Dining - The Old School Way

In my continuing quest to eat healthier and ensure the products I purchase are environmentally sustainable and safe, I've made some recent changes to my food purchases and diet which I outlined in a recent blog entry. For this blog, I'd like to delve a little further into the reasons behind these choices, the research I've done over the years, and the decisions I've made. Mainly doing this follow up because today I picked up my first purchases from my new farm & ranch... woohoo!

First, let me start by saying there's a lot of information that was collected prior to making these decisions. I'm hoping this entry doesn't get too overwhelming with facts & info - but, be prepared, it might. Secondly, most of my adult life I've tried to eat well and learn more about where my food comes from, how healthy (or dangerous - or fake) it may be, and my purchasing habits have continually evolved over the years.

During the first years (decade?) of this journey, that generally meant the following:

• Whole Grains - because at this point we've all heard highly-processed & refined grains aren't as healthy, right?
• Reading Labels - oh yeah, you gotta read 'em! Only because laws/regulations often allow many hidden ingredients, including chemicals or "natural" products in our food.
• Opting for Cage Free/Free Range/Organic Meats: We probably all agree that antibiotic/hormone free meats are healthier and the livestock are treated better than animals locked up in pens or cages.

Then, during the second decade, I learned a few other things:

• Products labeled as "whole grain" may be misleading. They may still contain other refined grains and/or fillers. And, for things like bread, they can still use high-fructose corn syrups instead of more natural alternatives like honey, molasses, or even real sugar.
• Some products are labeled as organic or natural because, well, technically they are. A few examples... Cheese. Natural cheese comes from the milk of cows and some natural enzymes, right? Much better than that stuff like "American" cheese slices which can be mostly vegetable oil & fillers. Until you read the label. That cheese you're buying might be 1/3 potato starch. It's "natural" and it's definitely not an official chemical. The same holds true for lunch meats, whole-grain pastas, hot dogs, and even spices. Yep. Potato starch. Nothing more than sugar and carbs... and they can be labeled as organic if the potatoes are grown without chemical pesticides.
• Cage Free/Free Range/Organic Meats, Eggs & Dairy products: Again, technically not a lie. A cage free chicken isn't kept in a 3ft. x 2ft. cage. That doesn't mean it hasn't spent it's entire life living on top of - or under (hey, someone's gotta be the bottom) - a bunch of other chickens in a big chicken coop. Free range could just mean that this same chicken coop had some access, however limited, to the outdoors. Organic. Well, this one's the most important and easiest to quantify. If you're going to make any improvements in the meat products you purchase, ensure they're organic. That at least means they aren't treated with hormones or antibiotics and the food they're fed (even if it's not their natural diet) comes from organic sources.

The chickens at Quail Hollow Farms

Now, more recently, I've discovered even more to be worried about:

• Even "fresh, organic produce" may be neither truly fresh nor organic. Have you heard about the methods they use to ensure you can get apples year-round? No? They keep them in a refrigerator - filled with nitrogen. It brings the process of decay to a near-halt. So that beautiful, organic apple you're eating may actually be ten months old. But exposed to some weird chemical processes too.
• Olive Oil: Oh, this is probably the one that most pissed me off. I have relied on olive oil for many, many years as a superior option to other oils like canola & vegetable. It has healthier fats and is less processed. Recently, my friend Marco informed me that it's all a scam. Most of the "100% Pure, Organic, Extra Virgin Olive Oil" we purchase is cut with things like canola oil or vegetable oil (yes, cutting it like they cut drugs - adding inferior products in order to get the most bang for their buck). Or, even using rotten oils they've "deodorized" to remove the bad smell. Seriously? I switched from canola oil to olive oil only to be fed with more canola oil? Or oil from rotten olives? No f'g way!
• Meats. Oy. This one is crazy. The meat you buy from the local grocery store may have gone through 2 or 5 or 8 or 12 owners/handlers. Most likely the latter. The meat you buy from your local butcher probably went through five handlers. Each one not knowing/caring what the one prior to them or the next one did. And some of that "processing" is inhumane (a humanely treated, pastured pig may still be slaughtered in a very horrific way). And some of that stuff is just plain gross. Like, even the most prime cuts of pastured, grass-fed, humanely slaughtered beef - they may still go through the final process which uses carbon monoxide to make meat look fresh as shown in this video:

