This past weekend marked the start of the second half of the cross season before Nationals. It also marks the time when one’s fitness begins to come into true form and everything should be moving in a general upward trend building up to Nationals. Or so one would hope.

This season has been full of several new changes for me including a new coach, new work hours, a new training plan, more racing travel and new sponsorship. All of these new things have led me to put more new pressure on myself to perform at a higher level along with the pressure to remember to take it all in stride.  My life is pretty perfect considering that I have a paying job that I love where I get to meet amazing people, a supportive spouse and family, health and wellness and I get to run all around the world racing my bike. So when things don’t actually go perfectly it’s easy to feel guilty about complaining but it’s also easy to get frustrated.

Matt and I are used to living life at an energetic pace; Matt’s own training, meticulous bike mechanic work and logistics coordination all while working towards his PhD, coupled with my training, racing, work and trying to rest and recover properly. We don’t always see the over-doing it or the pressures to keep our team running seamlessly until it’s too late and we’re exhausted or frustrated or I’m having the “worst bike race of all time,” like Saturday this weekend.

The Races

On Friday afternoon I flew to Louisville for rounds 3 and 4 of the USGP of Cyclocross Derby City Cup race.   In addition to hosting the USGP, the new venue at the Eva Bandman Park is going to be home to the Cyclocross World Championships in 2013.  Since Matt was attending his annual Immunology Program Retreat on Friday and Saturday, I flew in solo.  Matt would join me on Saturday night in time for preparing my bikes for the second race on Sunday.

Friday’s logistics turned out to be a little too much for one person.  I landed, got the bike bag and luggage, picked up the rental car.  I had barely enough time to make it to the grocery store and to the racecourse before the pre-ride time ended. I rushed through the market forgetting several things and purchasing just as many things I did not need and then went straight to the course. I was able to get my built bike that traveled from the races in Ohio with Troy at the Cannondale truck and lugged my bike bag with my dismantled bike out of the car to be put together after my ride. It was clear that I should have made plans to hire some help for the day but rather said, “Oh, I’ll be fine.”

It was hot and dusty (again!)  The new course was technical and challenging but I needed to cut my pre race opener ride short in order to build up my second bike, get the needed wheels ready and then make it to the number pick up presentation looking reasonably put together. Somehow I managed all of these things but would definitely be asking Butch at SRAM NRS to check over my bike assembly job the next day before my race!

Luckily for me, Bob’s Red Mill had several of the nicest people I’ve ever met on hand to help me out in the pits for Saturday.  Not only did I have three guys fighting over who got to carry my bike to the pit, I also had my own cheering squad and a fantastic team dinner that night. Little did I know how much I would need that camaraderie come the end of the day.

Saturday’s race involved an improper warm up, a complete lack of leg power and a dismal result. I was disappointed in my lack of performance and I was upset that all my hard work was not paying off.  I couldn’t see any reasons as to why I would have had such a bad race. That is, until chatting with Matt on Sunday and some emails with my coach that I realized that the whole week leading up to the race was more stressful and less than ideal preparation than I had led myself to believe.

Matt’s arrival on Saturday night meant a relatively stress-free preparation for Sunday’s race.  I had a proper warm up on Sunday and despite feeling flat, the race went a lot smoother and I finished with a stronger result. It wasn’t perfect, but at least I had taken a better perspective on the day and gave it another shot.

Race reports and photos from Cyclingnews and Podium Insight can be found here and here.

Thanksgiving is an important holiday for me since it combines my gratitude for family and friends with food.  And I am one lucky person.  I have been a vegan for about 14 years now and while other vegetarians and vegans struggle with family meals around Thanksgiving, my family has been astoundingly supportive.  There is never any concern about whether I’ll go hungry on Thanksgiving since my parents embrace a full vegan Thanksgiving feast (and they love to let me prepare it!)

Every year I try to bring something new to the table, but there are also must-haves, like stuffing.  All these recipes have been developed over the years and every holiday meal ends with full, satisfied bellies.  Whether you are just interested in trying something new, have a vegetarian or vegan family member you want to accommodate or you are vegan yourself, try out these recipes and bring one or two to your Thanksgiving feast.  Enjoy!

