cold turkey

During the winter months, my caffeine consumption was out of control. My coffee mug holds four cups of coffee. I was drinking two a day, from the french press. During my April appointment with the cardiologist, he asked about my caffeine consumption and mentioned that it could have been the cause of my SVT. 

Something had to change. 

I thought back to the last time I tried to quit my afternoon cup of coffee. The result was a terrible headache. Was I addicted to caffeine? Probably, but I always justified it by saying I could be addicted to something far worse. This time around, I eased myself into it, by starting with half-caf, then de-caf and ultimately no coffee in the afternoon. 

While caffeine addiction pales in comparison to other types of addiction, it is definitely a liberating feeling to no longer be dependent on that afternoon cup of coffee.

no room

The caffè americano is my drink of choice when patronizing local coffee shops. My favorite part of the ordering process is when the barista asks if I want room for cream. "No room" is always my response. It makes me feel like such a bad-ass. That's right, I drink it straight up, no cream or sugar...and I'm not sure why because I don't drink my morning coffee that way...until now...enter the Bialetti 6799 Moka Express 3-Cup Stovetop Espresso Maker, the best $21.48 I ever spent on amazon.com, which enables me to make a caffè americano every morning. So far, I have only used it to add shots of espresso to my morning coffee(highly recommended). This week I'm making the switch to becoming a "no room" every morning, bad-ass.

First State Velo Sport Xross @ Fair Hill

This was a MAC Series race. The 3/4 field was slightly more competitive than the PA Series, where many of the strong Cat 3 women opt to race in the 1/2/3 field. Today, they were my competition.

I warmed up on the course, then it started to rain and I retreated to the car. As appealing as a cyclocross race in the rain may sound, I was thankful that the sun appeared just in time for the start of my race.

3-2-1 Go! And the rest, well, it’s pretty much the same story...heart rate maxed and a huge smile on my face. This course had significantly more climbing than any of the others this season. In fact, the 610 feet of climbing (in 6.6 miles) is more than what I'll do on some 40 mile rides here in the South of Jersey.

On the last lap I caught another rider and was right on her wheel. It was someone I had introduced myself to and chatted with earlier in the day. As we made the turn onto the final stretch I noticed that she was slowing down. Perhaps my breathing wasn’t as loud of a warning sound as I thought it was. I told her to get moving or I was going to pass her. I can’t imagine what someone in a road race would have said to me if I did that. She appreciated the encouragement though and I decided that I would rather gain a friend than another spot in the standings.

I cooled down and headed to the car, only to discover that I was bleeding...blood running down my leg and I have no idea when, where, how that happened...got cleaned up and headed to check out the results...9^th place and the top Cat 4 in the field...that’ll do!

Rolled out and on to Starbucks...let’s make that a Grande Americano, no room...and so hot that I was half way back to the Jerz before I could even take a sip!

double tall mocha no whipped

I have about $40 in Starbucks gift cards sitting in my desk drawer. Yesterday, I decided to put them to good use by trying a high end coffee beverage for the first time. I stared at the menu for a few minutes before deciding on a mocha. For seventy five cents I could get an extra shot of espresso. Perfect! I approached the counter and ordered a small mocha with an extra shot of espresso. The lady at the counter informed me that it already comes with one shot. Acting as if I already knew this I said "I know, but I want two." She asked if I wanted whipped cream. I declined and handed her my gift card. Then, my order was broadcast for all of Starbucks to hear "double tall mocha, no whipped."

I always thought it was kinda obnoxious that Starbucks needed special names for "small, medium and large." Today I went back for another fancy coffee drink. This time I tried to use Starbucks lingo and ordered a "Grande Americano." It didn't sound right, at least not coming from my mouth.