Hello from portland

Portland maine that is.

I am so happy I found this board.

I am a raw vegan and an avid cyclist and bodybuilder.

I average about 330miles a week on my road bike and come the fall and winter I hit the weights hard.

I also do a lot of mountain biking

I did not think there were any like minded athletes out there like myself.

Hello & Welcome!

Welcome!

I'm also in Portland......but in Oregon I hear Portland, Maine is pretty awesome too!

Thanks for joining our group. Not only are there others out there who are vegan athletes, we have many hundreds right here on this site

We have a strong raw presence here on the forum and we have a number of cyclists and lifters, so you should feel right at home.

All the best, we look forward to hearing more from you.

Hey...finally someone that logs a crapload of road miles like me...I'm gonna drop to 250 so I can lift and get some leg power back but I'm gonna miss my 350-400mile weeks I did all summer.

I know you!!!!

Welcome aboard!

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a84/Bigbwii/fruit_got.jpg

Bigbwii, you do know me?

I have never posted before.

Sorry buddy I don't There's another raw vegan I know that is a cycling freak called Harley...but I remembered that he lives in Australia!

Oh well.....

Welcome Harley! Enjoy your raw stay!

Bigbwii, sorry to disappoint you but I am female.

VeganPotter,

Are you still riding a lot?

Welcome Harley!

We're almost state neighbors (Masshole here ).

I'm a cyclist also, mostly mountain, but I get out on the road a couple times a week as well. Heading up to the Kingdom Trails in VT in a couple weeks - woohoo!

Bigbwii, sorry to disappoint you but I am female.

 

VeganPotter,

Are you still riding a lot?

I'd like to but I'm trying something different...I'm starting to lift again and I'm riding about 200-250miles a week. I definately miss riding the 350-400 I did this summer but I think I'll get faster this way(I already feel a drop in endurance though). I'm also jumproping more and I'm gonna start doing some shorter speed workout intervals on my bike and on my feet. I'm waiting for thanksgiving and christmas break so I can put in the big miles again for a few weeks before I drop down again. Hopefully I'll be able to do a few 500 mile weeks(did one this summer and it hurt but after two weeks of 350 miles I felt so much stronger)

***So how much milage do you get in...you and finbarrio have gotta meet up on the road some time

Veganpotter, good to hear you are still riding. I am down to 200-250 miles a week and after this week i will only get training rides in on the weekend. Because of work I can only ride after work and with sunset coming so early I will not be able to get any trining rides in after work.

I will start commuting via mountain bike though but I do not count those miles. So far I got in 5300 mile since march. Not a lot of miles.

I totally notice that when I hit the weights (i.e. squatting, deadlifting) that it definitely helps my cycling.

Finbarrio, do you live on Cape cod?

Finbarrio, do you live on Cape cod?

Yes indeed. My wife (Yogita Chiquita on here) and I live in Yarmouth Port with our 2 dogs and a cat.

Do you know/ever visit the Cape?

We should all visit cape cod for some icy cold road cycling over Christmas...just kiddin...Virginia is cold enough for me in the winter. As for milage that sounds great...I doubt I'd be able to ride so much with a full time job...unless of course I did centuries every weekend. I just get to schedule my classes around my riding. I actually won't take a class I'm interested in if it hurts my schedule.

We should all visit cape cod for some icy cold road cycling over Christmas...

I'll get the fire going while you're gone.

I did a road-ride this morning and wore booties, full gloves and a windbreaker. I'll ride in the woods all winter, but I ain't going out on the road once it gets much colder.

Veganpotter, I wish I could schedule work around my cycling but it does not work out that way. I do priortize cycling before everything else other than work. Work does help support my cycling habit.

How is the lifting coming?

I am back in the gym now and loving it.

Which Vega bars do you liek the best?

Finbarrio, yes it is cold. I will start commuting via mountain bike this week and only get road rides in on the weekend.

My family all meets on the cape for 1 week in June, in Eastham. I usually get up early and ride the cape cod trail for 32 miles. It is FLAT so it is not challenging but at least keeps my legs spinning for the week I am there.

However, this past year when we were there it rained. So it was a crummy week to say the least.

I couldn't imagine having to wear my full gear already...today was cool at 70degrees but I know the 90+degree days aren't gone completely...can't wait for mid-october/early november though...I've gotta work my butt of just to sweat at all...once winter comes I'll gear up and just chiver in pain the whole time(I've got neoprene booties that hold me around 35degrees...any colder and I can't feel anything but pain)

As for work supporting your cycling...school supports mine since I spend my student loans on bike stuff...surely not the smartest thing to do but it sure if fun while I'm still ingnorant. In terms of the lifting...my upper body is getting much stronger but the legs are hard to judge. I know they're getting stronger but I don't give them a chance to rest so I won't see the full benefits until I start doing that(I hate days off)

As for the VEGA...I like the natural flavor in the bars and powder...YOU???

Veganpotter, I have not tried Vega yet that is why i asked. I am a raw vegan so I will jsut try the bars not the powder. I am looking for something to take before training and when travelling.

Do you have any pictures of your pottery? I love really cool pottery.

My myspace profile has some pics and I have more on here along with some drawings and vegan art pics:

http://www.care2.com/c2c/photos/view/36/743920056/

As for the bars...what other raw bars do you like...I love Lara bars but they're pretty worthless due to having so much fat

Veganpotter, you really are talented.

Glass blowing is awesome to. I wish I knew how to do it.

Do you sell your stuff?

As for the bars. I have about 10 lara bars my brother in law gave me but when i eat them I get really tired. I agree, way to much fat. So it looks like they will stay in my cabinet.