Whole grain stuffing with Buckwheat Groats

Whole Grain Quinoa Stuffing
Quinoa replaces bread crumbs for this nutritious and gluten free version of a classic.  Buckwheat Groats can be used in this recipe as well.

1 cup Organic Quinoa Grain, dry (or Buckwheat Groats)
1 cup Vegetable Broth 
1 cup Water 
1/4 cup Margarine (non-hydrogenated) 
1 Onion, chopped 
6 Celery Stalks, diced 
1 tsp Sage, dried 
1 tsp Sea Salt 
1 tsp Black Pepper 
1 Tb Parsley Flakes 

Bring broth and water to boil. Add quinoa and bring back to boil. Cook over medium heat for 12 minutes, or until quinoa has absorbed all the liquid. In a skillet, melt margarine and cook onion and celery on medium heat until translucent, about 10 minutes. In a large bowl, combine prepared quinoa, onion mixture and spices. Place in an 8-inch square pan and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes.

Prepared Thanksgiving Gluten Roast

Thanksgiving Gluten Roast

This gluten roast is an excellent meatless option with great taste and texture.  Every Thanksgiving, friends request I make this for them.  The process may seem daunting, but it is worth it!

Gluten mixture:
4 cups Vital Wheat Gluten Flour
1 Tb Nutritional Yeast
1 Tb Marjoram
1 Tb Onion Powder
1 Tb Sage  
2 tsp Salt
3 cups Warm Water
¼ cup Tamari
½ cup Oil

Onion mixture:
1 cup Onion, chopped
¼ cup Oil
½ cup Nutritional Yeast
1 Tb Paprika
1 cup Tahini
1 tsp Salt

Basting Liquid:
¼ cup Sesame Oil
2 Tb Tamari

Gluten Mixture: Mix together all the wet ingredients for the gluten mixture in one bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, stirring quickly, forming a spongy dough. Knead the dough a minute so the dough will tighten up a bit.

Onion mixture: Sauté the onion in the oil until soft and starting to brown. In a small bowl, combine the cooked onion and the rest of the ingredients together.

In a food processor, blend together the gluten and onion mixture, ¼ the amount at a time. Process the mixtures for about 10 seconds. A blender can work as well but you will want to blend in smaller batches. Set the processed dough in a bowl and continue with the rest of the mixture.  Slightly blend all the mixtures together with a spoon or your hand. Oil a 9 x 13-inch baking pan and place about 4 cups of stuffing in the middle of the pan and form into a neat mound. Shape the gluten mixture over the stuffing and slightly fold in the edges.

Blend the oil and tamari of the basting liquid together and brush the outside of the roast with it. Use about half the basting liquid and reserve the rest for later. Bake the loaf at 375ºF for 1 hour. Half way through, remove the roast from the oven and brush with the remaining basting liquid.

Crescent Rolls

This recipe using half hard white whole wheat flour and can be found in the Bob’s Red Mill Cookbook which is filled with recipes for every meal of the day. 

1 Tb Active Dry Yeast
1 ¾ cups Warm Water
1 cup Mashed Potatoes
½ cup Organic Raw Sugar
1/3 cup Margarine (non-hydrogenated)
2 Tb Cornstarch
3 cups Hard White Whole Wheat Flour
2 ½ cups Unbleached White Flour, plus more for kneading
1 tsp Sea Salt
More margarine for baking, melted

Combine yeast and water in a large bowl, let stand 5 minutes.  Add the mashed potato, sugar, margarine and cornstarch into the yeast mixture.  Mix the white whole wheat flour, unbleached white flour and salt into the liquid ingredients until incorporated.  The dough should be moist but not sticky.  (If it is sticky, add more white flour).  Turn dough onto counter and knead until smooth, adding flour as needed, for 8-10 minutes.  Place in a greased bowl, cover and refrigerated 4 hours to overnight. 

