The Great Clif Bar Showdown

[southernerinnj]

Believe it or not Norm I religiously read this thread, stb's, and snakes threads. I think it is awesome the kind of rides you all get in. I've taken alot out of your thread here Norm as far as riding nutrition. My wife and I have become hooked on Clif bars because of you and my daughter likes them as well. We ordered her the Kid's nutrition bars the other day. I look forward to your spring/summer thread! Keep up the good work and the good rides!

 

[bonefishjake]

This is what I'm thinking about if I should do a Spring version or not. The point of this thing was to a) test Clif bars and b) get me through the winter. I did both. But what's the angle on Spring? I rode my bike, I ride my bike, I will ride my bike?

that was why i was on the fence about have a part three. who cares? really? great, i rode up schooley's mountain. blah, blah, blah.

at least with part one there was some drama. part two built on that. part three...jumped the shark? unless i start doing something epic soon, i'm going to stop reading my own blog.

it was nice when sean was around b/c he actually did the stuff that most of us really want to do.

 

[Maurice]

Nice job, Norm, keep it up! 15 miles from a century...

 

[Cyclopath]

You guys have lost the love.

What's it all about?
Sean was great because he did what everyone wanted to do.
Few people had the time or the power to do what he did and many lived vicariously through him. It was exciting.
Sean rode alone a lot more often than he wanted to because few people thought they could keep up or compete. I think he hardly cared about speed and really wanted to share something that was core to his being and part of his soul. He was valiant.

What's my point? You guys are the the top of the heap now. You inspire the masses by your mega jaunts and multiple back to back days. I beat myself up in the hopes of climbing to your level and when I get there, I certainly hope I don't get as bored.

You don't think much of climbing Schooley's, but the day I do, you'll hear me screaming from one end of this state to the other. Then I'll come back down and help anyone else that wants to know how to do it... Because that's what it's all about, inspiring and passing it on.

At the risk of getting myself banned,
You want to quit? Go quietly. Better yet, like Sean, go set a new goal. Do something different. Inspire us and give us something else to shoot for. Beatch-ing about how boring it is at the top makes my efforts look silly and cheapens my fight.

Now, get back in there and show us what you're made of.

 

[Norm]

Beatch-ing about how boring it is at the top makes my efforts look silly and cheapens my fight.

I'll let Ben insert a comment about the idea that either Jake or I are on the top of anything but a post count list. I'm a sport class rider who has never finished higher than 6th, and like to eat a lot and drink beer.

The discussion here is about entertainment, and how do you keep people entertained. I like to think I do an ok job. But I realize I can blather on. It's not bitching though. It's realizing the worth, or lack thereof, of said entertainment and trying to find a new vehicle to entertain and interest people. We're not discussing bagging the website, just stopping a long, long thread because the effort would be better spent doing something else to entertain.

Ride your bike and have fun doing it.

 

[bonefishjake]

I'll let Ben insert a comment about the idea that either Jake or I are on the top of anything but a post count list. I'm a sport class rider who has never finished higher than 6th, and like to eat a lot and drink beer.

The discussion here is about entertainment, and how do you keep people entertained. I like to think I do an ok job. But I realize I can blather on. It's not bitching though. It's realizing the worth, or lack thereof, of said entertainment and trying to find a new vehicle to entertain and interest people. We're not discussing bagging the website, just stopping a long, long thread because the effort would be better spent doing something else to entertain.

Ride your bike and have fun doing it.

yes, exactly what norm said.

as much as the blogs are about us motivating ourselves, or you, their has to be some entertainment value. i talk to myself most of the time in mine. is that worth anything? is that entertainment? i dunno. sometimes i entertain myself but i'm pretty easily entertained. i've been known to work on knots in my tippets for hours. just because.

about the only thing i'm really on top of these days is a beers per day count. which, since i quit dipping has been an average of two.

 

[Norm]

Well I was lazy this morning and slept in, then took my time getting waking up. Now it's raining. Winter is telling me it can't go out on a high note. I'm going to bide my time and see if the rain holds up. If it does, I'll probably take the cx bike out. If not, I'll take the road bike. Either way I'm looking for an easy ride today, maybe 90-120 minutes of low-key work to get the legs spinning. As you can imagine I'm tired today.

Either way I think it's safe to say the Clif bars are done for the winter.

 

[BiknBen]

Beatch-ing about how boring it is at the top makes my efforts look silly and cheapens my fight.

I'll let Ben insert a comment...

You have to think in relative terms. While you may think Norm is doing something extraordinary. It is only because you are not aware of what someone else is doing. Norm may feel the same way about someone else.

It is great to have someone to provide encouragement and incentive to go beyond what you think you can achieve. Once you get there, you will find that you are just one step higher on an infinite staircase. Enjoy the climb.

 

[BiknBen]

You guys have lost the love...

