Maintaining my figure

"With all your riding, shouldn't you be a lot lighter?" A simple question, as my roommate at PAC Tour Desert Camp this spring tries to reconcile my stories of randonneuring with their Clydesdale-ish teller.

Probably so, I guess. But I really like to eat. Yesterday Amy and Robin Pieper joined me for a 200km permanent (#624) that loops from Arlington up to Bellingham and back. The Piepers claimed not to have been riding but were quite speedy.

After 45 kilometers, we stop in the control town of Sedro Wooley at a bakery cafe. I order an apple fritter larger than my head to go with my latte. The clerk hands me the fritter in a bag, then realizes that we are planning to sit and eat. She puts the fritter on a plate but gives me the bag anyway. "No one finishes those; you'll need the bag." I didn't.

In Bellingham, we met Dan Turner for lunch at the Mambo Italiano Cafe. I have the spaghetti carbonara, a caesar salad, a pint of Mac & Jacks, and bread and olive oil while waiting. After the meal, Robin gets the check. I look over his shoulder. Nearly half the bill for our party of four is for my stuff.

A lovely, scenic 200 kilometer ride with nice views along Lake Whatcom and Chuckanut Drive consumes 9900 calories according to my GPS. The Garmin provides a wealth of information, but it doesn't provide a net calorie reading. If it only knew what was happening during those zero kph pauses.