Volunteering: a must-do!

We all know the importance of giving back to the community.  It not only improves the lives of others and makes the community a better place to live, it makes you feel good, too.  Its the kind of feeling you can't really get elsewhere; giving your time, energy, and commitment to others, for the sake of the greater good.  Its the kind of feeling that when you go without it for a long time, you begin to start itching for it, and you don't really feel whole until you do it again.  I've had that itch for quite sometime now.  My friend and I volunteered at a D.C. public charter middle school last spring, and it was amazing.  6 months have passed since then, and that is just way too long.

This week I started my long overdue volunteer work.  I went on idealist.org to try and find some local opportunities, and I knew that I wanted to do something longer-term this year, to ensure that I continually fulfill this aspect of my life.  I am specifically interested in working with youth in schools, as I miss that from both my college and City Year days.  I found a few local opportunities that were either tutoring or mentoring or both.  I decided to check out two programs, College Bound and another youth center that will remain unnamed, lets just call it "Youth Center," both in D.C.

College Bound:

College Bound, Inc., a Washington, D.C. based, 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization, offers public school students in grades 8-12 academic enrichment and resources to prepare for and succeed in college. Founded in 1991, the organization offers tutoring, mentoring, ACT/SAT preparation, and academic and career guidance free-of-charge to assist students in the District of Columbia metropolitan area in meeting their post-secondary educational goals.

I checked out College Bound first.  Beyond what is described above, it is a well developed mentorship program, matching up D.C. college educated professionals with D.C. public school college bound youth.  Each week, the mentors spend two hours with their mentees, either helping them with their homework, making sure the college app/prep is continuing, or just being someone they can talk to.  The mentors are called "partners."  There are also organized activities that the students and their partners can do together, like college tours and the like.  The organization, from the start, has seemed very organized and well managed.  Right away, they paired me up with a local high school junior.  I spent the first 20 min or so getting acquainted with the program, but my new mentee helped me learn the ropes.  I was able to spend the 2 hour session getting to know her and two other girls that were at the same table (and for some reason did not have partners).  All of the kids genuinely seemed happy to be in the program, and seemed thankful for the partners that were there.  At the end of the session, the students all stand up and say something that was good that happened to them in the past week (a good grade, an accomplished goal, etc.), and the whole room listens and claps.  I am looking forward to the development of my mentorship with my mentee, and my involvement in what seems to be a great organization, College Bound.

The next night, I went to check out a volunteer opportunity at the aforementioned Youth Center.  This was a big disappointment.  The Youth Center advertised that they needed tutors for their college prep program.  The Center itself seemed cool, a real neighborhood community center for youth.  When I arrived, it was quite active and busy.  I attended an orientation session which lasted about an hour.  The jist of the orientation:  the tutor program is new, there is no guarantee tutors will match up with students, and the students don't show up regularly.   In other words, they should not have been advertising for tutors.  I think this Center at its core is a great place.  They provide a lot of programming and whatnot for the community.  However, this particular branch of the Center, the college prep program, was disorganized and mismanaged.  I really don't have time to commute after work somewhere when I may or may not even tutor a student.  Until they get their program up and running, I will just stick with College Bound.

The Youth Center was disappointment not just because of my individual experience.  But it got me thinking about non-profit management in general.  I've been to many different organizations like that.  They mean well, but at the end of the day there is no one there that is managing properly.  It turns out to be a huge waste of resources; time, people, and money.  I hope this Youth Center can turn their tutor program around (or get it off of its feet) because it surely would be a great benefit to the students of that community.

Having had a great experience with College Bound so far, two of my friends have decided to join as well.  This ripple effect may be the most beneficial aspect of all.  Not only that, other friends have been truly interested in hearing about volunteering, and have since told me that they plan to volunteer in their communities soon.  Real, fundamental change happens at the grassroots level.  If youth in schools aren't your thing, there are thousands of organization and causes in your community that would love your time.  Give back, it'll make you a better person. 

More on College Bound in a future post.  Thanks for reading!

My new blog!

Welcome to my new blog (I just changed the format and name of my old blog)!  Thank you for reading, and my first official post will be soon!  :)

Update to your google reader/favorites/history, etc.

The new link to my blog will be:

http://nicoleluisa.blogspot.com

Feel free to update!  My first blog on the new site will be soon!

Its been awhile...major blog changes!!

Hello all!  I know, I know.  You've given up on me as a blogger.  Its been many weeks since my last post.  You've probably determined that I'm either no longer into cycling and/or eating meat.  Well, not so fast.  Not only am I still into cycling, I have been spinning more than ever.  And I have not touched any meat since I started the pescetarian journey... 

