Cinnamon Rolls: First GF Attempt!

Cinnamon Rolls: they are something of legend in my life. They are one of my few vices, so I usually pretend they do not exist or that wherever I see one is "probably not that good at making them" or "they are not healthy" or "not vegan" or "not gluten free". While at least one of those applies over 90% of the time (mostly just the not vegan/GF part :p).

Speaking of Cinnamon Rolls. Cyclists often go absolutely beserk for a good cinnamon roll. I surely do. So, it was proper that I was watching the Criterium Internationale summit finish and the Gent Wevelgem classic while making up these bad boys:

Adapted from this: http://hipgirlshome.com/blog/2012/12/31/cinnamon-rolls-gluten-free.html

But I reallyyy want to do this one: http://www.nourishingmeals.com/2012/12/gluten-free-cinnamon-rolls-vegan.html

1/4C Warm Water and 1 Packet yeast - set aside.

2.5C Arrowhead Mills GF Flour (Pancake/Baking Mix)

Mix (I have a handheld electric mixer here in Home Tu.0 - Tucson):
3T Applesauce (Unsweetened)
3T Earth Balance
1/3C Sugar (I did 50/50 of Brown & Wholesome Organic Sugar)
1tsp Salt

Mix into Butter mix:
2 Eggs
1/4C Almond Milk
1tsp Vanilla

Slowly add flour, halfway through add yeast mix

Roll onto the backside of a greased 9x13" baking pan (obviously make sure bottom is CLEAN!)

Mmmm.

Then mix up the goooodddd stuff:
1/4C Earth Balance
1/2C B Sugar
1T Cinnamon
1T Water

Heat oven to 200F then shut off.

Spread the "good stuff" atop the dough. Roll up the dough (lengthwise for more rolls, widthwise for BIG rolls). Beware - the cinnamon mixture will ooze out the roll. Cut the roll with a good sized knife - and grease the knife with cooking spray, it makes it soo easy to cut. This is especially key because GF flour can fray pretty easily.

I took excessive liberties with keeping the rolls spread out.

I re-rolled these bad boys by hand, I'm guessing they'll be the best ones! 

Put the rolled up dough into the oven to rise after spacing them out in Pyrex pan(s).

Once they have risen for 60mins, which should be enough time to clean everything you just made a mess of...

Bake for 14 mins on 350F (spin the pans after 7 mins).

Sadly I don't have picture of the finished rolls on my phone - and the rolls are packed in the car for my journey to Maine tomorrow. They came out exceptionally well, especially for a first attempt. They were a big hit with a group I rode with earlier today - even those who are not keen on the GF/Vegan diet.

Mix up the Icing: 1/2C powdered sugar and very very small amount of almond milk with a little (couple drops) vanilla and some cinnamon. Add the Almond Milk at a very little at a time until it has icing consistency.

Tuscon Bike Classic: Multi-Level Sufferfest

Early season races are always a thing of interest in the world of the athlete: from the borderline-recreational amateurs in the fast local group ride to the WorldTour Pro at Tour Down Under...and every one of us in between.

It gets more interesting when your race is at a point you are supposed to not yet be at race fitness levels, something you desire weeks or months down the road. I, like all of you back in Maine, are not in race season fitness and don't expect to be cleaning house...yet!! However, these guys and gals in Tucson are in the middle of their season and flying. I first experienced this when I got crushed on the Saturday Shootout ride. I experienced it again the weekend before TBC at a crit, where I did not have the sprint legs I thought I "should" have against other Cat 2 & 3 riders.

Here's a sweet shot from a crit two weekends ago. (No pics from the stage race yet...)

Breaking in Phoenix for her first couple races. 2 crits, spent some time off the front but didn't get anything good for results. Good thing is she got very ready for the stage race! ...still need to cut all that extra stem...

Nevertheless, TBC was an early season stage race - only my second ever - and my first real 'test' since a power test prior to my departure to Tucson. I would have my first race on my new, pretty TT bike, my first 'big time' road race (80 miles), and my first complete stage race. (My first stage race was 3 stages crammed into 2 days, and the RR was 45mi with the crit being about 14mi).

