94.6 km Headwinds, Burned Face and a Crash - All For The BEST Fish 'n Chips Ever!!

Wind burn, sunburn, bruises and scrapes and I survived! LOL

July 29th - I decided that a ride to White Rock was in order, to sit by the ocean and try out some fish 'n chips.  I got all my lights ready, plus took some MCT oil in a squeeze bottle to put into my hydration pack and bottles, for some extra energy. I brought Gu Roctane capsule electrolytes, macadamia nuts, detour and quest bars with me, plus High5 electrolyte tablets for the water.  The plan is to get up at 5:30 am, shower, get dressed, have coffee with MCT oil and butter, plus Roctanes, 2 energy bars and low carb pancakes for breakfast an hour before I leave, which should be 7 am.

July 30th - It's 5:15 am and I'm actually wide awake!  So, it's shower time, get dressed and downstairs to make coffee and have my pre-fuel breakfast.  All is good and I'm out the door at 6:45 am.  Lights are on, camera, trunk bag and handlebar bag are on and we're ready to roll.

It's a nice sunny morning of blue skies, with some wispy clouds and I'm off.  It's around 13 or 14 degrees outside.  I chose not to wear a cycling cap, because if it gets hot, the camelbak hydration pack, liner shorts and shorts may be too warm (they were).  Cycling with clips is getting better and my cadence is easier to maintain and legs aren't getting worn out easily, as they do when I ride flat pedals.

I thought River Rd. would be empty, but it seems I forgot that it's Saturday and there are people working today, people who don't know how to pass cyclists.  Jeesh.  Traffic is really light, even on the bypass.  I got up to the traffic circle this time riding clipless, which I'm still fearful of falling over when I lose momentum (thank you cycling buddy who shall remain unnamed), so I unclip and go on the flat side of the pedal when I'm still moving at a fair speed.  Plus, I'm not riding as much (my fault) and low carbing, which is going quite well.

I got uptown and noticed the Saturday Farmer's Market is starting to set up and a young fellow came out with his phone and was filming me and asked me to say "Happy Birthday Jay", which I obliged and went on my way.  Not sure what that was about.

On my way and everything is good until the traffic circle just past the Industrial Park, when I get one moron who decides not to share it, as he is required by law to do.  Typical entitled beamer driver.

Ahead is the Golden Ears Bridge, which I've not ridden over clipped, but have ridden over in the past month.  Hopefully, I don't have to use the flat side of the pedal and I didn't!  I rode up that bridge to the middle (have to take a photo) and it was the fastest, smoothest ride to that point!!  I see behind me that the clouds are no longer wispy white, but dark and ominous and it looks like rain.  It's very muggy out and I look to the south and see blue skies towards White Rock (which is normal).  Over the bridge and down the spiral and I was going to head through the industrial area, but decided to take the Trail on the bike route and got to the Golden Ears MUP in a timely manner.  I have lots of energy and before I lose it, it's time for a Detour energy bar (low carb, sugar free).

There is a small hill on the MUP, which I tackled like it was flat and then a longer one (much like the bridge) and again, it went quickly and then onto the last leg, which had another small hill, which I climbed up easily.  I crossed 176th at 96th and headed down 176th.  I ended up not going as fast as I would've liked, due to all the car bits, nuts, bolts, rocks, etc. and then it was time for the headwinds on the flats.  Wowzers!!  The headwinds are brutal, but cooling at the same time.

Pedaling along clipless is amazing.  I notice many abandoned homes and farms along the way.  Very sad.  Once I'm into Cloverdale, I have to pay extra special attention to the traffic in my rearview mirror, as many don't know how bike lanes work and use them to turn wide or park in them.  I made it through and crossed over Highway 10, for my first ride on 176th south and was told to go to 16th and turn right.  32nd avenue on the map also looked good.  The headwinds are absolutely brutal.  I stopped to change the battery in my GoPro and had to stand and brace my bike, even though it has a kickstand, steel and heavy with gear, it almost blew over a few times.  I persevered and carried on.