So yes, I am still here and ready to blog.  However, I've decided that its time for a change in my blog.  Anyone that knows me knows how scatter brained eccentric I am.  When I decide to start a hobby (or lifestyle change), I do it full force, and after a little while I get bored and quit.  Thus, having a blog dedicated to pecetarinism and cycling got boring.  Even though I have committed to these two things, my life is way more diverse than that.  I think my readers would be a lot more interested in my day to day escapades than my occasional long ride with a fall or two.  My family, friends, job, city, travel, food, and every day activites lead to much more of an introspective and interesting blog for me to write, and thus, much more of an entertaining blog for my loyal readers to read.

Therefore, I am going to roll out a new blog.  It is, in a nutshell, going to be about my life.  No themes.  No strong focus (minus whatever I am "into" at any given time).  Just the journey of a twenty-something eccentric lawyer living, learning, and loving life.

Stay tuned...and update those google reader links when its time to!

The Long Overdue Biking Post

It's been a while since I've written about biking.  I've gotten a little side tracked with my obsession interest in nutrition, and people have asked me "how is the biking going?" Now its time to answer their questions.

In the past few weeks, I've usually been able to get a long(er) ride in on weekends, and have supplemented my outdoor riding with 2-3 days a week of spinning at my gym.  While I love riding outside,  it takes a lot of time getting ready for the rides (checking tires, gearing up, etc.).  During the week, it is just way more time efficient to go spinning.  And boy do I love spinning!  Spinning is by far the most time efficient cardio I do.  I will go to a 45 min or 1 hour class and be more tired and sweaty than any cardio session I could ever do on my own (save my training sessions which are killer!).  The instructors scream at you to pedal faster, harder, and wont let you quit!  I've been going pretty regularly to a couple of the classes and now the instructors know if I don't go.

The one thing I have noticed about all this spinning I am doing - it helps my outdoor biking endurance dramatically.  On my longer weekend rides, I am able to go a lot faster now, no matter what the terrain or incline.  With each ride, I notice the improvement in my abilities.  I think spinning is a must-do for any biker who doesn't have the time to get outside 2-3 days a week.

I've done the Capital Crescent Trail (pictured right) now a few times.  It's a great trail, about 20 miles total, plus about 4 miles to get to and from it.  The best part about the trail is that the entire way from Georgetown to Bethesda is uphill.  It is at just enough of an incline to give your legs a nice burn the whole way, and then on the way back you are able to get up to some pretty fast speeds because you are at a decline.

The first time I completed the Capital Crescent trail was quite interesting!  I managed to bike through dog poop, fall and bleed profusely (da*n those clips!) in the center of downtown Bethesda, see many, many people laugh at me due to the fall, notice that not a single person asked if I needed help (one guy did shout from a outdoor food stand "hey Lady, are you O.K.??"), have two jerk-offs cut me off and nearly fall again, see those same two jerks (on bikes mind you!) light up a joint and proceed to rides their bikes while smoking weed, shake my head at them, catch up with them apparently sometime after they finished their joint, see a bike cop on duty, and pull over and tell the bike cop that those jerks who just rode by were smoking weed while biking.  The cop said if he sees them again, he'll "get em."  Thats right - I snitched on them.  Guess what - pay back is a bi*ch.  Don't cut me off next time.

The next weekend I did the Capital Crescent trail again with a friend, A.B., and her friend.  This time none of the aforementioned excitement happened, but it was awesome hitting the trail with a couple people.  A.B. is a very fast rider, so she went ahead and then caught up with me later.  But we live near each other and so we were able to enjoy getting to and from the trail together.  My short term goal is to be able to keep up with her!!  :)

This morning I did the Mt. Vernon trial (pictured left) with A.B. and T.S.  We got up at 6:00 a.m. on a Saturday, and were on our way to the trail by 6:30!  The three of us are all at different speeds/levels so once we hit the trial we sort of did our own thing.  A.B. in the front, me in the middle, and T.S. in the back.  After a while, A.B. was gone, and I turned behind me to see that T.S. was also.  Our plan was to ride 30 min straight, and then turn around at whatever point we were and meet up at the airport (Reagan).  We had already ridden about 30 min to get to the point where we decided this.  30 minutes into my stretch, and past Alexandria, I turned around as planned.  I rode hard, fast, and tried to make it back to the airport before A.B. lapped me.  While I was riding, I kept looking for T.S. who I thought I would run into.  No sign of her.  I thought to myself, wow, maybe I went faster that I thought.  Almost back to the airport parking lot, I see a biker coming from some adjacent parking area (not part of the trail).  This biker was coming up the ramp fast, where I was going down a hill.  I was hoping this biker would turn to look at me, so we wouldn't crash into each other.  The biker turns and looks, and sure enough, its T.S.!  Coming from out of nowhere!  What she was doing down there, I have no clue.  She later tells A.B. and I that she nearly broke her bike (switched the wrong gears), and got lost for the majority of the hour we were apart from each other.  For those who know the Mt. Vernon trial, there are many forks, so getting lost for a first timer is quite easy.  It was hilarious.