Divide dough into four pieces.  Roll out each piece to a 12 inch circle.  Spread dough with melted margarine.  Cut into 12 wedges and roll each wedge up tightly and place on greased baking sheet.  Let rise 30 minutes.  Bake at 400°F for 15 minutes.  Makes 48 rolls.  Recipe can be cut in half for a smaller batch if desired.

Coming off of the roller coaster Gloucester weekend, Matt and I had three short days to get five days worth of work done before heading to Ohio for the Cincinnati UCI3 Cyclocross Festival. This meant that Matt spent nearly all of the next 72 hours in the lab running massive amounts of experiments and the remainder of his time prepping bikes and equipment in the basement. Meanwhile, I was catching up on home and work laundry, emails, errands, packing for a five-day trip and seeing clients.

This year we decided to head down to Ohio for three days of UCI cyclocross races near Cincinnati. I always feel a certain level of apprehension when heading to the South or Midwest, there just seems to be too much meat and in-your-face-Christianity for my comfort level. Cincinnati is basically both Midwest and South but I had heard that the racing was excellent and the promoters and organizers had also worked hard to create equal prize money for the top men and women. One of the organizers, Mitch Graham, also reached out to offer help with anything the competitors might need and made us feel incredibly welcome. The competition would also be a bit tougher than the local events and would surely challenge my abilities on three different courses.

Thanks to the generosity of our great friends and sponsors at Pedro’s we borrowed the large Sprinter “Love” van and packed it up for the long drive to Cincinnati, which we began on Thursday. The trip would total around 14 hours of driving each way. We had driven to the UGSP in Louisville two years back and knew the route well. The marathon drive included a stop at about the halfway mark that has since become a favorite spot for us. In Howard, PA we stopped at the picturesque Bald Eagle State Park for a training ride, lunch and some relaxing in the sun. After a break at the park, we made our way into Ohio and found a hotel for the night. On Friday morning we completed the drive and arrived at Devou Park in Covington, Kentucky for the first of three days of racing.

Cyclo*Stampede – Devou Park – Day 1

When we arrived at the park, it was midday and already 80ish degrees. Most of my competitors were two and three year veterans of the UCI3 day festival of races and knew the general layout of the courses each day. I can say that it was an advantage to be prepared for what lie ahead on Friday…climbing, lots of steep climbing. I generally like climbing but it was going to be a fast, dry course and would be an added challenge after a long day in the van and summertime temperatures.

I sat in second place at the start and slipped into the lead for most of the first lap until I over cooked a turn and had to put a foot down to avoid hitting a tree. The leader took off and I dropped into the back of the chasing group of four riders. We stayed as a tight knit group until the last lap of the race when the heat and climbing was wearing everyone down. One rider punched the pace on the final hill to get a gap and I spent the remainder of the race fighting for 3rd place. By way of some poor decision making on my part being over-geared after remounting, I was gapped on a small hill and chased as hard as I could to make back the lost time. In the end I was 4th, missing the podium by 7 seconds and completely disappointed in my overall race but feeling ambitious about the next two days of racing.

Coverage from Cyclingnews can be found here. Lyne from Podium Insight was on hand to take pictures and report. Coverage from Podium Inisght can be found here and here.

Java Johnny’s International – Day 2

The forecast suggested that Saturday would be even hotter than Friday which meant that for the first time ever, I would be doing a cross race with a water bottle on my bike. I can’t say I really enjoy the heat when it’s summer, unless I’m in the shade with a cold drink and a good book. For ultimate enjoyment cyclocross should be cool and preferably muddy. Saturday’s course was a more “classic” style with no major climbing but a lot of tight turns and fast grassy sections. Off the start I was back in about 6th position, biding my time to settle into the race pace and then move up. I decided to race my new Challenge Grifo XS tires designed generally for fast, flat races. The only downside is if you push them too hard in the corners, you might slip, which of course I did and took a good digger on the knee. At that point in the race I was trying to move up into second place as the leader had taken off leaving the rest of the field to race for the remaining two podium spots. After my spill, I lost several spots but was feeling much better than the day before so I gave it 100% to try to catch back to the leaders. I was within reach several times but never quite able to catch back, finishing on my own in 4th again, less disappointed but not completely satisfied. Thanks to the Kona boys, Ryan, Barry and Dusty for the cheering section at the top of the hill!

