SpokEasy

October 2018

Always Looking for Vindication

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Always looking for vindication, Part II: To continue with yesterday\’s list: #15: Oh, the \”cyclist\’s tan\”! Pale hands with tanned arms; and a clear demarcation where the legs of your shorts end.  #16: Some say that the grease mark on the right leg is a sure sign of a newbie. Not necessarily. There are still times when my leg makes contact with that chain. #17: My walking route to work (~1 mile) and my preferred cycling route to work (~2.8 miles) take roughly the same about of time. I\’d rather ride my bike to work just because I like to ride. #18: MapMyRide? Well, maybe someday.  #19: Taking good care of cycling clothing makes sense, because it\’s not cheap! #20: Smooth legs aren\’t as important as smooth pedaling! #21: I used to be quite particular about inflating my tires before every ride but have found that every two rides is often adequate. #22: I\’ve got a reflective vest that is downright gaudy! #23: What kind of time do they mean? A weekly 50-miler, or 4-hour hammerfests three times a week? #24: My saddle is comfortable enough, but would it not be if I went into serious training? #25: My Saturday rides are usually grocery runs. But I start my long Sunday rides before a lot of folks are even up. #26: What are hills? #27: Luckily I don\’t need a physical therapist — so far. #28: I don\’t have any jeans, so of course I have more cycling shorts than jeans. #29 – #31: As a renter I can\’t repaint my place; but my bicycles stay indoors when I\’m not riding! Who cares whether they match the walls?  #32: I try hard to remember to unclip before I\’ve lost all momentum, but I suppose this might happen someday. #33: That wouldn\’t be my approach. I know not everybody can drop several grand on a bicycle; and for a beginner I\’d advise against it. Get a \”work pony\” such as a hybrid. It\’s more stable than a \”fancy trotter\” of a road bike. #34: Aerodynamic shopping carts? I\’ve used enough shopping carts that don\’t even roll properly! #35: Fortunately I haven\’t had this bad a fall … yet … Can you add anything more to this list?  

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Spooked? Or Spoked?

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Spooked? Or Spoked? Are we spooked? Or spoked? Happy Hallowe’en, everybody! Today is a great day for a “spirited” ride.  Just don’t let the spooks get into your spokes!  Watch that you don’t get gremlins in your derailer, either. I don’t think I’ll dress up to ride … aren’t I scary enough as it is?   This blog/page may contain affiliate links. “We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.” ABOUT ME I began this website primarily as a way to present the story of how I accomplished a century ride on an adult tricycle. Other riders of adult trikes might want to know whether it’s possible. It sure is; and I hope I can provide a bit of inspiration.   Along the way, I got into blogging; presenting my kitchen experiments; and even setting up a store. You can visit my Facebook page here; or check into my Twitter (aka X) page, Cyclo_Pathy. I live in New Orleans; and  retired in January 2023. More time for cycling! Website designed by Cecile Levert © This website is the property of its author. DISCLAIMER I am not a cycling coach; nor a health professional. This site is based on my own experiences, opinions, etc. If you need help, please consult the appropriate professional. FRESH FROM MY JOURNAL ✍🏻 Facebook Twitter Youtube Legs Are Feeling It October 29, 2024 Not the Chain! October 28, 2024 Have I Derailed? October 27, 2024 On the Edge October 26, 2024 Load More TRANSLATOR

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Always Looking for Vindication!