So, in the end, I've been leaning toward the Italian ideal of the "slow food movement." Keep it local. Keep it documented. Know who grew/raised it. Lower the carbon footprint of the processing/transportation/development. But, most important of all - Keep. It. Real.

Due to this, my olive oil is now purchased from a farm in California. No cutting there. And it's close enough that the carbon footprint isn't terribly out of hand. And this week, I became a shareholder in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm which means the produce I'm eating is local, fresh-harvested, and organic. On top of that, as I've been adding meat back into my diet, I wanted to ensure it was the healthiest available. So I found a ranch not too far from Vegas which offers pastured, grass-fed beef that is slaughtered humanely, and dry aged in the old-school ways. The chickens and eggs I purchase will be through my CSA and will have lived on a farm like our great-grandparents once tended.

I haven't found the answers to everything. I use other dairy products far less frequently than in the past, but I still use them. And I'd like to find products from cows raised in a way similar to the meat products I consume. Whole grain foods, even purchased in bulk, may have some hidden secrets in the way they were processed or where they were transported from (does it make sense to purchase rice from China instead of Louisiana when the fossil-fuel output for shipping across an ocean negates any cost benefits?). And,I even plan to have a discussion with my CSA about switching from plastic bags for produce to washable, reusable mesh bags. Because, to me, it makes little sense to buy organic veggies, picked yesterday, from a local farm when they're putting it in a single-use plastic baggie which was probably purchased from overseas. I'm asking for too much, aren't I?

The Heaton Family Ranchers

In the end, this isn't the end. I'm only 41.. well, almost 42. I still have a very long, full life ahead of me. I probably have a long way to go on this journey with food. But, I now know the family that grows my vegetables and raises the hens for my eggs and chicken products (Laura & Monte Bledsoe - I've talked with Laura on the phone and met Monte today). I've also met the ranchers who raise the cows that were made into the steaks in my freezer (The Heaton Family). And I'm determined to continue this focus on eco-friendly, humane, and safe food products. Not just for me. But for the benefit of every living thing on this beautiful planet.

Now, the funniest thing in all of this is that I experienced something I never thought I'd be donig.... I actually just bought my produce and beef from the back of a truck. Literally. A truck hauling a refrigerated trailer was waiting for me at both locations. Both Monte (farmer) & Ryan (rancher) were friendly, chatted for a bit while getting my order together, asked if I had any questions or would like to visit the farm/ranch, shook my hand. Not something I ever expected to do but it was pretty darn cool!

That's Monte, my farmer, getting a basket from the truck.

Branching Out

Lots of miles. Lots of hills. Lots of water. Lots of soreness. Lots of learning. Lots of support. Lots of goals. Lots of firsts. Lots of progress. Lots of inspiration.

I've definitely experienced a lot during these past couple months of training. Each of these experiences has prepared me for the big event. And much of this preparation has been with the help of my friends and community... fundraising, gear acquisition, support, inspiration and cycling knowledge.

But my training rides have always been solo.

It's time to change that and branch out into a community of cyclists.

I actually love going solo on my training rides. They're very peaceful experiences with amazing scenery and allow me some time in my own head. No work. No fundraising. No dog parenting. No distractions. At the end of a ride, I generally feel very centered and balanced which is something we can all use once in awhile. In many ways, I feel I could continue riding by myself until the event begins.

