Boo.  Trainer days are here awfully early this year. On today’s playlist my fetish for 1990’s electronica reveals itself:

• Get the Party Started:  Shirley Bassey
• First Impression:  Haik Naltchayan
• Start House: Haik Naltchayan
• Monaco: Haik Naltchayan
• Love vs Hate: Gus Gus
• Bird 1:  Underworld
• Imperpetuem Mobila:  Patient Saints
• Serpent’s Fruit: The Opus
• Ignoring Pain: Haik Naltchayan
• Baptism: Crystal Castles
• Intimate: Crystal Castles
• Not Going Home:  Faithless
• Feel Me:  Faithless
• Sun to Me:  Faithless
• Dark and Long:  Underworld
• Spoonman:  Underworld
• Suburban Train:  Tiesto
• Played –A-Live:  Safri Duo
• The Rhythm of the Heat:  Peter Gabriel
• Bilko:  Peter Gabriel
• Lift Me Up:  Moby
• Love Game:  Lady Gaga
• Elements:  Danny Teneglia
• Obsidian:  Banco de Gaia
• Apollo:  Alan Parson’s Project
• Dinosaur Adventure:  Underworld
• Moaner:  Underworld
• Time’s Running Out:  Cirrus

I first picked up Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day in January of 2010 and I still love it. I really can’t say enough good things about this book- it takes all of the work out of bread baking. Each recipe starts with a basic bread dough that’s easy to throw together and takes no time for rising. Simply use a big container and put the dough in the fridge until you’re ready to use it. This book is full of great recipes for everything from cinnamon rolls to pizza crust. Each takes only a portion of your dough and turns it into something magnificent. It’s also chock full of simple, healthy bread recipes. The only draw back to this book is that most recipes need your dough to rest and come to room temperature before baking. Like any other good bread recipe, this means about 90 minutes of resting/rising. As long as you plan ahead, you should have no problem. Read more about my experience baking from this book here.

How to enter:
Leave us a comment on this post and tell us what kind of bread is your all-time favorite,  THEN CLICK ON “I DID THIS”  in the widget below so you can be entered. It doesn’t have to be fancy, it can be a simple answer like “rye” or it can be that special crusty French bread you had at that Parisian street market 10 years ago. We’ll select a winner randomly from all who enter by midnight on 11/13/11.

Something about the weather today screams comfort food and, despite my love of hot soup, I can think of nothing better than delicious homemade pizza paired with a green salad for a *relatively* healthy meatless dinner tonight. Pizza is so simple to make and its versatility make it easy to please the pickiest eaters. I love this pizza crust recipe for its wonderful texture and flavor. The whole wheat flour and cornmeal give it a whole grain boost to take the edge off any pizza guilt. Pair with your favorite pizza sauce and toppings or see our suggestions below for inspiration. To further dull the pizza guilt, skip the typical mozzarella and use pungent cheeses (feta, blue cheese, Gorgonzola, etc)  in small quantities to give you a real flavor boost without quite so many calories.

Whole Wheat Cornmeal Pizza Crust

• 1 Tbsp Active Dry Yeast
• 1 Tbsp Honey or Agave Nectar*
• 1 cup Warm Water
• 1/2 cup Medium Grind Cornmeal (if you don’t like too much crunch, try Fine Grind Cornmeal or Corn Flour)
• 1-1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 cup Unbleached White Flour
• 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Directions

Combine honey and warm water, sprinkle yeast on top. Let stand 5 minutes to proof.

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add oil to yeast mixture and pour in dry ingredients. Stir to combine ingredients and scoop onto a flat surface. Knead until elastic, adding more white flour as needed, about 5-8 minutes. Place in an oiled bowl, cover and let stand until doubled, about 20 minutes.

Split dough into two rounds to make two 12-inch pizzas, or make one 16-inch pizza crust. Spread dough out onto greased pizza pans and cover with desired topping. Bake for 15-18 minutes at 400°F. Makes 16 slices.

To view nutritional information, click here.

*To make this vegan, simply substitute agave nectar for the honey and use your favorite vegan toppings.