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Are we always looking for vindication? How many lists such as this does it take any rider to convince him/her that, \”Yes, I\’m a true cyclist\”? #1: It\’s a long time since I last rode with a local group; but I found it hard to recognize many of the other riders when they weren\’t wearing helmet and sunglasses. #2: My dishwasher, just for the record, is called a pair of hands. And yes, water bottles do become scruffy-looking rather quickly. I don\’t care about that, as long as they\’re clean inside. #3: I\’m still not sure I\’ve found the \”perfect\” ride food/drink. I\’ve experimented with it, and have discovered that some things, while tasty. lack the \”oomph\” needed during a long ride! #4 & #5: I don\’t qualify here. I haven\’t had a car for nearly 16 years! #6: YES!! #7: I haven\’t reached the point of posting FB pics of me, but gosh, that\’s some gorgeous landscape! With the Matterhorn! #8 & #9: Again, I don\’t drive a car, and try to not have to ride alongside traffic too much; precisely because there are some crazy drivers out there. #10: When I go to the salvage store (a discount grocery), I do wear cycling shorts. It\’s a round trip of over 9 miles; and especially when it\’s hot, cycling shorts are more comfortable. #11: I avoid gyms because of my sensitivities to \”fragrances\”; and because I don\’t enjoy the loud \”music\”. #12: Bouncing in the saddle? You need to work at developing a smoother pedal stroke; and yes, probably a harder gear. #13: I probably need some group rides that will challenge me to ride a bit faster. Guess I\’ll have to put that on my bucket list! #14: Travel costs too much, so I\’m quite the one for \”staycations\”. But I\’d like to do another 100-miler, even if it\’s all on my own. Continued later.

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Slippery?

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This sure feels slippery. I\’ve been at it yet again. I\’m toggling back and forth between the slide builder and the web site; and working on the spacing of the various elements of each slide. It\’s turning out to be quite a lot to do. I was working on the first slide of the For All Cyclists gallery, and when I checked it in the actual web site, the text was difficult or impossible to read! The problem was that the pic had too many different colors in it. A uniform color of text blended in too well with the background in some places no matter what color I made it. I finally decided that I needed to get rid of that slide and build a new one. If I might say so, the new one looks much better. If nothing else, it\’s much easier to read. The same goes for the second slide. The text blends in too well, no matter what color I make it. Luckily there are web sites chock-full of pics that are free, so I\’ll be sure to find something suitable. I\’m so glad I\’m on vacation; it gives me plenty of time to work on this slippery problem.

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Urgent Question

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Here is an urgent question: Are we cyclists; or aren\’t we? Am I, myself, a cyclist? If being a cyclist has to mean a $5K bicycle gracing the home, count me out. I don\’t have that kind of money to spend on a bicycle; or on anything else. If being a cyclist means reading about cycling; planning a week\’s rides every Sunday; and feeling \”off\” when you miss a day of riding, I\’m in! It\’s interesting to read The Cyclist\’s Training Bible, even I can\’t really train that way. The book seems to be aimed primarily at riders training for racing; but it does discuss structured training, which is important for any cyclist who wants to improve. For me, that means increasing my cruising pace. To do that, I began doing \”force intervals\” once a week; far in advance of the upcoming Tour de Cure. I\’ve described those exercises before: I shift into harder and harder gears until my cadence (rpm) is slowed to about 50. Then I work to jam it up to 70 rpm. I began with 10-second intervals, and at first it took most of those 10 seconds to reach 70 rpm! Over time, I lengthened the intervals until I was at 60 seconds or more. Oops! I\’m drifting off the subject here. Let\’s get back to the urgent question. You don\’t train for bicycle racing; and you don\’t do interval workouts? That\’s OK. Do you happen to be the \”from point A to point B\” type of rider? I\’d say don\’t let that get to you. You still ride a bicycle, right? That\’s the important thing. It\’s what makes you a cyclist!

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Vacation!

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Yes, I\’m on vacation. I chose to take it now partly because of \”use it or lose it\”; and partly because I want to get some R&R in advance of TdC.  This view is so relaxing! It would be wonderful to be able to get away to something like that; but unfortunately such a trip is a bit beyond my budget. Just now I can\’t afford to be away from riding my bicycle, anyway. Tour de Cure is only a few days away; and I must stay in condition. Today, Monday, is my usual off-bikes day. Tomorrow through Thursday I plan to do \”pace\” rides. But no \”force\” intervals! My pace has improved as much as it will before TdC. Doing very hard workouts at this point will likely do more harm than good. Then, on Friday, I\’ll do a short and easy ride. After TdC, of course, I can start the force intervals again if I want to. I\’ve already gathered my on-bike food for the big day; and am planning my clothing for the ride. The weather forecast has changed since yesterday; no surprise there. Yesterday it said, wind 5 mph; and now it says 10 mph. Temperature between 58 ad 74; and sunny. Well, I think I\’d rather have a 10 mph wind all the way back to the venue than rain. Meanwhile, I\’m having a working vacation trying to improve my web site!

