La Feminil All-Woman Bike Tour

Sunday the 4th La Feminil bike tour was held in Los Fresnos. It was a very well-executed event which showed a lot of thought and organization had gone into it. It looked like a couple hundred women showed up, and despite the "all-woman" billing, there were lots of men there--mostly spouses who looked anxious for their wives to get involved with bicycling.

The only downer moment of the day came just before the start when a woman was invited to come to the microphone where she proceeded to recite a magazine article about how it was okay to be a woman and work hard to excel in athletic things. All kinds of drivel about how beauty comes from within and how you look your best when you're doing something you enjoy. Anyone who signs up for an all-woman bike tour does not need to be given permission to be competitive and play hard.

There were two tours: a 10 mile and a 25 mile. When the point came for the 25-mile riders to split off from the rest of the pack, like a fool I took off with the 25-mile group. I was doing pretty well until I got to the second rest stop. There were two signs: one directing the 25-mile group to go straight on, and another one telling the 10 mile group to turn south and head back to camp. My hands had gone numb and I started coming up with a bunch of stupid excuses, and before I knew it I had turned south along the 10 mile path.

Since I'd already come some distance on the longer 25 mile route, I logged about 14.5 miles in total, finishing in 1:29:17. I think I am going to have a bike fitting and see what that does for the hand numbness issue. Anyway, hats off to the organizers--it was a very nicely done event with lots of sponsors. Everything went off smoothly and I got to see some neat sights I've never seen before, like the town of Indian Lake. That place is really beautiful. I hope to ride this tour again next year.

Fiesta Edinburg 3-Miler

When James Taylor sang in Fire and Rain "Lord knows when the cold wind blows it'll turn your head around," he must have been thinking about this morning's race. The day started warm and humid, drizzly but not cold. The weather service was warning of a strong cold front but I didn't take it very seriously, wearing only the race-day t-shirt and some Bermuda shorts.

About 200 people turned out for the race. The starting gun sounded and we took off towards Closner, turning north to see a dark gray line of cloud heading our way. By the time I got to the HEB a blast of icy air hit me that was just like a freezer door being opened. Then the drizzle went from warm to cold and the wind started howling. It felt like I was on the front porch of Santa's Workshop, with leaves, bits of paper and trash, and rain all blowing straight into our faces at 40MPH.

Some of the other participants looked like their perseverence was being tested. I'm always at the back of the pack, but I passed about 10 people, some of whom looked somewhat oppressed by the conditions. I walked fast to Cano and when the route turned south, with the wind at my back, I decided to start running, just to see if the wind would give me an assist.

My first goal was just to make it to the next traffic light. I didn't feel tired when I passed it, so I set my sights on the next light, and so on, until I passed the stoplight in front of the Echo Hotel. By that time I knew I could jog all the way to the finish. First time running two miles, personal best, woot!

At the awards ceremony I talked to some people wearing wrist-top GPS computers. You wouldn't believe how many people have them now. At the starting gun, I noticed many people punching the timer start button on their wrists. 

I finished second to last at 45:30. I don't know what happened to those other people I passed but they didn't make it across the finish line. When I finished I was so cold and wet that I couldn't feel my face, but inside I was feeling the goofy sense of happy exhaustion that comes with exertion. 

Jalapeno 100

The Jalapeno 100 Bike Ride was a very well-run event. Everything was organized and under control, from the parking to the ride start to the signposts all along the way. They had 9 aid stations with refreshments and help. There were breakdown vehicles stocked like miniature mechanic's shops patrolling the route. Police kept the cars away from the bikes in town. It was impossible to get lost because they had 200 signs marking the way. Sometimes there would be sign warning you that your spine was about to get jarred going over a railroad crossing. Hats off to the organizers.

Although it was called the "Hundred," there were actually 5 different routes you could choose from. I decided to ride the shortest one, the 12 mile. I wasn't sure that I had the stamina to go further. As it happened, I did, but I'm glad I did the shortest route anyway. I came in 2nd, not that anyone was counting what the 12 mile riders did. Still, it was pretty cool.

Why McCafe is Important

For the past couple of months, McDonalds has been offering free samples of their McCafe espresso drinks. At first they were pretty poor. My remark to Graham was "Starbucks has nothing to worry about." The espresso drinks were inferior in every way, and the employees had no earthly idea what they were doing when they took the orders for them or prepared them.

Over the weeks, they continued to offer free Lattes and Cappuccinos at McDonalds. Because they were free, and because I was curious about how McDonalds was feeling its way around the edges of Starbucks' territory, I kept trying them. It seemed like they were getting better, but still, no competition for Starbucks. The employees also seemed to be getting a little more experienced. They stopped looking at me like I had two heads when I said I didn't want flavoring in my latte.

Then the McCafe at the corner of Nolana and Expressway 281 stopped offering free espresso drinks and started charging. Apparently they were giving espresso away while the employees were getting the hang of the system, but once they got to a certain level of competence, they felt they could start charging. Not all McDonalds are at the same point in the process. The La Joya McDonalds, for example, was still giving everything away last Saturday. The one at Nolana and 281 has resumed giving away drinks, but only in a limited fashion: certain drinks on certain days.

Most of the employees are still pretty bad at taking espresso orders. Again, Starbucks has nothing to worry about, at least not right away. But Starbucks is laying off thousands of people and closing stores because everyone's cutting back on luxury coffee. McDonalds isn't laying off anyone...yet.

