WAIT!!!! Blog posts coming!

Hawaii parts 1,2, and 3 are on the way. Mike and I are writing the blogposts now and we will be sure to post them ASAP! But until then, you'll just have to sit and wait....perhaps with a banana? papaya? Coconut water? hmmmm..............

Be right back, I got some chilled ONE coconut water in the fridge in fact. =)
Coming soon...promise [that's what....sigh.....nevermind]

Holy F....I cannot run anymore!

Well first off, ALOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHA.
The weather? Do you really wanna know?
The food? Do you really wanna know?
The people? When do you want me to stop?
Bikini-clad-women-holding-surfboards? Umm....yes.
Giggling when they see a skinny runner with shaved legs running towards them?
Let's just say, I heard this comment uttered by 2 japanese tourists as we waited at a stop light
[you can tell they're burning holes through my pants]: "Oishisou ne"
That means: [literally] Delicious looking.

Now surely, I thought they were referring to my fabulous euro hawk. Why? Because honestly, I say the same DAMN THING!

Okay but onto serious matters, since I started being a devoted cyclist, I haven't been running at all for the last 2 months. And what do I do after a hard set of V02 intervals? Run 7 miles at a 6 minute pace. Whoa nelly. I'd rather suffer on my bike than go through that experience. I felt sooooooooooo slooooooooooooow. Not only that, everything hurts! And so I'm reminded that my body is - despite being vegan - fragile. It's going to react when you throw down 7 miles miles 'just cuz'. But did it feel good? Yezzir.
Did I do it in my favorite pair of running shoes? Yezzir.
Did I rest up in the jacuzzi with a vegan protein shake and THREE Cashew cookie larabars.
Oh yeah.
Jealous? Bet you are. Just ask your cousin. She knows whatsup. =)

But aloha everyone, the weather is fine. And now onto the finer things in life: MORE LARABARS!!!!

Oh snap, Vegan Pizza part deux!

Yup, mom and I had vegan pizza [again]. Was it good? Eh...this one was okay. I had something called the smiling cow....soy sausage, pepperoni, onions and bell peppers. Mom had a forgettable stuffed cabbage dish. But hey, at least I got a chance to try the soup and hummus! She was generous tonite! thank you mom!

So those are the pics from the evening. I enjoyed the meal and am happy. Weather today in SF: Rain and 50 degrees. Weather in HI: 81 degrees, sunny. Hmmmm...guess where I'll be this weekend?!

Hard workout tomorrow. Ugh....'Nice...umm...not really'. Those would be the words that come to mind. BTW, am reading a really cool book called 'Heft on Wheels: A field guide to doing a 180". Awesome book about a 260 lbs dude turned 175 lbs lean cyclist. Funny book. Guy was an alcoholic and chain smoker, gave that shit up and started cycling and eating better.....but not vegan so we can't say 'Bestest' but you get the idea.

What's this?! Vegan Pizza?! Oh yeah.

Two right here please....and thank you.

What's all that goodness you say? That would be vegan with melted 'cheese' pizza consumed at Fellini's restuarant in Berkeley. That day, I put in a solid 85 miles on the bike with some of the 35+ Master pros on Cal Giant Berry. And let me say, I think 50 is the new 24 cuz those blokes can drop some serious wattage. Bulging thighs and lots of horsepower made Saturday's ride epic.

Some of the boys at Clif Bar came out for the fun too which was good....good for me because I can steal all their Clif Bar products when they are guzzling their coffee [yeah, 2 shot blocks with no caffeine please].

I digress. Mom and I decided to try vegan pizza at this famous place in Berkeley. Berkeley, for those of you that don't know, is the 0nly communist city in America. The aesthetic is ripped courdery jeans with fixed gear bikes and people with scruffy beards named Zach or Josh. Yeah, a bunch of hippy, Birkenstock-wearing wannabe vegans. They're wannabe vegans because they dont walk around with a tshirt that says "Go Vegan" which is underneath another tshirt that says "Distance Runners Do it Longer". Word son.

