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Zwift in the Age of COVID-19

I’ve wanted to write about Zwift for a long time now. I’ve been using it for just over a year.

A Brief Overview of Zwift:

For those of you that don’t know what Zwift is, it is a game, that you playing using a smart trainer.

“#interbike2015 #wahoofitness + #zwift get connected and take your indoor cycling experience to a new level” by Glory Cycles is licensed under CC BY 2.0

The smart trainer (pictured above) sends information to a computer (desktop, phone, tablet or apple tv) that allows the Zwift program to know how fast you are spinning that back wheel and what kind of power (measured in watts) you are putting into it.

All this information from the smart trainer allows Zwift to simulate what a ride would be like in one of their virtual worlds. When you go up a hill the smart trainer makes it harder to pedal, when you go down descents, it gets easier to pedal.

You can add additional sensors to get more information and make the ride more real. There are also trainers that don’t touch the rear wheel, but instead connect straight to the chain and you need to remove the rear wheel, these are called direct-drive trainers and are more expensive.

“Rollentraining mit Zwift auf Canyon-Bike” by wuestenigel is licensed under CC BY 2.0

In regards to the current situation with the COVID-19 pandemic. Zwift is here at the right time with a great tool to keep people fit and active. This tool allows a bicyclist (and runners), to continue their training or just get on for a quick ride or workout.

Eric Schlange of Zwift Insider writes more about this in his article, “THE UNFOLDING STORY OF COVID-19 AND ZWIFT“. Eric mentions that those who are part of group rides in real life can now invite their group to a group ride online, so they can continue to ride together. No, this isn’t the same as the outdoor ride with your friends, but it is much better than nothing at all.

Also mentioned in Eric’s article is the fact that as we have seen many, if not all bicycling and running events canceled throughout the world, there is a place for these events to happen on Zwift. No, it’s not just like the real thing. Of course not, but it is a great alternative to nothing at all.

Zwift is a great alternative to an outdoor ride, the gamification of it makes it even more appealing to old gamers like me. If you are a cyclist a runner, or just someone that is now confined to your home, Zwift is an excellent solution to getting some exercise and having some fun. I hope you can get a trainer because like everything else, these are no in high demand. Ride on!

Top 7 Veestros

Veestro is a plant-based meal delivery service. The meals that you get are fully made and only need to be reheated. You can reheat your meal in the microwave, stovetop or oven.

The meal plan we subscribe to is called the A La Carte Plan. You can choose which meals you want sent to you. I have been receiving the Veestro meals for about a year now. I stole all the images from Veestro. Below are my favorites:

Number 7 – Southwest BBQ Chick’n (360 calories w/ sauce)

The BBQ sauce on this is not very spicy and has the right amount of sweetness for me. This also comes with some mixed veggies on the side and some fingerling potatoes. This meal is best prepared in the oven.

Number 6 – Breakfast Burrito (390 calories)

The sauce on this is basic tomato sauce, nothing fancy, but it does deliver on a very good wet breakfast burrito. Those aren’t eggs either, yummy tofu is seasoned well in this meal. This meal is best prepared in the microwave for a quick meal, for drier/crispy tortilla reheat in the oven. I usually can’t wait in the morning. The potatoes that come with this are heavily seasoned, which is not depicted well in the image above.

Number 5 – Veggie Empanadas (400 calories + 270 for Chimichurri sauce)

I love eating empanadas, but I hate making them. Veestro has your back again! You get three of these beauties which are best reheated in the oven. I don’t like oil heavy sauces, so I don’t use the Chimichurri sauce. I live to eat this with Bitchin’ Sauce.

Number 4 – Country Fried Chick’n (360 calories + 80 for sauce)

One of my true favorites. The gravy here has whole mushrooms in it so, it looks very different from what is pictured here. This meal is best reheated in the oven so the outside of the chicken is nice and crunchy.

Number 3 – Chinese Eggplant StirFry (630 calories)

This is by far the heaviest meal by calories. This meal has a peanut buttery meal. I reheat this on the stovetop and its very delicious! The sauce makes this dish!

Number 2 – Oatmeal Breakfast Pie (310 calories)

This is such an easy meal to reheat. Just pop it in the microwave and it is done in minutes! I also like to cut this in smaller pieces and add almond milk and other toppings. This is a great breakfast!

Number 1 – Chick’n Nuggets (300 calories + 60 for sauce)

These are so good! They are comfort food for me for sure. The sauce on these is again so very good. Not too sweet and not too spicy. These are best reheated in the oven.

Book Review | The Simple Guide to a Minimalist Life

The Simple Guide to a Minimalist Life by Leo Babauta seems to be recommended reading by every other minimalist. I finally got to it and I’ve got to say his book is minimalist at only 105 pages.