What will McCafe do to America? Why is it important? Because there are lots more people who eat at McDonalds every day than who visit Starbucks. These people are folks who might not have ever tried an espresso drink. Now they have a chance, and it won't even cost anything to try. Thousands of people are getting their first taste of espresso, and enough of them are going to like it that it will start to build a whole new population of espresso drinkers in America--and they won't be Starbucks customers. They'll identify with McDonalds when they think of where to get that caffiene jolt.

McDonalds is credited for introducing America to the English Muffin. Before the Egg McMuffin, English Muffins were hardly known in this country. Now, however, they are commonplace, and everyone can recognize an English Muffin no matter what social strata they hail from. Starbucks has always been an upper middle class place, and although they've penetrated the American psyche with their famous logo and the store-on-every-corner philosophy, they still don't reach all sectors of the society. McCafe is going to change all that. McDonalds is going to do what Starbucks never could: demystify espresso, make it accessible and nonthreatening, and give it a place in every meal. McCafe will change McDonalds, and McDonalds will change America, again.

All-America 10K

I've been putting off this blog entry because I didn't do as well walking the 10K this year as I did last year. Last year I walked it in 1:33 and this year was 1:36. I know I could use a lot of great excuses to justify myself, like the strong headwind out of the southeast, but I know down inside that it's more to do with my inconsistency visiting the gym and my general laziness getting ready for the event.

This weekend is the Jalapeno 100, and there are both bike and run/walk events. I hope to ride in one of the bike events, but events seem to be conspiring against me and I may end up signing on for the 5K walk instead. 

One thing I missed in this year's event was the school bands that played along the race route in prior years. They always gave the day a festival atmosphere. Without them, it was much more just plodding along, trying to get through it. 

Full race results are at http://tinyurl.com/dfkzuk

Mission Citrus Fiesta 5K Run/Walk

Man, it was cold this morning at 7:30 AM when the Mission Citrus Fiesta 5K ran. My thermometer showed 42 degrees, which is just a little too close to freezing for my tastes. About 225 people turned out, most of them runners. I placed 193, which was near the front of the walkers but still, dude, that's one-hundred-ninety-third place. My time was 44:42, about 3 minutes faster than I walked the Longest Causeway earlier this month.

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The time difference was due to the fact that I've been visiting the gym, I haven't been tempted by all the holiday treats of December, and I pushed myself a little harder. Oh yes, I passed many 70 year old grandmothers and preschoolers on the race course today. Eat my dust, har! 

It was a well-put-together event, and it was very pleasant to see the sun come up over the Mission Trails, shining its pale winter light through the leafless mesquite trees that line the paths. By the time I crossed the finish line I wasn't cold any more. It made me wish that more events like these could start at sunrise before it gets hot.

Next weekend is the Big One: the All-America 10K in Edinburg. If the weather holds, it should be a tremendous day. I noticed yesterday the freshly-painted the mile markers on the race route.

Restaurant Memories: La Pasta

Back in the early 1990s there was a little Italian restaurant in McAllen called La Pasta. It was located where the China Wok restaurant is now. It was an unpretentious place but they had a tomato sauce for pasta that was really special. I used to get a plate of cappellini with the house sauce and drizzle it with olive oil. I'd never had sauce that was so vibrant, so tomato-ey without being acidic. It tasted like chicken broth and basil and garlic and tomato and I don't know what else. 

Then one day in early 1995 they closed, not surprising since they never had very many customers. And with that closing went my favorite pasta sauce. Since that day I have been trying to re-create it. Once or twice I almost hit it, but I was never able to duplicate my near-success. Gradually, I came to accept that this old friend was never coming back.

I wasn't even thinking about La Pasta's sauce this morning when I started cooking a tomato sauce with ground turkey meat for dinner tonight. But by George, I think I got it this time. It was like that scene in Ratatouille when the food critic Anton Ego tastes the ratatouille at Gusteau's and it catapults him back in time to when he was in his mother's kitchen as a child. The taste of my tomato sauce was unmistakable: this was La Pasta's secret recipe*.

So now, to make sure it doesn't get lost again to the sands of time, here is the recipe:

2 pounds Roma tomatoes

1 package fresh basil sprigs

1 tablespoon minced garlic

3 tablespoons oilve oil for sauteeing garlic

1 pound ground turkey

2 cubes chicken and tomato buillon

1 pint sliced fresh mushrooms

1 tablespoon butter or oil for sauteeing mushrooms

1. Skin the tomatoes by blanching with boiling water. Chop the skinned tomatoes into coarse pieces and remove the seeds and juice, saving the juice and seeds for later.
   
2. Heat a large saucepan on medium-high heat, add olive oil and then minced garlic. Saute for about one minute. Reduce heat to medium.
3. Add ground turkey to saucepan. Fry on medium heat until cooked. Cover with lid so you preserve the turkey juice when meat is cooking.
4. Add chopped, skinned, seeded tomatoes to meat and stir well.
5. Pour your reserved tomato seeds and juice through a strainer and add the resultant juice to the meat and tomatoes.
6. Chop basil coarsely and add to meat and tomatoes.
7. Allow to cook at medium heat for about 15 minutes.
8. Add the two chicken and tomato buillon cubes to the sauce and stir well. Reduce heat.
9. Cover saucepan and cook on low heat for 15 minutes.
10. Heat a saute pan, add butter or oil, and add mushrooms. Stir mushrooms to coat well with butter and cover pan. Allow mushroom juice to accumulate in pan and continue to cook covered until done. Remove cover and reduce mushroom juice until all gone.
11. Add mushrooms to tomato sauce mixture. Stir well. 
12. Cook at least two hours on low heat, stirring occasionally.

*With a few of my own touches added. Actually La Pasta's sauce never had meat or mushrooms.