The Winter of the Arctic Blasts

Winter started looking like this in early December and we stayed buried in snow until just last week.

Ahh, winter. My favorite season.... NOT!! Every year I hate winter a bit more and every year it seems to get worse. Well, this winter it did not seem to get worse, it did! The first snow storm hit in early December and we got pummeled by storm after stom for nearly four months. To make matters worse, without an El Niño or La Niña this year yet again, we were at the mercy of the jet stream and arctic fronts, with massive blocks of cold air dropping down frigid temperatures across nearly 2/3 of the country. It was a winter like I've never experienced before. In February alone we had 21 of 28 days below average and 14 of 28 days in which the high temperature for the day didn't even get above freezing. We had long stretches of temps in the teens and 20's and several record cold days. Above all, I think everyone on the east coast became familiar with the term Arctic Blast, and in my memory, the winter of 2013/14 will be in fact one big Arctic Blast. And to make matters worse, it's still not over. It may snow again tomorrow! It'll surely be a slow warm up and a below average Spring this year.

I hate the snow, but I had to stop and take this photo on my way to work on day.
I'll admit, it was really scenic.

That said, it's been miserable for cycling this winter. Usually I'll try to ride as much as is safe but with road conditions effected by the constant snow and ice storms, even the most dedicated hard-men I know hung up their bikes this winter. I tried to ride the rollers inside, but by mid- February I couldn't make myself go down into my 45 degree basement and spin the hamster wheel. I am unusually and depressingly out of shape. It was a rough winter and it's going to be a tough spring. It's hard to believe that just months ago I was flying up mountains, dropping groups of riders in Gran Fondi, and feeling the best I've ever felt on the bike.

But, it's time to get on with it. The annual Hell of Hunterdon ride, an epic 75mi romp over the steep hills and gravel back roads of Hunterdon County in the style of a Flemish Classic, is next Saturday. It's going to be hell in every sense of the word. After riding a bit this week (and getting too many flats) I am starting to feel a little better, but it's going to be nothing compared to last year's blitz of the course. Last year I averaged 18mph, this year I'll be happy to do 16mph. But I think everyone is going to be going a bit slower after this winter. What can you do? Let's just hope it doesn't rain.

So, what have I been up to this winter? A lot of cooking, baking, and eating. A lot of homemade pasta, artisan bread, some killer cookies... and that doesn't even include the usual giant Christmas feast! Every snow day (and there were a lot of them) was a chance to concoct another loaf, another batch of ravioli, etc. I guess if you can't get out and ride you might as well give up and get as fat as you can on good home cooking, right?! Below are just a few examples of some of the food I've made this winter:

Clockwise from top left: Homemade Spinach and Ricotta Ravioli with Portobello Mushroom and Grape Tomato a la Toscana; Homemade Spaghetti alla Norma; Creamy Polenta with Spinach, Onion, Cremini Mushroom, and Sundried Tomato; Orecchiette and Tuscan Braised Beans (not your typical Pasta e Fagiole)

Pasta with Spicy Seitan Sausage, Roasted Peppers, Eggplant and Garlic (see Vegetarian Cooking Tab for recipe)

Finally perfected my own pizza dough.

Are you hungry yet? Well, keep an eye out for lots of new recipies and additions to the Vegetarian Cooking page of this blog. Lots more to come this summer and hopefully some exciting announcements about new culinary ventures.

Besides that, who knows what the cycling season has in store for me this year. Maybe some traveling in the US for a change, probably not another trip to Italy this year, but I'll keep you all up to date. I'm just excited for the season to finally begin. It's been a long, cold, lonely winter. I've missed all my cycling buddies!

Product Review: Louis Garneau Speed Zone Vest and Sportful Hot Pack Rain Jacket

The Louis Garneau Speed Zone Vest in action.

There are a few pieces of apparel that every rider needs to fill in the gaps between summer and winter kit. A vest, or gilet as they are sometimes referred to, and a super lightweight packable rain jacket are two such pieces that are indispensable for a cyclist who wants to ride year 'round. Especially during the spring and autumn, when temperatures on a given day can change greatly and weather conditions can change suddenly, being prepared with a vest and rain cape in your wardrobe is essential.

Louis Garneau Speed Zone Vest

The vest I have grown particularly fond of is the Louis Garneau Speed Zone Vest. It is far from your run of the mill vest. The garment is meticulously tailored for a true Euro race cut and was developed in conjunction with World Tour Team Europcar. It has all the features a good vest should have: wind blocking material in the front, a well ventilated back, full zip with a long pull cord for easy adjustment even with long-finger gloves, a high collar and form fitting elastic around the waist and arm holes to avoid flapping in the breeze.
Where this vest really stands out is the ingenious back panel. Instead of having a full back, the bottom area, which would typically cover your jersey pockets, is cut away, replaced with a large elastic with silicone grippers at the bottom and thin elastic around the sides and top. Now, instead of struggling to access food or whatever else you might keep in your jersey pockets, you simply reach back and grab it. It's like you're not even wearing the vest! And race numbers pinned to your pockets peak right through.

