July 2019 - SpokEasy

Let’s Play Astronomer

Let’s Play Astronomer Stargazing is awesome! Let’s play astronomer! Tonight there’s to be a black moon! To me it seems a bit odd to be making such a hoopla over something we won’t be able to see. I’ll bet astronomy fans are delighted, though. And it’s true that stars are much easier to see when there’s no moon; so maybe I can still say, Let’s play astronomer. The rare night times when I’m somewhere with little or no electrical elimination, and no moon (the moon gives an incredible amount of light!); I look up at the sky and think I’m seeing thin, high clouds; and I’m seeing our own Milky Way galaxy. In fact, in such an environment I find it much harder to pick out the constellations I know because of all the “clutter”. We don’t realize how thick the sky is with stars when in urban (or even suburban) surroundings. That makes it hard to play the astronomer. A bicycle trip for stargazers might be fun. Of course, don’t stargaze while riding! But where would it be possible to ride out to a wide open area far enough away from city lighting? It would need to be a flat area, too, where the sky won’t be obscured by hills or mountains. I guess one of the Plains states might fit the bill. Maybe make a camping trip out of it? It would be even more fun if there were a constellation Bicyclus to stare at!

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Warming Up

BACK ISSUES / CAL

Warming up before beginning a ride is something to which I\’ve never given much thought. As a rule, I ride easily in a low gear for the first mile and call that my \”warm-up\”. It\’s easy for me to think I don\’t need much, if any, warming up. I don\’t go out there and immediately begin blasting away at 20+ mph! And in hot weather, the idea of working up a sweat before I even get outside isn\’t appealing. When the weather is cold, once I step away from my electric heater I want to keep my arms huddled next to my body. It\’s hard to \”open up\” and do warm-up exercises, even though the point of such moves would be to warm me up! But should I do more? Such as this routine? At the very least, ought I to spend a few minutes doing some hamstring and quad stretches? I could take a tip from this kitty when it comes to stretching! Warming up is an individual thing, I suppose, that we learn as we go. How much warming up is needed? Do I need more of it before a ride that will include very hard efforts? Do I really need more of a warm-up on cold days? Do older riders need more of it than young riders? Do embrocation creams really help? I haven\’t tried any so far. My worry about them is that they\’ll be too \”fragrant\” for my tolerance. I don\’t want to have to go riding with a clothespin on my nose.

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Traumerei

BACK ISSUES / CAL

Robert Schumann wasn\’t the only one who had daydreams. Sometimes I forget about cycling for a while and imagine what I\’d do if I had a house of my own. More specifically, I think about how I\’d decorate it. Way back in about 2003, a friend of mine said she wished I could buy a house that had belonged to her parents. When I saw a home decorating book in a book store that was having a going-out-of-business sale, I snapped it up. I didn\’t buy that house, and it\’s actually lucky that I didn\’t. It was located in a part of town that was badly flooded during Katrina, and was a total loss. If things had turned out differently, and I had gotten the house (without the flood!), it would have been fun to try out different painting techniques as described in the book: ragging, sponging, and so on. My idea was to mark out squares on a wall; three feet each side, let\’s say. Then I would have tried out different colors and techniques to see what I liked and what looked good. I still think it would be fun. Now that I\’m a cyclist, I could paint bicycle murals all over the place! Oh, the dreams I have!

