serious craving for meat after long ride

[OakLeaf]

I'm sure it's all in my head...

No, it's all in your body, and listening to your body tell you about its nutritional requirements is a good thing - so often suppressed among modern people.

If you have a philosophical objection to eating meat, then you need to figure out what specifically your body is asking for (protein, sodium, phosphorus, iron, B-vitamins, or most likely a combination of all those things). But if you're okay with eating meat, then find a good source of local grass-finished, hormone and antibiotic-free meat, and have some once in a while.

And when your body craves greens, eat greens. When it craves berries, eat berries. Et cetera.