Bridges as additional living/playing spaces

Cool pics and concepts  from Ronald Rael, Principal at Rael San Fratello Architects. Use existing bridge structures (assuming they can hold extra weight) to construct new homes!

I dig the idea of creating additional urban living and playing spaces in densely populated areas. But my main concern is... what about all of the pollution coming out of the tailpipes of the cars and trucks that use the bridge? Maybe this is even safer than living on a busy street because of the ocean/bay breezes? (using the Bay Bridge as an example, perhaps not as applicable say, over the Mississippi.) And then, of course, there's the noise factor... but again, people live relatively close to busy highways and seem to do okay.

 

Check out the article from Treehugger - Bridges are for People.

Inspiration!

Kick ass female athletes who rock their sports. And rock lil bikinis.

Check it.

What are your four pounds?

How much do you eat in a day?

About four pounds of food. At least that's what this post discusses, along with some comparisons among processed foods vs. whole foods, as well as within the various food groups. Example - 4 pounds of veggies ~ 400 calories and 4 pounds of Lucky Charms, Pop Tarts and Cheese ~ 10,000 calories.

We get to choose (unlike say, my cat) what kinds of foods are going to make that 3-5 pounds of food we are going to enjoy each day. Enjoy your choices :)

This sh!t is bananas

A bold statement, to say the least...
"This Post Will Change Your Life."

What is IT? Banana soft serve... essentially bananas whipped into a soft-serve like texture.

I'm willing to give it a shot. I have a small food processor and several naners ready to be frozen (meaning, they're all speckled and soft). You best believe I will be topping it with chocolate sauce of some variety.

Speaking of ice cream...If you're not a raw foodist (I mean, really, who isn't these days... ;) ), but not into the cow's milk ice cream for health, digestive or vegan-ish reasons... Three Twins Stormy Night. Made with rice milk. Chocolate with chocolate pieces. Faneffingtastic. You should come visit me if you want to get some, since there's a Three Twins (a dangerous) four blocks away. (AM - I'm looking at you, next time you're up here for a Nike Run...I mean, when you're not on tour) Three Twins doesn't (don't? it's a singular store, but the name implies more than one) always have Stormy Night, but they always have at least one vegan option on tap. Mint chip is also great (sorry, MW). Sometimes the vegan option is a sorbet, which doesn't really seem like an ice cream alternative to me, but refreshing and sweet.

And, of course, they have 4-5 cow's milk ice cream available too. Fancy flavors like Earl Grey and Strawberry Balsamic, as well as normal ones too.

Delicious, organic, local... Ahh.Yay. Eating in the Bay Area.

The SNAP! and HR training

I subscribe to RoadBikeRider's weekly newsletter. Interesting tidbits, training techniques and biking news. Thought I'd share some with you today...
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Improve Your Snap

Good riders can accelerate quickly. We're not talking about race-winning sprints but rather the ability to close small gaps fast.

Ever find yourself off the back after the group rounds a turn or leaves a stop sign? A 15-foot (5-m) gap opens and it takes an inordinate amount of time and effort to close it.

Snap is what we call the ability to quickly shoot across small gaps to return to the shelter of the pack. Doing it well -- before little gaps become gulfs -- is crucial when riding with a group.

Snap is important on solo rides too. It's what you need to zip past threatening dogs or get through an intersection when the light suddenly turns yellow.

It's easy to improve your snap using a simple drill. Try this during any ride after you've warmed up:

---Shift to a relatively big gear (say, 53x15-teeth) and accelerate hard for 10 seconds. Don't stand, just stay in the saddle. The effort should feel about 90% of maximum. Use good form, pushing the pedals evenly and firmly. Keep your upper body steady. Resist rocking from side to side in an attempt to generate more power because this mainly wastes energy.

---Shift back to an easier gear and resume your normal cruising speed. After about 5 minutes do another hard acceleration, this time out of the saddle. Repeat every 5 minutes, alternating between sitting and standing for a total of 5-8 reps.

Do this little workout once or twice each week for a month. After that, you'll be snapping up gaps with ease.

