The Organic Climber – Blogging about climbing, RAW foods, vegetarianism, running and cycling.

These past two weeks have been some of the most relaxing days I have ever had. On Saturday, November 13^th, I pulled away from a South Austin Church in a car plastered with silly string, the inside full of blown up condoms, and the stereo blaring Super Freak. I was a married man, wedded to the most beautiful woman ever, ready for a life-long adventure together.

Our adventure started with something I would have never done on my own – a cruise! If I had my way, we would have spent our honeymoon in the mountains. We thought about going to Hawaii at first so we could chill on the beach, as my wife loves to do, and we could also get some time in the mountains, but because of the cost and logistics I conceded and opted for the cruise, and I must say, I’m glad I did.

It was the most relaxing vacation I have ever had. We did nothing but relax! Our days on the ship were pretty much the same for the most part. We would sleep in as late as we wanted, and often times order breakfast in bed. After we were awake and well feed, we would head up to the Lido deck of the boat and lay out for a couple hours and read, all while sipping on the drink of the day, which was always served in some sort of souvenir cup.

After we had our fill of the sun we would eat lunch, which was usually followed by a long relaxing nap. Once we woke up from our nap we would get dressed and head to dinner. Dinner was always amazing. We never left that meal hungry. There was even a vegetarian selection each day. I would either opt for that or get a seafood dish. We even had seconds on occasion or ordered two appetizers each. There was no limit on how much food you could get. The service was also outstanding.

Out first port day was Jamaica, the day I was most excited about because we got to take a bus ride through the interior of the island. We toured the Appleton Estates rum distillery. The most interesting part was learning how the whole system was entirely sustainable. Every bit of the sugar cane was used, nothing was thrown away. The molasses was used to make the rum, the cane sugar was extracted and sold, and the leftover cane was burned, and the steam used to generate electricity. Even that ash was used to spread back onto the cane fields as fertilizer.

Jamaica is a very mountainous country; so I really enjoyed the bus ride though the hills, around twisting corners, through a beautiful rain forested landscape. I even departed from my vegetarian diet for a few minutes to indulge in a local delicacy – Jerk Chicken. I did however end up getting an upset stomach from it, but thankfully I was also drinking a Ginger Beer, another local treat. Ginger is great for soothing an upset stomach.

The return ride through the mountains was very long because we hit “traffic” which was the result of an 18 wheeler slowly making its way down the extremely narrow two-lane road, which was also the highway, one of Jamaica’s better roads. As we pulled into port we heard the ships horn sounding the final call for boarding, so we quickly grabbed a handful of post cards from the gift shop and boarded she ship. Upon arriving at our room we heard the ships horn blast its final call for boarding, we watched from our balcony as several people scrambled to get back on the ship.

The next port day was Grand Cayman. Sadly, our plans for this day were stunted by rain and cloudy skies. We had originally planned on taking a taxi to a locals beach and rent snorkel gear. But, because of the weather conditions we opted to stay close to the ship. After spending some time walking the streets and looking in gift shops we had a drink at a local pub, which was outdoors, and right along the shore. After our drink we decided to give snorkeling at the reef close to our ship a try.

It ended up being quite fun. We swam around, looking at the reef beneath us, and an old shipwreck. There wasn’t as many fish as I thought there would be, but it was still fun expelling air and diving down as closely to them as I could. There were several other people snorkeling around us, including a few divers. Going deep looked like it would have been a lot of fun. Upon finishing our snorkeling excursion we decided to head back to the boat and spend the rest of the day relaxing.

The final port day was Cozumel and our most enjoyable port day, as it was the first day we had sunshine. At Cozumel we hopped into a high priced cab and rode about 3-4 miles down the road to the State Beach, Chankanaab. Entry to the beach was also high priced; twice as much as we had thought. By the time we paid our cab fare, entry to the park and saved $12 for the cab ride home, we were left with a measly $17 for the day, which meant we were not going to be able to snorkel (or eat lunch) as planned.

We put our $17 to good used though. The beach was covered with small cabanas and waiters at the ready to serve you drink and food. We both opted for a cold beer, which I was quite surprised to discover my favorite Mexican beer, Indo, was not on the list of beers offered. So, I opted for a Sol, which you can also get in the States. For our second drink, we both got daiquiris; which, I wasn’t fully convinced had any alcohol in it. This also made me nervous as the drink was made from blended ice. They say in Mexico, “don’t drink the water,” but we ended up being ok. Only slight stomachaches resulted.

But, before having our second drink I struck up a conversation with a woman, from Canada that was getting out of the water with snorkel gear on. We told her how we were on our honeymoon and made it to the beach with very little money to spare. The woman was extremely nice, and she and her husband let us borrow their rented gear to snorkel around the reef.

