Caloric Conspiracy!

This is the time of year that must challenge even Jared the Subway guy. (If you've got that blast-furnace metabolism, and have to eat constantly to just maintain your weight, you might not be so sympathetic.)

Consider:

1) The weather is turning for the worse and the days are much shorter, making long and fast bicycle rides more of a challenge.

2) Starting with Halloween and going through Christmas, food seems particularly abundant. And I'm not talking rice cakes and celery. (Unless it's celery filled with cheese or peanut butter.) People get together and EAT!

3) I'm a little skeptical of that whole Darwin thing... that my great-great-great-great grandpa was an orangutan... and that his great-great... grandpa was primordial slime. But there is SOMETHING from our caveman past - some primal instinct - that makes us want to pack on some extra calories as the weather gets colder and lean times loom ahead. (I'm just speaking for myself. My observation is totally subjective, but I'm much hungrier in late October than I am in late July.)

A major fringe benefit of accumulating a significant number of bicycle miles is... you can pretty much eat whatever you feel like eating, without worrying about the weight repercussions. But at least for me, starting around October I need to at least exercise some "awareness," and pass up some of the delicious stuff that's spread out in front of me.

Maybe I'm particularly sensitive today... because last night I took the missus to Tucano's Brazilian churrasco. Oh dang, was that ever decadent!

We should change Halloween to July 31, and Thanksgiving to the third Thursday in August.
(-;