I digress....yet again. Mom started with a kale and soyrizo soup which she promptly finished....and then she finished my hummus and garlic pita bread. How was it? Gee, I wouldn't know. Thanks mom. =) Next up were 2 fabulous pizzas with hefty dousings of Parma. I had something called a 'Paisano'. This was roasted red bell pepper sauce on gluten free dough, potatos, chopped tomatoes and soy cheese. Mom had a garlicy pesto with tons of greens and soy cheese. All in all, we stuffed our bellies and then we ate some more. As if being vegan wasn't already la dolce vita, this meal affirmed that yes, vegans [wee-gans to some] do have it good. Combine those pizzas with a skinny, faux-hawk-wearing, shaven-legged cyclist and you've got a cheerful guy whose excited about....

RETURNING TO HAWAII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH YEAH! VACATION TIME. WHY? BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID. Wait. That didn't make sense. Let's start over. WHY? BECAUSE IT'S 80 DEGREES, MY FAVORITE RUNNING SHOES AWAIT AND I JUST SO HAPPEN TO BE CRAVING HAWAIIAN PAPAYAS.

Mothers, hide your daughters. Okay, no need to go that far. But rest assured, papaya farmers, your ass is grass.

Are you a....Wee-gan?

Today, I was referred to as a 'Wee-gan'! Of course, this guy had a heavy Indian accent which is fine but it was interesting at first. I didn't know what to think! I was like 'okay asshole, I get it, I don't eat meat and you do. Okay.' But no, this guy was genuine and I soon realized that 'wee-gan' = 'vee-gan'. Of course, many Indians are vegetarian and I can also respect that. But you can only imagine my facial expression when I replied 'A what?'.

So I was doing some V02 intervals on the bike and the most ironic thing happens. The song 'Dont Worry Be Happy' comes on. I mean, seriously? Gimmie a break! Here I am suffering, getting ready to go into oxygen debt when lo and behold, I hear a guy whistling tellming to smile more. Hah. Gotta love that coincidence.

This San Francisco weather is very strange as of late. One day I'm out soaking up some Vitamin D, next minute I'm freezing my okole off, inside eating a middle eastern dish. And it was really good and I want to try and replicate it soon. Basically she uses rice [I'll probably use Brown rice], lentils and grilled onions. That's it. Yep, nothing more, nothing less. Maybe I'm going to add in some Spike and Bragg's liquid aminos? Hmm....I think this occassion calls for me attempting to make risotto in the rice cooker...the true athletes lazy-guide to cooking I think. All right you wee-gans and fellow non-wee-gans, keep those feet moving and let's have a good weekend. For the first time in weeks, I won't be racing my bike. Sigh....a much needed weekend off. Whew.

Not shabby San Francisco

Had a pretty cool moment today at lunch. I got my favorite vegan falafal sandwich with all the fixins' [hummus, eggplant, lettuce, avocado, hot sauce, tomatoes and cucumber] and sat outside in the San Franciscan sun. It was a nice moment. Add to this a full stomach and a reclining chair and chances are good that the work day would be over. Unfortunately, this wasn't possible just like previous dream of becoming a pro NBA ball player. Sigh....

Apparently, Lindsey Vonn won in the olympics for the downhill ski event. I wish I knew what the hell this was and why it's significant but truth be told, I could care less about winter sports with the exception of the winter olympics. So after it's through, let's give it a 4-year breakup and talk again in 2014. Wait...holy shit....in 2014, I'll be 29!?!?!?!?! Oh HECK no!

Scary thought, let's shift gears. Speaking of shifting gears, had a good day on the bike but my legs are still fried from 3 hard days over the weekend. My form of active recovery comes in the form of banana-kale-smoothies, larabars, and pasta. I have it in my mind that the more I eat, the better I can recover. Not sure if that's working but I am eating like a spoiled vegan with too much Parma on his hands. Yeah...it's been good. And what better way to call it a night than to sip on a glass of red wine [gasp! a rare sight!], watching the 10pm Sportscenter.

p.s. Tiger Woods apparently will make a statement on Friday. Should go something like this:
Tiger: "I want to apologize to Lucy, Carrie, Mary, Sally, Susan, Margaret, Jennifer, Sarah, Amy, Jennna, Danniele, Alexis, Rachel, and Kara. I enjoyed our time[s] together but now, I have to spend time[s] with Eilen. At least, I still got the big bertha.....I meant the driver by the way."