Hitting the trail this morning made me remember how much I love outdoor biking.  We got out early enough that there weren't very many people out yet, more runners than bikers yet anyway.  While I was alone I thought about how much I do want to complete that Century Ride next fall in New York.  I think my long-term training plan will start in January.  Now I am just trying to get myself in great shape in order to start endurance training.  I am going to have to buy some biking gear for the fall/winter months to keep warm/insulated out there.  Nothing is going to keep me from outdoor riding!

12 Days of Ultra Simple - Enough is Enough

I have completed my journey with The Ultra Simple Diet, early. I made it 12 days. My goal was to go 30 days. The first thing I'd like to note is that The Ultra Simple Diet is designed to last 7 days. I was the crazy one who wanted to take the diet to the extreme. That being said, I am over it. For me, it was unsustainable because I became extremely bored, unhappy, and yearning for social interaction (I had been turning down invites and not planning other things due to the diet). I am now moving on to the next stage of my healthy eating journey.

Over the 12 days, I lost about 6 lbs overall (rounded down). I lost about 2 inches in my waist. I felt thoroughly cleansed. It's a great 7 day diet. Otherwise, it is just not practical any longer. I don't think I did it long enough to comment on any other effects.

I am going to keep a lot of the same principles of The Ultra Simple Diet, combine them with some principles from Ultra Metabolism (Dr. Hyman's bestselling book), a few other sources, and design my own program of healthy eating. These will be my general nutritional principles:

- 5-6 small meals/day
- 90-95% vegan diet (occasional fish, eggs, and/or dairy)
- Limit alcohol consumption to 1-2 servings/week (mainly red wine)
- No white sugar, white flour, white rice/pasta, starch
- Gluten-free when possible

I think these principles will keep me healthy, cleansed, and most importantly, social. I will still bring my lunch to work daily, eat at home 95% of the time, and workout daily. My new program opens up a lot more food options for me (I know many people reading this don't think so, but it really does!), and I am excited to get started with it.

On a side note. I am seriously considering becoming a Vegan. I am going to blog about this later this week, however, this may change this blog and its focus entirely. Stay tuned!

1 week down, 3 to go!

Yesterday I completed my first week on The Ultra Simple Diet.  It wasnt as hard as I initially expected, however, it is quite time consuming.  I literally spend all of my non-work/gym/sleep/RHOA time prepping and planing meals.  The first few days I was annoyed by this.  Having to wake up extra early to pack my lunch, make my morning shakes, drink water/green tea, etc., I thought was a bit of a drag.  But around the 4th day or so I began to enjoy it, strangely enough.  I greatly look forward to my morning shakes now (mainly because they are the only sweet thing I consume in the day), and I am finding new ways to spice up the lunches and dinners I am eating.  I have also been able to cut time down by prepping 2-3 meals all at once.  

The first few days of the minimal caffeine consumption were rough, I did get a headache or two.  However, that went away and now I am able to fully function on 1 cup of green tea in the morning, and nothing more.  I also found the first couple days not quite productive digestively.  Sparing any details on this blog, that quickly corrected itself.  The only non-Ultra Simple meal I consumed was dinner with T.N. on Saturday night.  We went to a vegetarian restaurant and I ordered a vegan meal which was quite good.  I did have a couple bites of things that were not on the diet, however, probably about 5 or 6 french fries and a 1 bite of T.N.'s gnocchi which was fabulous.  

Pros: I lost 4.5 lbs this week, which is great news considering I am never really hungry on this diet, and I never go to bed hungry (the dinners really fill me up).  I also didnt do all of the workouts I had planned for the week.  However, I forgot to take my waist measurements (I will do it for next week).  I noticed an improvement in my skin after the 4th or 5th day.  I do think my breakouts are directly related to dairy consumption, although I also think it may be a gluten issue.  Because I cut both of those foods out completely, I will not really know until I attempt to incorporate them back in (if I end up doing so at all) at the end of the 4 weeks.  I must admit, my weekends are so much more productive when I am alcohol free.  I am finding time to do projects that I had put off for months.

