These are a combo that I have found to be invaluable in moving myself towards this healthier lifestyle. This device records steps like a pedometer, but that is really a secondary function- it primary purpose is to record your body's actual data- how much activity do you do each day? How vigorous was it? How many calories did you actually burn? And how many did you eat? What kind of nutrition was in the calories that you did eat? If you use the BodyMedia Fit system, you know all of that. And it's there reminding you of where you stand minute to minute, right there on your wrist. So- I believe in this one, and I've gotten into the habit of logging my food fairly regularly, even now that my primary goal isn't weight loss.
So, what's this have to do with RAGBRAI? Well, it's very difficult if not impossible to do this. I'm eating whenever the opportunity presents itself, and eating a higher-carb, and probably higher-fat diet. And I have no easy access to an internet connection to upload my data and log my food. So, I'm trying an experiment- just try to choose what seems right, and allow myself to have some treats I never would otherwise. After all, I'm riding a bike all day, so my burn rate should be fairly high, right?
We'll find out- because there is some of the most amazing food here. It's probably not hard for you to picture the Mr Pork Chop Iowa Chop, and to imagine that it might be a little higher fat than I would want on a daily basis. And you can imagine that much of the food set up for the ride is basically a traveling summer festival, so there are funnel cakes, etc, in many of the towns. But, how about Pastafari's Penne Ariabata Pasta with Rosemary Encrusted Salmon? Does that sound like something you'd expect to be made in some corn farmer's front yard? Do you think if it was made and served there that it would be any good? Well...
It's amazing. A nice spicy tomato-based sauce, on top of perfectly-cooked penne pasta, with grilled veggies and well-cooked grilled salmon on top of that. It's a good-sized serving, and amazing stuff. When I stopped this afternoon, and tried the Pastafari pasta for the first time, they had set up in the same yard with Mr Pork Chop- and there was no line for a Pork Chop! While their line usually goes fast, that was very unusual, so I was forced to have both. And then, I found myself quite full and having that after-meal sleepiness, so I laid down in the grass under a huge shade tree, and took a little nap while being serenaded by the Pastafari Reggae music mix. I have realized that it is quite possible to gain weight on RAGBRAI, though I think that the level of activity would make it easy enough to make enough good choices to lose. Even without that, my legs are definitely getting in shape rather quickly.
In addition to the vendors, today there were a lot more farmers who had clearly set up just to support the race and show off their stuff- in particular, their baking- sugar-free homemade muffins that were as good as any muffin I've had, and some pretty good Zucchini bread had to be tried.
At camp at the end of day, it was the usual hanging out, having a couple of beers, and enjoying some music. They had a different band tonight, that covered a lot of classic pop/rock tunes, and they were pretty good.
One problem surfaced at the end of the day. When I took off my cycling shoes, I noticed that several toes on my right foot were numb. It seems that I had that shoe too tight, and it cut off circulation or pressed on a nerve. Probably it was like that all day, but I really didn't notice until I removed the shoe. Not good. I made sure to give it some massage, leave the shoes loose, etc. Hoped it would be better before morning. It wasn't. Now, what to do?
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