Cyclingnews and Podium Insight coverage can be found here and here.

Biowheels International – Day 3

I had never raced cyclocross more than two days in a row before, so it would be an interesting experiment to see how my usual rest day would translate into a third race day. The good news was that the promoters were paying equal (to the men) prize money to the top five women. The bad news was that it was supposed to be a near record high of 90 degrees. I did a few warm up laps on the course and knew it would be the toughest race yet. It was much less technical, had several longer grass climbs and wide-open sections. In other words, a very grassy road race in the summer, except that it’s October.

Once again I put a water bottle on my bike, poured water down my back and on my head and just sweat profusely as I kept my legs as loose as possible for the start. Another fast start had the National Champion in the lead up the first long hill. It appeared that the rest of the field had already resigned themselves to race for second place as the group slowed down. I took the opportunity to make an attack to chase the leader and found myself pushing the pace as hard as I could while four other riders sat behind me. It felt like forever before another rider would come around to the front and share the effort and at that point I was already in overheat mode hanging on as best I could. I doused myself with water and tried to recover behind the other riders but found myself having to slow down to get my rhythm back. At that point two more riders caught up with me and I had dig pretty deep to find a second wind to pass them in the last lap. Coming into the final 200 meter uphill I was closing in on the chase group. One of the riders had a mechanical and was forced to run as I went past but I was nipped at the line finishing in 6th place, 2 seconds down on 5th and missing out on the last place for equal prize money.

Race coverage from Cyclingnews here and Podium Insight here.

After the race ended we packed up the van and began the long drive back home. We traveled to the halfway point outside of Bald Eagle State Park and crashed for the night. On Monday morning we found some breakfast and headed to the park for a little picnic by the lake before spending the remainder of the day in intermittent traffic all the way home. Matt seemed a bit stressed about our arrival time and then mentioned that he had made birthday dinner plans with our pals Zac and Emily. It was, after all, my 35th birthday.

Thanks to the holiday traffic we made it home an hour later than planned. We had just enough time to pet and feed the cats, unload the van and hop on the scooter to make it to dinner. When we arrived at the Flatbread/Sacco’s there was actually a huge table full of friends waiting there for a surprise birthday dinner! Way to be sneaky, Matt!

Wasps Nesting

When you’re talking with Bo Thomas, Superintendent of Engineering and Maintenance, two words come to mind: challenge and creativity. It seems like the challenges in life bring out Bo’s creativity…and he’s had the chance for plenty of both right here, where he just celebrated his 20th year at Bob’s Red Mill.

“When the fire burned down Bob’s mill I was working right across the street. Bob was renting some of our warehouse for his supplies. He hired me in 1990 to do maintenance and keep his machines running. I was out of my element. It was a challenge,” he confided.

“Bob and I worked together a lot in the early days. We didn’t have the money to spend on new equipment, so we had to be very resourceful. We made a machine to pre-label empty bags which had parts we removed from an old broken photo copy machine. Another time we were co-packing a product for a customer who required us to put a bag into a carton, glue seal the carton, and put on a date code. We came up with a crazy contraption that automatically folded and glued the carton, and stamped a date on the top. It had a distinctive bang sound every time it stamped a date, so we named it the Bo Bo Banger.”

Bo began working for Bob's Red Mill right after an arson fire destroyed the original Bob's Red Mill

Every piece of machinery in our mill has Bo’s fingerprints on it. His has the creative genius to think in whole systems, then design and build each piece of the intricate factory lines. “If I come to a point where I’m stuck I have to dream about it for awhile. An inspiration comes and I write it down quick before I forget it.” He continues talking about creativity, “Everybody has a different thing they are good at. Nobody knows it all. We have so many people here now. Each one brings some new talent to the company. It’s fun!”

When Bo talks about fun you can be sure it’s creative. We thought we’d share with you some of his sculptures, made from ordinary corrugated cardboard, which combine an amazing attention to detail with a humorous sense of scale. It is easy to see his eye as an inventor as he explores the properties of a medium most people would overlook entirely.