Cons: Boredom.  I do miss the foods I cut out.  I am only 1 week in and am already bored with what I bring for lunch and/or consume for dinner (again, love the morning shakes though).  I am constantly going to the bathroom due to the amount of water I am drinking.  I don't like the fact that I have been turning down invitations to do certain things due to my diet (bbq's, happy hours, etc.).  While it is true that I could still attend these functions, its kind of like walking in to a McDonalds hungry, and just smelling the fries.  Who wants to do that?  I'll just wait until my month is over.  If folks want to hang out with me, I am available for bike rides.  Shout out to A.B. and our ride last Saturday! 

Goals for the 2nd week:  I want to try and do all of the workouts I have planned for the week, without skipping any days.  I will focus on making sure I consume snacks.  While I am at work, it is hard for me to snack.  I need to make a point of doing so, or else I eat too much at lunch/dinner.  Even though when I do over-eat, it is on veggies and brown rice, its still over-eating.  I am going to watch my portion sizes as well this week.  Also, I probably wont go out to eat anywhere.  Even though my dinner with T.N. was great, I probably should have not nibbled on the non-sanctioned foods. 

Overall, good week, but glad its over.  3 weeks to go!

Ultra Simple for a Month

Having traveled for nearly the entire month of August, and enjoyed many glutenous activities this summer overall, I think it all took a toll on my body, and specifically my liver.  As I mentioned in the previous blog post, I have decided to follow and complete The Ultra Simple Diet, by Dr. Mark Hyman, for an entire month (9/15/09 - 10/13/09). 

This diet is a simple one: It gets rid of bad foods which directly cause toxicity and inflammation (the two major causes of weight gain and disease) and adds good foods which detoxify and are anti-inflammatory.  This is not a starvation diet, in fact, I'll be eating constantly throughout the day, turning my metabolism into an ever burning fire. 

I took Dr. Hyman's toxicity and inflammation quiz which measures just how toxic and inflamed one is.  I scored a 42 which = mild imbalance.  This score isn't super high, but it is not what is considered "optimal health," which is a score of 10 or lower.  My goal over the month is to decrease my score into the optimal health range.  I will be taking my vitals before and after the program as well; weight, waist, hip, and BMI will all be measured.  

I want to blog about this experience because even though this is a "simple" diet, it is also going to be very hard (and I believe, very rewarding).  I need my friends and family to be supportive of it, as I may have to decline invitations to certain things.  The diet can be summarized by the following:

Foods I will avoid:
- Alcohol
- Caffeine (except for green tea)
- Gluten
- Flour (white & wheat flour)
- Sugar (including artificial sweeteners)
- Dairy products
- Eggs
- Corn (and the plethora of products containing corn)
- All meat except organic fish (easy part, go pescetarianism!)
- Any oil other than EVOO
- Citrus fruits and juices (except lemon juice)
- Fast food, junk food, any foods that are processed in anyway
- Peanuts
- Nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, bell peppers)

Foods I will enjoy:
- Water
- Fish
- Non-citrus fruits (berries)
- Fresh vegetables
- Fresh vegetable broth
- Legumes (lentils, beans, tofu, etc)
- Brown Rice
- Nuts & Seeds
- Flaxseeds
- Lemons
- Various seasonings

As you can see, it is a "simple," yet, complex diet.  Bascially, all of the foods in the "do not eat" list are common triggers of inflammation and or toxicity in humans, and many of which have been found to have direct links to modern day diseases.  Dr. Hyman recommends cutting them all out in order to reach your optimal health, and then slowly incorporating only some of them back in once you finish the cleansing stage of this diet (his second stage is called Ultra Metabolism, I will blog about that when my month of Ultra Simple is nearly up). 

I plan to blog about the diet bi-weekly, and include any tasty recipes I come up with as well.  I am also going to start going on longer weekend bike rides, now that I am back in the area for the weekends!  Lots to stay tuned for!  :)

1 Month Anniversary

Yesterday was my 1 month anniversary of my new "pescetarian way of life."  Throughout the month of traveling non-stop (New York City twice, Los Angeles, Charlotte), I managed to keep up the diet (save the questionable lard in Los Angeles).

The most common question I get from people who ask me about my diet is why I eat fish.  The answer to that is that I am doing this whole pescetarian diet for health reasons, and fish seems to be the most healthy and digestible of all animals.  While I am concerned with the plight of animals and the conditions upon which they make it to the American plate, I am not yet in a position at this time to stop eating meat based for ethical reasons (maybe in the future?).   One thing I have noticed, however, is that I don't eat that much fish.  Most of the time, I eat like an evo-lacto vegetarian.  There are so many great options for vegetarians, that I find the need for fish proteins not very necessary.  I do like fish, but I think my overall consumption is very low.  This is good for a couple reasons.  First, the more I am learning about the human species, the more I am believing that we are naturally herbivores.  Yes, we can digest meat, but many diseases are directly related to the consumption of it.  So does that mean we are supposed to eat it?  More on this in a future blog post.

