Eating Up the Miles

I accomplished what was by far the toughest part of creating this week's post before typing even one word: that is, tearing myself away from the New Year's Eve, all-day/all-night "Three Stooges" marathon happening on the AMC network. Now that I've done that, and I'm sitting comfortably in my office, the rest should be a breeze.

A few days ago it came to my attention that VeloPress, the book-publishing arm of the bicycle-racing journal VeloNews, has issued a pair of new titles that could help cyclists and aficionados of other outdoor activities reach their 2010 athletic goals. Alternatively, if you have no such goals, one of these books might help you think of some.

The Athlete’s Plate: Real Food for High Performance, by Adam Kelinson, preaches the gospels of shopping local, going organic, and a minimalist approach to cooking. The author, a triathlete and (perhaps more importantly) professional chef, dishes up nearly a hundred scrumptious-sounding recipes that, he claims, are quick and easy to make and will provide the high-octane fuel your hard-working engine craves. From the looks of things, a lot of them could readily be prepared in camp when you're on tour. The softcover book is 280 pages long and retails for $24.95.

The other volume, aimed perhaps a bit more at the truly serious athlete, is titled Racing Weight: How to Get Lean for Peak Performance. It too, however, provides solid information on diet and nutrition and some real-life recipes that could help almost anyone achieve greater fitness. Written by Matt Fitzgerald, senior editor at Triathlete magazine, the book is 224 pages in length and sells for $18.95.

Eat well, my friends, and ride hard into the new decade.

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BIKING WITHOUT BORDERS is posted every Monday by Michael McCoy, Adventure Cycling’s field editor, and highlights a little bit of this or a little bit of that — just about anything, as long as it’s related to traveling by bicycle. Mac also compiles the organization's twice-monthly e-newsletter BIKE BITS, which goes free-of-charge to more than 40,000 readers worldwide.