I like the raw crunch bars and the Govinda Power bars. The Govinda bars are dehydrated so I have to drink a lot of water or I get a stomach ache. I can only get them online though. We do not have much of a selection of raw stuff here in portland, me. So I have not tried a lot of stuff.

How is training coming this week?

Thanks a bunch As for selling I sell when I have time but school takes up alot of that. I've got a two month show up in a cafe in Baltimore right now and I have a big sale here in Richmond in November but I really do about 4 sales a year and sell little things to individuals in between.

Glass blowing sure is fun but its hell to learn how to do anything...it takes years to learn how to accurately make something that you imagine making so I just did it for fun...I'd still do it now but I got bronchitis this past winter from blowing and it kept me off the bike for a little over 3 weeks and I can't afford to do that again.

As for the bars I can eat a Lara bar for a snack if I'm not doing anything too stressful but not for workouts...or even just relaxing. I've eaten them on rides before and they make me feel like I should have just eaten french fries instead. As for the riding...all is well. I'm taking off the bike today but lifting with my legs(its raining to hard anyway) and depending on how I feel I'm gonna to a 65mile ride in the next two or three days...a heavy spinning interval workout...I'll take advantage of the nice cool weather while I can. How's your riding going???

Riding is going ok. Because it is dark early now I cannot get in training rides after work so I will get the long rides in on saturday and sunday. I am bike commuting and hitting the gym before I go home.

It is funny, now that I am hitting the weights hard I am hungry all the time. versus I can go for a long ride and not be at hungry as a 90-120min weight session.

I try not to eat the bars a lot because I avoid all processed food and even though they are raw bars they are still manufactured.

What type of road bike do you ride?

The sun defiantely stinks...when I left for Portland I was coming home with daylight at 8:30...now I've gotta be in by 7:45 and it hasn't been all that long. Once winter comes I can't be out past 4:30-45 so I'm gonna have to work around that for my tuesday/thurdsay rides. So what do you eat if you go out for a longer ride...Brendan Brazier carries dates with him so that sounds good to me

As for my bike I ride a CSK with full aluminum frame, aero carbon fork and full 105 groupo. I ride training wheels but I've got a sweet pair of spinergy carbons I throw on for kicks every now and then. I'm working on building up a tt bike from an awesome cannondale frame with carbon wheels and I'm gonna build that up with 105 too. Then I've gotta work on a track frame. I'm hoping my aunt can get my one in Taiwan for cheap(surely much less than half of what a bike costs here). After that I'll work on building up an ultergra/dura ace bike(something super stiff and hopefully in the low 16lb range). What do you ride???

That is what I carry. Dates, dates and dates. Instead of these commercial energy drinks I bring a water bottle filled with blended bananas, raisins or dates and a pinch of celtic sea salt. I found this is the only way I can eat bananas.

I ride a litespeed frame (titanium), a mix of ultegra and dura ace components (I upgrade as I wear things out-it is still a 9 speed), mavic helium wheelset, reynold ouzo fork and easton carbon handlebar, and Look pedals. This bike is my sole mate. Just turned 6 years old and more than 36,000 miles on him.

I am looking to buy the mavic kysrium ES wheelset. it is sweet.

I have done TT and I love them. I cannot afford another bike so I just throw areobars on the Litespeed and I am competative. Maybe someday I will have a separate TT bike. i know I would have better times with a TT bike.

Why stick with the 105 groupo? The Ultegra groupo is much lighter and durable.

it is nice to talk to a vegan about cycling. I do not know of any here where I live. At least I have not met any.

I got my TT frame on ebay for $180...it has two ironmans on it and thats all...its my size but uses 650 wheels so I got carbon wheels(from different people and brands) since people don't really bid on them any more I got both for around $500(the rear has one half ironman on it, and the front has a few time trials). Thats all I have for it so far but I've got all the real expensive stuff out of the way.

As for your bike it sounds sweet...my hs coach(a pro triathlete) had one and loved it(now he has a full carbon orbea). Titaniums awesome because you can never really upgrade that much with titanium unless you want carbon(assuming you think its better). Your bike must be super light weight(mines a bit over 17lbs).

As for the 105 thing...I'll just get that for my TT bike since its cheaper. Its not quite as stiff or durable but I won't be riding it all the time and I don't think stiffness is all that important since I would spin pretty hard on a TT so I wouldn't be torquing the bike so much(plus I already have the advantage of the 650wheels). I would upgrade my present road bike but I think by the time I'm done with my other bikes I'll be due for a better frame anyway...nothing too fancy...hopefully a bit stiffer and maybe two or three oz lighter(my frame and fork are 3.1lbs if I remember correctly). Hopefully the next road bike I get will also be discounted due to sponsorship(if I'm lucky)

How do you like your HELIUM wheelset??? I'm due to start looking for a new set...mine was built for me when I was 270lbs and now that I'm 200 I don't need so many spokes(32)...as for being a carbon nut I'm not one yet but I've got a sweet token carbon seat(nothing covering it but clear paint) thats only 133 grams...its quite comfortable too. I don't know if they'll ever make a carbon frame stiff enough for me so I'll stick to aluminum(Ti would be nice too)...I rode a non weight restricted carbon frame a few months ago and it felt like it was made with cardboard compared to my frame.

***Oh...I also have a fix gear conversion commuter. A nice new old stock handmade swiss frame...and my dream cruiser is a vegan built Orange Vanilla Cycles frame with custom stainless steel lugs...it would be my show off bike I'd almost never ride other than nights on the town and maybe organized flatish centuries