Author Archives: Melissa | Growing Green Nutrition

Forecast: Scorching with a side of biking

Meet the forecast for the coming weekend.  The weekend when I’ll be outside on a bicycle all day Saturday and Sunday for the Cycling Savvy Instructor training.  Gulp!

As if being 34 weeks pregnant weren’t enough, let’s throw some scorching temps into the mix.

I’m trying to think positive thoughts, and I will be listening to my body and taking breaks as necessary, but I’m feeling a bit anxious about the whole thing.  I would totally be up for an unexpected cold front sweeping  through between now and Saturday.

Or we could do the vampire version of the course.  Instead of 8am to 6pm, make it 8pm to 6am 😉

Aw, hail!

So, we turned the A/C on yesterday.  It’s only May — ugh!  As usual, we’re keeping our thermostat set pretty conservatively (around 80° F), but still!  May.

In other confessions/not-green news, we walked at the Botanical Garden this morning, but we drove there 😦  I felt pretty tired and blah, and a little light-headed, not really up to the biking, so I conceded to using the car.  It was that or not going, and I am glad we went, if disgusted at the use of a car for an easy 2 mile or less trip.

Finally, a huge chunk of ice to help you think cool thoughts during the hot weather: this baby, which fell at our apartment during the storms last Wednesday, was almost 4 inches in diameter:

Matthew saved a few of these in our freezer, and I’ll be using them for practice contractions this week.  (For our childbirth prep homework, we do practice contractions, squeezing ice in our hands to simulate pain.)

33 Weeks

33 weeks down, ??? to go.  If we’re not already there, we’re soon to be at the “baby gaining 1/2 a pound a week stage.”  I can’t speak for baby, but I’m gaining AT LEAST 1/2 a pound a DAY, all in my feet.

Help -- my baby ate my ankle bone!

That’s really my only complaint right now, though.  I’m enjoying our childbirth prep classes and feeling more confident that we’ll be ready when baby joins us.  We’re taking Naturally Prepared childbirth classes, which focus on home births.

In two weeks, we have our in-home prenatal appointment with our midwives at River City Birth.  All of the other visits have been in their office, which is conveniently located a short bike-ride away!

Spring on my plate

Best way to eat asparagus?  Broiled, hands down!  Grilled is also great, but pulling out the grill just for a few pieces of asparagus would be silly.  The broiler setting on the toaster oven makes perfect asparagus for two — just brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt before broiling.

Main dish (not so local, but yummy): quinoa with portabello mushrooms and artichoke hearts, plus lots of our garlic chives.  I bought the portobellos at City Greens, but I forgot to ask about their origin — they MAY have been locally grown/foraged.

On the side, we ate a simple salad with greens from our garden. I’m loving all of this fresh, local goodness.

Speaking of which, I don’t have photographic evidence, but I spent last Saturday in the kitchen (barefoot and pregnant 😉 ) with 12 quarts of gorgeous, delicious strawberries.  I saved some for eating fresh, but most are topped, bagged, and frozen, ready for eating throughout the year.

Working with media to correct bicycling misperceptions

At the end of April, our local NBC affiliate station ran a short segment answering the viewer question, “Can cyclists ride in the middle of the road*?”

Unfortunately, the answer, provided by a local bike shop owner and the reporter, Heidi, did nothing but create more confusion for ALL road users and perpetuate the myth that bicyclists are somehow second class road users by reinforcing the wrong and dangerous belief held by most road users, motorists and bicyclists alike, that the driver of a motor vehicle somehow has more right to the road than the driver of a bicycle**.

Matthew and I, along with some other local bicyclists, wrote to Heidi asking for a correction.  She responded, inviting us to be part of the new segment.  On Tuesday morning, we met Heidi and the cameraman, and taped some footage.

The segment, which aired this morning, includes Matthew explaining the door zone, and both of us giving an on-bike demonstration.

Click here to watch!

*As Matthew pointed out, the question, as phrased, is a bit ambiguous.  In many cases, a bicyclist can and should be operating his/her vehicle in the middle of the LANE, which paints a much different mental picture than a cyclist riding down the middle of the ROAD.

** Click here if you want to see the cringe-inducing original.