All good stuff in here and it’s a great primer for starting out or just seeing what this minimalist thing is all about. Not to mention a good quick read. Nothing crazy in here either which I really liked.

Some of Leo’s favorite blogs:

Books:

Bike Parking in 2020

Oonee Debuts Bike Parking in Brooklyn

2019 Books in Review

In 2019 I read 54 books. That’s 8,579 pages. For audiobooks, I listened to just under two days of audio. 30% of my reading was graphic novels, of those mostly Star Wars comics from Marvel. Following closely was Kindle books at 28% of my reading. Followed by audiobooks and finally, hardcovers mostly form the library.

Speaking of the library, I saved $557.13 by visiting the library and not buying those books. I was gifted one book and an author reached out and gave me their book as well.

I read almost twice as many books in 2019 as I did in 2018. Most of the books I read this past year were actually published in 2016. My average book length was 209 pages. My average rating for books on GoodReads was 3.7. Overwhelmingly the books I read were written by US authors (37). And although I want to read more books by female authors, the books I read were by men (44 to 10).

My favorite books in 2019 (in the order I read them):

Becoming by Michelle Obama
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
Star Wars Vol.1 Skywalker Strikes by Jason Aaron
The Public Library by Robert Dawson
The Little Free Library Book by Margret Aldrich
We are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast by Jonathan Safran Foer
Tales from the Open Road: The Adventures and Misadventures of RV Living by Joe Russo

Vegan Food Review | Sweet Earth Breakfast Sandwich

Sweet Earth Harmless Ham and Chickpea Patty

This sandwich is smaller than most traditional breakfast sandwiches, which is okay if you’re not starving. It contains 270 calories. 8 grams of sugar and a total of 33g of carbs. 14 grams of protein are in there as well. As the vegan phenomenon picks up speed these frozen convenience foods are coming out at an incredible speed. While that’s nice for people who are converting, it’s not really all that healthy. If you want to cut out things from your diet that is not healthy, don’t start by purchasing foods that come in wrappers. Buy some vegetables and fruit and eat those. It’s cheaper and better for you.

Ingredients List

Silken Tofu(2) (Water, Soybeans(2) Calcium Sulfate, Glucono Delta Lactone), Onion, Water, Vital Wheat Gluten, Canola Oil(3), Maple Syrup(1), Chickpea Flour, Tomato Paste, Apple Cider Vinegar, Garlic, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Agar Powder, Sea Salt, Vegetable Mix (Red & Green Bell Pepper, Onions, Carrots, Celery), Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Nutritional Yeast(1), Natural Flavors, Natural Hickory Smoke Flavor, Spices, Cane Sugar(1), Baking Powder(2) (Corn Starch, Sodium Bicarbonate, Monocalcium Phosphate), Gochugaru Chili Flakes, Basil, Paprika, Dried Purple Carrot Juice Color, Allspice, Cloves, Dill, Citric Acid, Granulated Garlic, Turmeric, Roll: Water, Whole Wheat Flour, All Purpose Flour, Cane Sugar(1), Durum Wheat Flour, Oat Bran, Flax Seed, Rolled Oats, Canola Oil(3), Sea Salt, Baker’s Yeast. (1)Organic. (2)Non-GMO. (3)Non-GMO Expeller Pressed.

There is a lot of “stuff” in this for the size of it. What did it taste like? As you would imagine it was kind of bland. I was excited about this because I haven’t had a breakfast sandwich since I went vegetarian, but this didn’t taste great. I will say that I’m not hungry after eating it so at least it was filling. Everything in this seemed to have the same texture. It went from frozen to ready to eat in a really fast 1:15. the bun was really soft, kinda like a potato bun. There is dried tomato kinda sauce on it. Right in the center perfectly squirted on by some machine in a factory. The chickpea patty, taste like it, chickpeas, which are okay, but I’m not a huge fan. the chickpea patty didn’t taste like much but a pasty, dry, chickpea paste. The Harmless Ham texture was okay, a little too soft to approximate actual ham. It didn’t have that burst of flavor that you would get with real ham, that comes from fat and salt. The bottom bun got that hardness in the center that sometimes happens with food overcooked in the microwave. I have to say though it was nice to have a change in texture.

All in all, I won’t be getting this again, but as I browse the Sweet Earth website I see they have another breakfast sandwich that is sadly, not vegan. It’s called, Benevolent Bacon: Egg and Cheddar. I’ve had the benevolent bacon before and I liked it. While this has real egg it looks like the same bun as the chickpea patty, not a good sign. It also has cheese, so I don’t think I’ll give this one a go after all. Before, I leave you I will say I like a lot of the Sweet Earth foods. Especially the Big Sur Breakfast burrito, it’s vegan and it’s delicious.