I got closer to 32nd and saw the hill ahead and decided I didn't feel like going up that to find 16th, so turned right onto 32nd, which had a bike route symbol.  Luckily, I went that way, because I didn't notice that 176th after 32nd going south has no bike lanes and a shitload of traffic, with a horrible sidewalk on the east side only, one not worth riding up.

I followed the signs and did the hills - rolling ones, so not huge, but with headwinds just about knocking me over, they felt huge.  Pretty countryside though.  Soon, I saw a sign that said To the Beach and I turned there and it was nice, but I ended up riding on the sidewalk for much of it, as traffic wasn't the best, even though it said 30kph, many were going much faster.  The road was called Stayte and was quite steep, so I chose to walk the last couple of blocks until I got to Marine Drive and the welcome to White Rock sign.  Now, it's time to find the fish & chip place called Moby Dick.

I had to take the lane on Marine Drive, due to it being so narrow and so many many cars and began looking around for a bike rack with a view from whatever place I was going to and guess what?  None.  I saw a serpentine rack way over by the building that houses the washrooms, but not visible from a restaurant or from the boardwalk or any one of the picnic tables up there.  Too bad.  They're hosting the Tour de White Rock and seem to be non-cycling friendly.

I ended up going to Moby Dick's, as it was open and the only one with a big line up before it even opened.  The food portion was very large and the best fish 'n chips ever!!  It was worth the ride for sure.

I even had "lovely" woman tell me I was too slow walking my bike on the boardwalk (I wasn't, she just wanted to power walk and apparently, doesn't like bikes?) and taking up too much space.  She had to walk around us as many people were walking the other way too.  It's Sea Festival time and I think she forgot she wasn't the only person there.  I told her to have a nice day and walk off the cliff.  She didn't hear the last part.  I asked the seagulls to shit on her head, but they wouldn't listen unless I gave them food.

I enjoyed my meal and waited for awhile before walking around. I figured the fish & few chips, plus a Pepsi (shoot me) would kick in and I'd have energy for my ride home.  I walked around for awhile and sat down on another bench (no picnic table) and an older fellow came along, as he was walking his bike too.  His name was Siggy and he has done the P2B more than once and had a Trek Madone about 10 years old.  He is a Randonneur.  We yakked for awhile, then both walked away, as he was leaving for Abbotsford (he used to live in White Rock) and I headed off too.  The roads were quite busy, as was the sidewalk, so I walked my bike for a bit until I found the road I could ride on and headed off.  I believe it's called 8th Avenue.

8th Avenue is a nice road, with nice traffic circles, that NOBODY followed the rules on.  I was surprised there weren't any accidents when I went through.  What a freaking zoo!!  I kept riding on 8th Avenue until I got to 176th and then the fun began and it was all uphill from there.  No bike lanes, no shoulder, sidewalk only one one side, which was in the shade thankfully, so that's the route I took.  I rode as far as I could before I felt it was too dangerous to ride up on.  Too many overgrown bushes, trees and bad pavement on the sidewalk made my walking decision a good one, plus I didn't want to ride all over the place to avoid hills.  I got to the top and still no bike lanes or shoulder and same shitty sidewalk.  I rode down it for awhile, but ducking from the bushes and trees was a bit dangerous, so I walked.

When I reached the bottom, I saw 32nd Avenue and knew that there were bike lanes on 176th heading north.  Yahoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  It's hot and I need to be pedaling.  Unfortunately, the headwinds are worse than this morning.  Great!  Not really.

Off I go and it's easy going with the clipless system.  It's windy and hot still, so I'd best just carry on, which I did.  My energy started waning around Telosky Hill, but no bonking.  I took longer to go home and take my time, as it wasn't a race, just a day to ride my bike.

Before I got to the Golden Ears Bridge, I realized I could get a metric century today.  I only needed to ride another 10 km, but the headwinds, they were still brutal. Pitt Meadows has terrible sidewinds, but I could get that extra 10 km.  Hmmm....  I got over the bridge and decided to hell with the century, that'll come soon enough, so I just kept riding.  It was good to get home and get into the shower.  Some stretching done after that.

