Hot dogs and a healthy lifestyle

Most people ride their bikes for two reasons:

1. To be more healthy/enjoy their exercise
2. To get from "A" to "B"

So when I sidled through the gym area of the fitness center where I shower each day and saw a woman on an exercise bike eating raw hot dogs as she pedaled, I was in awe.

For a few minutes after this sight I had to tell myself that I actually did see someone mowing through a whole package of cast-off, chopped-up, pig parts squeezed into edible casings whilst they exercised (at a very meager pace, I might add).

I'm not an exercise snob...I don't believe you have to achieve optimal heart rates and pulmonary function to be successful, but this was just down right confusing.

Like trying swear off the hooch while renting a studio apartment above your favorite tavern.

So after I showered and dressed, I walked past this person yet again, just to be certain I had seen said wieners being consumed by aforementioned woman.

Let's just say it's a good thing I didn't rinse and repeat or I would have missed her cramming the last dog down her throat.

And that started me thinking about what I eat when I ride. So I did a little research and here's what I found. (No offense intended to the good people at Oscar Mayer who make July 4th and baseball games beautiful and who make my kids happy when they see the bus.)



Calories in Oscar Mayer beef frank:


That's 147 calories in one dog...with 1/4 of your saturated fats. Based on a 2,000 calorie diet, a whole package of 10 dogs would just about leave room for only two Chocodiles for dessert.

And to be impartial, I also looked up one of my ride-time snacks of choice, the Strawberry-Banana Powergel.



I wouldn't exactly put hot dogs in the same category as Powergel, but there's clearly a difference in the outcome here. I might go through 200 calories an hour with bars, gels, etc while I'm training. But to consider a package of hot dogs in my jersey pocket while training or commuting made me want to scream at the carpet. Kinda like this video did.

I've eaten my share of unique snacks on rides, and in the end, it's just preference. If it gives you the energy you need to compete, or succeed, chow down. But for the love of college football, mix in a bun or something.