Tip!  These brief accelerations also are great for waking up your legs in the middle of long rides. They'll actually help you feel fresher.

Kirby's tip: Do this every effing day when you're commuting. Seriously, I accelerate to make lights, to beat cars across a few lanes of traffic (when I start before them, of course) and after most stop lights. I'm pretty sure this helps me out when I'm on an actual road ride. If you're a bike commuter, give it a shot and see if it helps your overall fitness! Note to me... keep it up for 10 seconds. I'm guessing I'm doing more like 5.
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When we discuss heart rate training, as in last week's newsletter, we often warn against using the ubiquitous formula that says to find maximum HR by subtracting your age in years from 220.

Why? Because if it's right for you, it's just dumb luck.

Let's say you're 45. Using this formula, your max HR would be 175. But it could actually be anywhere from 164 to 186 (or even outside this broad range) because the formula has a standard deviation of 11.

So if you calculate training zones using the max HR produced by this formula, you'll very likely be training at intensities too low or too high.

Which begs the question:  How'd this flawed formula come to be?

The interesting answer comes from Gabe Mirkin, M.D., a doc we respect because he's a lifelong athlete who at 74 still rides 200 miles (322 km) a week. At his website, http://www.drmirkin.com, he specializes in making sense of new medical research that impacts health and athletic performance.

Dr. Mirkin says that "although this 220-minus-age formula is the golden standard used today, it is not based on science." Here's why:

"In 1970, a good friend, Sam Fox, was the director of the U.S. Public Health Service program to prevent heart disease. He is one of the most respected heart specialists in the world.

"He and a young researcher were flying to a meeting. They put together several studies comparing maximum heart rate and age.

"Sam Fox took out a pencil and plotted a graph of age verses maximum heart rate and said it looks like maximum heart rate is equal to 220 minus a person's age.

"A pencil mark has been the accepted formula for nearly 40 years. It has been taught in physical education and heart function courses . . . but the whole concept of maximum heart rate and this formula is ridiculous."

Dr. Mirkin continues, explaining that for cyclists, "Your legs drive your heart. Your heart does not drive your legs. Maximum heart rate depends on the strength of your legs, not the strength of your heart.

"When you contract your leg muscles, they squeeze against the blood vessels near them to pump blood from your leg veins toward your heart. When your leg muscles relax, your leg veins fill with blood. So your leg muscles pump increased amounts of blood toward your heart.

"This increased blood fills the heart and causes your heart to beat faster and with more force. This is called the Bainbridge Reflex that doctors are taught in their first year of medical school. The stronger your legs are, the more blood they can pump, which causes your heart to beat faster."

In Dr. Mirkin's view, you can forget heart rate for training purposes. His approach is much like the one we've been recommending for years at RBR.

Do the following, he says, if you're in good health and have no heart problems:

"Three times a week, never on consecutive days, either race or push the pace so that you are at your anaerobic threshold and then use bursts to exceed it to become short of breath. On the other four days, take it easy and do not put pressure on your muscles."

His "anaerobic threshold" is what RBR calls "lactate threshold." It's easy to find (although a bit painful). It's the point where a slight amount of additional effort turns steady deep breathing into shallow panting.

Whatever heart rate this occurs at is the heart rate that really matters when you are seeking serious improvement. No formula needed.
Kirby's comment: I've heard that the 200-Age for Max HR isn't totally accurate, but I didn't know that it came from a back-of-the-napkin kind of calculation. Crazy! The way that it was taught in gym class, you'd think that your heart would EXPLODE if you went over that Max HR. I think the concept that I highlighted in yellow holds some good ideas. Go hard, hard to the point of pain on a regular basis. But give yourself time to recover. Of course, what about a bike ride or run or gym workout that involved a limited (like say, ONE really tough hill or that very last set) amount of anaerobic threshold + excess? Could you do that again the next day? I'm guessing that it's the sustained efforts that require a day off, where short bursts are okay repeated. Of course, the fitness benefits are probably higher with the longer durations at those lactate/anaerobic/pain+ thresholds.
  