Topping Suggestions for Meatless Monday:

• Shitakke mushrooms, roasted red peppers and goat cheese
• Sliced tomatoes, fresh basil and Gorgonzola
• Caramelized onions, roasted beets and feta
• Sun dried tomatoes, fresh mozzarella balls (1″ sliced) and dollops of pesto
• Here’s one that’s definitely not on the healthy options list, but one of our favorites: Veggie “chicken” nuggets cooked and chopped into 1″ pieces, caramelized onions and green peppers, pineapple chunks and BBQ sauce (use to coat nuggets) with a regular red sauce base and mozzarella.

Last week we set off to the Czech Republic for the first two World Cup races of the season. I was looking forward to the challenging race courses and the chance to compete against the toughest competition in the world. In addition to our stays at the race venues, we had booked a studio apartment in Prague and planned to spend the five days between the two races training and being tourists. It bears repeating that this trip would not have been possible without the amazing support of our sponsors. Thanks, Bob’s Red Mill ! Thanks, Seven Cycles.

We arrived in Prague a bit exhausted from lack of sleep on the overnight flight. I can’t imagine the parents or the child that cried the entire plane trip felt much better. We stumbled our way through the airport happy to have all of our luggage (two bags, two bikes, and ten wheels!) arrive safely.  We grabbed the rental car and navigated our way to the apartment we had rented.

In spite of the maze-like cobbled streets of Prague, our arrival was a smooth one.  Matt unpacked the bikes and I headed out for a quick ride.  After a little rest, we crossed the Charles Bridge for dinner at one of the many vegetarian restaurants in the city. I opted for the vegetarian take on a classic Czech goulash.

The next day, we packed the car back up and headed to Plzen or Pilsen, home of Pilsner Urquell beer and the site of the first World up race of the season.

On Saturday, we were greeted by several familiar faces as I pre-rode the course. The US had sent a full women’s roster and several men to the event and we were all able to meet up and check in with one another before the racing began. I was also lucky enough to get in a lap on the course with my old friend Tim Johnson and was thankful for the pointers he generously offered. It was going to be a tough course with a lot of pedaling and power and a few punchy hills to really work the legs.

Based on my points from the previous season, my start position was close to the back row, making for an especially tricky start.  It was going to be really tough to get into a good spot on the first lap.

Unfortunately, my start was not as strong as I would have liked and I was in the back of the group coming through the first technical sections. I avoided some crashed riders and began the chase to pass as many people as I could each lap to move into the top groups.

It’s always cool (and motivating!) to hear people cheering your name.  It’s especially cool when you’re racing in the Czech Republic and there are people cheering for you.  Partway through the race I heard someone yell, “Happy Birthday, Mo!”  It was last week. Thanks, guy!

With every passing lap, I was riding stronger and stronger. I was able to pass enough riders to get myself into 20th position by the finish. I was hoping for a top 15 and knew that I’d have to improve my start next week to get into the mix.

In between the World Cups, Matt and I stayed in Prague. Our studio apartment was in the Malá Strana section of Prague with the castle (the Hrad) looming above us each time we left the building.

Although training was a big part of my daily routine, Matt and I still managed to experience Prague by exploring a new section of the city or visiting a museum nearly every day. Highlights included Petrin Hill, the John Lennon Wall, the Kampa Museum and the Museum of Young Art.

After a full week of touring the amazing sights of Prague, training in beautiful city parks and enjoying a few surprise eateries, we headed to Tabor for the next World Cup. I had been to Tabor two years before for the World Championships when it was covered in snow and ice. This time, though, the course was dry and very fast with some leg sapping climbs. I felt confident that I could have a better start and hoped that I would have a better result come race day.

The weather had turned very cloudy and chilly for the start of the race but there wasn’t a drop of rain to be had.  The course was hard-packed and the race would be smoking fast.

Off the line I settled in the top 15 and spent the first three laps swapping places back and forth with several other riders as everyone fought for every single spot and every inch of room on the course.

With two laps to go I was leading a large group of about six riders. Everyone was pushing the pace and trying to create some time gaps. Each time one rider made an error, another one of us would take the advantage until the last lap when the pace began to pull the group apart.

I finished 18th for the day a bit disappointed to not have been able to secure a top 15 spot but pleased with my best World Cup finish to date.

