Quick Recipe - "Gambler's French Toast"

I made the title up on the spot, there could be other dishes of the same name, I have done zero research to that end.

Stuff that goes in the dish:

• a pile of decent bread that will in 1-2 days not be decent
• some eggs.
• Milk
• vanilla, with a large pour spout (important)
• container which a least appears to contain cinnamon
• 1 TBsp sugar
• Some butter for pan lubrication
• More butter for later.
• Powdered sugar 

How to make it

1. turn burner on almost full blast.
2. find most of the stuff listed above
3. crack eggs into bowl
4. add milk
5. dump in less vanilla than I did.
6. grab container which appears to have cinnamon, add a bunch of that too.
7. Look at "cinnamon" container to verify it is actually cinnamon.
8. whisk or beat with fork.
9. rub butter on hot pan
10. dip bread into egg mixture
11. cook the stuff.
12. once done cooking, add more butter to the toast
13. dump powdered sugar on.

Alternate title "Dad in a hurry Toast"

Kid did not complain.  Win!

Self Talk

I'm not the guy that points to left field.
I sign up.  I line up. I go.
I bite off more than I can chew, then take a good solid run at the pile.
From when the gun goes off, until the finish line I'm pushing myself there.

I'm racing no one.
I'm overcoming my own demons and limits.
I'm racing me.

I'm not the guy that writes it all down and tells you how it's going to be.
I'm going to see it my way.
I'm going to soak it up.
I'm going to take what the day gives me.

A good friend once told me:
"Never forget how cool it is to show up, put your toe in the sand, and jump in when the gun goes off. The difference between doing that and driving by and wondering is the difference between living and dying"

I'm no poet.  Does it seem like I've been watching too many Nike commercials?

It ain't really about racing, of course.  It is about picking stuff to do and doing it.  As fate would have it, the thing I picked this weekend is the Fat Tire 40.

See you there!  Look for the tall hairy dude in the 29nSNGL kit. Well, there may be more than one fitting that description.

This Year's Idea for 100 Miles of Nowhere (work)

If you are reading this you might already know what the Fatcyclist deal is for the 2013 100 Miles of Nowhere.  Short synopsis: sign up, get cool race schwag, and ride 100 miles in some creative way where you don't end up traveling very far or seeing anything interesting (example, around your block 6000000 times or on a trainer / rollers).

I was having trouble coming up with anything more creative than "throw in Lord of the Rings trilogy DVD set and ride on the trainer".  Then I saw this table for bicycles and a light bulb went on.

Why don't I try to do my 100 miles of nowhere while working from home?  Also known as, "why ruin a perfectly good Saturday inside the house".

I work out of the house once in a while and I thought it'd be nice if I could queue up a few "free" miles time wise.

OK sure, I stacked a bunch of odd plastic bins together and made a contraption that I can't in good conscience take a photo of and post online.  Today was a test run of the concept.  I spent an hour on the trainer while working, then rode outside over lunch, and another 45 minutes on the trainer cooling down while working.  I have to say, not having ridden a trainer in a good long while, this is going to be tougher than I thought.

I have a week or two to build up to the Fatcyclist's 100 miles.  I'll have to ramp up quickly.  The funny thing I'm thinking about is that post mile 80 feeling coinciding with thinking at work.  Can I get 100 free*, healthy miles while outputting good quality work?  This remains to be seen.  How hard can it be ?  Hoping it will give me some extra insights into problem solving at work.

Post setup note.  After all this went down, I got an email from TwinSix saying my race schwag is on it's way.  Woot!  And, OH, I'm not quite ready!

Small Pushes

Skipping a ton of background, I'd like to frame out this whole "Arrowhead 135" desire brewing before rumors are abound.

First, years ago I saw the fat bikes used at Arrowhead (from reading internet) a few years back.  They were using 2 rims laced together to make one wide rim, Pugsleys were maybe just a frame you could buy.. maybe.  And while there was a certain allure to the race, I never thought I'd do it.  It is probably worth mentioning I had an addiction to reading Icebike's website at the time too.

Second, I immediately saw the allure of a fat bike (the bike blogger's equivalent to "I was into Spinal Tap before the movie" for sure).  At any rate, I have long seen the fat bike as a "hey, let's just go ride and have a blast no matter where we end up" kind of bike.  Which fits me (slow guy that attends a few races as social events).

Not sure what order the rest of this stuff all goes in, but last weekend I did the Noque 25km Snow Bike race.  I should probably put up some sort of race report, but will just say at this point it was an all out blast!  Non-stop fun.  Grinning from ear-to-ear.  I am hooked on snow bike races.  And, let's just say I left plenty of room for improvement out there on the course.

Other pertinent information.  I am not a camper.  We love loading up the family in a mini-van and taking a gigantic tent to a state park.  We also love to eat at the local diners when doing so.  So to compare that with loading up a bike with all my supplies and hoping to survive the weekend, I'm a beginner. (let's not mention the 25 below part)

Currently 0F - 20F is "cold" but doable for me.  Northern MN at the end of January is in a different ball game.

So, small pushes.  I would guess the next step is to figure out how to load the bike up with camping gear and go.  Plan to meet the family at a state park somewhere.  Probably I should check out volunteering at Arrowhead 135.  I'm thinking this is some kinda 5 year plan where the culmination is to find out if the Arrowhead is even something I care to do.  I do love the idea though.  It's just as likely I end up with a greater fondness of camping and self reliance, and that would be grand.

Probably should put this on the list.. Find an Arrowhead participant and buy them a beer.  Know anyone?

Cheers.