One of my goals for 2013 is "No Goals": to not focus on a singular end result, but to focus on small things that lead to big things. This was first introduced to me in its raw power by my Track coach @ NYA, Coach Mazzurco - a man I still call "Coach". If I talk about "Coach" it is Mazzurco, if I talk about "My Coach" it is my cycling coach, Kurt. So, in the process of planning out the race goals - Kurt made me step back and essentially one goal was there: Be Smart. This is extremely challenging to me, in cycling strength is not strength; intelligence is strength. Intelligence + strength increases result quality. I digress.

Friday: Time Trial: a 3.2 mile downhill/uphill 1-2 punch. Overall it gains some elevation and is quite difficult, with the bonus of headwind and dust being blown deep into your lungs.

The TT warm up on the road bike went fairly well. Hot, but well. Switched it to the TT bike for a few start efforts and was going to head to the line. Except something wasn't right. I shortly found out my cassette was jingling like Santa's Sleigh. I had to loop wayyy around to get back to the parking lot (one way roads). Time was now super tight. Thank goodness for the Optum team mechanic, who let me borrow his cassette tool!! I TT'd the 1 mile to the start and got to the line literally 3 seconds before my start and had to start from the flat, not the TT ramp. I came to a complete stop, heard the beep, and was off - not good. I went crazy to try to make up for a bad start. I was already blowing up. Pushing though, I somehow caught the guy in front of me (30 sec) as the course shifted uphill and realized this wouldn't be a good gauge...I aimed to drop as much time into this guy as possible and look for the next man up the road. I cracked, had to leave the big ring, and pushed again - trying to regain some speed after the sharp uphill. I felt like a brick. Crossing the line I nearly "lost my lunch" and my mouth was dried beyond my imagination for not having water for a mere 8 minutes. I finished in 11th place, 34" back from the leader...but only 10" out of 6th place. The next two days were going to be chalked up as "ride smart" and aiming for a good stage result, which could lead to a good swing in the GC standings.

Saturday: 82 miles, 4x20mi laps, 4000 feet total climbing, uphill (non-climbing) finish.

Oh, it was going to be 90F+ yet again. I was not happy, yet again. I do well in the "Belgian Classic" weather, with a record of 3-0 [yes 3 wins, 0 losses] in rainy/cold races (under 50 with rain). I've never raced in above 85 for more than 40 minutes, where you don't even really need water. Anyways, I came prepared as I could - but I learned that level of preparation only gets you 3 laps of 'comfort'....not 4. I was well suited for the fuel demands of a hard 80 mile race, but only 3 water bottles did not suffice! I had about 1500kcal on me: 1 homemade gel flask, a couple homemade bars, and my trusty PROBAR. I'd eat the bars early, then save the gel for when the effort got super high and chewing becomes less enjoyable.

The race started with a break 4 miles in. I told myself WAIT TRAVIS incessantly. It stuck, I didn't go with the break. By two laps they were 2 minutes up (I was sitting in just eating and drinking). I started to get anxious at 1.5 laps. I knew another racer, Clayton, was going to be making a move - he's SUPER strong. We apparently thought to move at the same time. We attacked into the cross/headwind. It looked like we had it stuck with a group of 4. Nope. Clayton attacked again, I wasn't recovered enough. He and another riding got away...and they got away FAST!! The lead group was now between 8-12 riders, some couldn't hold the tempo after 40+ miles off the front. After 3 laps the lead was up to 2:30. Hope seemed nearly lost, excluding an all out and well organized chase with strong riders. Through the start/finish things picked up. A LOT. Soon we were strung out and the feed zone became a death zone. It split. I made the cut. We went to WORK. The other group was chasing us and we didn't want to drag the whole peloton. TriSports guy, other TCR SL 2 ISP rider (Anthony?), and I did the bulk of the surge - but the others helped enough to solidify our standing as the lone chasers. Now it came to one thing and one thing alone: everyone work, or all effort be a waste. Luckily only one guy didn't put work in. We had a decent rotation: 3 working hard, 3 putting in "whatever they could" (or secretly conserving). Luckily we did put this massive effort in. We were absolutely flying. We blew past groups dropped from the Pro/1 race, we tore up those who couldn't hold onto the breakaway. Our descents were 53x11 @ 120rpm on a fast rotation. It was clear. Crush it or be crushed. with about 8K to go, we caught the break. It had dwindled to 6 or so riders. I was cramping. Really really badly. Full locking up of my right leg, partial of my left. I sagged off the group, trying to hide my sheer weakness. Our select group would yield 13 racers. Only 4 were ahead of me in GC. HOLY CRAP! This was working out. If I stayed in it I'm 5th GC. It took nearly all I had to cover an attack that was being left unchased. I considered throwing in the towel for fear of causing a legitimate muscular injury and not even starting on Sunday (it was that bad).