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Improving upon Me

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Improving Upon Me “Improving upon me” isn’t meant to sound egotistical. I found a YouTube about teaching an adult beginner to ride a bicycle; and it’s certainly much better than the one I did last March. Unfortunately I can’t go back and edit my video. The Cycling UK video shows the beginning rider walking the bike along when the pedals are still attached to the cranks. What a great way to end up with bruises all over your calves and shins! And if you bruise easily, as I do, your poor legs will look a sight! I guess it depends on your personal approach. I had read about balance bikes; and  when I got my first two-wheeler I had the pedals removed and the saddle lowered before I began my first efforts. I didn’t want to get tangled up in those pedals, and possibly cause myself to fall. After two weeks I decided to put the pedals put back on, although I didn’t really feel ready. The prospect of riding on two wheels was still rather scary. But I was improving upon me. I knew I couldn’t keep on glide biking forever. I wanted to ride; and as the old saying goes, We learn by doing!

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Strike?

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Strike while the iron is hot, they say. That\’s what I must do when I come up with an idea for making changes to this web site. If I let things wait, I\’ll forget what I planned to do. Once I start acting on my plans, I work like mad because I want to finish as soon as possible; so that visitors to the site have to put up with minimal inconvenience. For example, take the slide show for My Story. My original idea was to have a colored background with a pic on it; a header; and buttons for URL. I soon found that I needed to change my plans. The slides didn\’t look the same in the web site as in the slide builder; various components moved themselves around, and changed sizes; and the buttons didn\’t work. I finally made slides with the desired pic as the entire slide; and texts and buttons on top of the pic. The slides change themselves more quickly than I would like. I need to find a way to put a Pause button on each slide; so that anyone who wants to view a slide for more than five seconds can do so. There\’s always something that needs working on, seven days a week … maybe I should go on strike?

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Things Don\’t Add Up

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Sometimes things don\’t add up. As a rule, I do my weekend long ride on Sunday. This weekend, however, I did it on Saturday, because this coming Saturday is Tour de Cure. As a result, yesterday kept feeling like Sunday; and today doesn\’t feel like Sunday at all! Normally I do my grocery run on Saturday; but this weekend I did it on Sunday because I rode long yesterday. The entire weekend has felt topsy-turvy as a result. I\’ve been working hard on my web site (www.spokeasy.net) for at least a week, incorporating slide shows into its main pages. Thus my web site has been topsy-turvy, too. Today I was checking the slides for My Story, and did I ever find some goofs! On one of them I had left off one of the buttons; and I discovered that I had put the incorrect URL link on at least one button, etc. Then I keep going back over it all, to be sure I didn\’t miss anything. The same goes for the rest of the site. When things don\’t add up, I have to fix them.  

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Quick Work

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Becoming a cyclist isn\’t always quick work. From what I\’ve read about cyclist training, some people are \”fast responders\”. Their bodies react quickly and favorably to the training process. To become a pro cyclist in a year\’s time is a staggering thought; but evidently it\’s not impossible. This fellow must be a phenomenally fast responder; and phenomenally determined as well. That he started upon such a venture at age 26 makes it even more amazing. But it hasn\’t been quick work for me. After more than six years of two-wheeling, I still can\’t hold to 15 mph for more than a very short time. Probably I wasn\’t doing enough of the right kind of exercise(s), or I might have reached that level several years earlier. My approach to cycling has been, on the whole, quite casual. When trying to train up to an event, such as Tour de Cure, I think I began training too late. That was especially true of previous years, when the route was in an area that was hilly. It always seemed that there was nothing I could do to truly prepare myself for all that climbing. I see training programs for long rides that take 8-10 weeks. I finally concluded that they were for riders whose strength and skill levels were far above mine — or maybe they were for fast responders?  

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