This past month, I have definitely noticed an increase in my energy levels.  I used to crash around 2pm daily, right after lunch.  Now I seem to have pretty constant energy all day.  I am not really sleeping any less, and still feel that 8 hours is just about right for me, but I do have more energy throughout the day. 

My metabolism is faster than ever.  I don't think I need to get descriptive with this one.  But yeah, the human body knows how to digest a vegetarian diet well. 

The most interesting thing I've noticed is how easy it has been to cut out meat.  Whenever I go out to eat, I am able to find something to order.  Friends and family have been supportive, and overall, I have found no other difficulties in giving up (or replacing) my old favorite meat dishes.  In fact, my fridge doesnt look that much different than before.

As I noted above, I have been traveling for almost an entire month.  I am glad to be back in D.C., but feel overall that I need a good internal cleanse (mainly due to the effects of sugar, white flour, dairy, and alcohol consumption).  I have decided to do an entire month of The Ultra Simple Diet, beginning on September 15, 2009.  I am going to post another entry tomorrow all about The Ultra Simple Diet, and blog about the experience along the way.

A Pescetarian on Vacation: SoCal

"How was your trip?"

I've recently been told by a few readers that it seems as though all of my posts have been about cycling. Given that I have only posted about 5 blog entries so far, and only one of them has been about my "new way of eating," I figured my next blog post should be on the subject...

My sister and I just spent a short week in Southern California, visiting family and friends. It was my first vacation as a pescetarian, and even though I didn't eat the healthiest pescetarian food, I did mainly stick to the diet for the time I was there, and was not tempted to eat meat* in the least bit. Before we arrived, I told all of the family we'd be visiting that I was now a pescetarian, and that they could eat whatever they wanted, but that I wouldn't be eating any meat. My family was quite supportive, and had fish/vegetarian options at every meal.

"This is SO good... I always forget how good."

Growing up in NorCal, we would travel to SoCal often to visit extended family. One sure stop every time we'd visit would be our family's favorite Mexican restaurant (or joint, rather) in SoCal, Tito's Tacos. My only possible diet slip up may have happened here. My sister and I went there upon our arrival at LAX. I ordered the usual, a bean & cheese burrito. Tito's is infamous for their taco's, but to me, heaven on earth exists in the form of their bean & cheese burrito. To solidfy this point: whenever someone asks me the inevitable "if you were stranded on a desert island and you could only have one food with you for eternity, what would it be?" question - my answer is ALWAYS, a Tito's bean & cheese burrito.  Catch my drift?

Yes, the ingredients are simple - beans, cheese, and a tortilla (w/salsa on the side).  Why a possible slip up then? Well, while this is unsubstantiated information, my mother and I truly believe that the reason Tito's beans (and tortillas) taste so good is because they are cooked in lard. Lard is pig fat, and something I should completely avoid as a fish-eating vegetarian. The mere thought of lard is even kinda gross...fat, that is rendered from any fatty part of a pig - an animal that is suspect at best for its edibleness. But, for whatever reason, the taste of anything cooked in lard it is simply fabulous. My question - does Tito's use lard in cooking their beans? Tortillas? I did not ask. And no, I will not be researching it. This is a case of willful blindness in my diet which could only be reserved for goodness that is Tito's.

"You are here to eat, and nothing more."

After leaving Tito's, my sister and I headed to Grandfather A's house. Basically a gourmet chef in his own right, he had been preparing and cooking for us well in advance of our arrival. As soon as we stepped foot in his place, we were being fed. For an appetizer, we had fried fish with a mango/berry chutney, for a mid-afternoon snack we enjoyed moules frites with garlic aioli (if you haven't had french fries, or frites, with aioli, you haven't yet lived), and a couple hours later, an exquisite dinner featuring linguine with clams, mussels, and squid. And throughout the day, endless wine, bread, and homemade watermelon juice (what do YOU know about fresh watermelon juice?). As only our Grandfather A could accomplish, for dessert, he also served 3 types of homemade sorbet, yes 3. By the time we left his house, we were at least 5 lbs heavier (remember, this was the same day we had gone to Tito's). But that kind of decadence, that kind of love, you only get once in a great while, and is worth every ounce on a scale.

"What does Julia Child have on Mexican Food?"