I figured that I worked this hard, I had to stick it out. And if I was going to stick it out, I might as well try for a stage placing. I can't believe with my cramps I pulled off 4th place on the day! Upgrade points woohoo! I was aware everyone else was sufferring. Luckily my sprint capacity outweighed my cramps and weakness in the heat. I was now sitting, uncomfortably, in 5th GC. 4 seconds better, I'd be in 3rd...3 seconds worse, I'd be in 8th. It was very, very tight....

Circuit Race: 45mi, 8x5.6mi laps, Prime (time bonus) @ lap 3.

This is what I looked like after the circuit race. FRIED.
Please note the awesomeness of the hair forming to the helmet vents!

My plan was to, yet again, ride smart and see if I could gain more places in GC. Third place was in range, so was 8th. I'd be 'okay' with 5th because I was in rough shape after Saturday.I'd sit in, go for the prime and finish, and hope things stayed together (which was likely given teams and individual GC standings). If I could snag the 1st place on lap 3 I'd be tied in 3rd. If I could get more I'd have 3rd place solid. Headwind, uphill sprint usually would play into my strengths. However, I was toasted. My ability to sustain three hard days in a row was not having any of it...but I really need that in September, so I have time. No worries.

I stuck in the race, it stayed together. Lap three came around, I accelerated for the sprint, but I didn't realllyyy accelerate and wasn'teven well positioned. No chance on the prime. Big bummer: guy 1 second behind me got the prime. I was now into 6th place and didn't have much for legs. With 1.5 laps to go, I saw 227 (the guy who passed me) put his hand up for having a flat tire. As he slid back, I told him it was a bummer and he did a good job getting the prime. Yes, a flat is unfortunate but that's life. Given that the pace had elevated I knew he was toast. I was back into 5th. With half a lap to go, things got fast up the climb. It was totally strung out up the climb (and feed zone). The guy in 4th went for a bottle, hit a pot hole, and went down - fairly hard. By the time I came by he was still stumbling to get back up. To his misfortune, the pace was very hot. He was out the back and my assumption was right that he would miss catching back on. Things were sketchy as normal coming into the last turn - everyone stupidly dive-bombing in on the inside. I stayed patient and didn't do anything stupid, which set me up horribly (read: last 3 wheels into the final kilometer). I moved up, burning whatever crappy low-octane matches were remaining in my book. With about 400m to go, the group formed far on the left side of the road and I went with it as the right side was quite packed. Sadly the train died pretty quick and it was blasting nearly solo into the wind...until that kid cut me off. I pulled the full on stop pedal and hit the brakes...which sucks even more on an uphill with a headwind than anywhere else. I saved it and made 6th place, one place out of an additional upgrade point...but I made 4th place GC!

Here's a nice shot of the climb of the circuit race. Never too tired or shelled to rock out with the awesomest bike in the whole wide world - name Phoenix. Plus it was a pretty view, which I am pretty sure I totally ruined.

Overall, the stage race went better than I was expecting. I know I have pretty low amounts of intensity in my legs and came to Tucson to get into fitness and not to be fully race ready. Initially, no races were on the docket in Tucson until we realized that my fitness was starting out quite well and a little fire tossed at the legs would be good - both for getting into racing mode and seeing where I stand. Well, here it is: I have 9 upgrade points, which is 25% to the elusive Category 1 upgrade! If only there had been 8 more guys registered, I would have 18 points. It's pretty crazy how much field size plays into the value of a race.

