The 39th running of the Register's (DesMoines) Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) was held the last week of July. It is the oldest, longest, and biggest ride of its kind -- not a race, but a gathering of between 10 and 15 thousand cyclists, and hundreds of support vehicles and camping tents. My husband Bob, 4 other friends, and I rented an RV for the week. We slept in the cool of our generator-produced air conditioning every night, and had the benefits of a refrigerator and running water. We took turns, each driving a day, and sometimes a little extra. The other days we rode and average of 64 miles each day. Well, some of us did. I, for one, rode more like 35 miles a day in the mornings before it got blistering hot, and the numerous hills got the best of me. Still, it was lots of riding, about which, at age 70, I feel quite proud. Part of the challenge for me was to ride raw all week, not as a contest, or to prove anything. Rather, I knew that if my nutrition was clean, and I was giving my exercising body raw, living, whole, easy to digest foods, I would have maximum energy for the riding itself. I knew that my body would not be working extra hard to digest things (like preservatives) that it was never designed to digest, nor would it be working overtime to handle meat, which takes a long time to process, nor cooked things which would also be toxin laden. In other words, I wanted to give myself the optimum situation to ride well, and be burdened with things like undue muscle fatigue, digestive upset, or unnecessary fatigue because of my diet.
So, if you're a biker, or other endurance athlete, or just want maximum performance from your beautiful body, stick with me for a few blogs here while I share with you just how I managed it all, and what I think were some really fine results. Next time I will write about the foods that I packed along with me for the week.
You're such an inspiration Jane, I can't wait to read more about your adventure and what you ate along the way!
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