Nice to know that today is Tuesday already!

But it came at a price...my legs were hurtin' today. Safe to say that I broke people off a new one on some of the climbs yesterday and Pine Flat RR but I also tore a new one into my okole [Hawaiian for 'ass'...you prolly guessed that didn't you?]. Consequently, I opted to stand whenever possible, thank you very much.

In other news, today was my first attempt to eat 3500 calories. Did I do it? Nope. Truth is, it's just hard to eat that many calories especially when it's not coming from the lovely kitchens of Cafe Gratitude, Herbivore, my mom's kitchen or when Emily's mom force-feeds me Chinese food [good food at that though!]. I swear, she buys half the damn store when she goes grocery shopping for the week!

Oh, that reminds me, I forgot to share pics of grocery shopping yesterday but I pretty much remember it by heart.
30 bananas [4-5 days AT MOST]
5 Clif Shot Blocks [no caffeine of course]
1 Box of Cashew Cookie LaraBars cuz the Coco Cream ones blow. ;-) [I know you know!!]
Lots of Steel cut oats......my vegan anti hero friend....there's MORE THAN ENOUGH for you and me....but only for a day or so. Then the fangs come out.
Brown rice pasta [3 bunches]
Whole Soy Mixed Berry Yogurt
Arrabiatta Sauce

k, question: I thought pesto was made WITHOUT cheese. So how come every damn jar of pesto I looked at had like 4 types of cheeses in it? Frankly, it's been so long since I've had cheese that I wouldn't know the taste but really, can you honestly say that pesto is good cuz of the cheese or because of the fresh basil, pine nuts and EVOO?!?!?!?! I ended walking out empty handed cuz all the pesto sauce was not vegan. Whole Foods Pesto: FAIL.

What else, what else....oh but of course, happy valentines day to all of my female readers [even if you get hit on by older men!]. Look at it this way, at least you didn't spend your valentines day after a bike race, thoroughly throttled legs, eating a vegan sandwich at whole foods and listening to italian trance music. Evelyn and I had a great day, she was obedient and responsive to all of my needs. Perfetto.

Not too much worth mentioning on the Tuesday Download. Only song I've decided to download was off the Armin Van Buuren State of Trance February, Track 1, 'And we flew away'. A decent track to put in some miles on. And on that note, it's time to throw back a Stevia-sweetened, gluten-free, corn-free, vegan cola. Bottoms up.

Living the Pro Life...sorta

Let me get rid of the 800 lbs. elephant in the room: YES! I completed the faux hawk and it is now officially a 'Euro-mullet'. Not only that, my barber left a little 'ponytail' at the end as a kind of icing on the cake...or rather the parmesean on the pasta?!?!?! any takers? Rats, I was 'trying' to be Euro for a moment. Sigh...guess I do need to start wearing ripped jeans and get diamond studs?!

Now, about that pro life.
Saturday morning I departed for the Cantua Creek RR in the middle of nowhere, CA. Google it and you'll find it really is in the middle of nowhere. Not surprisingly though, this place fills up with crazy-ass cyclists bout this time each year. My group was full with 50 peeps and the race was a nice 52 miles. Not too bad. What made the course interesting were the long, LONG straight sections. Which made attacking really stupid cuz now we can all see you down the road! Simply put: It's like a bull chasing the red. Anyways, attacks went on and matches were consistently burned left and right. Pointless...almost like Oprah magazine. Not that I know, mind you!

Anyways, second lap begins and I throw down 600 watts for 30 seconds and no one is there. Soon enough 2 guys bridge and we have a break that sticks! Woo hoo! We start motoring and then I realize how in the red zone I am! I am truly suffering just to stay in the break! And that's when I stand up out of the saddle and realize I had been riding with a flat all day. Of course it gets worse and I'm forced to pull over and the break goes on with out me. And to think, those guys went 1 and 2! AAAAAHHHHH! By the time I replaced the wheel, the main group had long passed. I hopped on the bike and was bound to TT it all the way in. Crossing the line I knew I was gunna make people pay tomorrow.