Final GC standings:

Nevertheless, I am quite happy with my first real racing in 2013. Sorry I don't have pictures of the races - they haven't been posted online yet.

This will likely be my last (or second to last) post from Tucson. I am heading out from here on the 26th or 27th. Only a few more days of quality left. I'll be sad to leave, but excited to be home...as long as the weather is decent (rawrrr!).

Sweet Potato Muffins for ALL occasions

So it has been a LONG time since I have posted a recipe. I showed a photo on Facebook of some Sweet 'tater muffins I threw together that I modified to be gluten free and traVegan.

TraVegan: It is my modified, tested diet where I'm not totally vegan anymore. I suppose it'd technically be called 'ovo-vegan'. I have been vegan + eggs for about a month now and feeling pretty great, so I'm gonna stick with it until I have a reason to stray. I also eat honey but I think that's a pretty strict distinction, so it's not in my vegan consideration. Reason for eggs? GREAT quality protein, very tasty and versatile, and really helpful in baking...I'm just not a fan of the flax egg/Ener-G replacers. They usually work either okay or "fine", but they miss what the egg contributes; an added gloss and smoothness that makes a LOT of people forget that butter is missing ;).

Enough nutrition talk, let's talk about these muffins! They came out perfect on my first attempt, not sure how but I'm a happy man. Even my roommate here in Tucson liked them...he wasn't much of a fan of my cycling bars - the ones that did have chocolate chips.

Use: These muffins are great for anything really. Breakfast side, quick bite, mid-night snack, etc.

For the Athletes out there: I was surprised at how darn well they did out on the roads. I live-tested them on a 98 mile ride. One early on, on at mile 80. They held up GREAT inside a jersey pocket without being wrapped (it got up to close to 90 degrees. I also sweat a lot. So anything being safe to eat after 4 hours in my jersey passes the ultimate test).

The best part: SUPER easily digestible.

Other bonuses:

• Coconut oil (great fuel fat)
• Sweet potato (very nutritious, starch = longer carb fuel and easy on stomach)
• No Butter or other fats that can be tough to digest
• Protein from the egg/brown rice flour, great for longer activities
• Gluten Free

Here's the recipe:

TK's Sweet Tater Muffins: Makes 9 Regular Muffins (probably 24 mini's, and like 2 Dunkin' Donuts sized ones haha)

You'll be pleased to see these come out of the oven.
I had already eaten one before I snapped the photo...

• Dry Stuff: Mix very well in medium bowl. Apparently I did thise correctly as I hear horror stories about not distributing the xanthan properly
• 1.25 C Brown Rice Flour + 3/4 tsp Xantham Gum
• 1 T Cinnamon
• 1.5 tsp Baking Powdahh
• 1/4 tsp (+) Sea Salt (maybe 5/16, I'm not counting!)
• Not Dry Stuff: Mix very well in large-ish then add to "Dry Stuff" until combined evenly
• 1.5 T Apple Sauce
• 1 Egg (Large: feel free to try egg replacers though)
• 1/4 C Agave Nectar (I prefer agave for many mixing recipes, as it is fairly thin)
• 1/4 C Coconut Oil (melted: do this last as it congeals pretty quickly)
• The Good Stuff: Add and mix into batter
• 1 C Shredded Sweet Potato (use cheese grater, thickness as you wish - I did coarse)
• 1/2 C Raisins
• 1/4 C Shredded Coconut (*unsweetened*, but you could likely add more without consequence, with more yum!)

• Directions:
• Pre-heat oven to 350F, grease muffin pan (I use spray)
• Mix Dry Stuff very well
• Add Not Dry Stuff, mix to combine evenly
• Add "The Good Stuff" and mix it in
• Spoon (approx 1/4 C) into each muffin spot, close to even with pan level
• Bake for ~18 mins (best to go with the toothpick method though)
• Let cool and remove from pan

This is about how much I put in each muffin spot.
Note: These are the other muffins I made. Mashed Tater Muffins, they were good but not amazing.