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PAC Tour

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PAC Tour? Pacific-Atlantic Cycling Tour! Unfortunately the web site says \”not secure\”, so I don\’t dare create a link to it. A PAC tour sounds like fun, but I\’m not sure I\’m ready for the pace of 16-20 mph. I\’m capable of that speed, but not for hours at a time. For me to maintain 20 mph for a full minute is a big deal. In fact, for me to set my sights on a PAC tour would, at present, be biting off far more than I could chew. In the final month before your PAC tour begins, it says, you should be riding 250-350 miles per week. That\’s up to triple what I\’ve been doing, and more. It also says you should be able to ride a 200-mile event in under 14 hours. YIKES!! I\’m nowhere near that. Last time I did a 100-miler, my roll time was nearly 8 hours. Total time was probably up to an hour more; and I wasn\’t climbing! A PAC tour covers about 900 miles per week. There\’s a Ridge of the Rockies Tour which, I suspect, would have me falling out in fifteen minutes or less, thanks to problems with the thin air. I\’d need to train with one of those masks that simulates high-altitude training. Desert camp would likely have me longing for a super-size Camel-Bak. I\’m not used to aridity. Tuscon is nearly 3000 feet up, so I\’d have altitude problems there, too. I need to find a more realistic ride to aim for!

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Some Like It Hot

BACK ISSUES, bicycling / CAL

Some Like It HOT! Some like it hot, all right: a century ride in 100 degree heat! I don’t think I want to try that one. A ride of three or four hours in the “Swampeast” Louisiana humidity, at 88-92 degrees, is quite enough for me! Those who do like it hot can head for Wichita Falls, Texas, for the Hotter N Hell Hundred century ride. That’s a 100-mile, rolling course. It can be quite windy. And, of course, there’s the heat. Temperatures at Hotter N Hell can exceed 100 degrees. Add to that the area’s aridity. It’s definitely not for the unseasoned cyclist. Interesting factoid: the Camel-Bak had its origins in the HHH. Don’t forget to bring yours if you undertake this event. Some like it hot; but even if you do, you’ll need lots of water! Be sure you have your electrolyte drink, too. A tube of tablets would be better than extra bottles of liquid; this weighs much less and takes up almost no space. For a prolonged ride in such heat, gut training would be extra important. After riding for several hours in milder conditions, my stomach starts to feel a bit uncomfortable. Having to keep going six or seven hours when it’s 100 degrees or more, and extremely dry to boot, would be a tall order. Am I up to such a challenge? Maybe some day I’ll get to test my mettle. 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 © 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 INTERPRETER

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Feeling Patriotic?

BACK ISSUES / CAL

Are you feeling patriotic today? We know how an international sports contest ends. The winner/winning team is honored by the playing of their home country\’s national anthem. I\’ve listened to several YouTubes of national anthems. They\’ve got wonderful music. Some are a little sad. Others are very solemn. Some, like our own Star Spangled Banner, are rousing; and there are some that are quite martial. I had been wondering which anthem would ring out over the finish of Tour de France today, and I\’m sure I wasn\’t the only one. For about two weeks it seemed likely that we\’d hear La Marseillaise. I\’m sure France is quite disappointed that it\’s turned out otherwise. Colombia took the win, for the first time in Le Tour\’s history. And my own riding? Those Tour riders make me feel like such a weakling! On top of that, after some dental work involving stitches, my dentist advised me to take it easy for a while. This morning I rode only 10 miles. I\’m getting out of condition 🙁 Feeling patriotic unfortunately doesn\’t help with that.

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Flat Out?

BACK ISSUES / CAL

Do you enjoy going flat out? What cyclist doesn\’t occasionally get caught up in pedaling as fast and hard as possible, just for the fun of it? Who doesn\’t sometimes think, I wonder how fast I can get? LET\’S SEE!! and take off? But what about technique? Good pedaling technique, it seems to me, will help make pedaling more efficient, thus helping with the speed aspect of riding. Another thing that helps make pedaling more efficient is clip-ins, or at least toe clips. I now find it very awkward to ride on platform pedals. Some things might be slowing us down, only we aren\’t aware of it. Lack of variation, for instance. I have a good riding path a stone\’s throw away, so naturally I gravitate to it. Easier access to other routes would be helpful, I think. Doing the same route over and over and over (and over and OVER) does for a fact get rather tedious. Want a book all about improving your speed? Get Fast! might fit the bill. The trouble with me is that I\’m too lazy to really apply the information and advice provided to my riding. Having a sleep disorder, and being tired all the time as a result, doesn\’t help. Have I gotten faster? My average speed on my weekly long ride doesn\’t seem to have improved much. On the other hand, it used to be hard to touch 15 mph even with a good tailwind. Now sometimes I can average 15 mph for as much as six miles or more. I\’m hitting higher max speeds, too. Once I touched 23+ mph! At least I seem to have gotten stronger. And will I one day be able to ride flat out for hours?