That evening, we next headed Grandfather G's in Palm Desert.  The next day, Grandpa G and I went to Cardena's market to see if there was anything we could pick up for dinner. Cardenas Market is a Latin market with locations throughout Southern California. They carry Latin American products, and upon entering you really feel like you are in another country (that, and the fact that none of the employees speak English may also contribute to that feeling, but I digress). For a Mexican food lover like myself, it is also a grocery paradise. This place has an entire area devoted to tortilla making.

Pause for a minute. Imagine your local Safeway. Now imagine a market that replaces the "fried food counter" with nothing but tortillas - flour, corn, big, small. All still warm, fresh, and cheap. They also have a section for aguas frescas (Grandpa A's watermelon juice would make a great addition to it!), a SALSA counter (yes, at least 10 types of salsa, and you can taste them all, too!), Mexican take out food (everything you can think of, freshly made to order), and all of the other normal grocery store amenities. That, and every Latin American product known to man.

Grandpa G mentioned that he had some fish at home, so immediately I knew I wanted to make myself some fish tacos. I went for the small, corn tortillas. They were so fresh, the warmth was making the interior of the plastic bag condensate. And to top it all off, you get 50 warm tortillas for $1.59. Out of control.

We got home and I made my fish tacos with some of the salsa and some avocado. They were simply divine. My sister ate a hamburger (Grandpa G's famous burgers). As much as I used to love my Grandpa's burgers, the fish tacos I made may have been the best I've ever had. Thanks, Cardenas. Earlier that same day, before dinner, we saw the movie "Julie and Julia," about the life of Julia Child and some blogger who is obsessed with her appreciates her cooking (I did like the movie). However, while I was eating, I couldn't help but think, could Julia make taco's this good?

"I've never had an 'In & Out' Burger."

After our quick trip in Palm Desert - we hit the road again to visit some friends in Los Angeles. First we went to Hollywood for a late lunch on Melrose Ave (so L.A.). For dinner, we enjoyed some more Mexican food at a restaurant that had $15 pitchers of Margaritas.

Friday we left the house and decided to grab lunch. On our way to the freeway, my sister mentioned that she'd never had an 'In & Out' burger, and asked if they were "really that good?"... 

Next stop - 'In & Out' burger. My sister ordered the classic Double-Double. Side note - I, personally, know how good these burgers are.  But guess what, I did not want one.  I ordered her the burger, and thought about the portobella mushroom sandwich that I was actually craving.  I did not give in. I was able to watch my sister eat a fresh 'In & Out' burger, with no problems. It was at that moment I realized I had crossed some sort of imaginary threshold for pescetarianism. I was the real deal. 

Finally, our last SoCal food experience worth mentioning in a blog.  Porto's Bakery.  We went for lunch and I must admit I am hooked.  This is a bakery/cafe in Burbank, CA.  They must have thousands of desserts, cakes, general sweets, as well as a full coffee bar, sandwiches, and a variety of other goodies.  This place is really worth experiencing for yourself.  For lunch, I had a piece of bread pudding before my tuna melt (they didnt have the portobella mushroom sammy), while drinking a horchata smoothie, and finished it off with a red velvet cupcake.  No dinner necessary after that meal, kids. 

We spent the last day or so just nibbling.  As you can see, we ate more than enough throughout the week.  But besides the possible lard consumption at Tito's, I stayed true to my no meat diet, and was able to remain a pescetarian throughout the week!  My favorite part of the trip had to be hanging out in Venice Beach.  I wish I could have frozen time then.  I was able to gain a greater appreciation for my Mom's child/early adulthood, as she grew up in that area.  As I tweeted from the beach, there is really nothing better or more beautiful than the pacific ocean.  I hope you got a nice jist of my vacation, at least in a culinary sense.  Hang ten.

"That was the most fun!" -Shout out to T.B.

*From this point on, whenever I refer to "meat" in any of my blogs, I mean any meat that is not fish. For simplicity in writing, I am considering fish a non-meat.

Realities of Urban Cycling

There is nothing better than cycling in the city. I truly enjoy riding along side cars (not so much buses, though), maneuvering around the streets, and exploring the city on two wheels. Until today, I had yet to park my bike anywhere in the city. I would just leave my apartment, go on a ride, and come back to my apartment.

A good friend of mine, T.N., needed help putting together an Ikea dresser. As a self-proclaimed Ikea-furniture-assembly pro, I volunteered to help her put it together. I had an appointment near her earlier in the day, so I decided to ride my bike. I also wanted to practice locking it up outside.

