Making energy bars

18th October 2014

Had the urge to make my own bars as I get through quite a few of them! Found they last very well in a sealed container, fun to make and ultimately tasty!

Recipe as follows:

1 cup quick cooking rolled oats

1/2 cup raw unsalted sunflower seeds

1/2 cup toasted wheat germ

1/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup dried apricots

1/2 cup raw almonds

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup pitted dried dates

1/2 cup powdered nonfat dry milk

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/3 cup pure maple syrup

2 large eggs

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

Place all ingredients except the syrup and eggs in a food processor and pulse until the mixture is finely chopped. Add the syrup and eggs and pulse until the mixture is well combined. It will resemble a coarse paste.

Transfer to the baking pan and spread evenly. Bake until just done, about 20 minutes. Cut into 20 squares.

Enjoy!

Stay in and watch a film?

17th October 2014

I'm a strange creature I am. But in a good way, of course. 

Statistics have shown that the cycling scene has exploded in the Uk! Fortunately for me though, only 20% of those venture onto the singletrack. 

It's clearer to me after today that there isn't anything the road can give me. Exercise never came into the equation. It was all about having one thing in life to get excited about, one thing to think about when you have free time, not a million interests that require your attention otherwise they start to gather dust. 

Mountain biking gets you out there, in the centre of the beauty with a little bit of effort. Even now the scenery is changing rapidly from the luscious green trees that surrounded me only a couple of months ago. But even then, it's only the wind and the rain that really makes you feel alive. Getting in the thick of it when most of the 20% would rather be watching Waterloo Road. 

It feels a bit like watching a movie at the cinema. You could either get the best view of it whilst in the comfort of a designated seat (the road) or you could actually be in the film yourself getting a firm grasp of what's in front of you. 

Even 3D glasses couldn't make it look this good. 

Wind, rain & lots of mud

13th October 2014

Today has been dreamed about since I got back into Mountain Biking. The wind was up, the clouds painted a landscape of every shade of grey whilst pissing it down with rain. 

As mud sprayed up my back and over my face we glid down the singletrack lined with fallen leaves that glistened from the rain. 

Today had been long awaited, hopefully there will be more like this.