It was very beautiful and full of fish, way more than we saw at Grand Cayman. It also helped that it was a sunny day as well. As we swam around, exploring the reef, large tuna would swim right by your side, you could reach right out and touch them, but they would swim away after feeling you reach for them. It was very enjoyable! We were so thankful for our Canadian friends that let us borrow their gear. It really made our day.

After that, we spent some more time relaxing on the beach and then made our way through the botanical garden and old Mayan Ruins they had set up throughout the garden. I’m not a huge history buff by any means, but I always enjoy looking at old artifacts like this. I just can’t fully enjoy it because I’m too lazy to read the plaques in front of the artifacts describing what they are. I’m the same way in museums. I love looking, just don’t care too much for learning.

After finishing up or Mayan Ruins tour we hopped into a cab and headed back to port. We also got ripped off on the cab as well. We attempted to share a cab with another couple but the guys running the cabs quickly shut the door and whistled for another cab to take us to port. Had we been able to share the cab, it would have only cost us $8 as opposed to $12. The locals definitely know how to work the system. But I really don’t mind it that much. They need the money.

The voyage home was just as relaxing as our first two days at sea. We did however have one evening where the sea was rougher than usual. You could really feel the ship moving around, but staff on the ship told us it was nothing compared to other days they have experienced where stuff is moving around all over the ship. Despite the choppy night at sea, we had a great time.

Many of our night were spent with the door to the balcony open, falling asleep to the crashing waves. It was one of the most enjoyable things I have ever experienced. And, lying there with my new bride made it even more surreal. It was splendid!

Granted, I would have rather gone to the mountains, I must say this was TRULY a relaxing vacation. I will definitely be doing this again. Sadly, the vacation is over though, but on the flip side I’m back in Austin, working hard on Adventure Naturals.

Speaking of, we need your help to get things up and running. If you donate as little as $5 you earn yourself an energy bar from our first batch of product. Please watch our video on Kickstarter and consider making a donation.

Trip Reports by OrganicClimber
cozumel, cruise, grand cayman, honeymoon, jamaica, mexico, Western Caribbean Cruise
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1. Proper portions are key. Continue maintaining a healthy portion of food at every meal; even at the big extravagant meals with family. The rule, “eat until content” still remains the same. If you eat until you are full, you have already overeaten.

2. Bring a healthy dish. Make sure to bring a healthy dish to your next Thanksgiving or Christmas feast to share with everybody. This will ensure you have something healthy to eat and are able to share the love with others at the same time. This might especially be important if you are vegetarian like myself.

3. Avoid the grazing tables. Fortunately, I no longer work in an office so I won’t be faced with the constant barrage of Holiday treats in the break room. You are best off avoiding them all together. Once you indulge it’s hard to not keep going back, unless you have a lot of self-control. Rather than grazing at the table, bring your own healthy snacks to curb your hunger, and as always – drink lots of water.

4. In addition to the grazing tables at work, avoid lingering around food when at parties. The temptation to constantly consume food is far less when it’s not right in front of you.

5. Make healthy holiday snacks. One of my favorite raw deserts to make around the Holiday’s is my raw oatmeal cookies. They are not only delicious, but healthy too! But remember, just because it’s raw food doesn’t mean you can’t overdo it.

6. Continue exercising. It can be easy to slip out of your regular exercise routine with all the extra time off work and time spent with family. Make sure you still maintain your normal level of exercise, if not more, because lets face it – you are still going to consume more calories, even if you manage to follow most of these tips.

7. Self-control is key. Just say no! When you are tempted to over indulge, just refuse to give into the temptation.

The Holiday’s can be a difficult time for even the healthiest of eaters to maintain a healthy diet. The tips above are just a few suggestions that have helped me at times. There is no magic formula for success, but I will say don’t forget to enjoy yourself. The Holiday’s are meant to share food with family and friends, so be careful that you don’t grow too pretentious about your “diet” that you alienate yourself from loved ones. Living life with loved ones is more important than food.

I would also like to share with you one of my favorite recipes that I like to bring to Holiday gatherings. This desert is one of my all-time favorite raw deserts.

Cinnamon Girls, from Matt Amsden’s Rawvolution

The Recipe
2 cups of raw almonds, finely ground in food processor
1/3 cups of cinnamon
1 cup of raisins
¾ cup of agave nectar
2 tbsp of olive oil

Directions: in a medium mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and stir until mixed well. Next, add the agave and olive oil and mix until a dough like consistency is reached. Using your hands, form ping-pong-sized balls and place into a container or large serving platter. Serve as is, or freeze overnight for a more solid consistency.