That night, I found the whole foods in Fresno, pounded 6 bananas, a Stevia Cola [cola sweetened with Stevia and caffeine free! yes!] and a quality vegan sandwich [I was also introduced to 'field roast' a tofu alternative to a roast...super good!]. The hotel I stayed at was clean, friendly staff and that's about it. Rap music blared out at odd hours but I slept soundly for the most part!

Up at 5am to race Pine Flat. A climbers course with a 2 mile club at the end and then one more climb to the finish. The type of people that showed up for this race was very different than from yesterday. No big thighed guys but instead, slender and lean folks all with climber physiques. Of course, me not knowing what the hell I am I just went along and said 'in my country...they would go crazy for this one! that one...eh...not so much' [from Borat the movie]. Race began and the bunch stayed together. People were nervous about the major climbs and as well they should be. I was gunna f their shit up. No doubt.

Climb begins and pace is fast. I'm in the top 5 group and I see a lull - legs not turning correctly - and then I attack [there was one guy up the road at the time] @ 500 watts for 30 seconds. Only one guy can hang and he and I decide to jam it on the downhill together. It was narrow and windy but very cool to hit speeds at 77 km/h. Suddenly, I drop my chain and he pulls away. Oh well to second place. At which point, I TT it in for a podium spot and third place. Not too shabby I say. =)

p.s. I ate field roast again tonite. Go get you some and holler at a brother when you try it. Don't say I didn't warn you about it's addictive properties though...

What's this? Michael Chua? Veganism?

Made ya look huh? Suckaaaaas.

Not but really though, does this mean Mike Chua is a v-v-v-v-v-v-v-v-very vegan man?

As Homer Simpson says..."Communism, in theory, works too." So the answer is no. He is not. He is still in the dark but from our discussion today, I hear he reads this blog [boo-yah!] and decided that he needs to incorporate some of my diet in his life.

Hmmmm....more fruits and vegetables? Is it really that tough to do? Let's ask Chairman Mao.

Alex: So Mr. Chairman Mao, what are your thoughts on fruits and vegetables?

Mao: Wine is made from fruit...drink wine! I do with my 4,596 hostesses! Vegetables...good for digestion! Why do you think I can continue to..to....to.......wait, what the f**k was I talking about?

In short, if Chairman Mao thinks it's a good idea, you probably need to eat more fruits and vegetables too [or rather, roots n' shoots!].

If it were me though, I'd throw in a couple more bananas. Check that, a butt load of bananas....the size of Kathy Lee...errr...scratch that. Bad image.

But seriously, my night was good. Felt like superman on the bike. After V02 max intervals, I did 8 more intervals just cuz that's what she said. That doesn't make sense. Sigh.....

Dinner was with mom and she bought some delicious mushroom and barley soup, brown rice pasta and spiced cole slaw with almonds. Not bad.

Pics:

1) Mike Chua 'faking' Veganism. But hey, gotta fake it till ya make it you know what I'm saying?

[Amelia: Yes, I know what you're saying!]

2) I went so fast, I can't even take a picture without moving.

3) Where the pain [magic] happens.

Euro-trashing continues on Saturday

In a few days, I'll be ready for the true italianization of my life. It's been almost two weeks since I got the faux-hawk a-la Damiano Cunego & Giovanni Visconti [I added him, he seems to be the next in line for bad-ass italians that sport faux-hawks too]. If you recall, I was ordered to give it 2 weeks for 'the hawk' to grow, at which point, it gets cut short. How short? Well, they will take a 3 to the sides to make it truly sand out! Errr.....

And now for the finishing touch, they're going to leave a little bit of the end long like a pony tail of some sort. Apparently, this sort of thing is popular too in Europe. Am I excited? Umm....hell yes! Thus far, the euro-mullet has been turning heads and bodies =). The big jump will be getting a total wardrobe change to match the haircut. What's that mean? Well, I won't dive into detail but most likely tight -fitting jeans [do they get smaller than a waist 29?], skinny tshirts and a compulsive need to crop-dust Parma and Spike on everything [my version of Parmesean].

