Chocolate Walnut Pecan Buckwheat Banana Bread

Why....'cause LC asked me to.

2/3 - 3/4 c. Sugar

3/4 c. melted butter

1/2 c. oil

5 SUPER RIPE bananas

3 extra large eggs

16 oz sour cream

2t. cinnamon

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Mix that all up very well

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3/4 c. whey protein powder

2 1/3 c. Buckwheat

1 1/3 c. Coconut Flour

1 1/4 c. Almond meal

1 3/4 c. Pamela's Gluten Free Baking mix

1.5 t. salt

4-5 t. baking soda

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1 bag of dark chocolate chips/mini-chunks

1.5 c. chopped walnuts

1.5 c. chopped pecans

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I actually just 'arfed' these amounts when I was making it this morning but i think those proportions are about right. I'm not into precise recipes....I'm into ideas and creating.

Add dry to wet ingredients. Stir just till moist.

Bake 375-400 till tops are golden brown and centers just barely firm. I made both bread and muffins from this.

Straight out of the oven they were AMAZING. Spongey texture...and dark chocolate really never hurts.

Enjoy!

The potential pink kits. Also, t-shirts? Tri kits?

So here are the pink kits that I'm mulling over. Sort of depends upon how many inquiries I get and whether it's feasible to have a run of them done. Please email me or post a comment below. I know there was a fair amount of attention on these last year when we were voting on favorites.

Also I've had some inquiries about t-shirts as well as TRI kits. I'm still on the fence about this (the TRI kits), but t-shirts are easy. I'll see what I can do about getting some tech T's like this from verge but on the TRI kits i'd likely go with Champ-Sys. They produce a very nice one piece with hydrophobic properties that would be a good all purpose race suit.

Please express any interest in either of these options! Thanks!

Another run of MVA Racing cycling kits

Round 2!!!

So of the 50+ kits in the first round of orders from last year I've been left with just two mens medium bibs/tops (let me know if you might like one). I've been getting some inquiries of late as to whether i will do another order run so figured I would post up a note to see who might be interested in getting in on another batch. Please let me know!

Note: These are produced by verge and I've been very happy with the quality and durability of the kits. I wear and wash mine a lot and they've stood up well.

Some of the old posts...

http://trimarkyv.blogspot.com/2009/01/mva-racing-jerseys-final-cut.html

http://trimarkyv.blogspot.com/2009/03/mva-racing-kits-cost.html

http://trimarkyv.blogspot.com/2009/03/mva-racing-kits-taking-orders.html

If life was boring you'd never have great stories to tell.

This is an oft-quoted phrase of mine when referring to my choice of lifestyle or things I like to mix myself up in. In this particular case my outings into the mountains.

While any sort of aerobic stress (i.e. training) is frowned upon in my road to recovery and repair I have been green lighted to occasionally head up into the mountains and enjoy the sheer awesomeness that Colorado has to offer. The last place I was able to get endorphins to kick in was up here so it's likely the first place that it'll come back.

On this particular occasion I'd chosen Arapho Pass as my destination. A relatively easy 3 mile out and back hike (walk). Start down in the valley and slowly (and in my case very slowly) gain elevation up above treeline, into the tundra, and onto the pass. I started out amongst snow showers (yes, this is june but this is also 11,ooo feet and Colorado. I got snowed on whilst on the bike last July), but before too long the clouds broke and I found myself with bright sunny skies and beautiful vistas to take in. The fresh late spring dusting on the otherwise rotting snow made for an incredible view.

I made way higher and encountered a bit more snow but it wasn't all that bad. With the trail on the north side of the valley (south facing) it was largely free of any large snow banks. The melt water run off was quite massive though. Despite it being in the 30s, with no wind to speak of and bright bright 2+ mile high sun beating down i was cooking in a cool max shirt alone. Nearer to the pass I had to navigate some snow fields, i didn't think much of this aside from pondering the use of some crampons, but the snow was soft and i just pressed through.

Everyone has heard the story from some climber somewhere about "how fast the weather moved in"... I now have my own story to add to that. Within what seemed like 10 minutes it went from bright and sunny to dumping snow. "WHOA! Where'd that come from!?" Given that the storms that we'd been having for the few days prior had all be sans-lightning I was kind of in winter mode, where lightning doesn't happen, just lots of snow. Not more than a minute or so from the apex of the hike I hear a very low, soft, barely audible rumble. I stop to see if it's a jet or a rock fall. Nothing. I decide to not press any further till I was somewhat assured that I'd be okay.

About 60 seconds passes.

I begin getting this warm, fuzzy, tingly, electric feeling. While it was actually pretty cool I knew immediately what it was and hit the deck! Flash BANG! While it wasn't right on top of me i didn't need any reminder that I needed to get down NOW!!! Prescriptions to chill out to the max be damned, i was going to test my 12000 foot high vo2 max on this descent! I was likely over a mile above the nearest treeline protection. I proceeded to haul ass down hill as-fast-as-I-f*&%ing-could!!!! I surprised myself at the eye-foot coordination I exhibited as I covered the rocky, snowy, glaciated trail in a 4th of the time that it took me to ascend. As soon as I got down into the krumholtz i thought i could take a break. Huffing, pufffing, wheezing I realized that I'd lost one of my crampons somewhere along the trail in my scurry downhill. Just as I was pondering the thought of maaaaybe back tracking a little bit another flash and boom hits and I'm back up and running across the tundra in search of really big trees. Finally after 10-15 minutes of scamper and scramble and duck and weave I make my way into the forest. SMOKED! And in this case thankful it's figurative and not literal!

I slowly made my way back down to the car and by the time i'd arrived the snow had ceased and it was once again bright, sunny, warm, and, of course, awesome.

Live to love the mountains another day. Whew!

What sacrifices for success are you willing to make?

With the recent setbacks and health problems I've faced there have been questions forced upon me that I otherwise would likely have not confronted for years to come. These questions revolve around the progression of my career in athletics and what I would then segue into. Having prematurely been thrown into pondering this topic I've also had to contemplate the idea of what it will take to attain these goals as well as the possible sacrifices that might have to be made. To that end I've been contemplating further education and pursuing a career field in line with athletics but something that blends my passions of teaching, coaching, helping and entrepreneurial spirit. But what will it take to accomplish these tasks and succeed? What sacrifices need to be made? Are they in fact worth it?

I've been slowly following "The Season" a video blog on outdoor athletes from the Pacific Northwest about their efforts throughout their respective seasons. Connect some dots and I ended up at one of the producers podcasts, Dirtbag Diaries. The podcast A Successful Life hit home and resonated very strongly with me. You can listen to it here (~25min). As I am faced with making decisions about where to go and what to do and how much to give in order to get, I've come to realize that one thing must remain true for me to be at peace in my pursuits. I have to love my HOME and for me that means living in the mountains.

It should have been telling that all throughout elementary, junior and senior highs and in university that whenever faced with a social, geological or geographical assignment that I would always select mountainous countries. Switzerland, New Zealand (South Island), Canada (Rockies). Such that in my moving from Austin to Boulder nearly four years ago I finally felt like I'd truly "come HOME". My sense of place was complete.

Home may not forever be Boulder or Colorado but it's the sense of place that I get when I'm "at home in the mountains" that is the feeling that I will continually seek out. In facing the questions about my future as of late and knowing that some sacrifices or adjustments might have to be made I am certain of one thing, home will always be a place that inspires me to get out and do. For me, that is mountains. What is it for you?

Photos: (top) Aspens in the morning along Kebler Pass outside of Crested Butte, (bottom) panorama from Irwin, CO (ghost town)