The main goal of our Day in the Life series is to show the world that vegan athletes exist and thrive on their diet and lifestyle. But as we make more episodes a second goal is developing: what crazy situations can we can put Matt in?! Today we spend the day cyclocross training in the snow and cold with bad-ass cyclist Cat Johnson in Boulder, Colorado.
How great is Cat?? I love her comment, ‘I went vegan for the cause!’ Veganism and bike racing: There are many ways to do it and you have to look around and see what fits your personality. Don’t rely on any one way to do either. Cyclocross is the most inclusive form of competitive cycling and in my opinion the most fun!
Here are Cat’s tips and some links to get you started
-No one in cyclocross cares how well you are doing as long as you are having fun. Like when she says, ‘No one cares if you are last’ and there I am, in last place in our training ride!
-There are beginner categories that are truly are beginner and inclusive.
-The courses are loops which makes it very spectator friendly. Bring your friends and fam to cheer you on!
-It’s a mix of skills- speed, bike handling, running, jumping- and this evens out the field.
-You can use almost any type of bike that can run fat tires. And many races rent cyclocross bikes!
-There are single-speed categories and even Single Speed World Championships!
-Some resources: Cycling Dirt, Cyclocross Magazine, the super fun SoCal Prestige Series in Southern California, and a Beginner’s Guide to Cyclocross on Active.com.
-Like Cat says about veganism, you can look to different people for different motivation and figure out which type of riding is best for you.
Cat’s Recovery Smoothie
Your post-workout meal should be easily digestible, high in carbohydrate with some protein and be consumed shortly after your workout. This not only replaces the glycogen you expended, but helps to increase your glycogen storage– giving you more energy for your next workout. And even though protein builds strong muscles, those muscles are fueled by carbohydrate.
1.5 cups non-dairy milk like almond, rice or hemp (Hemp milk is higher in protein than other non-dairy, non-soy milk)
1/2 cup of frozen blueberries
1/2 cup frozen peaches
1 scoop Vega Performance Protein powder
What’s great about smoothies is how flexible they are! Remember our meal-replacing, peanut butter and banana smoothie with Brian from episode one? Cat’s smoothie is similar in that you can easily adjust the calorie ratios. The protein content can be adjusted by switching non-dairy milks and how much protein powder you add, or don’t add! For example I use a higher protein milk and don’t use protein powders. And for Omega-3 I use straight flax oil.
Cat would like to thank her coach Colby Pearce, who took us out on the training ride, her current sponsor Panache Cyclewear and her previous sponsors The Service Course and World Bicycle Relief. And thank you Cat for spending your day with us!
What’s your favorite recovery meal or smoothie? And if you have any cyclocross resources that I didn’t mention please leave them in the comments!