However, next June I'm going to be riding with over 2,000 participants. That's got to be a logistical challenge for the event planners and roadies. Riders have a challenge to meet as well... it means learning the rules of sharing the road. Yes, I've been reading quite a bit about group riding... things like bar-to-bar, pacelines, peeling off, pulling through and use of hand signals for pointing out obstacles, hazards & maneuvering. In my head, I can picture myself doing all of these things with precision. In reality, will I do them when I'm heading into my third hour, my fortieth mile, and fighting off a bit of road hypnosis? Probably not. Unless I have real-life experience and, like everything else we try to master, I practice, practice, practice.

From the beginning, I've told myself that once I felt comfortable on my bike I'd start learning to ride in groups. Well, if I'm completing 40-mile rides it's pretty obvious that I've found my place in the saddle. So a few weeks ago when I met a fellow cyclist during one of my rest stops, he pointed me to a website for Las Vegas cycling enthusiasts. That afternoon, I signed up as a member but I haven't yet joined them on a ride. Anxiety about learning something new? Or being judged? Or missing my solo rides? Probably all of the above. This weekend, that changes.

In a way, this also means taking a step back in some my training. To learn group riding, I really should start with the beginners. The rides will be shorter and the pace slower. But, if I'm going to do this properly, I'm going to start where everyone does... at the beginning. On Sunday, I'll be joining the Biking Las Vegas group for a beginner's ride. The route will be much flatter than I'm used to, the pace will be 4-6 mph slower than I'm currently achieving, and the distance will be the shortest I do these day. But I know I'll be getting so much out of it! The ride leader will be giving a tutorial on riding safely in a group and helping with tips on shifting and gearing. And after the event, I'll walk away having my first experience riding with others!

The following weekend I've signed up for another group ride... with a twist. The BLV group is hosting it's 4th Annual Halloween Ride! Since I'll have a little experience riding with others, I've decided to join this event which includes riding in costumes! It's like the school-day Halloween parades except we'll be on road bikes... woohoo! In addition to getting more experience in group riding, I'll also be taking my first step in preparing for the Red Dress Day during the AIDS/LifeCycle event!

Finally, I also think I may join another group event in the coming weeks. This one is an organized fundraiser called the Honor Ride for the Ride2Recovery and benefits combat veterans who have sustained injuries while serving and protecting our country. There are a few levels of participation including an 18-mile ride for beginners, a 35-mile route for weekend warriors, and an 80-mile ride for the real experts. I'm still on the fence for this one since it's a benefit event and I can't take any focus away from my ALC fundraising efforts. However, there is no minimum for raising funds and my registration fees will benefit a cause I support. So I might just do it... feel free to let me know your thoughts in the comments section about whether or not it would be a good idea.

Gaining experience in riding with groups doesn't mean my solo rides will be ending. Quite the opposite I think. Most likely, I'll ride by myself just as often and the group training events will add to my training schedule. Plus, I'll still be planning rides with my cyclist friends like Brian, Kristen, Jason & Lacy. Wow... I've got a lot of pedaling to do in the coming months!

There may be one other benefit in branching out with these group rides. My friends, family and colleagues have shown incredible support for my ride and that support has achieved amazing progress in fundraising. But contributions have slowed down over the past couple weeks because so many have already become sponsors. I am working on getting creative with my fundraising events but, by participating in these group training rides, I'll meet many others and my community will grow. And maybe along the way I'll meet some who believe in the reasons I'm participating in the AIDS/LifeCycle event and they'll support the cause. Or maybe I'll even find a local cyclist who'll join me on the ride! In the end, I know I'll make a few new friends and that's the best part of it all.

You Are What You Eat

Vegetarian Chronicles, Day 51:

I love the rituals of cleaning, chopping and preparing the fresh vegetarian meals I prepared.
And the aromas are amazing!

I actually didn't make it 51 days. Not for lack of trying. Remember, this was a seven day experiment which continued for nearly two months. But, each of our bodies are different and... well, vegetarianism lasted about 47 days for me. As of a few days ago, I've decided my diet just needs meat.

