Substituting Herring with PB&J

It's no secret that I love seafood.  One of my favorite and most affordable types is herring.  Herring.  Not heron, like the bird.  Not red herring like the literary term.

Pickled herring is my favorite.  Smoked herring from a can is also up high on my list , mainly for convenience reasons.  If I ever see the day that Nordsee (a German seafood fast-food chain) comes to North America, I'll start believing in the tooth fairy, unicorns, and every other sort of beautiful magic that I've ever second-guessed in my life.

Lex Albrecht at Nordsee with a pickled herring sandwich, in Munich, Germany

Years ago, after eating smoked herring a little too close to race-time on a hot day and ralphing it up all over my frame and waterbottle, I made myself a new rule: No herring before racing or training.  Post ride food only.  "Discipline makes things easier...you've got to organize your life" as goes a good hip-hop song from my childhood.

So I eat different food before and during races.  My newest and greatest find is this: Peanut Butter and Jelly NOW A3 Bar.

I fueled my most recent racing block at B.C. Superweek and Cascade Cycling Classic with these bars.  I ate them before, during and after the races.  I've never come across a bar that is substantial enough, yet easy enough to swallow and digest to suit these three circumstances.

There are a zillion and a half bars out there, and this is my latest discovery.  You've got to find the food that works for you when you train and race, and I've found a great match for myself with the A3 bar.

I have yet to find them in Canada, but they're available online and in the USA.  I'm going to be placing a big order to make sure I have enough to last me here at home!