How to Sweeten Every Ride
In his Napa Valley shop, chocolatier Chris Kollar concocts tantalizing confections (including the nut-and-seed-packed Kollar Fuel shown above) that are inspired by his rides.
To get through hard efforts on the bike, the 42-year-old former bike racer relies on a variety of mental tricks. "On long rides, when I'm just trying to survive and get home, I'll look for herbs growing on the side of the road and stick a handful between the cables on my handlebar," he says. The aroma, it turns out, takes his mind off the pain. Although Kollar admits that he doesn't have "much scientific proof" for why it works, the idea that scent can influence brain chemistry is the premise behind the centuries-old practice of aromatherapy.
Sometimes this mental scorcery results in a culinary breakthrough. "I was on a climb, hurting pretty bad," he says. "I grabbed some wild fennel and started chewing it like tobacco—I grew up in Georgia, where everyone around me used chaw." The distraction worked, and today, Kollar's shop sells a truffle he dreamt up on that ride, made with milk chocolate and fennel pollen.
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Even if your roads aren't as fragrant as Kollar's, you can still employ one of his mental tricks. "I read a long time ago that soft thoughts can take your mind off hard thoughts," he says. "So I picture clouds and cotton balls."
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