I have to say I'm still surprised at the difference in using clipless pedals, as the effort to pedal is so much easier and especially going up hills, compared to flat pedals.

I ended up with 94.6 km, which is 4.6 km more than I thought I would get, plus I ate really good fish & chips.  No bike racks means I won't be going back without a cycling buddy to watch bikes.  Shame on you White Rock.

Keto Baby! Keto, Constipation and Adductors

It's another hot, muggy day today.  Hot is okay.  Muggy is not and combined together, it just kills me.

I made keto pancakes today, from a recipe I found online.  They were so tasty, I made some more small ones I can take with me while riding.  So easy!!

I'm still on keto and in ketosis and really liking it.  I have found myself a little constipated lately and NO, it has nothing to do with a lack of fibre (that old addage is basically shit for many), it's due to a lack of eating more fruits of the good low carb kind.  I've been eating a lot of lettuce lately, but that's not enough and even though it's really gross outside, I went up to the store and picked up some cucumbers, tomatoes and avocadoes, which are all classified as fruits, which get things moving quite nicely.  Is that gross?  Being constipated is gross.

I haven't ridden since last Sunday, when I did 47km and it was a hot one.  That was the day I rode clipped for the first time and I sure felt it for a couple of days after that, due to the muscles I've not been using in flat pedal cycling.  My adductors are bothering me yet again, which is causing some pain above my knee, just to the inside of the leg.  Seems I'm getting enough electrolytes, but not stretching or strengthening these muscles that I appear to be using a lot more than I thought, since I started riding faster and harder.  I'm going to have to put my gym membership to use this year and use the adduction machines more, plus some more strength training and Yoga.

I bought some kinesiology tape for my knee and decided to check on that before using it and it seems the stretching and strengthening is working and the pain is gone.  I will have to remember to do this during my rides, but not over stretching or I'll use up any energy stores.

I'm hoping tomorrow (Saturday) of this long weekend, which is a sunny one is cooler so that I can go and ride on my final 3 days of holidays that I have left.

Ketogenic Progress

Today, I am 20 pounds less than I was on the 15th of June.  It is July 25th.  That is all.

Going on a First Time Ride Clipless - July 24, 2016

Today, will be my first day riding my road bike clipless.  I have long been a fan of flat pedals, especially the MTB ones with little pins that stick up.  They really stick to my shoes, sometimes too well.  I'm finding I'm moving my foot around quite a bit, trying to get comfortable on my right leg, as my adductors, especially the one on the right is bugging me.  The trigger point just above my right knee gets a bit painful past 40k.  I really must remember to stretch and do more warm up.  That being said, I didn't do the latter at all, as I was so eager to get out and ride clipless.

I decided it was time to go clipless about 2 weeks ago, as mashing the flat pedals was only making my lower back sore.  I ended up going to Caps to get a hybrid clipless pedal (flat on one side, Shimano SPD on the other) and some shoes by Bontrager (Evoke DLX) women's with hot pink insides to match my POC helmet.  They came with black cleats, the kind that one needs to really twist to get out of and did some more research and found there are cleats that are multi-release and much easier to get out of being clipped.  I tried both on the pedals while riding on the trainer, so the multi-release ones are the choice I have made.

I have my snacks and electrolytes in 2 bottles, plus my Camelbak hydration pack and I'm off and I'm pretty stoked about riding clipless and I'm hoping the extra power transfer is worth it.

I have no idea where I'm riding to, so I'll just ride.  It's a nice sunny day, with just a few clouds out.  I didn't leave as early as I wanted, but I left on my ride.

I rode my normal way and was on the Bypass when I encountered the backside of Linda Meyer. I just buzzed on by and no looking in the rearview mirror either.  I continued on and up the hill on 227th I go and I'm sweating pretty good and it's really muggy out, so I stop to take a drink.  I knew I should've left 2 or 3 hours earlier, but I procrastinated about getting up early, as today is my only day off.  I headed up the hill again.  I'm getting the hang of the clipless pedals and am really liking them for riding.  I wonder how sore I will be when I finish or if I'll bonk sooner than later.

