the blowers on full. The wind coming from the lake was intense. About a mile down the road there is a beach and out on the water were five or six sails way up in the air.
As I neared the beach, I could see wind boarders (Or whatever it is called) out on the lake. The wind may suck for me but for them it was perfect.
So I pulled into the parking lot and decided to take a quick break and a few photos. It is really amazing to look at how much air these guys get. One by one, they took turns blasting towards the shore and catching some huge air. From where I was it looked as some of these guys were getting 3-5 feet out of the water.
So after I get sick of riding (Yeah Right!) I will take up wind boarding!