I parked my bike around the corner from T.N.'s building, on a bike rack, in between two bikes. I noticed that one of the front tires was missing on one of the bikes, but I thought nothing of it. T.N. lives in a great part of town, Dupont Circle, about 2 blocks from where I lived my 1st year of law school.

I locked everything up. My helmet, wheels, frame, and net I use to keep things tied down. I thought my bike and accessories were secure.

I helped my friend assemble her dresser and we ate lunch. All and all I must have been away from my bike for about 2-3 hours. When it was time to go, I got back to my bike and checked it out. I saw that my hand air pump was missing. Someone stole my $30 hand air pump that I forgot to take off on the side of my bike. In 2-3 hours, with 2 bikes parked on either side of mine, in one of the nicest parts of DC, the theft found the one vulnerable, albeit inexpensive, piece of my bike and STOLE it. SMH.

After that, I rode over to a local bike shop to buy a new one. The guy at the store heard my story and said "...next time, you should take the pump with you." Really? You think?

DC is infamous for bike theft. One thing I realized today is that I'm glad I followed the advice of the bike salesman when I originally purchased my bike. He convinced me to purchase the mega-lock that must weight about 10 lbs. and is so large I can't mount it on, I have to tie it to my rack. It was worth it, though, because my bike was in tact. All the thief got was the measly pump.

Lesson learned for the day: take everything with you, check everything twice, and LOCK EVERYTHING UP!!

Cycling Goal: The Century Ride

"Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination." - Fitzhugh Dodson

My first cycling goal is to complete a century ride. A century ride is a 100 mile bike ride. Riding 100 miles would be a huge accomplishment for me, and I know I can do it with adequate training and preparation.

I want to give myself enough time to train for this though, and I have no idea how long that will take (especially given the winter months). However, after researching organized century rides, I have decided that my goal will be to complete the NYC Century Bike Tour in September 2010. This ride brings together over 6000 cyclists from all over the world, and travels across 4 NYC boroughs. Proceeds from the tour benefit the bicycling advocacy of Transportation Alternatives, which is an organization that helps to make cycling and other public transportation more accessible and wide spread in NYC. As an urban cyclist, I can think of no better place to ride my first 100 miles than in The Big Apple.

Given the far out date, this will give me adequate time to set up a sufficient and realistic training schedule. I recently purchased a couple cycling training books, which I plan to read in the next couple weeks. As soon as I do, I will set up a training schedule over the next year (to be published on this blog), in preparation for the NYC Century Bike Tour '10. As I get further into the training, I will be able to figure out if my goal will be to merely complete the 100 mile ride, or if I am going for a specific timed goal.

I must admit, I am excited to actually have a goal. I cant tell you how many times I've started a new hobby, got really into it, but never clearly defined any goals, and thus, have no accomplishments to show for it (save the painting I just hung up in my dining room!). Training for the century ride will be tough, but I know I'll be a better person on the other side of it. With commitment and dedication I'll make it. Let the journey begin! :)

Why go pescetarian?

What is a pescetarian? Well, that is simple. It is a vegetarian who eats fish. Why am I becoming one? That is a little more complicated. I've recently become quite fascinated with the study of food. Where it comes from, how it is made, what it does to our bodies once we ingest it. The more I learn about food, the less of it I want to eat. I don't mean the less quantity I want to eat, but substantively, the less I want. The more I learn about the food chain and how it relates to our overall health as a species, and our planet as a whole, the more I want to do my part to ensure its proper function.

Our American (and dare I say, capitalist) society has created a cultural aversion to real, whole, locally grown food. I don't think our great grandparents would recognize some of the things we eat today. Lean cuisines? Power bars? Fiber-enhanced Cheerios? I find it quite sad that we have ingredients in our food that we cannot pronounce. I'm no nutritionist, doctor, or scientist. But what I do know, is that human kind did not evolve eating things that are not found in nature. Human kind evolved eating things naturally found in our diverse, beautiful planet. Mostly, plants. Occasionally, meat. Never, high fructose corn syrup.

As an evolved species, wouldn't maintaining a diet consisting of things that humans have eaten for centuries make sense? Wouldn't we want to "get back to our roots," so to speak, when it comes to the one thing that sustains us all, food? This is what makes sense to me. This is the way I want to live my life, closer to nature, and more sensitive to the food chain that supports our existence. On this journey, I shall consume the only the following: fruits, vegetables, plants, legumes, nuts, grains, dairy, and fish - wild, locally grown, and sustainably produced whenever possible.