...Now, get back in there and show us what you're made of.

I used to write and share a lot of my training in a public forum. Everyone was enthusiastic, very encouraging, and followed what I added. They claimed that they felt they were there with me and really enjoyed it. It went on for a long time.

I, on the other hand, enjoyed it less as it continued. I felt that I was doing things to satisfy the expectations of others. I felt obligated to finish what I had begun. By the end, I wish I hadn't shared anything. Sound familiar Norm? How do Clif Bars taste now?

 

[Norm]

I, on the other hand, enjoyed it less as it continued. I felt that I was doing things to satisfy the expectations of others. I felt obligated to finish what I had begun. By the end, I wish I hadn't shared anything. Sound familiar Norm? How do Clif Bars taste now?

Yes, very familiar. But not in this thread, actually. Even though it was much shorter, the Seven More Weeks (yet another blog) thread was exactly that. By the end I couldn't wait to be done. Took a lot of the fun out of just about everything, for whatever reason.

But I was under no delusions then, this was the last sentence of the last "serious" post in that thread:

OK, I got beer in the fridge waiting for me. Tune in next year when I start the sequel to this blog, titled, "Twenty-Nine More Weeks of Aimless Chatter to Bore You to Sleep."

I went into this thread/blog/self-indulgent diatribe with a better attitude, more like, whatever happens happens. Having said that, it felt kinda good to spit out a wad of Clif bar yesterday towards the end.

 

[Norm]

Well, last day of winter today. Got in an easy ride on the CX bike in the rain. Nothing amazing just wanted to get out there and get some blood flowing, as the expression goes:
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/7828464

Winter is over. Today is the 78th day of the year. I've been on some sort of bike for 48 of them. There was a stretch of 5 days where it was just too damn cold and I tried jogging. Another 5 days I was sick, and I had various work things for another 5, between traveling to Chicago and having long days in NYC. So all things considered I'm happy with it.

Right now I have 31 road rides, 6 trainer, 6 mountain bike, and 5 cross. I broke down and had a string of 4 trainer rides in a row when I decided jogging wasn't for me. But I hope to be out of that now that the weather is warming up. I have no bike on the trainer so it's not an easy cop out. I also need to up my game in the off-road department, which will also be a bit easier now with the snow gone and the trails getting better by the week.

In the end, Maple Nut won the Clif Bar Challenge but the tournament lost steam towards the end for sure. I also enjoy Blueberry Crisp, Crunchy PB, Pear Apple Strudel, Banana Nut Bread, Black Cherry Almond, and the Oatmeal one.

So that's a wrap for this challenge and the season. Tomorrow spring begins, and more than likely a new thread about my adventures on the bike. For now, I think I'm going to wrap up winter with a few cold ones tonight, and take it easy.

 

[sixseven]

Clif Mojo peanut butter pretzel bar. Had one today and it's a game changer for me. I don't think I could ever eat another plain old Clif bar again. Salty and sweet, crunchy but not dry and cardboardy like the other Clif bars. Gotta look into the other flavors they may have next.

 

[Norm]

Clif Mojo peanut butter pretzel bar. Had one today and it's a game changer for me. I don't think I could ever eat another plain old Clif bar again. Salty and sweet, crunchy but not dry and cardboardy like the other Clif bars. Gotta look into the other flavors they may have next.

The others are good, but PB Pretzel is the shit.

I also think Luna bars, in combination with these, make straight Clif bars much harder to go back to. Though on these 4-5 hour rides, I would need like 10 of those smaller bars in 1 ride which is really trespassing into Vomit Land.

 

[sixseven]

The others are good, but PB Pretzel is the shit.

I also think Luna bars, in combination with these, make straight Clif bars much harder to go back to. Though on these 4-5 hour rides, I would need like 10 of those smaller bars in 1 ride which is really trespassing into Vomit Land.

You like the Bumblebar?
Wondered if a clif bar might taste better with some salt on it. Vomit land is a bad place. Do not go there.

 

[Norm]

You like the Bumblebar?

Never had that one. I've tried the Kashi granola bars (ok but too crumbly) and Nutri grain bars (no no terrible consistency). A few other generic granola bars are decent, just found a Nature Valley Sweet & Salty bar which is awesome. Ultimately, the variety is priceless.

 

[bonefishjake]

dude, just switch to the payday and be done with it. and lock this thread for christ's sake. how many damn blogs do you need?!!?

 

[sixseven]

dude, just switch to the payday and be done with it. and lock this thread for christ's sake. how many damn blogs do you need?!!?

Here I am trying to accept the torch pass and you have to ruin it with douchebaggery and anger. Payday, the nexus of nutrition and nothing.

 

[bonefishjake]

Here I am trying to accept the torch pass and you have to ruin it with douchebaggery and anger. Payday, the nexus of nutrition and nothing.

bah! that's awesome. i <3 douchebaggery.