Oh, by the way, apparently my ride in Tabor did not go unoticed. Colt at CyclingDirt named me the “Jump of the Week” in his weekly “Who’s #1″ cross rankings. Check out the video clip here. Thanks, Colt!

Living in the Midwest, a region that undeniably has 4 very distinct seasons, one is presented with the full spectrum of riding conditions. In the past year I’ve worn ice socks down the back of my jersey for training in July and snowplowed down untouched roads in remote areas in January. Being able to ride, and ride safely in any type of weather condition that Mother Nature can throw at you requires one thing: preparation.  When I say preparation, I mean preparation on every possible level. Today I want to look at what you can do to ensure safety and enjoyment on all of your fall and winter rides during the cyclocross season.

The first thing you’ve got to do is do a little bit of research as to what exactly you’re getting yourself into. By that I mean pull up your preferred weather outlet on your phone or computer, or even cue up the local news if you’re into that sort of thing. Regardless, you’ve got to know what you’ll be up against so you can plan your next steps accordingly. For our ride today, let’s just say that we’ve got a “Midwest Special”, 39 degrees and raining.  In my opinion, this is just about as bad as it gets. I HATE being wet.

When riding in the cold and rain you’ve got to think about your extremities. My two favorite strategies for keeping my feet and hands comfortable are both cheap and easy. I don’t own any high-dollar waterproof booties or shoecovers, but I sure do have a few pair of DeFEET oversocks and some plastic grocery bags. Quite simply jam your foot into the bottom of that grocery bag, tear a hole in the bottom so your cleat can get into your pedal, then cover the whole mess with your shoecover or oversocks. Now you’ve got yourself some very capable and very cheap waterproof booties! As for your hands, I would recommend a similar strategy involving thin plastic or rubber-like gloves. What you’re looking for is something that you can keep the water out of you regular gloves. You have a few options here, depending on how particular you are with your hands and gloves situation. I like to put one pair rubber gloves on first, then a pair of thin wool gloves, and then on top of it all, another pair of the thin rubber gloves. Your hands might get a little prune-like from the lack of breathability in this set up, but it should provide maximum comfort and sustained feeling in your fingers, while your competition is sitting on the couch. Oh, and to top it all off, makes sure to throw on some sort of waterproof rain cape and a cycling cap and your riding attire should be spot on.

Now that your body is ready to go, you’ve got to get your bike up to the task as well. The first item, an absolute must for your bicycle, is a set of fenders. I rode for a long time without fenders on my bike, and I had no clue what I was missing. It opened up a whole new world of possibilities for riding in adverse conditions. I use a set of SKS Raceblade fenders that can be easily mounted and removed in the span of 2 minutes. When you’re riding in the freezing rain, you don’t realize how much of the discomfort comes from having your feet and backside constantly soaked with water coming off of your tires. A good set of fenders are worth their weight in gold! The final adjustment I make to my bike for riding in foul weather is lowering the tire pressure. When it’s cold and rainy and the roads are covered with leaves and other debris from the trees, you need all of the grip you can get, and grip comes from tire contact. I like to run my 25c training tires around 75-80 psi during the winter because it offers a much smoother ride and also gives a nice solid contact area between the tire and the road. The next time that you go out, experiment with lower tire pressure and I bet you’ll find your steed becomes more sure-footed as you get down under that 100 psi mark.

The final aspect of safe and enjoyable late season riding comes from how you ride your bike. When you’re riding in adverse conditions, you’re bike and tires aren’t exactly performing up to their summer standard. And by this I mean, your bike doesn’t stop as quickly, and you’ve got less traction at your disposal. With these factors you need to be alert and thinking, as well as looking, down the road so that you can anticipate any situations that may be coming your way. You’ve got to be processing information about leaves on the road, a corner with painted lines in the middle of a steep descent, really surveying the situation with a critical eye and riding conservatively through those obstacles.

Like I said, it’s all about being prepared. If you’re dressed for success, your bike is doing its part, and you’re mentally prepared for the obstacles that you might encounter, you’ll be having more than your share of fun and safe rides even when the sun isn’t shining.

Wow. How did November sneak up on me this year? Maybe I was so focused on Halloween that I forgot November came right after it? Or I’m just getting older and time is just going faster. Either way, November is here and everyone in the office is talking about Thanksgiving dishes and Christmas shopping. To make both of those things a little easier this year, I’ve got some sweet cookbooks to giveaway. We did this last year in December, but I’m starting it earlier this year- that way, if you win, you have time to use it or time to gift it to someone special.