Health & Fitness, RAW Food, Recipes by OrganicClimber
christmas, fit, health, holiday, RAW Food, thanksgiving
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Well, I’m back in Austin after enjoying a week-long cruise with my new wife in the Western Caribbean. Now, I’m not normally a lay out in the sun type of person, but I really enjoyed the cruise. It was so relaxing. People waited on you hand and foot, dinner was prepared for you every night, your bed was made twice a day, food was always at the ready, and there was always somebody offering drinks.

We had a blast laying out in the sun, driving through the mountains in Jamaica to visit a rum distillery, and even snorkeling. Oh, and we had LOTS of nap time too. That was one of the best parts of the trip. I’m spending today catching up on emails, promoting the Kickstarter Project (as seen in the side bar), doing laundry, and cleaning the house. I will be sure to post a full trip report later this week, before Thanksgiving.

If you haven’t donated to our Kickstarter project yet, please consider doing so. The quicker we raise our startup funds the sooner we can start production. All giving levels ($5 and up) will receive a gift of at least one energy bar.

RAW Food, Trip Reports by OrganicClimber
cruise, energy bar, honeymoon, kickstarter, RAW Food
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Well, my wedding day is almost here and I managed to complete our Kickstarter project for Adventure Naturals. I knew I could get it done, but a small part of me freaked out when my business parter had to cancel our shoot last week due to flooding in his house. But we were able to shoot Tuesday morning, and I managed to edit the video in a short amount of time. It’s not perfect, but it will do until I get back from the Honeymoon and redo the entire thing!

I hope you will take a moment to check out our project and consider donating. Donating as little as $5 gets you an energy bar. We are trying to raise $5,000 on Kickstarter, but we really need $10,000 to get started, so please, keep on giving after the $5,000 goal is met. You still get gifts for the donation and we get closer to what we actually need to start.

Anyway, I will be out of pocket for the next week and a half (going on a cruise with my lovely new wife), but my business partner will be answering any emails and messages through Kickstarter. It’s always been my dream to run my own business, and what better business to start than a raw food company? It truly combines all my passions. So, please, help my dream become a reality

Climbing, Cross Training, Cycling, Health & Fitness, Nutty Friday, RAW Food, Recipes, Running, Smoothie Tuesday, Trip Reports, Uncategorized by OrganicClimber
business, energy bar, food, kickstarter, RAW
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Google Pedometer Map of the Route

It was a cold morning, the air was very crisp and they sky was clear. I debated skipping out on the 32-mile bike ride. After all, I haven’t been on a long ride in over a month, and I recently found out I had bone contusions. Although I had been cleared to ride, I thought about using the injury as an excuse to sleep in another couple of hours. But I managed to gather my warm weather biking cloths, which is basically my normal outdoor gear, since I have yet to buy actually cycling clothing for warmer weather, other than a pair of nice gloves.

As I drove to Mellow Johnny’s bike shop, which is owned by Lance Armstrong, I wondered if they would even still have the ride. I think I was still looking for excuses to skip out on the ride for some reason. Upon arriving at the shop I realized I wasn’t going to find a place to park close by because of the farmer’s market a couple blocks down and a bike swap that was being hosted in the parking lot. I ended up parking just a couple blocks down in a city parking lot.

While I was taking my bike off the rack, changing into my cycling shoes, and putting on my jacket another couple with bikes parked two spaces down from me. Both were decked out in Mellow Johnny’s cycling jerseys; the nice long sleeve ones too. I was a bit jealous of their gear. I don’t cycle enough yet to justify special gear for the sport (other than my one short sleeved jersey). The gear I normally wear on climbing trips is perfectly functional for the cold rides, but just not ideal. After seeing the couple I knew the shop was having rides that day, so I hopped on the bike after fully gearing up and pedaled over to the shop.

Upon arriving I found a bike rack full of other cyclist’s bikes. It was on! The group ride was taking place despite the cold temperatures. I had to remind myself that things would warm up once we got rolling. The group was much smaller than the previous ride I had been on. The cold definitely scared some riders away. The route we were taking was the hilly course that I first rode on the last Mellow Johnny’s group ride. The route takes you through hilly residential neighborhoods and out west on Bee Cave Rd., a scenic ride with excellent views of the Hill Country.

I was a bit worried about not being able to finish the entire ride because of my knee injuries; I even tried to find a friend to go on the ride with me so we could turn around if my knees started giving out. But, surprisingly I did really well. I even kept up with the fastest riders in the group. I even felt we were going to slow at times.