Enjoy!

Reduced Fat/Higher Carb concentration test:

• Dry Stuff: Mix very well in medium bowl. Apparently I did thise correctly as I hear horror stories about not distributing the xanthan properly
• 1.25 C Brown Rice Flour + 1 tsp Xantham Gum
• 1 T Cinnamon
• 1.5 tsp Baking Powdahh
• 1/4 tsp (+) Sea Salt (maybe 5/16, I'm not counting!)
• Not Dry Stuff: Mix very well in large-ish then add to "Dry Stuff" until combined evenly
• 1/4 C Apple Sauce
• 2 Egg (Large: feel free to try egg replacers though)
• 1/4 C Agave Nectar (I prefer agave for many mixing recipes, as it is fairly thin)
• 1.5 T Coconut Oil (melted: do this last as it congeals pretty quickly)
• The Good Stuff: Add and mix into batter
• 1 C Shredded Sweet Potato (use cheese grater, thickness as you wish - I did coarse)
• 1/2 C Raisins
• 1/4 C Shredded Coconut (*unsweetened*, but you could likely add more without consequence, with more yum!)

Regular Recipe is 33% kcal from fat (for 10 muffins): 210kcal - 71 from fat. F: 8g / C: 34g (Fib: 3g, Sug: 13g) / P: 3g

"Reduced" Recipe is 23% kcal from fat (for 10 muffins): 187kcal - 42 from fat. F: 5g / C: 35g (Fib: 3g, Sug: 13g) / P: 3g

Next time I'll see about cutting out one egg and some shredded coconut/oil...but I really believe in a notable quantity of fat for fueling...so maybe I won't :P

Fatness to Fitness: Pursuit of Progress

In a corollary to my previous post that discussed progress on an intellectual and self-understanding basis, here is that progress realized in my own recent training.

It's (almost) completely true what they said: "If you want to take cycling seriously then go south for winter training, your gains will be huge." The almost is thrown in there because you need to be prepared to work better, harder, longer than you have ever before. And you have to do it while recovering far better than you ever have before. I was riding with a long-time pro cyclist (thanks Kurt for setting me up with a Tucson guide!) and he flat out said, "If you came here to train like a pro, you will recover like a pro." This was in response to me saying I woke up before my alarm. I was foolish enough to ask "why", but glad I did. Answer: You sleep as long as you need. No less, and usually more.

Nota bene: I make this next statement knowing that my weight fluctuates quite insanely, likely because I am more cut out to be a professional eater than an amateur cyclist. Seriously. Anyway, I have dropped some serious weight in preparation for the training and season. After travelling to Italy and Israel, the difficulties of this summer, and detoxing after a very (situationally) disappointing cycling season - I only actually raced until June 26, of which my result was "best road rash". I came back at the end of August and yet again got in an unfortunate scenario, and was lucky to only have a broken derailleur hanger. I hit a lifetime high in weight (173.5lbs for a 5'6.5" 'athlete' is not good) and was in relatively poor fitness on November 4th, 2012. Luckily my 'fatness' yielded 'fitness' in the local end-season race the Doppio Ciclo Saturday Morning Ride, because it is very flat and sprint focused...plus, I rode close to textbook in the ride aside from a flat tire (never discount the factor that your head is part of the game).

I digress, basically from that day in November - disappointed and sick to think of the number I saw (I sit around 150-155 at heaviest when in shape) - I knew 2013 training prep was happening NOW. I wrote a post "2013: The Beginning" after Thanksgiving indulgences. From that day I've been in a steady weight decline, and MORE IMPORTANTLY (!!) a steady fitness incline. I stress this so strongly because (especially as cyclists) we are incorrectly taught to believe that low weight always means high fitness. Fitness in cycling is a combination of three things: Power, Weight, Skills. Skills include everything from smoothness in riding to intangibles like having a Steve Prefontaine mindset of pain being an insult and going harder (or everything unlike a classical Steve Prefontaine mindset and being a smart, clever, and tactical athlete). Since that day my weight has dropped 15% and my "tangible fitness" has increased over 10%. I am now back to a weight I only saw in April of 2012 before a week off after Battenkill, when I (unsurprisingly) lost my edge of keeping everything in my life in line. I'm much healthier and much more fit than I was in November. I hope you have improved your health since the holidays as well.