Challenge…creativity, that’s Bo at his best!

Written by Christie Coykendall

The Telephone

Starfish and Bottle

Sea Life Still Life

Perching Dragonfly

A Cardboard Fan

Cookies that are actually good for you!

If you have ever tried our Stone Ground Oat Bran & Nuts Cookie Mix you know that it bakes into cookies that are quite rich in whole grains. These ultra-healthy cookies get their substance from 100% whole wheat pastry flour, heart-healthy oat bran and hearty rolled oats. These cookies make a great alternative to all the ordinary refined flour based treats that are surround us during the holiday season.

But if you find yourself craving a treat that combines the best of both worlds, do I have a recipe for you! After a bit of experimenting with the original mix, I wanted to emphasize nut flavor of the walnuts by adding peanut butter and flax seed meal. I found that adding some applesauce helps moisten all those whole grains to make the cookie softer and chewier. And of course, I couldn’t forget the chocolate chips – they make everything better. This particular recipe is vegan (dairy and egg free), but if you would like to make the bars using traditional ingredients, the substitutes they are listed right below the recipe.

These Oat Bran Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars are perfect for both the whole grain lover, and anyone who loves chocolate and peanut butter together. The recipe does double-duty by combining the nutritious qualities of whole grains with the flavor and sweetness of a traditional bad-for-you cookie. It has very little sugar, high protein and a high fiber content to keep you satisfied longer, although you might still want to eat them all at once. These bars are great for a midday treat, or a yummy dessert served warm and topped with vanilla ice cream. Whatever you decide, I hope you enjoy them as much as the customers of Bob’s Red Mill Whole Grain Store have.

Thanks for reading and happy baking!

Oat Bran Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars
½ cup non-hydrogenated margarine
1 cup peanut butter
3 T. flaxseed meal mixed in ½ cup warm water
¼ cup applesauce
1 pkg. Bob’s Red Mill Oat Bran & Nuts Cookie Mix
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare flaxseed mixture.
In a mixing bowl, cream margarine until soft.
Add peanut butter, flaxseed mixture and applesauce and combine completely.
Incorporate the package of cookie mix, followed by the chocolate chips. This dough will be very similar to a cookie dough texture.
Press evenly into an 8 in. by 8 in. greased square baking pan.
Bake for 25 minutes in a conventional oven at 350 degrees.

Substitutes: Replace 2 eggs for the flaxseed mixture and ½ cup butter for the margarine.

Recipe and Writing By: Meagan Nuchols

One of my favorite things about fall is having all sorts of excuses to make pie!  There are so many varieties of pies you can bake all season long and not get bored.  Apple, pumpkin, pecan – oh my!  Although we will be featuring more pie recipes as we enter the holiday baking season, I wanted to share a personal favorite I developed.

This recipe uses silken tofu for a creamy texture with chocolate for a sweet decadent dessert sure to please!  Tofu is used for all sorts of cooking, but its use in desserts is often overlooked.  Silken tofu is prepared different than the tofu you would use for a morning scramble or stir fry at dinner.  The result is a very smooth tofu with a lighter soy flavor. 

This no-bake pie can either be served in a basic flaky pie crust, graham pie crust, or the almond pie crust I developed below.  The almond meal can also be replaced with our Hazelnut Meal is you prefer and both are gluten free.  Enjoy!

Chocolate Silk Pie with Almond Crust
recipe by Chelsea Lincoln

Filling:
2 – 12.3 oz pkgs Mori-Nu Silken Tofu (Extra Firm)
1 1/2 cups vegan Chocolate Chips, melted
3 Tb Evaporated Cane Juice

Almond Crust:
2 cups Almond Meal Flour
1 Tb Cornstarch
1/4 tsp Sea Salt
3 Tb Organic Cane Sugar
1/4 cup Soy Margarine 
1 Tb Soy milk

Filling:  Melt the chocolate chips either in the microwave or the stove top.  Use low heat and stir to a smooth consistency.  Place all ingredients including the melted chocolate in a food processor.  Blend until smooth.  *Any brand of silken tofu will work but this tends to be most commonly found in grocery stores.