I felt sooooo good during this vegetarian experiment. And I made sure I got plenty of protein and a good, healthy mix of all other nutrients. Beans and split peas and quinoa and milk and eggs and cheese and veggies galore. Even new things like bok choy, swiss chard and kale. Alas, one can ensure he gets the nutrients he needs but his body may be screaming for more calories. And so is the case with me.

This may provide the calories I need,
but does nothing to help with the other goals.

I'm a.. well, I'm a thin guy with a crazy fast metabolism. And this experiment has proven that you are what you eat. Six weeks into this adventure & I started to look like a stalk of celery or a pale, white cannellini bean. I lost quite a bit of weight. While in Portland, a few of the maternal influences in my life kept telling me to eat more, eat more, eat more. So I did. But when I'm burning 1,200 calories on a training ride, I can't make up those calories with a truly healthy vegetarian diet. And eating pancakes or French toast for breakfast isn't exactly the solution I was seeking. Seriously, I would eat three pounds of food and it would equal something like 600 calories. I started to feel like one of those creatures that had to eat seven-times his body weight just to maintain.

Seriously, I was looking as pale and scrawny as one of these beans.

Delicious and nutritious as this is,
it doesn't support my body.

I tried online education. Followed a site devoted to endurance sport enthusiasts who are also vegetarians. Looked up meat-free recipes that were higher in calories. But it still didn't work. High-caloric meals that are meat free also come with a lot of fat and they throw off the balance I needed in nutrients. That wonderfully delicious replacement for meat, potatoes and gravy I made a few weeks ago had nearly half a bottle of olive oil in it. And I'm pretty sure many of those endurance sport vegetarians don't have my metabolism which, even without any exercise, requires three-to-four thousand calories a day. So, in an effort to avoid looking like Karen Carpenter, I've added meat back into my diet over the past few days.

First, my body's not too happy about this. It went through major changes & cleansing during the first ten days of my vegetarian experiment. And, again, it's going through major changes during this re-introduction to meat products. That's after seven short weeks. Amazing how quickly our bodies adapt to things. Hopefully, my body will re-adapt to meat products just as quickly.

Full of calories. And of fat. Although, it was "good" fat.

But now I've been left with a major question... how should I proceed? I noticed I made huge gains on my endurance and mileage while attempting this experiment. I want to continue working on lowering my cholesterol. Provide myself all the nutrients required for a healthy body. Ensure I have enough calories to get me through this training and this event. And do it all in a way that stays focused on what's good for the environment. In our culture that's asking a lot and, on the surface, seems nearly impossible.

I'm determined though and don't give up easily. So here's my revised plan:

1. Join a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm. This helps in a few ways. First, the produce I receive will be freshly picked and seasonal which means it won't be subjected to a season inside a nitrogen-infused cooler and will be higher in nutrients than store-bought products. Second, the farms I'm looking at are completely organic and less than 50 miles away which lowers the carbon footprint for these purchases. Finally, they also provide animal products - mostly chicken and eggs.

2. Moderation with meat. Prior to this vegetarian experiment, I ate meat or animal products in nearly every meal. Now I will attempt to continue the experiment by adding meat back into my diet but minimizing the frequency. I'm going to start with 2-3 times per week.

Beef raised on a "corporate" farm.

Traditionally ranched beef. I'm pretty sure they're happier.

3. Real meat. Going organic is one thing. But Real Meat is a much harder (and costlier) proposition. As this experiment continues, and I add meat back into my diet, I will ensure the meat is raised in the traditional methods. I'm talking back to the days before chemicals, corporate farms, and genetic selection. We're talking the days of shepharding. Free-range, pasture-raised, grass-fed, humanely treated. This won't be easy since so few farms follow these guidelines. And it won't be cheap. I can buy a whole chicken from Albertson's for about four bucks. To get a chicken raised the old-fashioned way is going to run me about fifteen dollars. Same thing for beef which will come in around $20 a pound. And pork will run around $8-10 a pound. Poultry I'll get from my CSA. Beef will come from a ranch about 120 miles away (following the "slow food" ideals of keeping it as "local" as possible). Still looking for options for pork.

