Top 3 Things To Do On A Rest Day...Eat, Sleep, Pole Dance!

3. Eat, Eat, Eat After 2 breakfasts, 3 lunches, one ice cream cone, 3 bananas , 1 apple, I peer down at my wooden leg , begin to ponder how similar my diet is to that of a pregnant obese lady and wonder what I might find to eat for dinner.

We all know that daily exercise does require calories and muscle recovery does require protein but at times on a rest day I wonder exactly how someone who weighs 49kilos (108 pounds) can possibly consume her weight in food in one day.





Pig Heads...could I ever be that hungry?

2. Sleep. I met Nico a French cyclist who has been bicycle touring for two years. Today is actually his two year anniversary and we had ice cream together to celebrate. Nico was laughing because he told me that while on a rest day he often goes to sleep at 2pm and wakes up the next morning, full of smiles and energy to continue his bicycle tour. I personally am a huge fan of the nap. Wake up, eat breakfast and while fully fed go back to bed for another power snooze.

Two Cyclists Catch A Quick Nap On a Slow Boat Near China

1. Take A Pole Dancing Lesson. Why does beer taste so good in foreign lands after days of camping and pedaling? As my nickname Betty Ford resurfaces in a dozen countries due to my Canadian’s livers love of international barley drinks my vocabulary to say the word beer in at least as many languages has been growing by the continent. Relaxing in the local expat bar can also have recreational benefits as well. Last week in Dali, China my fellow bicycle tourist Tim from Sweden got a pole dance lesson from a professional pole dancer. 

She was kind enough to show us her newly acquired skills that she learned at the pole dancing academy. I also gave pole climbing a shot and will report that flipping upside down and then sliding down a 55mm metal pole with any amount of grace is far more challenging than it looks.