I get into town and I'm on 216th, heading to 123rd bikeway, not really knowing where I'm headed and I decided to call my cycling buddy to see if she's home as I want to drop by and show her that I haven't fallen off, broken my wrist, shoulder or god knows what else.  She's been really down on me riding clipless, yet she rides with straps, which I find highly dangerous.  I don't try to discourage her from riding with them, but she sure is being discouraging to me.  I'm pretty surprised at how easily I've adapted to riding clipless.  I'm finding being attached to my bike is awesome for power and I'm paying more attention to the road than usual, which is pretty cool, since I'm pretty observant anyway.

I go see Anita and she's going kayaking with her friend Sarah and the first thing she says is "how many times did you fall" and I laugh and told her none and I didn't plan on falling.  I showed her the pedals and cleats and shoes and explained how different they are and easy to use.  I'm not a roadie doing a lot of climbing out of the saddle, so these are just right for me.

I was going to go over the Golden Ears Bridge, but remembered the Gran Fondo was on on the other side of the river and I didn't feel like getting stuck in that bunch, so I thought about going to the path over the Port Mann Bridge and then back home via the Golden Ears Bridge.  I got to Kennedy Road at Lougheed Hwy., and decided to go out Pitt Meadows way to the Stomping Grounds instead, as I was feeling a bit tired and the headwinds were getting to me, plus I was riding harder than I normally do.

I ended up at the Stomping Grounds at Osprey Village and had a Red Tea with ice and a cold bottle of water and sat down to relax in the shade.  There was a dog tied up to the bench I was sitting on and she came over and sat down beside me and I petted her for quite awhile and then I let her go lay back down and headed off towards home.  I could feel my right knee/adductor bugging me a bit, so going home was a good thing.

I stopped off at Caps on the way home to let them know I survived riding clipless and that I wanted the same pedals put onto the Squishy bike.  I'll pick up a couple of extra cleats, as they say these wear out quicker than the black ones.

I made it home and I was sweaty and tired and holy shitballs, did I ever bonk bigtime!  Luckily it happened when I got into the house and after I had put my bike away.  I barely made it up the stairs to have a shower to get all the salt off of me and could hardly get back downstairs to sit down.  My right hand and foot were cramping and adductors are crampy, all on the right side.  So, more stretching to do.

That's it.  The ride was almost 48k and many times I was much faster than usual.  All in all, clipless is awesome.

Are Spiders and Flies Low Carb?

Today, was a gravel grinding day on the squishy bike, as my road bike Bart is in the shop still. Turned out to be a nice day, albeit muggy and luckily, somewhat windy, on the dikes in Pitt Meadows.

I took my electrolytes (High5 sugar free low carb) in my Camelbak hydration pack and 2 water bottles (better to have too much than not enough), plus some macadamia nuts, 2 Detour bars and some Beef Jerky packets.  I ended up only drinking a small amount of the electrolytes from the hydration pack and not even feeling tired.  Lots of energy.  I just rode, with a couple of stops for pictures for Strava/Instagram.

I headed out early today, leaving at 9:22 am from Jerry Sulina Park and it paid off, hardly any zombies (only one really).  I crossed over at Kennedy Rd. to the paved path along the south side of Lougheed Hwy., which goes to McMyn Road at McLean Park, where I turned around and went back.  Many little spiders testing their web making skills, along with little flies, all of which, I ended up snorting or eating.  Nom nom nom

When I got home, I thought I might be hungry, but I wasn't, so I decided it was time to mow the lawn and eat the weeds.  After I finished the yard work, I decided it was time for lunch, but being keto (after that pizza took it's toll and is finally gone) means I don't eat as much and get full much much faster.  I had an Atkins Advantage chocolate shake, a sirloin burger patty and a cup of macadamia nuts and I'm stuffed.

That's it for today.

Maltitol ughhh..