Even though I am 3 weeks into Tucson training. I feel great. A bit tired, absolutely. I owe a huge thanks to some people back home who made this trip possible, but that's for it's own post. I also owe a pretty heavy duty thanks to Kurt Perham, my coach and guide since Decemeber, as he navigates me through fitness levels, training loads, and workouts I have never seen nor knew were possible. Probably his greatest aid has been keeping me smart. I work hard, often too hard to even reap the benefits of my efforts. And I love cycling, to the point I do 'too much' for the sole reason that "it's fun!" One of the key factors in choosing Kurt as a coach was that when I had done a pretty huge week - two centuries were a part of it - he emailed me out of the blue (AKA his reasonable concern for my foolish training).

I am absolutely loving Tucson. Apparently the weather has been "bad" - as I scripted this last week we were about to get some serious rain for the second time in my first 10 days (it's going to be in the low 40's temp) and the temps have been mostly under 70's which is also a touch low. Only in a place this perfect for training is that considered bad! Luckily, it has recovered. This weekend was 80F+ each day, and I survived while logging 9 hours alone! I tend to be pretty weak in the heat...

I've been training solidly since my day off upon arriving here. The first week I had some great workouts (last Thursday's tempo), some nice rides (up to the top of Mt. Lemmon, 8200ft), and getting my face kicked in on a group ride for the first time in a long time (Saturday Shootout). I'm so glad I'm here it is hard to express. The culture is really friendly, despite there being some very heavy-hitting athletes who come this way. I chatted with a group of Canadians at local coffee shop, Le Buzz. I also saw the Jamis Hagens Berman team on a training ride, kitted out, rolling away from Mt. Lemmon as I was on my way to tack on a few extra miles uphill...no I did not ride with or attempt to ride with them.

The most interesting part of being here so far is obviously the cycling as a whole, but I've thoroughly enjoyed the few times I've ridden with Adam Myerson - most of you back home should know the name. Long time pro, ambassador of CX, and the guy who heads the Team Mountain Khakis squad. He rolled out of town last Monday so my training has been 'lonlier' but of no less quality and, at times, even better quality. As athletes training for specificity, we must embrace the solitude of training - today I went out on my TT bike for over 3.5 hours and about 70 miles. My longest ride on it was about 1.5 hours and this would be my first real intensity on it. I was definitely nervous about how it would go: mostly my neck/back acting up from hammering in aero position. Then there was that 98 miles solo yesterday, where I hit a 60min climb pretty hard. Legs were sluggish, breathing was much different in the TT tuck position, and it took quite a bit of work to push through it.

This will be my first workout in A LONG TIME without using my power meter, I felt like a pilot who couldn't look around within his cockpit. But it was something I seriously need: to feel both my body and the bike and not look at a gauge of numbers. This is one area in which I lack proficiency (or skill whatsoever!) due to my scientific approach to cycling and life. I rode by feel, it felt weird, and then it clicked. I was smashing it - the second 30min interval was a 1.5% uphill grade and into a small headwind. I averaged 21+mph and, most important, felt like I hit my tempo dead on! Feel is one of the things in cycling that is unteachable. It is able to be developed, but it requires separation from certain things upon which we so comfortably rely.

A shot from the top (of the road, not mountain) at Madera Canyon from yesterday's ride.

I definitely made a jump out of my comfort zone. I nearly bailed on riding the TT bike because I had the opportunity to use the excuse "well I have to adjust a couple things and don't want to wait". I'm glad I didn't take the easy way out, because today's single ride on the TT bike solidified my enjoyment of it...which I will need to embrace on my 3.1 mile time trial on March 15th! That's gonna hurt.... :)

More progress will be made in the coming weeks, but not without three of my best pals: work, pain, and sacrifice!