Table for Three: An Accidental Eating Strategy

My initial strategy for TI wasn't anything original. Use Perpetuem and grab food at Kwik Marts. No rocket science there.

But as Corey, B.J. and I rolled through Independence, we paused at a right hand turn with a Deli on our right and a convenience store on our left. It didn't take much conversation and we were walking our bikes toward the deli. As we leaned our bikes against the window, an incredibly annimated woman gestured at Corey in complete astonishment. We couldn't hear her, but she clearly was surprised by something. As we strolled in, she gapped at Corey and in a near yell said, "Are those your real legs!?! I thought you were on stilts!!" This isn't anything Corey hasn't heard before and it handled it gracefully, chatting with this overzealous woman, answering the standard questions about Ragbrai, where we were from and all the other usuals. We grabbed some tasty subs, watching the meat sliced as we waited. I over-ordering a foot long and wasting half of it in the trash. I later found out that MW, Butch and Jeff also made the deli decision. Great minds.

We weren't done passing on gas station fair though. Around 5pm, we rolled into a city whose name I unfortunately can't remember, but if you rode TI, you will likely remember the Pizza Parlour. When we hit town, I was worked. I had not been eating enough calories all day to make up for what we were burning and it had taken its toll. I wasn't in a full bonk, but I was about as close as you can get. My feet were also buring in the same way I described one hurting during Ouachita.

As we walked in and made our way to the counter, a table of clever teens hit us with the Lance Armstrong jokes, but it was easy to passover. We grabbed a table for three near the front window and I quickly feel into a state of half consciousness. Burgers and fries all around. I can't speak for Corey and B.J. but I suspect they thought I was done. Overall, we spent about 70 minutes in the place, but the food was nice and likely just what I needed. Don't forget to tip your waitress and with me coming back to life we were off again.

It wasn't exactly the most expediant way to roll TransIowa, but one thing I will always keep in mind was that getting ahead on time paid. Perhaps it cost a little too, but the point remains that without forcing ourselves ahead, we wouldn't have had the luxury of a sit down meal recovery.

As I look back, I now see that I was eating based on old levels of power and fitness. With the ability to go harder came the need to eat more frequently as well. Lesson learned.

It's probably good there wasn't an obvious breakfast joint in the last pass-through town. I might have sprung for eggs and toast. Had there been a cafe with espresso, you know it would have been time for a triple.

Corey and I believe we spent (or wasted) five hours eating and hanging out during TI. It would be interesting to stick to Kwik stop fare and remove the five hours, but I like the way we handled things this time, even if I did get mistaken for Lance.