But, why avoid meat? There are a variety of reasons to avoid meat. The amount of hormones in meat, the difficulty in finding grass-fed free-range meat (and the expense), the horrible treatment of animals, the environment, the human body, and the modern diseases which have direct links to meat. In the last couple years, I haven't been that big of a meat eater generally. When I did eat it, I noticed a difference in my physical and mental well-being. The human body does speak to you when it likes (or dislikes) the food that you eat. When I am eating a diet rich in plants, whole grains, and legumes, I have boundless energy, my skin clears up, and I feel overall fabulous. When I incorporate meat into the mix, and especially red meat & pork, I feel sluggish, heavy, and overall bad.

I've always had a natural aversion to meat, but I was turned on to the pescetarian diet by J.D., who says that since he has been eating this way, he has only needed about 5 hours of sleep/night and has never felt better. And since I have started this (8/7/09), I have recruited my friend T.S. to follow on this journey with me. This is a non-scientific, basic overview of the thoughts and ideas that have lead me to become a pescetarian. I will explore them all more thoroughly on this blog, as well as document the trials and tribulations of pescetarian eating.

Saturday Ride & My First Fall

Every Saturday that the weather is decent I plan to take a long(er) ride. The DC metropolitan area is very bike friendly, and there are so many trails and routes to explore. I had to stop by the bike shop today to get fitted with clipless pedals and some cycling shoes (am I a real rider now?), as well as get the 1 month adjustment on my bike.

Since I knew I'd be in Georgetown, I decided to try and find the W&OD Trail. I know its something like 40 miles long in total, and by no means am I ready for that long of a ride, but at least I'd know where it was when I wanted to give it a shot. I caught the Custis Trail right over the Key Bridge. The Custis Trail is 4 miles in total, and has some decent hills. So I figured this would be a good trail to use to get me to the W&OD trail.

Remember why I went to the bike shop? To get clipless pedals... Note to self, clipless pedals + steeper-than-I'm-used-to-hills = My First Fall.

Yes, today was My First Fall. I knew it had to come sooner or later. I was hoping later, but I knew it was inevitable. While at the bike shop, my Dad warned me about the clipless petals. In fact, he described to me a fall he had this morning while using his clipless pedals. He described the fall in detail, I laughed, and I went and bought them anyway... So I am heading up a steep hill on the Custis Trail. I had been clipping in and out for a couple miles at this point, trying to get used to the pedals. I decided to keep my left foot clipped in, and my right loose -- just in case. I thought to myself, my right leg is stronger, thus, I'll be more in control of the bike if I keep my right foot unclipped. Yeah, that was the reasoning....

As I am switching the gears lower to get up the hill, I look down to figure out the proper gear. Slowly I lose a little balance, start wabbling, and before I know it, I START FALLING DOWN. It happened slow. It was as though I was watching myself fall from outside myself. Luckily since I was headed UP the hill, I wasn't going fast enough to truly get injured. But because my "strong" foot was loose, my "weak" left foot didn't know how to get out of the d**m clip!! I fell onto my left side.

Fortunately, I didn't hit pavement. I some how managed to fall onto my bike. It still hurt. It still sucked. When I landed, though, I couldn't help but laugh. It was EXACTLY what my Dad had described had happened to him, a few hours earlier. After I got my bike detangled from my limbs, I immediately looked behind me to see if anyone had seen My First Fall. There was a woman running up the hill, but no bikers. Embarrassment factor = 0-1/10. Bruise factor = 5/10. Ironic factor = 10/10.

After brushing myself off, I realized I was in the middle of the hill. Being that it is so hard to start going up a hill in the middle of it (with no momentum whatsoever), I turn my bike around and go back about .4 of a mile. The next pass at this incline, I decide not to "clip-in."

Once I got to the WO&D Trail, I went 5 or so miles on it before it was time to turn home. I was exhausted. I didn't eat breakfast. And had about 2 ounces of water left. Can't wait to hit the WO&D Trail again, though.

Total bike ride: 20.2 miles
Falls: 1
Hydration: Poor
Fatigue: High

Things I learned for next time: Bring more than an apple for a snack or eat breakfast first. Use the new 20oz water bottle I bought today, and bring the 12oz bottle as a back up.

The First Post

This is my first blog post, ever. I tried starting a blog once, as a distraction from law school finals. I didn't end up posting anything. Then I tried again with a friend who has since started her own awesome blog, but I wasn't successful in keeping up with it. Now I think I am ready.

I got a bike for my birthday about a month ago. I've been riding it regularly, and have fallen in love with biking. As of yesterday, I have decided to cut all meat (save fish!) out of my diet, permanently. There are a variety of reasons for this, and I think I'll wait for another blog post before I lay them all out.

As the title of this blog suggests, this blog is about my new life, as a pescetarian cyclist, and the random happenings along the way. Cheers!