I’ve been struggling to get back into the weekly blogging habit since returning from our trip to Alaska. I really enjoyed writing about that trip, and the reality is that my background is factual writing, so chronicling our daily exploits came easily. But magicking a topic out of thin air every week has proven to be a challenge. Biker encouraged me to remember why I started this … to help other women who spend time on the back of a motorcycle. As usual, he’s right. But shhh … don’t tell him I said so.
So my topic this week is one that’s been weighing on me for a long while. Literally. It’s about how NOT to gain weight while on a motorcycle outing.
If you spend any time on the back of a motorcycle, or on any long driving trip for that matter, you have faced the choices. And they aren’t pretty. While many fast-food and sit-down restaurants offer healthier options these days, they usually aren’t that appetizing. And convenience store snacks are the worst.
So, here are my suggestions for keeping up with that great work you’ve been doing on being good with your food intake, while still finding flavorful options you can enjoy while the boys are eating hamburgers, candy bars and pie.
I’ll start with what seems like the most difficult – convenience stores. A mecca to all that is … well, convenient – these places are brightly-lit, candy-colored-lights diet blackholes. The key here is finding something as natural as possible or with as few ingredients as possible. I’m not a fan of beef jerky, but it’s one of the best options if you like it. Natural, no sugar added nuts are also a good choice, as are some of the higher-protein bars. And if you get really lucky, some of these stores have fruit.
Now let’s talk fast food. Again, even though the tried-and-true favorites like Arby’s, Chick Fil A and Subway have long offered “healthy” options in sad side salads that consisted mostly of wilted iceberg lettuce and a couple of mealy tomatoes, today’s outlets truly do offer some real options. Grilled chicken sandwiches are a solid go-to, even better if you pass on the mayo and take off one bun. Most places also now offer side options like fruit, which is obviously a healthier choice than fries.
Finally, cafes and other sit-down restaurants. These might actually be the hardest, because of the yummy choices. One of the best things about riding motorcycles is finding the out-of-the-way mom-and-pop cafes that make the best food and are super welcoming to a group. We certainly have our favorites – like the Mexican place in the middle of nowhere Texas that makes one of the best cheeseburgers I’ve ever had. But the yummy factor often equals diet disaster. Again, the best choices here seem to be grilled chicken and, if you can get it, grilled or steam vegetables. Even veggies cooked in butter are better than fries. Of course, the dessert case in these places is also usually pretty lethal, and most of the time you should say no, but it’s also important to have a little fun in life, so if the pie or cake looks amazing, it’s probably worth it. 🙂
Now, you can always pack your own snacks and even a lunch. I have taken snacks occasionally but I’m not the type to bother packing a lunch. I admire those who have that discipline. If you have the space in a side bag or trunk, a small pack of snacks can be very helpful and keep you low in calorie intake or Weight Watchers points.
So, in closing, making good choices can be done. But I also believe balance in life is important and sometimes it’s important to enjoy tasty, bad-for-you food. When the freedom of the open road calls, that same freedom is there for food – choices abound, no restraints, blaze your own path.
Along the way, we saw four moose including one that ran right in front of us and a bear. At about Mile 10, we were stopped by park rangers and asked to turn around because of an ‘active bear’; we later learned the definition of ‘active’ – the bear had attacked a hiker, slashing her side and biting a chunk out of her leg. 
But not this day. It was rainy and chilly, with a low fog hanging over the mountains. Still, the ride was beautiful, and we saw more wildlife – five bears including a momma and her two cubs and what apparently is a really unusual sighting – a wolf walking along the road. The trip was great and marred only by the fact that about 20 of the same group that had been on the ship with us was on the bus. They were loud, they were slow to follow rules, and they brought along smelly food that they pulled out about halfway through. After about 10 days of these folks has brought us to the point of just rolling our eyes and moving on. So irritating. The day was still great, and we topped it off with an excellent pizza at a local pub.
discovered that Anchorage is home to one of the top 10 pizzas in the United States – #3 actually – as voted by Trip Advisor. And the Moose’s Tooth Pub and Pizzeria did not disappoint. We actually discovered we’ve already eaten at the #10 spot – John’s Pizza in NYC. And that the #1 pizza in the U.S. is made by the same family that makes our fave pizza in Houston – Grimaldi’s. Trying the rest of the top 10 may just become a conquest for us!
and took a beautiful drive that took us past glaciers, inlets and through a 2.5-mile tunnel to Whittier. Our plane left Anchorage at 8:30 p.m. local time, and we arrived in Houston at 6:30 a.m., ready to be home.
Here’s how it worked – men would come into the saloon downstairs and “choose” their working girl by motioning to one of the dolls behind the bar. The dolls apparently resembled the girls, in hair, eye and dress color. That doll would then be laid down, indicating that girl would be busy for the next 15 minutes. The man would head upstairs to visit his chosen girl for $5 for the 15 minutes. (the tour guide joked, “wonder what they did for the other 13 minutes?”) . The rooms were tiny and the beds minuscule, as shown at right; the bed was a normal length but probably only 3/4 of the width of a twin bed. After the “activity” was completed, the girl would send the $5 coin down a money hole in the floor, and this would indicate to the bartender that he could sit up the doll. The girl was available again. These girls worked 12-hour shifts. Holy cow, what a life.
Thursday morning dawned cloudy and rainy, and it was our day for the big glacier viewing. We had been told the best viewing would be 7-9 a.m., so we were up super early, had a quick and warm breakfast, and put on all the clothes we could manage. We headed out to the bow of the ship (through the ship’s theater!), and came out onto a breathtaking scene of calm water with chunks of ice floating in it. (the rain had stopped and it was clearing) As we neared the glacier, the crowd and the excitement grew. 
We were plowing through increasingly large chunks of ice; we learned that there are four categories of ice chunks – up to 3 feet above water are called brash, 3-7 feet above water are called growlers, 7-15 feet above water are called berry bits, and more than 15 feet above water are technically icebergs. And of course, as we’ve all heard, the part above the water is just 10 percent of the total piece of ice. We didn’t go through any icebergs or berry bits, but we did see them. 
And we plowed across many brash and growlers. We were told we were extremely fortunate to get so close to the glacier – about 1/2 mile from its face. Hubbard Glacier’s face is nearly 7 miles long, and we could see the whole thing. We saw the glacier calving and heard the popping and cracking of the ice. When a glacier calves, there’s a delayed thundering sound. It was so beautiful, and we stood on the bow of the ship (kings of the world!) for the full hour it was in view. The captain was great, and turned a full 360 degrees so every person on the ship could have a chance to see the glacier before we started our trip back out of the bay. The whole experience was amazing, and that word doesn’t really cut it. Full-on trip highlight.
The Biker's Wife 