Follow-up to post (http://cyclingfoodie.com/2013/02/an-adventurous-weekend/) …
I am very happy to say that Trek (http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/) did cover the rim under warranty.
Thank you
Freewheeler Bicycle Center
in Davis
(http://freewheelerbikes.com/)
for your help!
It was a weekend full of surprises and adventures.
Yikes. Really hoping that Trek will cover this under warranty. I bought my Trek 5000 in 2009, so I am within the 5-year warranty period. The Trek shop in Davis (Freewheeler) is going to submit a claim on my behalf.
Just a little roll on some Davis country roads on Saturday afternoon. A lovely day! Wish I had been up for more.
Saturday ... A little dough experimentation ... Whole Wheat & Rye Piadine Dough with fresh thyme and fennel seeds.
Fennel seeds have lots of health benefits, one of them being they are soothing to the belly. Just enjoy it in small amounts.
Sunday … got a longer ride in, but no photos. Then, home and baked a batch of bread to share as a thank you gift. This is another variation of the Tassajara whole wheat bread recipe I’ve used for years. This one has whole wheat, pumpernickel, millet, rye, and a bit of polenta. It made for wonderful toast this morning!
Sunday ... Whole Wheat, Pumpernickel, Millet, and Oat.
The weather was incredible this weekend for cycling – not too cold, not too warm, not too windy. All in all … if I could do it over again, I would! I’ll just have to wait 5 days. I’m super busy at work … they’ll go fast.
Speaking of going fast … training time for the 2013 Napa Valley Tour de Cure sure is flying by! Just 3 months to go!!! Please support me in this ride – you can make a donation here: http://tour.diabetes.org/site/TR?pg=pfind&fr_id=6830
As promised, here is follow-up on the mushroom pizza.
Solano Mushroom Farms, organic mushrooms
At the Davis Farmers’ Market, I stopped by the Solano Mushroom Farm table and picked up some gorgeous organic mushrooms. I chose a combination of (from top left): maitake, shiitake, royal trumpet, and oyster mushrooms. The shiitake and royal trumpet mushrooms provide a nice, meaty texture, and the maitake and oysters a lighter, more delicate texture. They all provide great nutrition and flavor.
Another stop on my way yesterday was the Davis Co-op (http://davisfood.coop/). This is my go-to store for bulk foods. They have a great selection of flours, grains, and different rices that I like to keep on hand.
I made a variation of the Piadine dough I’ve been using for pizza.
Whole Wheat Rye Piadine Dough
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 1/2 cup cool water
1/4 cup Rye
3/4 cup Whole Wheat
2 1/2 cup White Bread Flour
1/2 Guisto’s High Protein Whole Wheat
2 tablespoons Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
I got a little distracted and wasn’t paying attention. I added all of the flour at once, rather than leaving some of it out until the end. Ooops … my dough was a quite a bit tighter than I usually make it, but I decided to go with it. I did add about another tablespoon of olive oil while it was mixing. This isn’t my usual method, but this is what I did for this batch:
The initial shaping ...
Getting ready for the second rounding ...
This is enough dough for two large pizzas. Round the dough into two balls, place each in an oiled bowl large enough to allow the dough to double in size. Cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator. The dough is best left to rise in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours (overnight is better), or if you need it sooner, you can let it rise at room temperature. It would be ready in about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, depending on room temperature, the temperature of the water, and so on. Allowing the dough to rise in the refrigerator will allow more flavor and a better texture to develop. You’ll want to take the dough out of the refrigerator about an hour before you plan to shape and cook it.
So, I’d had a busy morning already … Davis Farmers’ Market, a stop at Davis Wheelworks (http://www.daviswheelworks.com/), Davis Food Co-op (http://davisfood.coop/), and making the dough. Now it’s time for a ride.
We rode to Winters and back. I had a new saddle for my Colnago, a Terry Butterfly. The ride was going great! I rode a lot stronger than I thought I was going to be able to – I haven’t been getting much cycling in since I hurt my knee in November. It felt GREAT to be out there. It was a beautiful day, I had wonderful company, and am loving my new bike! We made our usual stop in Winters, at Steady Eddies, shared a Coke and an oat cake, playfully gave a stranger a bad time about where he parked his bike, then headed back Putah Creek Road. Then a funny thing happened. Within minutes after my cycling partner took off on a sprint, something started to feel funny. Somehow my saddle position had changed and I was riding way too far back. I stopped and discovered that my saddle had come loose. Oh, dear. I had no idea how to fix this, and no tools. So I waited. I knew he would come back … eventually. So I waited. Then I called … and called … and called … and then my phone wouldn’t work … stupid Verizon. In the time I waited, about 5 cyclists rode past. I am happy to say that all but one asked if I needed help. The last one to stop was the first one to have the tools to fix my saddle. Just as he was fixing it, my cycling partner rode back up and recognized this cyclist as the stranger we chatted with at Steady Eddies. You just have to love the kindness of strangers!
So, we got home, got cleaned up, and I went to find the perfect wine for the pizza. I went to Nugget and got there minutes after the Wine Guy left for the day. A back up wine guy made a few suggestions. I ultimately decided on an Aquinas 2010 Napa Valley Pinot Noir. This did go nicely with the pizza, but I think an earthier pinot would have been nice, too.
Let the sauteed mushrooms cool a bit
I sliced the mushrooms and sauteed them for about 3 minutes in a bit of organic extra virgin olive oil. I added a touch of fresh thyme towards the end of the saute. You’ll want to let these cool before placing them on the pizza dough. You are going to want to preheat your oven to at least 450 to 500 degrees. It depends on your oven how long this will take, but just be sure that the oven and pizza stone are well preheated before baking your pizza. If you’re making a thin crust pizza, you’ll want to place the stone towards the top of the oven. If you’re making a thicker crust, you’ll want to be towards the middle. If you place the rack too close to the bottom of the oven, you may cook the bottom but not the top of the pizza. There is a huge amount of variation in home ovens, so this may take some practice to get it just right.
There are lots of techniques for shaping pizza dough. I always do this by hand, not with a rolling pin, because I want to keep some bubbles in the dough. I like to keep an edge all the way around, and you can’t really do that using a rolling pin, either. I don’t pull in the dough, but rather gently stretch is, using my fists on the underside of the dough. Just after high school, I worked in a couple of pizza restaurants and learned how the professionals do it. You will want to work quickly or the dough will stick to the peel. You’ll want to flour the peel and I like to sprinkle some polenta on it, also. That will help prevent sticking and the polenta adds a nice crunch to the finished pizza.
The shaped pizza dough.
Top with Quattro Formaggio
Add sauteed mushrooms.
Add smoked mozzarella & freshly ground black pepper.
Slide the pizza from the peel onto the preheated baking stone. One of the tricks I learned was to gently shake the peel side to side a bit before sliding the pizza off onto the stone. This will let you know if the dough has stuck to the peel. The more quickly you can work once the shaped dough has been placed on the peel, the less likely it is to stick.
Slide the prepared pizza from the peel onto the preheated baking stone. Bake about 8 minutes, then check the pizza and rotate it front to back to ensure even cooking.
Bake until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is well melted. I like the cheese to get just a bit browned.
The finished pizza.
I usually slide the pizza onto a cooling rack for a moment before cutting it. This just helps it to set up and keeps the crust a little crispier. This pizza had no sauce, so there was little risk of it getting soggy. We didn’t want to wait long to cut this one.
Serve with some mixed greens and tomatoes lightly dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette.
We will definitely make this again!
It is another stunningly beautiful, yet quite chilly, morning. If I am going to ride today, I had better get out there soon because I have LOTS to do today.
I’m happy to say that I’m officially and properly pedaled now. All it took was for one person to be very encouraging and patient, and to not laugh at me for being afraid of the pedals.
And there you go.
The smile of victory. I did it!
Last weekend I promised that I would use the new pedals this weekend. The “real” pedals.
I know that many of you out there are wondering “What’s the big deal?” Those of you who know me know that I have been terrified to make the switch to the clipless pedals, so this is a huge deal for me.
The pedals are going on the Colnago tonight. My Trek 5000 will now be my trainer / rain bike.
As the late great painter Bob Ross liked to say: “We don’t have mistakes here, we just have happy accidents.”
Two weeks ago, I happened to notice on our Davis Bike Club newsgroup that someone was selling a 58 cm Colnago Ace that he won at The Davis Hall of Bicycling Fame auction the weekend before. He and his wife thought it would fit their son, but it didn’t. All they wanted was their money back and the price was more than reasonable.
Here is the description of this frame from the Colnago website:
“The Ace offers head-turning style with spine-saving comfort. Specifically designed to provide an easy ride for Gran Fondo riders and those who are just starting to take their cycling seriously the Ace provides a more upright and comfortable position than our standard geometries. The frame is a carbon fibre monocoque and features round main tubes and square chainstays. The study of cross-sections, combined with a careful analysis of the layout of the carbon fibres has made it possible to maximise comfort without compromising lateral stiffness for performance and riding pleasure. Available in eight sloping sizes and three colour variations.”
Now I really don’t need another road bike right now (and your point is … ?), but, given the modest price they were asking I at least had to check the geometry on the Colnago web site to see how well it would fit me. Well this thing was going to be just spot on! I quickly e-mailed the seller telling them to consider it sold and arranged to pick it up that afternoon.
After meeting with them and having a really great chat about the bike, I paid them and loaded it up without riding it. For one it didn’t have pedals and I already knew the geometry was spot on for me anyway.
The next day after just a minor adjustment to the seat height, I hopped on for a little shakedown ride. Immediately, however, something just didn’t seem right. It felt way too small. I couldn’t understand it—this thing should have fit as well as a custom made frame. Not even a mile into the ride I knew this was just not going to work and was trying to figure out what I was going to do with this thing. At first I thought I could strip the parts off, and sell the frame and fork on eBay, get most of my money back and keep the parts for an upcoming project. But the more I thought about it, I realized that I just might be able to get this thing to fit Ms. Foodie.
Making a few minor adjustments for Ms. Foodie ...
After getting home and measuring the fit of her Trek 5000 I knew that there was more than a chance. In fact, while measuring the Colnago frame it became clear to me that it had to be a 56 cm model and not a 58 cm—so that explains why it felt too small for me. After adjusting the seat height and swapping in a shorter stem I could see that the taller head tube and shorter top tube of the Colnago actually could make for a better fit for her than the Trek she has been riding.
All was confirmed the next day with a lovely Winters and back ride of about 35 miles. Considering the great price we got on it, I do think it is worthy of a component upgrade in the not-too-distant future, (though the Campy Veloce 10 components do perform quite adequately), but for now still a great performing bike as is.
Sweet bike ... sweet story behind it.
A special guest blogger will will be sharing details and progress of the renovation.
Super Sport in all its 1972 glory*
I will have one of THE coolest bikes in Bicycle City!
* Source: http://waterfordbikes.com/SchwinnCat/flschwinn_1971_1980/1971_12.html
Today's ride
And not only that … my first ride with a heart rate monitor.
Next thing you know, I’ll do the pedals. Everyone (yes, virtually every cyclist I know!) is telling me I’ll never be a real cyclist until I change to the “real” pedals. OK, OK, I’m getting there!
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