Today was my first V02 max interval workout. Safe to say at times it really, really, and I mean REALLY blew the entire horse's...ya know. Yeah. I'm coming to terms with the notion that 'training' must be done around 180 bpm which is high enough to put most meat-eaters in cardiac arrest. Hah! Serves you right! jk. What if I'm not? =)

An Alex moment happened at lunch today. I was sitting down, getting jiggy with my Italian language book when I overheard someone say 'dammnit! do I have to be on top of you 24/7'. I took a bite of my sandwich, mulled over it a moment and thought.........

.......c'mon, do you REALLY need me to tell you what I thought! ;-)

D-Day +1, So far so good

Per the last post, last night was my first official night in my new place. And for the record, I was freezing my little ass off. Wanna know how hot it is right now? 70 degrees F inside! Am I still cold? Hell Yes! Truth is when I burned all that fat from meat, I lost my insulation [thank god] along with my sanity =)

Mondays are always rough for me not because of the hard weekend of cycling but because...well, it's Monday. Who likes this day anyways? Good news is: It's over. Bad news: Tuesdays will be a painful effort on the biccicleta. V02 max intervals = blows. What makes it all better? soy yogurt? That's one! Chopped strawberries with agave? Two! Chocolate-soy Oatmeal with a nice spoonful of almond butter? Perfetto.

Seriously, if you do one thing this weekend, go out, get some steel cut oats and make oatmeal. Simple, add water, boil, light simmer, done. Then pour in some chocolate soy milk to give it a solid flavor and a generous spoonful of almond butter. Stir up and throw in a banana or two [or three] and you've got the Anti-Atkin Vegan form of heaven in a bowl. Trust me, I'm a Doctor! [cue cheesy ass Dr. Pepper ad]

So the Saints won....more basketball?

I'll admit...I had the colts by 5. And then Peyton Manning throws a pick...wham, bam, thank you ma'am. And just like that, I owe a latte to someone tomorrow. Sigh.

In other less astonishing news, I've officially moved into my new place. Yes indeed, this bachelor pad is set and catered to the endurance athlete. You're probably thinking [actually, you're probably NOT thinking] what's in the fridge?
6 Whole Soy Mixed Berry Yogurts. Wow. Stupid good. So good, you feel stupid.
2 bins of California Strawberries. Yes, life is good in Cali.
18 bananas. How long will that last? Maybe...maybe, 4 days.
6 lbs of low-fat Meusli
2 jars of Pasta Arrabiatta sauce. This stuff is fire - literally!

Outside of the fridge, packets of brown rice pasta, fettucinni to be specific.
And as far as condiments go....let's just say I got the essentials covered.
Spike - what doesn't go well with Spike?
Parma - Why else become a raw vegan?
Agave - My crack.
Chalula Hot Sauce - cuz Tabasco = Wack.

And so tonite is the first night in the casa bianca. It's definitely got a rustic Italian feel to it. Now all I need is a personal chef, 5,439 boxes of Chocolate-Coconut LaraBars [cuz 5,438 wouldn't suffice], a stunning Italian super model for a language teacher, good weather, good food, good company and some good vibes and this place will be happenin'.

Until then, the laundry calls, and I'm getting tired of this particular song on my iPod [currently BEEN listening to:Pharrell, She's an Angel]. Hope you weekend was good and restful. Early night for meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Friday...it was a good day

Nothing says Friday quite like sitting in your [reclining] chair, listening to Stacy's Mom on the iPhone. Yes indeed, I enjoy the good life. Complete with all the vegan goodness that comes along with it. And what would that include: Well, let's start off with 2 uber-ripe bananas tossed in some low-fat [hah] museli with chocolate soymilk. Add to this some agave nectar and you've just made the breakfast I have been consuming the past ump-teen-months now.

So it started off well and then at work, Stacy's Mom came on the screen...I dont mean like came on as in....ah...you sick people. Grow up will you! No, it started playing and from there things went a little like this:
1) Broke around 10:45 to have a wonderful coffee break with CJ where we discussed all things euro and how i need to pierce my ears with diamond studs.
2) Met up with Chua for lunch and I had the non-saturated-non-greasy-non-animal-non-gross-non-gee-I-want-to-vomit-now vegan wrap. He, on the other hand, did NOT have the vegan alternative =)

After that, we walked around the ferry building and it was a 'nice' San Francisco day. Nice = not raining and some sun. Alex's version of a 'nice' day = Honolulu. All. Damn. Day.
3) Had a choice encounter with Pearle who tried to persuade me to eat Lard candies. Yes, candies made of lard. Let me puke. ************puking*************
K, back. Then she had a salami sandwich to 'top it all off'. Puke again, hold on.
**************puking****************
k, back.
And now, it's almost wine-o-clock and I'm off to drink with some buddies before getting take out at my favorite vegan burrito place. Yeah, Fridays are good....just not Hawaii good.

