Moronacity

Even though I live in a cycling community where mountain biking is as natural as going to the bar – no, really, going to the bar is just the Yooper* thing to do – my metamorphosis from a runner into a cyclist was quite easy because there is so much that runners and cyclists have in common, things like weight obsession, speed, equipment (Note: my mountain bike costs A LOT more than my running shoes), food intake and timing, refueling, etc. With the exception of very sport specific things like type of running shoe vs. type of bike, runners and cyclists are very much the same. Some of my favorite things are the power foods like pizza, beer, and milkshakes. Yes, milkshakes. Allow me to enlighten you.

In a couple Runner’s World issues, I’ve read that milkshakes, McDonald’s milkshakes in particular, have important health benefits for athletes. It turns out that a milkshake is an excellent source of calcium as well as a good source of the other excellent nutrients of its components. That really isn’t the point of this post, though.

I would like to share yesterday’s dose of happiness with you. I cracked open my last Fat Tire [beer] while doing the dishes. That was pretty happy, but not the dose of happy to which I was referring. After I was finished with both of those, I decided it was time to take my newly cleaned blender and make a milkshake. I pulled the Jilbert vanilla ice cream out of the freezer – Jilbert is the superior dairy based in Marquette, Michigan whose milk comes from real Yooper cows**. I scooped some superior, Yooper ice cream into the blender, poured in some superior, Yooper milk, and tossed in a couple spoonfuls of Hershey’s powdered baking cocoa. I blended it, poured it in my Hard Rock hurricane glass, topped it with Redi-Whip, poked a straw through the whipped cream, and drank. Yum.

This most excellent beverage is packed full of calcium, vitamin D, and calories, all of which are important factors in preventing osteoporosis. Unfortunately, that calorie part is also an obstacle in tackling Ali’s goals #2, 5, 7, 10, 17, and 20, but that’s why we all ride bikes, right?
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* Michigan is comprised of two larger peninsulas: the Lower Peninsula, also known as the hand; and the Upper Peninsula, known as the bunny by some. Michiganders, Wisconsinites, Minnesotans, and Chicagoans (I don’t know about the rest of the Illinois citizens) are quite familiar with the inhabitants of the U.P., called Yoopers. Unfortunately, there are many people from other states who aren’t even aware that Michigan has an “Upper Peninsula.” On the other hand, this may not be so unfortunate.
** One day, while getting an ice cream sundae at Jilbert Dairy in Marquette, I asked if all the milk came from Yooper cows. One of the ladies was quite adamant that the milk was 100% Yooper, indeed!