The new Cannondale Caad9 handled like a dream. I felt like it glided up hills. During the entire ride I only left the largest front chain ring once. On previous rides, with my older Specialized Secteur, I had to drop into the smallest chain ring on multiple hills. But, the Cannondale is fast and light. I feel like if I did drop down into the smaller chain ring for some of the bigger hills I would have been able to take them on a lot faster. Even though I didn’t have to use the smaller ring, I did lose some speed towards the top on some hills.

I also think my older bike was a bad fit. It was a 58” frame, but the new bike is 56”. I really feel like the better fit made a big difference as well. The Shimano 105 components also made for smoother shifting. Given my current injuries, that didn’t allow me to give 100% on the ride, I think I will be even faster on this new ride once I fully heal. I never really believed a better bike can make that much of a difference in your speed and ability to climb hills, but after getting a new bike and taking on a ride I have done a couple times before, and performing better WITH injuries; I have no doubt a good bike makes a huge difference in performance.

As far as the knees go, there was very little pain during the ride, but I feel like adrenaline may have masked some pain that was actually there. A few hours after I finished the ride some increased pain set in. I had even ice down both knees right after the ride, drank a delicious recovery smoothie, and took some anti-inflammatories, but it didn’t matter. I still have a little bit more pain than I did before the ride, but I’m not sure how much of that I can attribute to the ride. I think part of the pain may be because of the colder weather we have had lately.

Anyway, this might be my last post before the wedding this weekend. It will actually be the last post for a couple weeks because we are going on a week-long cruise. We are so excited to spend an entire week relaxing and enjoying our new marriage. I will be sure to take lots of pictures and post an update when I return.

Cross Training, Cycling by OrganicClimber
caad9, cannondale, cycling, knee injury, recovery
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Earlier this week I finally made a trip to an Orthopedic Specialist to get my knees and MRI’s further examined. As it turns out, the cause of my knee pain isn’t likely the torn meniscus, but rather bone contusions. Bone contusions are basically small micro fractures inside the bone. The can be very painful and can take months to heal. This wasn’t the most encouraging news, but I am glad that I will not likely require surgery for the torn meniscus.

The Orthopedic wants me to wait a couple months to see if the contusions heal so we can figure out of the meniscus is part of the problem, but based on his assessment the primary cause for the pain is the contusions. The biggest down side is that I have to rest from running until I am healed. I have been cleared to cycle though since that is low impact. Cycling will actually benefit the problem  by increasing blood flow to the knees, which will help reduce inflammation. I have also read online from others suffering from bone bruising that cycling was beneficial for them. So, that is encouraging.

I had completely forgotten to ask the doctor about climbing though, so I will have to follow up with him to get his opinion on that. I’m really surprised that is not the first thing I asked. But for some reason running and cycling was the only thing on my mind at the time. I have missed all three activities a lot. I’m excited that I will at least be able to be active in one of those three.

I plan on continuing with my anti-inflammatory regiment as well to keep inflammation down around the knee. Tomorrow I will be going on my first long ride since the accident five weeks ago. I hope I will be able to last for the whole ride (30 miles). I would hate to have to turn back early and ride home alone. I much prefer riding in a large group, especially after having experienced being hit by a car. It’s not something I want to experience again.

I plan on bringing along my Canon G9 with me for the ride and capturing some video to use on the video I’m working on to post on Kickstarter to raise startup funds for Adventure Naturals. Hopefully the weather is good, we have a good number of riders, and that I’m able to keep up. I will be sure to post about how the ride went.

In even more exciting news, I am getting married in eight days! So this next week is going to be extremely busy. I will be surprised if I’m able to launch our Kickstarter project, but I do hope I can get that going before we leave for the Honeymoon Cruise in the Western Caribbean. I’m looking forward to a week of relaxing, but at the same time I have been enjoying working on Adventure Naturals so much, I will miss it. I’m sure I will be ready to get back into it immediately upon returning. It feels so great to have found something I am so passionate about that I enjoy every bit of my work. I look forward to sharing my healthy creations with you all.

Climbing, Cross Training, Cycling, Running, Uncategorized by OrganicClimber
bone contusion, cycling, knee, knee pain, recovery, rock climbing, Running, torn meniscus
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This past Saturday I was sort of forced prematurely into getting back onto two wheels. For those of you that may be reading my blog for the first time, I was in a bike accident about a month ago. This past Saturday was my first time back on a bike after purchasing a new ride.

I wasn’t planning on getting back onto the bike this early for a number of reasons; one, I haven’t received a check from the insurance company yet to purchase a new one. Two, I’m just not ready yet. And three, my knees! But, an unfortunate loss of my fiancées car keys lead to the premature re-entry to bike commuting.