When I saw this design I instantly needed to get my hands on one. After a couple of months waiting for it to come on the market, I placed my order. I was anxious to test it out and see how the design performed in a real world situation. After nearly two autumns and springs in the vest, I can say it performed outstandingly. It is the one garment that I am most proud to own and for some crazy reason, I've never seen anyone else with one!
The most striking thing about the vest is that people usually never even notice the design unless I point it out. I don't know if this is a compliment more to my cycling fashion sense of well matched kit or a testament to the cut and well thought-out design of the garment itself. Regardless, I hope to see more people out there sporting this, the best of all vests, this spring.

Sportful Hot Pack Rain Jacket
When it comes to cycling in the transition seasons, a lightweight rain jacket might be the most important item taking up some space in your jersey pocket. When I found out that I was going to Italy on the cusp of the rainy season, I knew it was time for a good rain jacket. After probably too much deliberation, I settled on trying out a company that was new to me, Sportful. The Italian brand has a great reputation, sponsoring World Tour team Saxo-Tinkoff (now Tinkoff- Saxo). There are two ways you can go with rain coats, somewhat fancy like those offerings from Castelli, or the basic version like the Sportful Hot Pack that I purchased. In my opinion, spending $250 on a rain jacket is a little absurd, so the $100 option made more sense to me.

That is not to say that the Sportful Hot Pack is shabby in anyway. If there is one thing I really hate, it's wearing something that isn't race cut and inflates in the wind to make me look like the Michelin Man. I've owned rain jackets like that and they've since been retired. The Hot Pack in size medium fit me like a glove and felt perfectly cut when on the bike. I purchased the black version. Probably not the best in terms of visibility, especially in that the jacket has no reflective features, but whether it's cycling clothing or street clothes, I wear a lot of black. Maybe one day I'll have enough money to wear Ferragamo (Italian designer from Firenze who is famous for most of his men's lines being black... and black).

Wearing the Sportful Hot Pack in Varenna, Lombardia

The jacket was even lighter than I could have imagined and it folded up into itself to be about the size of a baseball. I was impressed. For my rainy days in Lombardia, I had the Hot Pack either in my jersey pocket or on my body nearly the entire time. Even just throwing it on over a jersey and arm warmers kept me warm enough on the long Alpine descents. And due to the overlaid ventilation "ports" on the back I was able to wear it even on the toughest climbs without overheating.
How do I think the garment can be better? I mean, it's checks all the boxes for me, but some tasteful reflective details on the back might not be a bad idea considering when it's rainy visibility is often lessened. Besides that, if I wanted something even more pro and race cut, I could have spend the big bucks, but this jacket did everything I needed it to and more. I even wore it with my street cloths once on a rainy day in Orvieto just to stay dry. If that's not a compliment to its understated stylishness, I don't know what is.

Product Review: Pika Packworks EEP Standard Bike Travel Bag

The first question I get asked by cyclists and non-cyclists alike when I tell them that I went on a month-long cycling adventure in Italy is, "so did you bring your bike? Do you have a hard case?" The answers are yes and no, respectively.

Yes, traveling with a bike can be a bit of a hassle. Bikes bags are big and for us scrawny cyclists, they can be quite heavy. But, renting a bike for a month easily out-prices the cost, however high it is, of flying with your own bike. Finding quality bikes to rent in cycling meccas like Tuscany and Lombardia might not be very hard, but getting to them without a car and dealing with the hassle of setting them up so you are comfortable and efficient on epic rides makes bringing your own bike entirely worth the effort of dealing with airport baggage handlers and hiking through the ancient streets of European cities with a 50lb bag on your shoulder.

While having a hard case with wheels might seem like the way to go, it's just not practical. You might see an ad with Chris Froome endorsing some hard shell case, but do you think Chris Froome is hauling his bike around for himself? Not anymore, anyway. And even with the biggest travel budget, I don't think your travel will be nearly as glamorous as trekking around in that giant space ship of a bus employed by Team Sky. Hard cases are heavy, and even if you have wheels on the thing, between doors, cobbled streets, walk-ups apartments or tiny elevators in most European hotels, you're gonna be lifting that case a lot more than you might think.