Almond Crust: Mix together almond meal, cornstarch, sugar and salt.  Pour melted margarine and soy milk into mixture and use a fork to combine.  Pat almond mixture into 9-inch pie pan.  Pour blended pie filling on top of crust, cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

This race report comes from team member Meghan Korol…

Unfortunately I don’t have a lot to report on as far as racing went this past weekend.  Dave and I drove halfway to Louisville after work on Friday and found the most amazing hotel room for under $50!  Everything was going great until I developed a fever and chills in the middle of the night and couldn’t sleep well.  We headed out on the road bright and early to get to the venue in time for his race…

This year’s Derby City Cup was held at Eva Bandman Park, which will be the same venue for the Cyclocross World Championships in 2013!  I felt marginally better pre-riding the course (which was challenging, a lot of fun and definitely suited me well), fueling up on Bob’s Red Mill steel-cut oats and meeting up with the Louisville team.  There were almost forty women registered and I drew a great starting number from the box.  I didn’t feel sick as I started the race, but it was very clear that something was wrong from the beginning.  I had absolutely no power and couldn’t stay with anyone that I usually race with.

Here I am, wondering where the race ahead of me just went:

photo: Lyne Lamoureux/http://www.podiuminsight.com

I got pulled for the first time in a cross race (to be fair, the laps were short and Georgia was just destroying the field), and to my surprise, I was not totally off the back.

Fortunately Dave and I had a great night that made up for the disappointing day: we had a really wonderful team dinner and met my teammate Mitchell’s parents, who were the best hosts ever!  Louisville is a pretty cool city and I’m so glad that we had a chance to explore it a little bit.

We were up bright and early again on Sunday for Dave’s race and he had a great performance, riding the run-up and once again picking up 100 spots in the huge 2/3′s field.  For some reason Dave likes to start behind 150 people in cross races…

I was feeling pretty exhausted even with over ten hours of sleep and attempted to pre-ride the course.  It was even more fun; sadly my body was rebelling.  I had to make the tough decision to listen to my body and not start.  It was really hard to do that in front of everyone from Bob’s Red Mill, but I didn’t want to risk sacrificing the rest of my season for one race.  On our six hour drive back to Asheville I was feeling pretty rough and knew I made the right decision.

Now I’m taking it easy for a bit and hoping to feel better soon….Thanks so much to everyone at Bob’s Red Mill for the awesome dinner, wonderful products, friendship and support!

Gluten Free Crêpes!

One of the great things Friends of Zenger Farms does in our neighborhood is to put on some wonderful weekly cooking demonstrations to teach people in the community how to prepare meals from fresh ingredients. All summer long, rain or shine at the Lents International Farmers Market, they work to show off how easy healthy eating can be once you have a few techniques and ingredients under your belt.

Durga Fuller at the Lents International Farmer's Market

We were especially inspired by a recent gluten free crêpe and flatbread demo by Durga Fuller. Durga is an amazing home cook who blogs about nutrient dense, allergen free diets at The Cook Awakening. We especially liked her recent post about the challenge of traveling with food sensitivities. She was kind enough to share two of her amazing recipes and some photos from her recent rainy day demo that we think you will really enjoy trying at home.

Durga cooking up a storm on a rainy day.

Coconut Flour Crêpes

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 1/4 cup organic coconut flour
• 1/4 cup organic coconut yogurt or milk
• 1 tsp salt
• Water as needed to achieve the desired texture, which should be like a thick whipping cream
• Ghee as needed to grease pan
• Optional additions: cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, stevia – use less salt if you go in the sweet direction.

Directions:
Mix all the ingredients together and whisk until smooth. Let sit for a few minutes.
Place a cast iron or ceramic coated skillet over a medium heat until hot enough for water to pop when a few drops are splashed on it.
Grease liberally with ghee. Pour ¼ to ½ cup of batter into the center of the pan and swirl the pan to spread it.
Let set completely, and turn when golden brown.
Repeat until batter is finished.
Serve as a wrap for breakfast burritos, aram sandwiches, or whatever strikes your fancy. Think ‘crepe’!

