3 Photos- Milwaukee

Riverwest Co-op vegan breakfast. Bangin! I think I ate here every day I was in Milwaukee. And yes, I ate both of these plates! This was the day after my 15-day, 2000-mile bike tour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brad and Sam at a new park overlooking the city. Brad is the author of the Please Don't Feed the Bears vegan cookzine and a close friend. We share a philisophy that the toughest path can be the best for that reason alone.

 

 

Nothing makes me more stoked than people who are SUPER into what they do. Whatever you do, do it all out.

Please Support the Day in the Life of Vegan Athletes Kickstarter! [sticky post til Oct 8th!]

I just wrapped up four days of meetings and events at the American Dietetic Association annual meeting in San Diego and now I am especially motivated to make our Day in the Life with Vegan Athletes video project a success by reaching the funding goal on our Kickstarter page. Most people still believe you have to eat meat to be a successful athlete, help us show otherwise! Can you take a moment and donate, ‘like’ or promote our page? We are within $1200 and everything helps. Remember, if we don’t reach $3400, we don’t get any funding!

I hate asking for money. That’s why I never do any of those charity rides. But we are very close. I don’t get any of this money, it only goes to our costs for travel, food and equipment! Please check out our Kickstarter page and do what you can!! Here are other ways you can help:

-Follow the @TrueLoveHealth twitter and re-tweet about the project and our kickstarter (click here to put the info straight into your twitter). Also, here’s the short link: http://kck.st/n5xWrS

-Promote the Day in the Life videos!

Day in the Life: Vegan Endurance Athlete Brian Davidson, part 1

In this initial episode we go on a run with all-around super athlete Brian Davidson and then make a cashew chicken salad.

Day in the Life: Vegan Endurance Athlete Brian Davidson, part 2, Death Valley Double Century

In part 2 with Brian we head to Death Valley where he wins a 200-mile bike race!

Day in the Life: Professional Cyclist Cara Gillis, part 1

Cara Gillis is a P-R-O cyclist and a fantastic vegan advocate. In this episode we see what’s she up to at the Hollywood Farmers Market and cook up some Awesome Sauce.

Day in the Life: Professional Cyclist Cara Gillis, part 2, Intervals

Ever try to do hill intervals with a pro cyclist? Watch me try and fail miserably.

 

3 Photos- Portland Oregon

Last year I spent a lot of time in Portland and it’s the perfect city to contrast Los Angeles. I’m way too East Coast-y angst-y to live there but visiting is like a vacation from reality. The cars are made of vegan cake and you can usually find me riding down the middle of the street with no helmet while eating tofu scramble with nutritional yeast sauce.

I never figured out if this is real. Does it matter?

 

15 years later and I still think my tofu tattoo is funny. So I take photos like this.

 

 

Saturday Farmers Market near the University. I've a strong a emotional connection to this space and to kale. Ha. That's a funny sentence to type! Either way I miss that market and the people I spent time with there.

3 Photos- New York City

Growing up, the Yankees were a religion in my house. People often say to me, 'I'm surprised you like baseball.' I'm a Yankee fan, it's in my genes. It's more than liking baseball! When I was a kid we couldn't afford to go to many games, but I caught a ball at 2 of my first 4, how crazy is that? This may be the most expensive night of my entire life.

 

 

Is it the water? New York bagels = bliss. Tofu cream cheese.

 

 

My mother grew up near Prospect Park but I haven't spent much time there. Didn't know there was water and boats!

3 Photos- Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

I use Bethlehem pretty loosely to include Easton, Allentown, etc.

 

Local soda company! Reminds me of my childhood. It's a treat! As if my sense of humor was turned into a soda. Not that I drink it though.

 

 

My close friend Danielle's super successful business, Vegan Treats. This is cake batter ice cream. Cake batter ice cream!

 

 

Fall. It has a soft spot in my heart. Then I leave and go back to California, where most of my heart is.

 

 

3 Photos- Minneapolis

After diligently collecting photos from all the cities I visit for my 3 Photos project I have been very undiligent about posting them. After spending time in over a dozen cities this year I think it’s time to bring it back.

Each of us experiences space in a unique way. Everything we have done and seen leading up to our time in a new place sets up how we will interpret it.  I spent much of my teenage years visiting new places- but mostly BMX trails, skateparks and street-riding spots.  I could tell you where a great wallride or handrail is in Chicago, but have no idea about where to eat or what else to do. Then food became my obsession and each new city meant new places to eat! Even now when I visit a place like Pittsburgh, where I have been dozens of times, I see it in a new way depending on my most recent experiences.  I started this project to force myself to take a minute and evaluate my environment and the emotions they trigger.  Some are obvious, some are silly and some will only make sense to me, but I’m joyed to share them all with you.  Thanks for looking.

 

 

Double-decker, covered, bike parking in a city where the temperature dips below zero. Impressed.

 

 

Working my way west through Montana and North Dakota the buildings in towns gradually got bigger. But having the perspective of tiny towns in the West, Minneapolis felt like a big old town, not a city. But in a good way.

 

 

Pizza Luce. This photo may belong more in the Seattle-Minneapolis bike tour set because I had thought about this pizza so much while riding, but it was so crucial in my Minneapolis experience I have to include it here. Vegan pizza served by attractive women covered in tattoos: I was no longer in the rural US.

 

Day in the Life on Kickstarter!

After much work, I am so incredibly excited about the launch of a Kickstarter Fundraiser for our Day in the Life series! I always hate asking for money. I’m too punk and too DIY. That’s one of the reasons I never do any of those charity rides. But this project has gotten bigger than we can afford out of our pockets. It’s a nice problem to have. We’ve set up a bunch of great rewards for people who have the means to donate like a one-of-a-kind print, a True Love Health t-shirt, copies of Appetite for Reduction signed by both Isa and I, a dvd, personal consultations…check out the Day in the Life Kickstarter page for all the info! Also note that I don’t get any of the actual money- 100% of it goes to production costs. We’ve some pretty outstanding athletes in mind for the next few episodes. Help us get to them!

I know not everyone can donate money, but you can help out by promoting our page through whatever channels you have at your disposal. Twitter and Facebook are obvious, but what about email-lists and people you work with? Also consider the ShareThis links below this post. Everything helps and I’m super appreciative of the positive feedback we’ve already received. Thank you!

And for fun here’s a music video I did BMX stunt work for in NYC  way back in 1998 (I’m one of the three guys doing the tricks- while wearing suits!).  If you look closely you can see the three of us BMX kids dancing awkwardly at the party on the boat. So fun!


‘Tortillas and Me, Grocery Store in North Dakota at Dusk’

Going through trip photos and I love this one. Solo bike touring puts you very much in your head. You adapt to your new life as a transient so quickly and a giant mirror in a grocery store gives you a rare glimpse of yourself from the outside.
This is 11 or 12 days in. My kit is filthy. I had been looking for tortillas obsessively in every store I stopped in for two days and finally found them. When you’ve stripped your life down to the basics something as simple as finding them is like winning the lottery. I smiled for hours. In my mind this photo captures these feelings.
I already miss being on the road.