Here are what will be up for grabs over the next 7 weeks. We’ve reviewed several of these before, so I’ve linked to our old posts so you can get more info.

This week: 100 Best Gluten Free Recipes (signed edition) by Carol Fenster
Week of 11/7: Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François
Week of 11/14: Babycakes Covers the Classics by Erin McKenna & 12 Days of Morseliciousness by Mo the Morselist (ebook)
Week of 11/21: The Complete Whole Grains Cookbook by Judith Finlayson
Week of 11/28: Quinoa 365 by Green & Hemming
Week of 12/05: Bob’s Red Mill Cookbook (signed edition) by Miriam Backes and the Bob’s Red Mill Family
Week of 12/12: Bob’s Red Mill Baking Book (signed edition) by John Ettinger and the Bob’s Red Mill Family

This week, we’re going to giveaway a copy of Carol Fenster’s 100 Best Gluten Free Recipes. All we need to say about this book is that it’s the very best of Carol’s extensive work boiled down into one beautiful full-color book. Each recipe is easy to follow and uses ingredients you recognize. As with all of her books, Carol provides a great introduction to eating gluten free with tips and tricks for navigating the gluten free diet.

How to enter:
We tried this neat giveaway tool last week, but it worked for only some of you. Here’s the kicker, you have to enter using this tool below or I won’t count your entry. Giveaways are kind of complicated and this makes it far easier- so enter your comment THEN CLICK ON “I DID THIS”  so you can be entered.

I’ve had some of the best races of my life at Roger Williams Park in Providence, RI. At the 2005 Cyclocross National Championships, I won the Master’s 30-34 National Championship and earned a bronze medal in the Elite Women’s race the next day. I’ve also had some of the worst races there. It all depends on the weather and the course design that the promoters are using on a given year.

Truly amazing cyclocross racers can race any course in any conditions with the same results. I aspire to be that well rounded, but truth be told, I lack mass and power and sometimes get a bit bored on courses that aren’t technically challenging if not at least muddy. I’m much less interested in learning race tactics and playing games than I am in simply racing my guts out. As American Cyclocross develops, there is a trend towards a style of course dubbed “American Style” which for me means I have to change my stubborn ways and learn to race properly on whatever course comes my way.

The forecast called for lots of sun and 80 degree temperatures.  It was unseasonably warm for a ‘cross race and the preceding dry spell meant that the course would be fast and dry. I had a decent start and sat behind the race leaders until the high pace caused a small gap to open up. I found myself with three other riders chasing the lead three and we were closing in on a tiring third place. My legs felt good and I was feeling confident that I would be able to put in a good fight for at least fourth place.

Racing in a pack involves anticipating the moves of the other riders and finding out where you have the advantage over them. There were enough turns in the course that might allow me a gap if I could be patient, find the right time and make my move…..but wait! A 20-foot section of course tape, broken by a crashed rider on the first lap, had been flapping around for the last 30 minutes and when I took a corner wide, it was sucked into my rear cassette and jammed my bike completely.

Not only was I out of my group, I was passed by three more riders as I attempted to free the tape from my wheel. Rather than run ¾ of a lap to the pit, I rode my bike with one gear that was skipping all the way around to the pit. After swapping bikes, I gave it my all but it was the last lap and I was unable to gain back any of the spots I had lost. 10th. I was really hoping the promoters would go back to one of the older style courses that was more technical for day 2!

No such luck on getting a more technical version of the course for Day 2. It was actually the least technical course I’ve ridden to date with about 1.5 km of pavement (roughly half of the course), which is far more than the norm. Later, we had heard that the park arborist requested that the course not be routed too close to the trees both days due to erosion from Hurricane Irene the previous month. The ENTIRE park is filled with trees.

I had a solid start and for the first three laps I was in a group of about ten riders in a paceline like a road race. I was even running out of gears where the pavement went downhill before coming onto the grass.

Needless to say, 80-degree temps and non-stop fast pedaling took its toll and the group began to pull apart. I gave it what I had but was passed by one rider in the last lap and ended up 7th.