Copyright 2010 The Cook Awakening

Sharing the joy of gluten free cooking.

Gluten Free Sourdough Flatbread

Ingredients:
• 3 cups sourdough sponge
• 1 tsp Celtic Sea or Himalayan pink salt
• about 1 cup water to thin, depending on thickness desired
• ghee or coconut oil for cooking
Directions:
Mix all ingredients together and cook it by the ladle full on a fairly hot griddle with plenty of ghee or coconut oil.
Spread the batter a bit with the bottom of the ladle after you pour it.
Should be lacy and browned, needs plenty of fat on the griddle.
Comes out like a thin pancake, or a thick dosa.
Great with soup, with Indian food, and makes a good rollup sandwich, too.
Depending on the size of your griddle, you should be able to make them pretty large. I’ve been using about 1/2 cup of batter per flatbread piece.

Makes approximately 5 – 6 pieces, depending on thickness and size of flatbread.

Copyright 2009 The Cook Awakening

Sign up and get a Train with Grain kit to fuel your ride.

We’re very excited to introduce a fun, new program here at Bob’s Red Mill—Train with Grain. We know that many of you already use whole grains to fuel your workouts and boost your training efforts, so we’ve created a special program to both reward you for your efforts and teach newbies about the benefits of adding whole grains into their training regime.

What is Train with Grain?

Train with Grain is a training program of sorts. Simply sign up and pick a race to train for. Right now, we’re limiting your options to certain cyclocross events across the country; later, we’ll add different races and different sports. So if you’re a triathlete or marathoner, be patient, we haven’t forgotten you.  Once you sign up, you’ll receive a Train with Grain kit full of whole grain goodies and a sweet Train with Grain armband. Then, keep checking the Train with Grain blog for training tips and recipes as you gear up for your race.

On the day of the race- wear your armband and be sure to stop by the Bob’s Red Mill booth to be counted. We’ll take your photo and mark your attendance. Each time you check-in, we will enter you into an end-of-the-season drawing to win a cyclocross bike. More races = more chances. It’s that simple.

After the race, we’ll post photos of all of our participants for you to tag yourself and your friends on Facebook.

Where do I sign up?

It’s simple – visit the Train With Grain page (www.trainwithgrain.com or simply click the tab above) and sign up! We’ve made it really easy, so you just have to follow the directions and wait for your kit to arrive in the mail. Give yourself at least a week before your race. The kits will take anywhere between 4-6 business days to arrive and we’d hate for your race to come without your kit.

We hope you’ll join in the fun and become a member of the Train with Grain community.

By registering for this contest, entrant agrees to be bound by and comply with the following rules:

1. All entrants and winners must be at least 18 years of age. Each entrant to the Train with Grain Contest understands and acknowledges that he or she is at least eighteen (18) years old.

2. Each entrant understands and acknowledges that only one entry per person per race day will be considered for contest entry.

3. Entrants must register in order to be eligible. Bob’s Red Mill will not be responsible for and will not consider incomplete or incorrect registrations. Bob’s Red Mill is not responsible for entries that are sent but not received by Bob’s Red Mill for any reason.

4. All winners will be notified via e-mail address provided by entrant. If the winner does not respond to the notification within ten (10) business days, another winner will be chosen. Failure to respond within ten (10) business days shall mean that the winner forfeits the prize.

5. Entrant agrees both personally and on behalf of entrant’s heirs and assignees to hold Bob’s Red Mill and its officers, directors, employees, agents, successors, and assigns harmless from and against—and hereby waive any right to pursue—any claims of any nature arising in connection with the Train with Grain program and contest and with respect to Bob’s Red Mill’s use of any Materials submitted to Bob’s Red Mill pursuant to item 7 below and used in any manner in Bob’s Red Mill ‘s sole and absolute discretion.

6. Neither Bob’s Red Mill nor its officers, directors, employees, agents, successors, or assigns shall be liable for any loss, costs, damage, injury, or any other claims incurred as a result of the entry in the contest or the usage of a prize by any winner.