My fiancée had to be in Dallas for a wedding shower on Saturday, and takes my car on longer trips since it’s more reliable. So, when she takes my car I drive her old Toyota Camry. But unfortunately, we lost her keys. They are nowhere to be found, so without a means of transportation while she was in Dallas I was forced into getting back onto the bike a bit early.

As far as the condition of my knees goes, It wasn’t a huge concern since my chiropractor told me that light biking should be alright, running though was out of the question – which I miss dearly. So I went to test ride the bike I had been thinking about purchasing that morning; pedaling felt smooth and didn’t aggravate the torn meniscus. Riding felt pretty good too, but I was also riding in a controlled environment, without traffic.

So, after the second test ride I decided to take the plunge and purchase the bike. Since the future of my fiancées car was uncertain as is, I will eventually need transportation since she works in North Austin and I only require working from coffee shops or other places with an internet connection.

Later that afternoon, my fiancée left for Dallas and I was left with a new pair of wheels to get me around town. Within a couple hours of her leaving I already needed to head South to the apartment I was staying at to pick up a couple of things. The apartment was only about four miles away, but it was probably the longest four miles I have ridden in my life.

I stuck to the bike routes to get there, which actually put me on the busy street where I was hit just a month ago. I was hesitant! Every intersection I approached I went through with the utmost caution, checking out the cars trying to merge into traffic, attempting to make sure they saw me, and looking ahead into traffic for potential cars making a left hand turn… it was nerve-wracking to say the least.

As I continued on with my ride I approached my first turn safely and proceeded down another bike lane on another busy street. The first potential danger I saw on this street was a car attempting to come out of a parking lot while another car was coming turning in. I was blocked from the exiting cars view, so I proceeded with caution and safely passed the car that was attempting to come out. My senses of what is going on around me have greatly heightened. I know this seems like a good thing, but it has me a bit rattled. I felt like was ride wasn’t as enjoyable as they once were.

The next potential troublesome situation I came across was a guy holding an oversized sign in front of some retail stores that seemed to be blocking the vision of the car attempting to merge into traffic behind him, so I slowed down to make sure he saw me coming. Once we made eye contact I safely passed and arrived at my destination shortly after that.

The return ride was a bit easier as it takes you through a residential area with a wide street and bike lane. I felt pretty safe along this road, but the downside of this bike route ais that it doesn’t connect with any other routes going north, so I eventually had to merge onto a busy street that sees bike traffic fairly frequently (but doesn’t have a bike lane). Thankfully though the distance I had to go along this street was minimal… only a few blocks. I once again arrived safely back at my fiancées apartment.

Earlier in the day I had gotten a text message inviting me to watch the World Series game and cook out. So, rather than stay home by myself I hopped on the bike and made the trek a few miles east. This trip was less nerve-wracking than my first commute back on the bike, as the streets traveled on had bike lanes, less traffic, and a wide street.

Part of the journey took me through St. Edward’s campus and back onto a busy street, where I opted to stay on the sidewalk. Shortly after, I arrived at my destination. People there were surprised I was back on the bike this early. So was I. These past several weeks I had been jonesing to get back on my bike, but when the time actually came I was very apprehensive.

I feel my bad experience has taken away some of the joy and freedom I felt while riding. I wonder if I will ever feel as free as I did before the accident? I wonder how I will fare when I go on my first long bike ride? I know one thing for sure; I will be sticking to group rides. There is safety in numbers. I also hope that I will soon be able to fully enjoy bike commuting again.

The accident affected me far more than I thought it did. It has me pretty shaken up about riding in general. Before the accident there was never really a fear of getting hit, even thought I have heard stories and known people that have been hit. I just never thought it would happen to me. Being hit on a bike is far different than being hit in a car, where you are surrounded by metal and held in with seat belts. Riding a bike leaves you so exposed.

It’s an exposure that I’m not fully comfortable with yet, but I will only overcome my fear if I keep riding. I do hope though I can maintain my heightened since of awareness and still be able to enjoy riding.

As far as long distance rides go, I don’t know when I will be able to do that again. My knees don’t feel up to the challenge and I still haven’t meet with an Orthopedic Specialist to determine the extent of the damages. I hope that mere physical therapy will bring me down the road of recovery, but surgery is a definite possibility. I’m scared that this will end up being the case, but I pray that it is not.

Do you have a story about recovering from an injury that put a damper on doing the things you love? Please, share it here. I find it encouraging to hear others stories that have been through something similar.

Cycling by OrganicClimber
accident, biking, cannondale, cycling, recovery
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