The mighty coconut

I'd like to give props to the coconut. 

• Ex-boyfriend / now friend that I cooked with a lot this summer (the one that I was gushing about back in June) cooks with coconut oil, which is awesome, and I totally picked up that technique. 
• According to the jar, you can use coconut oil as a moisturizer/lotion (and pretend like you're on a tropical island - not sweet enough to be that Malibu Rum/stripper smell)! 
• And last night, I made a vegetable curry with coconut milk. 
• And I've been reading about how coconut milk is a fantastic sports & recovery drink. 

Anyway... if you can get your hands on a jar of coconut oil, it's good stuff. I found it to be cheaper than olive oil and it adds a nice flavor to veggies. (though I can buy California olive oil and this is, unfortunately, definitely not local)

I want one of these.

Talk about knowing your customer. What is something that sucks about riding your bike to meet friends out for dinner? Needing a place to store your lock, wallet, keys, bike lights - sometimes your standard purse won't cut it... and sometimes dudes don't have enough room in their pockets (you know, especially if they're opting for skinny jeans).

Enter the Velopocket, from Hambone Designs. Attach your bag to your bike! Now, this won't solve my "where do I put my heels when I need to ride in flats" or "it's warm now, but this is SF - it will be 30 degrees colder once the sun sets" kind of issues. But for a simple evening out, this is a very stylish, bike-centric option that makes me smile. Mutliple fabric options and some that look like sleek, industrial style clutches - and another that has a purse strap.

Website here.

Etsy link here.

The three (four) Rs...

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. I think that the order of that little phrase is really important. I'd also add Repurpose.

Step 1 - reduce your waste and consumption in general. Reduce packaging (buy in bulk, look for alternatives), reduce your purchases (do you really need another xyz?). Stop taking plastic silverware and plastic bags from stores and restaurants. This cuts down on the actual "stuff" that's out there.

Step 2 - reuse. You know how you wash your clothes and reuse them? Kind of the same thing here. Could you put your lunch in a washable container, rather than a single-use plastic bag? Think about your purchases and buy products that are reusable.

Step 2.5 - re-purpose. What can you do with an old shoebox? Recycle it, yes... or use it to hold craft supplies, or receipts or something. You're reducing (by not buying something new) and reusing! Think about using food bags - like the ones for bread or frozen vegetables - instead of a new Ziploc to hold your snacks. (Or as poop bags for dogs and cats!)

Step 3 - when you can't reduce or reuse, recycle. Glass, plastic, metals, paper. Take the tops off of bottles and jars - it makes it easier for sorting at the recycling center.

Great article on recycling a plastic water bottle vs getting (preferably, BPA free!) reusable water bottle here.

Performance. It's the name of the game.

bike helmet replacement

Good little PSA from the team at RoadBikeRider -

Helmet Replacement

What's the matter? Your helmet is several seasons old but appears to be in good condition. However, even though you haven't damaged it in a crash or with rough treatment, you've heard that helmets lose some of their protective ability as they age. You're wondering if you should junk this skid lid and buy a new one.

Here's help: It's often recommended that a helmet worn frequently should be replaced every 3 years or so. The reason is that the foam degrades due to sun, heat, salty sweat and other environmental factors, added to the usual knocks of regular cycling activity. These things make the foam unable to provide full protection in the event of a head impact.

A helmet should certainly be replaced after it's smacked in a crash or even dented by a hard drop.

However, some experts (presumably those not working for helmet companies) maintain that a helmet will do the job no matter what its age as long as it's undamaged. In their view, there is no age limit.

There's no arguing, though, that buying a new helmet every 3 years will keep you current with comfort and safety features as well as style.

It's remarkable the improvements we've seen in helmet lightness, ventilation and fit. Almost every new model has a "cradle" for the lower rear of the head. This makes a helmet more stable on bumps and rough roads, and it'll stay in place better when the reason for wearing a helmet is happening.

You can find big savings on some of this year's helmets when next year's models are introduced. Check bike shops and catalogs, find the price and style you like, then wear that nice new helmet on every ride you take.