July 19th, 2016

I am allergic to Maltitol. I must get new glasses.

I ate trail mix yesterday and didn't notice Maltitol in the ingredients. Maltitol is a sweetener that is pure shit!  I have seen so many energy bars now advertising "Maltitol free" and there's a reason. Actually, anything with "itol" should be avoided, unless you think artificial sweeteners are good for you or like me, bonding with your toilet is a goal?

I recently found out that artificial sweeteners actually create hunger and are addictive in the majority of people AND the companies that manufacture this shit, know this and push push push it.  Sounds a little like big Tobacco and Sugar companies, who, like the NRA have lobbyists whom the government covets and that's why this shit they foist on us never truly goes away.

I have been sugar free and low carbing for a month now and now this happens.  I feel like 6 bags of crap right now, maybe more.  A minor setback is all PLUS my new digital scale tells me I weigh 52 pounds.  Nice.

I hate chemicals that are out there and the people who think this stuff is good for you are idiots.

Oh no!!! Too many carbs today!!

July 14th, 2016

Tonight, we decided to order pizza of the low or zero carb type from Panago.  Not much of a pizza - ingredients were zero carbs, but the crust was thin multigrain that MyFitnessPal listed the entire pizza at zero carbs was 16 carbs per slice.  I had 6 slices of a medium pizza and when I checked Panago's nutritional count online, so I just about fell on the floor when I saw the real carbs. 100 carbs today, which is way above my 10 carbs or less per day that I've been averaging.

I have the say the pizza tasted good, but not like I should keep eating it for days on end kind of good.  I was and am so bummed that MyFitnessPal had the wrong information regarding carbs.  Calorie count was correct, so I didn't go crazy on calories, but carbs is what I'm counting, not calories.  I'm hoping I didn't kick myself out of ketosis.

About 30-45 minutes after I ate the pizza, I started feeling bloated and my back, elbows, ankles, knees, etc., started feeling puffy and stiff and I got a headache.  I always knew bad processed foods causes problems healthwise and this just confirms it.

Tomorrow, it's a bike commute to and from work day, with a chiropractic appointment and hairdresser on the way home.  Lots of rain tonight, so hopefully, that's gone by tomorrow.  Gotta burn off these carbs and down to 5 or less carbs per day.

I can hardly wait to see what my scale says tomorrow morning.

July 11th, 2016 - Down 15# and finding the CVG again

View from docks on Argue Street looking west at the Port Mann Bridge

View from docks on Argue Street looking west at the Port Mann Bridge

Bart having a rest.

 Hume Park just before the hill that I refuse to ride down until they remove those damned bollards.

Which side do I ride on?

Winston Street Bridge crossover.

 Bart on a bridge.

 CVG so nice.  Still Creek area.

 Olympic Village to the left, Telus Science World ahead.  Bart having a rest.

So nice.

 English Bay!  The umbrellas and beach chairs are to the left.  I was going to rent one, but thought if I did, I might fall asleep and not wake up in time for the train. LOL

English Bay again.  I can smell the smokie dogs.

I'm on the bench, eating a smokie dog and relaxing in the shade.

Well, it's been almost 4 weeks since stopping sugar intake and reducing bad carbs in my diet.  I'd say I've been "free" from these for 3 full weeks.  I didn't ride my bikes much during this time and in fact, have just started back again, as work has been pretty busy and it's either monsooning and muggy or hot and muggy.  I don't do muggy very well.  Rain and hot, I can handle, but muggy drives me buggy.

