SpokEasy

December 2018

Chipping Away

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I\’m chipping away at it! Yes, working towards the year\’s mileage goal can seem mighty tedious at times; and it can be frustrating when the circumstances, e.g. truly terrible weather, keep you from riding. The not-so-secret solution: just keep at it. As most of us are aware, it\’s better to ride 10-15 miles every day than to ignore the bicycle for six days; and then try to knock off 70 miles on Sunday. My own riding schedule is to take off from cycling on Mondays; and do a pre-work ride Tuesday through Friday (usually 12-15 miles). I usually do a grocery run on Saturday; and then I put in my long ride on Sunday. When I was working up to Tour de Cure, I got my Sunday ride up to 50-52 miles. Sunday before last I had a strong headwind (about 20 mph) on the way out. I had planned to push for 40 miles; but that wind was giving me such a tussle that I wimped out and turned for home after less than 10 miles! Last Sunday I got in 29 miles. There wasn\’t nearly such a wind; but it was overcast and chilly, which makes me feel sleepy and saps my energy. I hope to make it a longer ride this coming Sunday. It\’s going to be in the low 50\’s; but at least they\’re predicting sunny weather. So there you are. Keep chipping away at it, a little at a time. Of course it makes sense to set a mileage goal for the year that\’s realistic for your current fitness level. Five thousand miles between my two bicycles is doable for me; and maybe I\’ll shoot for 6000 miles in 2019. Trying for 10,000 miles in one year would be a bit too ambitious, though!

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What I Yam

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I yam what I yam; with all due apologies to the creators of Popeye. Sweet potatoes, often called yams, are part of many a holiday menu. When I was a kid, we used to bake them in the oven. Each person got his or her sweet potato. We\’d get the skin off as well as we could without burning ourselves; mash the vegetable with a fork, and put on some margarine. I, for one, like some salt on my sweet potato, too. If your thoughts are turning to something fancier, there are recipes galore out there; and this one looks pretty good to me. Some cooks like to cut the baked sweet potatoes into cubes, and mix them with a brown-sugar sauce. Others slice the baked \”sweeties\”, and layer them in a baking dish. Then they pour a sweet \”gravy\” (e.g. with brown sugar) over them; and bake. (Of course peel the baked sweet potatoes before going any father with these dishes!) If you don\’t want to fire up the oven, raw sweet potato is actually pretty good. I grate enough of the raw vegetable to make a cup or so. I mix in either plain or vanilla yogurt, depending on whether I\’m in the mood for savory or sweet; and then season however I like. What would Popeye think of these dishes? I expect he\’d turn them down in favor of spinach; but like Popeye, I yam what I yam.  

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Taste Test

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The taste test is quite a frequent occurrence. For years I\’ve carried packets of GU-Gel with me on my long rides. I like to eat one at each rest break. For my weekday morning rides, I have a few with me just in case I need them. Even when I\’m only riding to and from work, or the grocery store, I keep one or two in the outside zip pocket of my bike trunk. There are many flavors of GU-Gel available. Over time I\’ve tried quite a few of them. My favorites are Salted Caramel; Chocolate Outrage; and Tri-Berry. Vanilla Bean is pretty good, too; and so is Maple-Bacon. Recently I became aware of  the Toasted Marshmallow flavor. When I rode Tour de Cure about five weeks ago, the rest-stop snacks included that particular flavor of GU-Gel. I did a taste test; liked it; and ordered a supply of my own. Taste-testing doesn\’t stop with GU-Gel, of course. I like to try various cereal bars while on my weekly long rides. Some, I find, don\’t seem to have the \”oomph\” that I need when I\’m pedaling for several hours, even if they taste good. XL-Bars, for instance. But that\’s part of the purpose of the weekly long ride: to find out what works; so that when a long event comes up, I\’ll know what I need to take with me for on-bike eating. I need the nutrition while pedaling; but if it takes good, so much the better!    

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Not seeing the Light

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I was not seeing the light on this ride. That headlight of mine drove me crazy this morning. Last night, I had it plugged into the charger. The charge indicator on top of the light was on steady, not blinking; so I figured the light was finished charging up. It wasn\’t. I was only a little more than a mile from home when the light went out; and I couldn\’t see where I was going. I was not seeing the light — literally. I don\’t want to be one of those annoying people who ride in the dark without lights; so I stopped; got off; and started walking the bike. I tried switching the light on, and it did go on; but almost right away it went out again. I had to walk back home; and it seemed to take forever. What with pushing the bicycle; darkness; and bike shoes, I couldn\’t walk at my normal pace. I hope this doesn\’t mean the light is due for replacement. Or could the charger block be on its way out? Whatever it is, I do know that, when I go out for a ride, I want to be seeing the light.

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Toast to the Holidays!

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Let\’s make a toast to the holidays! Run along now, kitty,  I need that bowl! It\’s time to mix up the wassail! Wassail, like plum pudding, goes back to medieval times, and is another holiday custom that I\’ve never explored. I had always had the notion that wassail is boozy; but apparently it doesn\’t have to be. How about fizzy wassail? I guess you could use frozen orange juice concentrate (thaw it out first) mixed with sparkling water. Or use sparkling cider. Maybe vary the flavor by using different kinds of juice? Cranberry? That\’s pretty strong stuff, so it might need to be diluted somewhat. White grape juice? Lemonade instead of orange juice? It depends on what you like. So now, shall we go a-wassailing; and then make a toast to the holidays?