Testing Hell - O.M.G.

As I hinted on in an earlier post, today was a test day for Evelyn and I to see where we stand in our relationship. What was the test? No, it was not who could eat more bananas [I'd win], cause more suffering [she'd win] or snort the most lines of wasabi [loooong story, dont ask].

Testing today was a 5 minute test of my power to see where I'm at. There were 2 five minute tests and as you cna see, I left little to chance on the first one while the second, I totally laid an egg.

Test numero uno:
Time: 5 minutes [duh]
Heart Rate: 180 bpm
Cadence: 113 rpm
Power: 340 w

Test numero due [pronounced dooh-eh in Italiano]
Time: 5 minutes
Heart Rate: 179 bpm
Cadence: 109 rpm
Power: 312 w <--Yeah, that was pretty slow.

That first test hurt so much, I walked away feeling grateful about a lot of stuff in my life =)
Like how tests like these make that 'bad burrito' more appealing, or Angelina Jolie's lips less gargantuous [why do people like her?]. Ya know, stuff like that.

In other news, I made a boo-boo at work that took a huge chunk of my time and I was FORCED to eat a massive vegan falafal. It wasn't me, it was....YO MAMA! =) Her falafals rock my world.............


.......among other things. ;-)

Bad Burrito

To say that my vegan burrito sucked would be like calling the battle of little big horn a discouraging afternoon. I got out eager to try this new mexican join that supposedly serves a mean vegan burrito:
tons of guacamole, blackbeans, red rice, steamed veggies, lettuce, salsa all between a whole-wheat wrap? All this for under $7. Okay, I'm listening.

I walk there and it's kind of in the sticks - sometimes a good thing. In this case though, I was greeted by loud-mouth, wide-nosed, heavy-breathing bankers/brokers/jokers/tokers/smokers all looking for their mexican fix. Only good thing was the 'big boys' had gotten their burrito[s] before I did and so there was no line. Having said that, I wish there was a line so that I could haul ass outta there.

It was unremarkable and totally forgetful. I guess that's why I'm feeling a bit blue today. That or the notion that it's a rest day and I don't like not doing anything. I feel so Kylie-Monogue-ish [what the hell does that mean?]...ya know...skinny but I really don't do shit and am undeserving of it. Only good thing is the Tuesday Download.
Robbie Rivera put out a new album called 'Closer to the Sun'. Not too shabby except he's a few months early for that. Oh wait but if I was still in Hawaii I wouldn't have that problem. Correct-o-mundo senorita.

And now, time to do what I do best: Fantasize about all the crazy running and cycling apparel I only wish I could buy. Sigh....

...it gets worse

For those that thought the faux-hawk was bad enough....I got news for you young lady.

Not only is the faux-hawk here to stay but....I've decided to learn italian. Whoa man. I know what you're thinking "well that's easier than Japanese". Yes indeed, it is. No dealing with kanji, katakana, hiragana and all kindsa-drama.

La bella lingua as it's called, is a very cool language simply because I exaggerate everything to the nth degree. Rolling of the R's is more than just making your tongue flop but for me I'm like RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRrrrrr. Yeah, safe to say this faux-hawk thing is having an effect on my learning.

How's the faux doing in public? Tough to say really. San Francisco is kind of a silly city to begin with full of people who order frappachinos and mochachinos. So to say that this was something new to the average gay guy on the street would have been foolish. One thing was for certain though, people did notice at my job. And with great pride [shame], I told them I had gone euro. Naturally, they wanted to swap currencies with me but I told them to hold onto their bloody knickers before I stuff some parliaments up their fannys. Ahem.

Anyways, today's food log is above. Under 2000 calories for once! Oh thank heaven. Err...maybe close but I think I got it under 2000. Didn't think I could do it myself.