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Wonder Ride?

BACK ISSUES, bicycling / CAL

Wonder Ride? For a wonder ride, head for Arizona’s Grand Canyon. This is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World; and rightly so, I would say. When my brother and I visited the Grand Canyon, I found that I could stare and Stare and STARE at it, until my eyeballs ached. As soon as I looked away, I felt compelled to look back at it; as though to be sure I hadn’t been imagining it! We had a great time there. We watched the sun rising over the North Rim, an unforgettable sight. It meant getting up very early in the morning, which was very generous of my brother. He’s not the early bird sort. But it was well worth it! Starting at Mather Point, we walked down to Indian Gardens on the Bright Angel Trail; and had a picnic lunch before heading back up. We saw various kinds of lizards; birds; and even glimpsed a gray fox! At the time, I was many years away from taking up cycling. If I went there again, I might enjoy a cycling tour. It would be hard, though, for me to watch where I was riding for wanting to stare at that magnificent abyss. The Grand Canyon is a desert environment, so take along a good hydration system. The South Rim is something like 7000 feet up, meaning that sunblock is even more important than it is at lower altitudes. Oh, and don’t forget the camera! You’re sure to want to take a LOT of pictures! 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 © 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 INTERPRETER

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Giddy-Up?

BACK ISSUES / CAL

Giddy-up isn\’t only for horseback riding. Today I went back for a road bike refit. Or perhaps it\’s better to say a re-refit. I thought my saddle might need to be moved forward; I would up with a brand-new one. I told the fitter about some problems I was having. He had suggested when I was there in June that I might want a slightly wider saddle. This time he put my bicycle in the stand and had me try a new saddle; a Power Expert w/Mimic. I\’d never heard of that kind before. This saddle is a bit wider than the Selle Italia I\’d been using; and the fitter immediately saw that the new saddle fit my sit bones better. From where he placed this saddle, I could sit far enough back that my sit bones were supported; and not be reaching too far to the handlebars. This took the strain off of my arms and the back of my neck. I could pedal without the strain on my hamstrings. That sure felt good! This saddle doesn\’t have a cut-out. The center, and the area over the nose, is designed to give with pressure and movement, so sensitive-tissue issues are reduced or eliminated. I still think it will take a while to adjust to the new saddle. After all, my old saddle/pedaling style has many thousands of miles in it! But if the ride home from the bike shop is any indication of things, I\’m going to like the new saddle. So, giddy-up!

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Ole!

BACK ISSUES / CAL

Ole! Or whatever they say in Colombia. Today\’s stage winner is : Nairo Quintana! I\’m glad to see him win a stage. Think he\’ll win the yellow some day? I guess the riders are quite worn out by now — how on earth do they recover overnight after such exertion? And race again the next day? — but it\’s nearing an end. After all, today was Stage 18. Two more days in the mountains — don\’t your legs and lungs ache to think of it? And then, on to Paris. Who will wear yellow in the City of Light? If things keep on the way they have, it looks like Alaphillipe will take the honors. He still has a 90-second lead. We\’ll see how it turns out! With three days of TdF left, there\’s more than a lot of pedaling to still to do. There\’a also a lot of eating left to do! I\’ve read in more than one source that, for racers in a multi-day tour, eating gets to feel more like force-feeding than anything else. That doesn\’t sound like fun. It\’s more than simply keeping the calories coming in. Some types of foods go down better early in a stage; others are better consumed later in the day as flavor fatigue sets in along with the legs. I\’m glad I don\’t have to do it. To those who can manage it, I say Ole!

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