A big thank you for all the hard work goes to the Oklahoma Earthbike Fellowship Enid!
Category: Fun
Maple Pecan Bars
I prefer real food while on the bike. Gels and prepackaged bars will work in a pinch. But I get a bit confused when I look at the ingredient list. I don’t know what half the stuff is sometimes. This recipe has only five ingredients. These bars are simple to make and a yummy treat when I pull them out of my back pocket. Maybe to good, because I rarely share them. And using maple syrup instead of honey makes these vegan friendly.
1 pkg (340g) medjool dates, pitted
¼ cup maple syrup
1½ cup toasted pecans*, coarsely chopped
1½ cup toasted rolled oats*
Pinch of salt
Process dates in a food processor until small bits remain (about a minute). It
should form a ball and look like dough.
Set aside oats, 1 cup pecans, and dates in a large mixing bowl.
Process ½ cup of pecans until fine. Warm maple syrup and fine ground pecans in
a small saucepan over low heat. Stir and pour over oat mixture and mix,
breaking up the dates to mix throughout.
Press firmly into 8×8 inch backing dish lined with parchment paper. Continue to
press until uniformly flattened. Cover with more parchment or plastic wrap.
Place in freezer 20 minutes or overnight to firm. Remove bars from pan and cut
into 10 even bars. Store in an airtight container for up to a few days. Or keep
in freezer for longer storage.
*Toast oats and pecans in 350° oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown
Enjoy
Oklahoma Flyers
In the 1985 movie, American Flyers, Kevin Costner and David Grant ride along and try to out sprint some horseback riders. While I’m not trying to beat these cows to the gate. It did remind me of the movie.
`86 Peugeot Galibier
I started a new position at work. And I have been finding myself walking everywhere; 2-3 miles a day. While that’s great for my health, it’s wasting time. So I went into the local bike shop and asked if he had any beater bikes. The owner takes me down to the basement to look through his stash of used trade-ins. He showed me a few that were my size and I settled on this one.
My initial inspection had the bike looking pretty good. The saddle was spun and I had to manage the quill post. It’s not the easy to adjust like modern ones. The wheels were fairly true and the brakes didn’t rub. But the shifting was real bad.
I replaced the rubber and adjusted the deraileurs. And it was rideable. It had old thin bar tape. The hoods were dry-rotted. I peeled all that off and installed new. If you going that far you might as well change out the cables also, why not.
The original pedals she came with were needing toe clips and straps. I returned to the bike shop and he had these modern cheapos. In the future, I’d love to get some metal toe clips with leather straps that match the hoods. The ones from Velo Orange would be fantastic. I’d even consider the leathers. But I have to remember that this bike will spend lots of time outdoors. Fortunately my employer has bike parking very close to my office. So it could be outside for weeks at a time.
This bike was in such great shape when I got it. Even the pie plate was still intact. All I did was add some grease in the right splots, cleaned it up, and added a few new bits to spruce it up. It rides like a dream. Who knows, maybe I’ll take it for a longer spin one weekend. Or maybe even a charity ride or two.
I couldn’t be happier with this bike. For buzzing around at work to save the boss some time, it’s perfect.
Chris Sussmann 