7. All photos, drawings, text, and any other content or information (collectively and severally, “Materials”) provided by entrant to Bob’s Red Mill shall become the sole and exclusive property of Bob’s Red Mill, and Bob’s Red Mill shall have no obligation to preserve, return, or otherwise make available to entrant or others any Materials. Bob’s Red Mill may use, reproduce, edit, display, transmit, prepare derivative works of, modify, publish, and otherwise make use of Materials in any and all media, whether now known or hereinafter created—throughout the world and for any purpose—without compensation to entrant of any kind.

8. By submitting Materials to Bob’s Red Mill, entrant represents and warrants that the Materials do not infringe any copyright, trademark, property rights, rights of privacy or publicity of any person, or any other right of any third party and that entrant has have the full and unrestricted right to transfer the Materials to Bob’s Red Mill free and clear of any claims or encumbrances.

9. Entrant acknowledges and agrees that Bob’s Red Mill shall have no obligation to post, display, or otherwise make publicly available any Materials submitted by entrant.

10. Each entrant acknowledges and agrees that Materials submitted by the entrant may be made available by Bob’s Red Mill for viewing, rating, reviewing, and commenting by the public. By submitting Materials to Bob’s Red Mill, entrant waives any privacy expectations that entrant may have with respect to the Materials.

11. Winners may not request substitutions of prize winnings. All winners are solely responsible for any and all taxes and/or fees as well as all additional costs that may be incurred.

12. If the specified prize becomes unavailable for any reason, Bob’s Red Mill in its sole and absolute discretion may substitute a prize of like or equal value.

13. A contest is null and void in any jurisdiction where prohibited by law.

14. Bob’s Red Mill reserves the right in its sole and absolute discretion to terminate any contest at any time without prior notice.

15. Bob’s Red Mill reserves the right in its sole and absolute discretion to alter any contest rules at any time.

16. By registering for the contest, entrant is conclusively deemed to have agreed to be bound by these contest rules and terms and conditions as well as by any rules specific to such contest. This is an irrevocable condition of entry.

17. Winners are selected at random, the odds of winning depend upon the number of entries received and cannot be determined in advance.

18. No purchase or payment of any consideration is necessary to enter the contest.

19. A list of winner(s) will be made available via the contest website.

20. Bob’s Red Mill reserves the right to condition the award of prizes upon the execution by the winner(s) of a publicity release (without compensation to the entrant) to publicize the contest and otherwise, as determined by Bob’s Red Mill, unless prohibited by law.

21. Employees of Bob’s Red Mill and their immediate family members are not eligible for the contest. Bob’s Red Mill reserves the right to require the winner to execute an affidavit of eligibility as a sworn document and provide other proof of eligibility as a condition of receipt of the prize or award.

22. Registration and participation in the contest constitutes entrant’s consent to Bob’s Red Mill and its agents to use entrant’s name, likeness, photograph, voice, opinions, and / or hometown and state for promotional purposes and any media, worldwide, without payment or consideration.

23. Entrant agrees to release and hold harmless Bob’s Red Mill and its affiliates, suppliers, distributors, advertisers, and respective officers, directors, and employees, and agents (collectively, the “Release Parties”) from and against any claim or cause of action, including but not limited to personal injury, death, or damage to or loss of property, arising out of participation in the contest or any cycle-cross (CX), triathlon, or other cycling event, or receipt or use or misuse of any contest prize.

24. Except where prohibited by law, entrant agrees that: (1) any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or connected with this contest or any prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to form of class action, and exclusively in the federal or state circuit court located in Portland, Oregon; (2) any and all claims, judgments, and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering into this contest, but in no event including attorneys’ fees, and (3) under no circumstances will entrant be permitted to obtain awards for, and entrant hereby waives all rights to claim, indirect, punitive, incidental and consequential damages and any other damages other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses, and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation, and enforceability of these contest rules, or the rights and obligations of the entrant and Bob’s Red Mill in connection with the contest shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Oregon.