Bikes and beer. Bikes and pasta. Bikes and granola bars. Bikes and bagels. Bikes and bananas. Bikes and energy gels. Bikes and peanut butter. Bikes and matzah?
We certainly associate certain foods with racing bikes, but sometimes, for some people, a preferred diet gives way to religious beliefs. I will never forget watching my then-teammate, now coach Scott Cole cram a shingle-sized rectangle of the Hebrew’s unleavened bread into his jersey pocket shortly before the start of a collegiate road race back in 2006.
It was Passover, a week-long holiday memorializing the Israelites’ flight from slavery in Egypt, and during which observant Jews deny themselves “leavened” bread – or, basically, any carbohydrate but matzah in solidarity with our desert-wandering ancestors. If you’re unfamiliar, matzah is basically a giant saltine, with none of the salt and all of the mouth-binding pastiness. Imagine a linoleum flooring tile about a foot square, and enjoy.
This Jew has never been one to observe the strictures of Passover, at least not when Grandma and Grandpa weren’t looking, although I do certainly enjoy some of the more delicious Passover foods such as brisket and matzah ball soup (a distant cousin of the aforementioned building material – think of the difference between Luke and Owen Wilson – one is kinda endearing and likeable. The other just has a big bump in his nose). But beyond that, I observe Passover by continuing to start my day with un-kosher cereals, and often enjoy a delicious sandwich – on un-kosher sandwich bread – at midday.
Does it make me a bad Jew? Who cares, especially when it comes time to racing bikes?
See, back at that cold, windy race in Vermont, while Scott was struggling to fish playing-card sized chunks of hardened plaster out of his pocket and then hoping he’d have enough water to wash it down, I was easily enjoying – such as it is – a nice apple-flavored energy gel. Now, I’m not going to start pontificating on how much I love energy gels, but I’ve never met a bike racer who doesn’t appreciate the efficacy of consuming them on the bike.
And that certainly includes Coach Scott. But he’s a better Jew than me and feels the need to endure the Israelites suffering, even while racing his bike.
Now, it’s Passover again, and I happened to be talking to Scott about the restful week that he has planned for me leading up to the Tour of the Battenkill. In the course of our conversation, Scott mentioned that he is, once again, keeping Kosher for the holiday. The natural extension is that he’s feeling like crap on his rides, as matzah really isn’t a great fuel for riding. I believe his exact words were: “Passover is God’s way of telling Jews that we have no business being athletes!”
I don’t buy it, and I don’t buy matzah – I just choose instead to take part in only the more-delicious holiday foods, while being sure to tell the Passover story at every opportunity. That accomplishes the same thing, right? And, happily, I’ve never felt like crap while riding due to undue matzah consumption. Now who’s the coach?