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I Toe\’d You So?

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I never would have thought of this one. If a ballet dancer\’s toes are all cramped after a long day of classes, rehearsals, and performances, might not a cyclist\’s toes feel the same way after several hours of pushing hard on the pedals? I was inspired to try it. At the drug store, I found some really cheap toe separators; less than a dollar for a pair. I\’m glad I didn\’t pay any more than that! It\’s hard enough to get my toes into those spaces, let alone have the separator stay put while I flex my toes. As a complication, both of my pinky toes have bone spurs, which I didn\’t even know until a couple of years ago. Until then, I had a vague assumption that everybody\’s pinky toes had a crook. Maybe the separators need time to soften up a bit with use. I certainly can\’t change the length or shape of my toes!  Or this could be another confirmation of the old saw: If you buy cheap, you get cheap. I\’ll try the toe separators again another time, when it\’s warmer. Today I want to keep my socks on. I haven\’t toe\’d you so yet, but my feet are cold.    

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Nutcracker

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The ballet The Nutcracker is very popular this time of year. The story takes place at Christmas time, making the ballet a natural for the period between Thanksgiving and December 25. I\’ve seen this ballet a number of times; both live onstage and on TV. I love the music any time of the  year; and I love to watch the dancing when I get the chance. My favorite parts of the ballet, as far as the music goes, are the Waltz of the Snowflakes at the end of Act I; and the Tarantella in Act II. Which parts of the dancing I like most depends on the production. Sometimes I like the Chinese Dance best; other times it\’s the Spanish Dance (both in Act II). Or it might be the dances at the Christmas party in Act I. Or \”Snow\”. I have yet to hear of a \”Nutcracker\” that involved a bicycle, but maybe some time a choreographer will emerge who will think to put some cycling in. Maybe during the fast-paced Trepak in Act II?  

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Fiddling Around?

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Are we just fiddling around? Or is there something more going on? Riding a bicycle is a great way to get in good shape. As people used to say, \”Fit as a fiddle\”! Interestingly, the phrase originally had nothing to do with physical fitness, exercise, and so on. But who cares? In fact, looked at from that point of view, a bicycle is fit as a fiddle for helping us to get places; improve our health; and just plain have fun. Using a bicycle instead of a car can save money. No car means no expensive auto insurance; no oil changes or gasoline; and no worries about carjacking. A bicycle equipped with rack, panniers, and trunk lets you bring home sizeable loads from the grocery store. If you want to haul really big loads, try a trailer. For those of the environmentalist mindset, the bicycle is equally fit for helping to lessen pollution; including reducing the amount of noise created. It\’s also well suited for cutting down on traffic congestion and parking woes. More people riding bicycles on our roads might reduce road rage as well, thanks to the endorphin highs! Racing cyclists, however, aren\’t fiddling around when they\’re on the starting line! It\’s all business. They\’ve got a job to do, whether it\’s to lead a team or serve the team leader. I\’m sure the list could go on and on and on. The bicycle could even be fit as a fiddle for, well, letting a fiddler transport himself and his instrument to the next square dance!

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Gift

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Some of us have finished our gift shopping. Others haven\’t started yet; perhaps simply because they\’re stumped. If you\’re looking for gift ideas for that special cyclist in your life, perhaps something from this list would do? It\’s a good starting point, at any rate. What would I have like to get as a beginning rider? For starters, it would have been nice if somebody had bought my tricycle for me; but I had to pay for it myself (at the time about $395). In fact, it would have been nice if everything had been gifts rather than out-of-pocket costs! A pump with a built-in pressure gauge would have been great; and a skull cap is another item I would have liked to have at the start. It was mid-November when I began riding; and my head could get very cold. I didn\’t fret much over cleaning the tricycle. I had to keep it outdoors; and any time it rained, muck and grit got splashed up on it. The fumes from many cleaning products bother my sinuses too much for me to use them, indoors or out. When either of my bicycles needs cleaning, I use plain old water. The bicycle-shaped pasta is cute; but seems overly pricey to me. It would be fun to have for a post-long event supper, though! If the list above isn\’t extensive enough, there are plenty of items I could add to it. Thermal socks!; and cycling jackets and cycling shorts; arm warmers and leg warmers … as you can see, my imagination is about to run away with me!

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Like a Hot Potato?

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Do we want to be like a hot potato? With December here, everybody — cyclist or not — is hauling out the jackets. We want to be warm, after all. What\’s the best kind for cycling? Most of us have heard of \”layering\”; that is, wearing several lightweight layers of clothing instead of a single, heavy layer. That makes it much easier to adjust your clothing to the temperature as you and/or the day warm up. Which cycling jacket should you get? I guess that depends on how cold it gets where you live. The jacket I have is designed with magnets around the collar, armholes, and the bottom of the yoke. That lets me remove the sleeves if my arms are too hot. Or, if my chest gets too hot, but my arms still feel the cold, I can take off the vest portion of the jacket; and leave the sleeves on. If you live in more Northern regions, a cycling jacket with fleece lining might be a good idea. The sleeves of my first cycling jacket got torn up over time. Finally I discarded the sleeves, but kept the vest part. It makes a nice extra layer when I need it. I also notice that the older jacket has a better quality zipper than the new one, although it\’s the same brand. Do I feel as toasty warm like a hot potato in its jacket when I go out to ride on a cold day? No, I don\’t. Even when the top of me is warm from riding, my feet are still cold!

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