Review | Tales from the Open Road (We’re the Russos)

Tales From the Open Road: The Adventures and Misadventures of RV Living (We're the Russos Book 2) — We’re The Russos Book 2

First, a disclaimer, Joe, and Kait sent me a Kindle version of the book. They didn’t ask me to review it here and my review is my own. Tales From the Open Raod: The Adventures of RV Living is Joe Russo’s second book. The first book Take Risks: One Couple’s Journey to Quit Their Jobs and Hit the Open Road was book one. I’ve already reviewed that book here in 2018 and you can read the review by clicking on the link above.

I’m a big fan of the Russos. I’ve been a subscriber to their YouTube channel since before Joe’s first book. As you can guess from the titles of the books, they are a couple from Los Angeles that quit their jobs, bought an RV and started traveling the US. This, however, as Joe explains in the most recent book was not early retirement.

I recommend reading the books in order as the first book does a good job of covering the period when they decided to make this leap. This second book goes into how. It covers the trials and tribulations of driving and finding parking for a large RV. And it also begins the story of them looking for a smaller RV. While there is a path forward mentioned in the book, we don’t actually find out in the book what happens next, but for all the YouTube followers of the Russo’s we already know how that story ends.

Joe’s writing flows well and while simple really works for me. It’s a fun read and I really liked getting to know more of the details as a YouTube follower I didn’t see all the behind the scenes information that Joe shares in the book. My only complaint is that I wish there was more in the book. More details and more of the class B journey. That said I think it takes tremendous bravery to share your story in a book and even more to share it on a medium like YouTube where the Internet trolls will offer unsolicited feedback on everything that makes it into a video.

Regardless of what the Russo’s do next, I look forward to following their journey on YouTube and in print!

Veestro Review | Turk’y Scaloppini Dinner

This meal from Veestro is fairly new. I hadn’t seen it before and this if the first time I had it. I really liked the Turk’y and even though I cooked it for the full 20 minutes, it did not get dry.

This meal is 430 calories, so a touch higher than some of the other Veestro meals, but the sweet mashed potatoes are so worth it! They are the star of the dish for sure.

I think this is a welcome dinner meal to our weekly routine and great during the colder months.

Veestro Review | Herb Crusted Turk’y Dinner

Veestro Herb Crusted Turk'y Dinner — Veestro Herb Crusted Turk’y Dinner

Dang! this was very good. The stuffing comes in a brick but is very good. At first, I thought the cranberry sauce was some kind of dessert, but after warming up it was clear that it was cranberry sauce. The patty of vegan goodness here is thick and big. It was very good. Reminded me of the gardin mini turkey loaves.

This looks to be a seasonal item for Veestro, but I hope they changed their minds. I would love this to have this all year long. I had three of these in my shipment this time and I’m glad I got them. If you have a chance to get this in your shipment make sure you do. So good and filling! It made me smile ear to ear. Only 410 calories too. You can learn more about Veestro here.

Veestro is a food delivery service. They make 100% plan based food that is fully cooked and deliver it to your home on a schedule you choose. You can choose the dishes they send or go with one of their pre-selected plans. Just warm up the dish and eat. That’s it.

What you need for at-home Yoga

While there is not much that you need for Yoga at-home (yeah) I do recommend getting the nice stuff because then there will be no “upgrades” later down the line.

Hyrdoflask – You should always stay hydrated when doing any kind of workout. I like the hydroflask because it keeps cold water cold all day long. I use the 18-ounce bottles as they fit nicely in the car cup holders. Try to drink 3-4 of these a day for your recommended 64 ounces daily.

Manduka Yoga Mat – These are the best. Nice and thick so you get the support you need and slip-resistant. Better than any other mat I have tried. These are pretty pricey, but they come with a lifetime warranty.

Yoga Workout Cards – These are great when you have no idea what you are doing and perfect for when you do, but you’re not sure how to put together a sequence or how to warm up before beginning. These take the guesswork out of what to do after you have everything set up.

Maduka Cork Yoga Block – Not all of us are super flexible and it takes time to get that yoga pose just right. The important part is to just start trying. A good yoga block will help you get close enough to that yoga pose that is difficult. I like the Manduka cork ones as they are made from a sustainable material.

Manduka Yoga Strap – Similar to the block, this will help you get to those stretches where you can’t reach just yet. For me, those stretches are hamstring folds. I have never been able to reach my feet, but if you stop trying you will never get there. This helps you get started and start making progress on those poses right away.

And that’s it. You really don’t need any of these things. That’s the magic of Yoga, it’s a works anywhere anytime kinda workout. I love it. But if you want to make it that much more comfortable and/or you plan on doing Yoga often, then these things will make it a better experience. Put on some relaxing music from your streaming service of choice and get your stretch on!