Pedaling for popcorn

I'm not sure what's scarier when riding a bike in Manhattan: pedestrians or yellow cabs. It's a bit like playing a video game. I had to be hyper alert at all times and, despite riding in a very accommodating green-striped bike lane, I still felt like I might make a wrong move at any time. I rode up to Central Park taking 1st Avenue through the East Village, to East 21st Street, to 8th Avenue which is probably the hairiest, and entering at Columbus Circle, where I got yelled at for riding the half-block length that I needed to take to get to the loop. Blood pressure down a bit, I rode four laps around the main loop, which is just a hair more than 6 miles and decided to play it safe and took the West Side Highway home.

I'm always asking sporty people what they eat before their work out. Most runners say nothing, some say a banana. Most, if not all, bikers say they must eat something. Oatmeal is my best pre-ride food, if I'm travelling before the ride then I'll eat a Clif Bar. Today I put tons of add-ons in my oatmeal: blackberries, psyllium husk, chia seeds, coconut and a spoonful of almond butter. When I got home my blood sugar was dangerously low, I could barely carry my bike up my three flights of stairs. As soon as I walked in I ate a few pieces of cantaloupe. Perfect and sugary to help me get back to normal. Then I had lunch. Which was good, nothing exciting, but the best part of the day was digging into a bag of popcorn.

Popcorn, I have noticed, seems to be the hot food thing. I've seen two seperate stores downtown and Whole Foods has several different brands (my favorite is the hippiest looking one of the bunch, name to come). Anyways, near me in the Lower East Side is Pop Karma. The two flavors I tried are spicy barbecue and white truffle chedder. Both are delicious, and, thanks to my 35-mile ride today, I don't feel guilty for snacking.