Each time I ride, I find that my breathing is vastly improved and it'll only get better, I assume. I also find the power I have cycling has increased and it's becoming easier to keep a steady cadence.  Hills aren't the best and never have been, but they're getting easier, as is walking. LOL

I can now fit comfortably into the liner shorts and biking shorts that go over top and they're getting looser.  My new Showers Pass Rain Jacket that I bought in November, in a mens XXL because the women's was too small, is now loose.  I'm feeling really good and sleeping at night is better and better.  I wake up feeling awake and ready to roll.  I had stopped having sugar in my coffee, but chose to use stevia for awhile, which I have now stopped and I've stopped having cream in my coffee and now take it with only coconut oil and find that is my wake up without the jitters.  I'm only having one cup of coffee per day now, instead of the usual 3-6 because I'm actually staying awake, alert and "with it".  I feel cognitive awareness is also improved and I'm taking about 75% less Advil/Robaxacet combo than I did before and my sinusitis/rhinitis is down to almost nothing, unless I forget and leave the air conditioner on all night.  The psoriasis on the bottoms of my feet, that I've had for 35 years is pretty much cleared up too and my hair is thicker and lots of little sticky uppies of new hairs coming in.  My bike shorts that I bought 3 sizes too small are about 5# away from fitting nicely and then I have another pair 3 sizes smaller again.  Those will be a little while to fit.

I have ridden a couple of longer than commuting rides and last Wednesday, July 6th, 2016, I decided to go on a longer ride of "discovery" and not only see if I could find a connection to the CVG from Argue & Shaughnessy Streets in PoCo and also see how my breathing and pacing is.  I didn't load my bike up and took an energy vegan bar and some trail mix, all low carb.  I filled up my Camelbak with High5 sugar-free, low carb electrolytes and water.  4 tablets for that.  Large water bottle 2 tablets and smaller waterbottle 2 tablets as well.  I did finish my coffee and coconut oil and find that if I don't, I have zero energy after 20 minutes.

I haven't been over the Pitt River Bridge for awhile, but it was the fastest I've ever done it and I wasn't puffed out at all!  Hot though.  Muggy and carrying a camelbak always used to wear me out, as it heats me up, so I'll stay at a good cadence where I don't crap out too soon.

I found the cyclists dream of a bathroom on Argue Street (don't ask unless you cycle and you've found it, because I'm not explaining myself).  I did a little photo taking on the river at the sight seeing docks they have there and then decided to see how the Mary Hill Bypass was and see if I could find a route to Lougheed Hwy., that is marked on the maps, but I've not used since the Port Mann was mostly finished.

I found that I could ride on the Mary Hill Bypass for a bit past Shaughnessy to United and they have a cycling signal and crosswalk and took that, which took me to the bike path on Lougheed Hwy., which I continued on until King Edward, which I rode over, after stopping to pick up tree limbs in the bike lane and continued west on United Blvd.  What a great way to get to IKEA!!  The Bailey Bridge is replaced now and there is an actual walkway for peds and bikes that isn't hindered by a light like the old one was.  The pathway that's paved, continued for awhile, then onto the roadway in between trucks, cars and such.  I cycle defensively, which is necessary.  I saw other cyclists on this road as well.  I found the pathway that goes behind Braid Station and up the hills to Hume Park in New West and I'm feeling pretty darned good, so I decided to check out the CVG, as it's been awhile to ride it from New West.

The CVG is pothole free! and nice!!  No more construction vehicles and really really nice and wow! I'm so glad I found out a quick way to get here again.  I got to Burnaby and decided to motor on.  On the little longer hill on Winston, I did walk some of it - still need to rebuild my legs after time off from steady long rides that I was doing a lot like last year.  I got to the bridge over Winston and up I go and stopped at the top to take photos of Bart on a bridge.  I decided to keep on going and see if I could make it to English Bay and see what changes had taken place on the CVG and there were lots!  All very positive too.  Really a nice ride.

I made it to Vancouver and the sun is shining and it's nice and warm out and so so awesome to be here again and I'm going to English Bay.  I ended up there and had a non-low-carb smokie dog.  I shouldn't have eaten the bun, but I did.  I need to find more snacks of the low-carb variety to take with me.

I ended up doing just over 68 km and took the West Coast Express back and found I had more money on my Compass card than I realized and it too, can be used for the train now - another plus!!  That smokie dog was so delicious!  I did drain the camelbak pack, plus small water bottle and half of the large one.

A really great day off from work and a lot accomplished - way more than I thought I'd get done.