Beans, Beans...

With the bitterly cold temperatures outside, the stove in the attic needed a little extra time to warm the place up last night. I popped in the fourth tape in Carl Sagan's Cosmos series last night that my mom got me for Christmas. It's an interesting flash back in time watching the series and seeing what we knew in 1980 about the Universe. Last night's episode talked about the first explorer robots we sent to Mars, and talked about the possibilities of one day sending robots that could traverse the Martian landscape. Of course, Spirit and Opportunity recently celebrated their one-year anniversaries of their landings on the red planet.

Anyway, listening to Carl's droning voice distracted me from the ache in my thighs as I pressed through my 1.5 hour ride, 15 minutes of threshold work and the rest tempo and fartlek fun. I stood quite a bit and could feel the ache of effort sink into my legs. "This had better do something!", I exclaimed after dismounting the rollers. I'm sure those first few road miles will indeed be much easier because of these workouts. My legs are ready for a night off tonight.

I got home late last night so the post-ride dinner had to be quick. Sue found a new recipe for a super-quick meal, apparently common in Italy on hot summer days when you don't want to fire up a stove. In a bowl, throw in two cans of drained cannellini beans, one can of slightly drained tuna in olive oil, some diced up sweet onion for crunch, sea salt and pepper to taste, and about a quarter cup of virgin fruttato olive oil drizzled over the top. Serve it up at room temperature. It's super fast, good tasting, and a great source of protein, good fat, and complex carbs. And if you're like me, it'll also keep you jet-propelled on the bike for a while the next morning, if you get what I'm saying.

See you on the road.