And seafood... I still need to do some research on this one. Even wild-caught seafood, which live on a diet natural to them and follow nature's food chain, can contain unsafe amounts of chemicals and heavy metals that are introduced into our water supply, including mercury and products from fertilizers that have long been banned. There's nothing we can really do about this because, as they say, it's in the water... literally. But if anyone has suggestions, please let me know.

Oh, and I discovered there's a name for this. Well, there's a name for everything, right? This approach is called flexitarianism. So now I can be pigeon-holed thank you very much. In the end, I apologize to you veggies out there who may be be troubled by the fact that I couldn't maintain a meat-free diet. I tried. I really, really did. But, in the end, I couldn't find a way to make it work for me while preparing for a 545 mile bike ride. The scales will definitely tip toward vegetarian (or even vegan) meals in my diet and, once the ride is over, I may go back to being a full-vegetarian. For now, meat is kind of a requirement - not for everyone but definitely for me. As for the livestock... following the "you are what you eat" idea, let's just say I'll do my best to ensure they had a happy life.

5K - We Did It!

As you all know, when I set out on this journey I started with a fundraising goal of $5,000.

Well, just eight short weeks later we've hit that original goal!

I've lost track of how many sponsors have joined to become a part of this amazing team. I could go back and count but it's not the number of sponsors that matter. It's the people behind the contributions. Some I've known my entire life. Others came in to share a brief moment with me. Some I saw yesterday. Others not for years. But whatever our relationship, you have all been the wind at my back on these rides.

A couple weeks ago I changed my goal because I knew we'd hit 5K. I also wanted to motivate this team to climb higher and faster than others and come out as some of the leaders in the effort to support the SF AIDS Foundation and the LA Gay & Lesbian Center. Two months in and we're still holding strong at number 10 in the Top Fundraisers for ALC 12! If we continue on this path and reach our final fundraising goal, we should be locked-in somewhere in the Top 25 fundraisers for the event! Even more, we'll be members of the prestigious 10K Club. Last year, this group was responsible for 20% of the total funds raised for the ride. In attaining this level of fundraising, we help to keep the cost of the ride down and ensure the most money possible goes directly to the beneficiaries.

Today, I also picked the raffle winners for the photo book and those prizes went to Marty & Lisa. Marty, a gear sponsor, is also an amazing photographer. I hope he doesn't judge my photos too much! And Lisa, who has the first edition of "A View From Here" on her mantle in her office , now has the complete set, heh!

For the month of October, my incentive for sponsors is to share, share, share! If you see a post on Facebook with a link to my fundraising page - share it! I'll keep track of all shares and, if one of your friends contributes any amount toward the ride, you will be entered into this month's drawing for a book of my favorite recipes. From my Turkey Meatloaf with Cranberry Glaze to my Tarragon Chicken in a White Wine Reduction, both you and your friend who contributed will get the recipes I've been preparing for years. There will be side dishes (Blasted Broccoli - one of my favorites!) and desserts (Oatmeal Raisin Cookies as big as scones). Even a $5 donation from a friend will get you entered into the drawing. Get 20 friends to donate $5 each and you've got 20 entries and a chance at enough recipes to keep you cooking for all of next year!





But before we start thinking about the coming month and all the fundraising we'll be doing, please take a moment to give yourselves a pat on the back. Through your generosity and support of this cause, we've reached the first goal in eight short weeks. With all of our continued efforts, we'll reach the final goal in the eight months we have left for fundraising.

Thank you my friends. Never before has a man been blessed with the best of the best at his side.




And, as a way to share the ride in the way I'll be experiencing it next June, here's a YouTube video from a previous year's ride - ALC10, June 2011: