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Make Your Own Post Workout Shake
By Thom | March 7, 2009
As a fitness expert, I know the importance of eating well, especially after a workout. During your workouts, your body is literally breaking down. Muscles are being diced up like sushi on a Friday night, your blood is being slung through your veins like a little kid that just found paint and your skin is oozing out water and electrolytes like a old kitchen sponge.
Yum!
So, after your workout, you want to immediately start repairing your body with something easy to digest and palatable so that it will adapt for your next great workout. What you are looking for in a post workout recovery meal or shake is a good number of simple carbohydrates and fast-digesting proteins. The best way to do this ‘naturally’ is chocolate milk (used by a lot of the Canadian hockey teams) or yogurt. Both of these are pretty good, easy to carry, generally taste good, and are fairly cheap and I still do recommend them to anyone to have after their workout.
However, each do have their limitations. The biggest gripe for me is that they aren’t really portable without cooling, so it’s hard to take them to the gym, unless you like warm milk. The second is chocolate milk is generally composed of milk, sugar, and chocolate. Milk contains whey protein, which is very fast at getting to your diced muscles, but it also contains casein (roughly 80% according to Wikipedia), which is very slow at digesting. Plus, the sugar in most chocolate milk is high fructose corn syrup. Fructose is one of the slowest digesting carbohydrates, which doesn’t help us on recovery very well. Yogurt is very similar, except that it generally has a larger amount of whey protein but still generally contains high fructose corn syrup. I still recommend these two over nothing at all however, as both will provide you with something better than just plain water.
So what can we do to still have a cheap, yet good alternative?
2 things:
- High quality whey protein powder – I reommend ON Naural
- Gatorade (or equivalent) powder
Note: Use Gatorade powder over the bottled drink version because now most bottled versions rely on high fructose corn syrup for their sugar (not good!)
We mix these two so that you a have a ratio of 4:1 carbohydrate and protein mix.
Now, most research studies recommend 1 gram of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight (for me I’m 75 kilos or 165lbs so I’m going with 75 grams of carbohydrates)
Here’s a link to convert your body weight pounds into kilograms
Alright, now we mix those 75 grams of carbohydrates with 25 grams of protein powder and we are all set! It’s very easy to pack in a small plastic container and thrown in your gym bag for after your workout.
End Result
After your workout, you’ll need a big heaping scoop mixed with roughly 16 ounces of water (less or more depending upon your tastes) and a quick stir. Down this as your finishing your workout and you will be on your way to a great recovery.
Note: One scoop (in the big container of Gatorade) is equal to 65 grams of carbs per scoop
Cost:
- Protein powder at $24 at GNC = $0.31 per serving
- Gatorade powder $11 at a warehouse store = $0.36 per serving
Total Cost: $0.67 per serving
Not too shabby for a cheap, yet very good post workout recovery mix.
Topics: How To's, Nutrition | No Comments »
How To – Honda Silverwing – Hot Gas Tank Issues
By Thom | February 15, 2009
During my Westward Distraction trip, I had been noticing that my gas tank had been getting very hot due to the warm temperatures, constant riding, large tank bag and little stopping time. The tank was getting so hot that it was almost impossible to touch and I could smell the tank venting as I rode. At the same time, I would imagine that there was quite a bit of gas that was evaporating from tank and costing me money.I thought about attaching a frying pan to the top of the tank so that I could have pancakes and eggs while I drive, but I couldn’t find a way to hold the pancake batter in corners… please let me know if you have a solution!
I attempted to ride for a while with the tank bag off, and that seemed to help, but it wasn’t a permanent solution. So I decided to purchase some LARGE ‘Reflect a Cool’ “heat tiles” from Aerostich. They cost me less than $18 and were very simple to install.
The strips are easily cut with any sharp object and were easy to bend and conform to the underside of my tank. They have a sticky adhesive on one side that seems to work very well. It does take some persistence in putting them on so that they don’t wrinkle, but I’m very happy with the results.
These strips should also prevent your ignition from shorting to the gas tank while you ride in the rain/through puddles.
Note: I would suggest that you drain your tank and then prop it up so that any remaining gas is on the bottom. I used some kitty food as a malleable base for my tank.
Easy Installation: Take off your tank, drain, prop. Then just cut the strips and carefully place them on the underside of your tank. I tried to cover as much as possible. I left an inch gap where the tank has a pretty harsh angle. The material is very thin, so you shouldn’t have any problems with the tank not fitting after installation. After, replace your tank, fill with fuel and enjoy.
Picture of the results:
Topics: How To's | 2 Comments »
Honda Silverwing Gl500 or CX500 Service or Parts Manual Download
By Thom | February 10, 2009
I’ve always been a fan of wrenching on my own bike… that is to say… I’ve always NEEDED to wrench on my bike. I guess it’s part of the fun of owning a vintage bike. I’ve saved literally thousands of dollars working on my bike – for instance, a stator replacement on my Silverwing would have been $850 from the local Honda dealership. Most of time with an older bike, you have to do most of your work by yourself or with a friend that has some mechanical experience. The number of dealers willing to work on the Cx / Gl / Silverwing motorcycles are getting fewer and fewer. Luckily for you, here are some places that you can download the service manuals for free:
Note: These sites go up/down all the time, so please download and save the manuals right away. This site was last updated on 4/22/11.
First, here are several links that will help you with nearly anything cx or gl related:
- choppercharles.com – A forum dedicated to Honda Cx and Gl’s exclusively – the #1 spot for information!
- Genebitsystems - A very informative website (from a great friend of mine) with several helpful write-ups and ride reports about trips taken on a G500.
- Cx/Glfixing - Interesting write-ups, several links for European Riders
Here are some of the technical write ups that I did for working with the Honda CX or GL
Listed below are WORKING LINKS
Very good resource with several “extra” files
Another resource for a parts manual or a service manual is from (NOTE:They have only the service manual for the GL500 and GL650 Silverwing)
Another resource for CX and GL manuals
A resource for other bike models including the Honda Common Service Manual – many BMW manuals for free
Below is a link to a complete CX500 motor tear down and rebuild
Below is a list of the trips that I took on my Siverwing over the years, I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed taking the trips
- Westward Distraction (MN to CA and back)
- Eastward Distraction (MN to VT and back)
- Eastward Distraction Part 2 (MN to FL and back)
- Trip to Bayfield, WI
- IronButt Saddlesore 1000 – 1000 miles in 24 hours
Places that I reguarly order my CX and GL Parts from
- Bikebandit.com They have great parts fiches and decent shipping costs
- ServiceHonda.com They have better prices on parts, but it’s hard to know whether or not shipping is going to be expensive -Generally the cheapest of all the places I shop
- Oldbikebarn.com Many people I know have had good luck with them
- Randakks.com – Randakk’s Cycle Shack – A GREAT place to get a carb rebuild kit and new grips for your bike.
- German/Deutch CX parts shop - never ordered from them, but they look legit.
- David Silver Spares – The UK’s premiere Gl500 parts store
- My Local Dealer – I’ve had very good luck working with Iowa City’s Don’s Honda, they are great, and a worker happens to own a yellow GL500I, When I lived in Duluth, I DID NOT LIKE working with Duluth’s RJ’s Sport and Cycle – they have horrible customer service
Good luck wrenchin’!
Listed Below Are NONWORKING Links
CX Service Manual Site:
Rob Davis’s CX resorces site – Extremely informative with many different helpful write-ups with great pictures. Gone now 
CX Service Manual (Warning: very large files) (Also, I don’t know how long these are going to stay up, I’ll attempted to keep them updated)
The biggest and arguably the best site for motorcycle manuals is:
Most of these places have parts, owners, and/or service manuals for:
The CX line: cx500C, CX500, CX500 Turbo, CX500TC, CX650, CX650C, CX650T
And the GL line from: GL500, GL500I, GL650, GL650I
They also have manuals for a lot of other makes and models for your ‘habit’
Tip: Save these files to you home computer and also to a USB keychain or CD that you can carry with you while you are on you bike, that way if you need to access your manual, you can stop at a public computer and access what you need.
Topics: Motorcycle | 13 Comments »