This is where the Pika Packworks EEP (Exercise Equipment Pack) comes in. It is a very thickly, strategically padded bag for your bike that has become the best friend to many traveling cyclists, professional and amateur alike. It is light weight, making it easy to transport when transferring from airport to train, to bus, and so on. The all black exterior, made of super strong cordura fabric is very unassuming with the goal of helping you get through airport baggage claim without paying that huge fee (it's never worked for me though, they always know it's a bike). The interior of the bag is a neon yellow color, which is very helpful when you are in a dimly lit hotel room trying to find your y-wrench that you dropped to the bottom of the bag for the tenth time. And an abundance of handles and a padded detachable shoulder strap make the bag surprisingly easy to carry even while rolling a majorly overpacked carryon bag. Handmade in the USA with quality materials, this bag is impressive even to other travelers, who will definitely spend time staring at you trying to figure out what is in that massive case.

As far as function, I could not be any happier with the bag. After traveling both domestically and internationally with my bike, I can say I do so worry free. Aside from the airline possibly losing the bag, which they can do with anything, there is no worry about damage. And, by securing the bag with a TSA approved lock, your bag can be easily inspected without the TSA messing with you bike. I can't help but think that the yellow lining helps them too. With a few buckles around the perimeter of the bag and industrial strength zippers, you won't have to worry about it failing either.

Throughout my trip in Italy, I put the bag to the test, packing and unpacking my bike a total of four times. After traveling with the bag earlier in the year, I had a pretty good feel for the process. The first time took a little longer to figure everything out, but for the most part, it's really simple if you follow the illustrated instructions provided with the bag. By the second move (traveling by regional train you don't need to pack the bike, but by national and international trains you do) I had a system down and I could both reassemble and disassemble my bike in about 15 minutes. Here's my method to disassembling the bike with out a mechanic's stand:

Pop the bars off the stem, wrap in padded sleeve provided and strap to top tube; remove saddle and post from frame and slot into side interior side pocket; remove pedals and wrap in an old sock; remove wheels from bike, remove skewers and slot wheels into side interior pockets; lay frame down on the laid-down bag and remove the rear derailleur, then place it in the padded pouch provided which then straps between the chainstays; place the bike in the bag, then use remaining space to carry items that can't go in your carryon (a bag containing a knife, tools, chamois cream etc).Your helmet and shoes will fit right under the down tube and you're ready to go. Keep the bag under 50lbs so the airlines and your back will be happy.

While I'd be lying if I said I had any other experience with another bag, I can tell you that my experience with the Pika Packworks EEP has been nothing but positive. I can't see myself using any other product. I practically lived out of this bag for a month and it served me outstandingly. While other luggage may begin to fatigue after a few trips, after what I put this bag through, it looks in the same condition as the day I unboxed it.

Going beyond the usual product review, as I often do, here is some advice for those of you traveling with your bike:

1) For domestic trips that are short in length, just pack your bike in the bag. It'll be more like 30lbs. Pack the rest of your stuff either in a carryon or a second checked bag (if that is free).

2) For international trips, in which you can only bring a carryon and your bike bag, you're going to live out of your bike bag. Fill it up. This way, there isn't a lot of room if your bike moves around a bit. Some items that are not carryon-able must go in your bike bag. Once you get to your destination, use an expandable carryon bag, unload as much from your bike bag as you can if you are moving from place to place and save your back.

3) On my last transfer from Orvieto to Roma on a local train, I decided I didn't feel like packing the bike up. Instead I'd roll it, as well as my overpacked carryon bag, and sling the bike bag over my shoulder. I had some stuff in the bike bag as well. DON'T DO THIS. It's way too much to handle. The bike bag, even when empty is so big and awkward, your arms will never be long enough to roll your stuff. It took me nearly an hour to walk a kilometer like this. I tried everything, switching shoulders, bungee-cording it to my carryon (that didn't work because the bag is very unbalanced without the bike in it). It's a major pain in the ass, so don't make that mistake. It was probably the biggest effort I made during the entire trip, and I rode to Gran Fondi after all!

4) Like I said earlier, on regional trains there is a section of the first car which hold bikes, so either put your bike there (you have to purchase a ticket for the bike at the time you purchase your own ticket and remember to validate them both in the little machine before you leave the station). If your bike is in the bag, you don't have to do this. On bigger national and international trains, your bike needs to be packed just like on the plane. Try to purchase a seat near the end of the car near the baggage area. You can leave you bike bag there with no worries. If there isn't room in the baggage racks, just leave your bike in the corridor adjacent to it. No one will worry about it. It's not like in America. This advice is obviously for European travelers.

5) When you fly with the bag, remove the shoulder strap and place it inside the bag, this way baggage handlers are more inclined to lift if from the main handles and the stap can't get caught on something.
I ultimately decided to purchase the Pika Packworks EEP after reading several great reviews online. It's surely no secret that this is one of the best options for traveling with a bike. I hope by sharing my experiences with you, you can make a more informed decision when you consider traveling with your bike (which I highly recommend).

For more information about purchasing the bag, visit http://pikapackworks.com