SpokEasy

November 2020

Mañana

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Mañana is good enough for me, as the old song goes. In this case, I don\’t have any choice. Tour de Cure is tomorrow, so mañana will have to be good enough for me! As always when an important event is on the threshold, I don\’t feel ready. Do pro cyclists feel like that on the eve of the Grand Depart? For at least a month, my riding has suffered because I\’ve been tired; and too often I\’ve overslept in the morning. Well, I\’ll just have to make do. I keep reminding myself that this isn\’t a race. I\’m even thinking of stopping for breaks every ten miles or so. During my Sunday long rides I usually aim to take as few breaks as possible; I\’m trying to improve my endurance, after all. Since TdC is virtual this year, I\’m sure I don\’t have to worry about a cut-off time. I can choose my own route, which means I\’ll be riding in familiar territory. That\’s a big plus; I\’ll know what to expect as far as terrain goes. In order to complete my mileage, I\’ll need to do some doubling back; but that\’s OK. It will be a bit chilly in the morning, but will warm up into the mid-70s. I hope I can shed the leg warmers about halfway through. Those things have been driving me crazy by slipping downwards while the legs of my shorts creep upwards. That\’s especially the case when I\’m pedaling rapidly in a low gear; as in bucking a headwind. No rain in the forecast! I\’m sure glad of that. So I\’ll get out there and ride; and let it go as it will.

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Latest Additions

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The latest additions to my web site\’s Shop are: four flavors of RXBar! In Whole Foods this morning, I checked out the sports bars section, as usual. I was delighted to see RXBar Maple Sea Salt, because I love maple; and I got some of the bars to use as ride food during Tour de Cure tomorrow. I must admit, putting these latest additions into the store was rather time-consuming. It\’s also not the easiest thing on my eyes; but I\’m trying to share info and ideas with other riders. I wanted to get tofu; but the store was out of it. I brought home tempeh to try, instead. Tempeh seems strange to me. It\’s like tofu in having little flavor; but the texture is much denser. In fact, it took quite a bit of chewing. I guess tempeh would be better in stir-fry than tofu; it won\’t fall apart as easily. Today I hitched the trailer to the hybrid for the trip to the store, so I could bring home an economy-sized jug of laundry detergent. I noticed that the bike seemed very hard to pedal. Was the trailer adding that much drag? After I got back home, I discovered that the brake pad is dragging on both tire and wheel rim. I just got that fixed! Does carrying loads have something to do with it? That bicycle isn\’t wearing out, is it? Back to the bike shop. Maybe I\’ll wait to take it in until tomorrow afternoon. TdC is tomorrow; and I need to rest up for it. Meanwhile, it\’s time I had some lunch. My stomach is growling, and I need to be well-nourished as well as well-rested for tomorrow\’s big ride!

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Roughshod?

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If \”roughshod\” means your shoes are badly battered, I went around roughshod for as much as a year! I don\’t mean cycling shoes; I mean my walking shoes. The uppers had holes rubbed in them by the time the footwear was about six months old. The toe clips on the hybrid\’s pedals caused a lot of chafing. A few days ago I finally bought new shoes. The uppers on my old sneakers looked like they were pulling away from the soles; and I decided that new shoes would cost a lot less than the medical bills that might result if those beat-up things caused me to trip and fall. My cycling shoes need attention as well. I think both pairs are due for new cleats. Something isn\’t right when I suddenly come unclipped while pedaling! If I think I have problems with my shoes, I should be glad I\’m not a dancer! I don\’t have to sew ribbons and elastics onto my cycling shoes; and I\’m so lazy that I let the bike shop put the cleats on. The main thing there is being sure the bolts on the cleats are properly tightened, and I\’m not sure I can manage it. I also don\’t need to replace my cycling shoes — or my sneakers — as often as three times in one day. If I did, I would have to give up cycling; or at least, riding clipped in. Otherwise I\’d go bankrupt!

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Chip Away at It

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To chip away at it is often the best way to tackle a big job; whether it\’s working up to a major ride, or re-doing a web site. As so often happens, my vacation is turning into a working vacation. This time, the big thing is adjusting my web site to be more mobile-friendly. I had to chip away at it, too, in order to shed some excess weight. Just not by eating potato chips! And I\’ll have to keep it going if I want to keep that weight off, even though it sounds like quite a drag to have to keep an eye on carb consumption indefinitely. I had no idea how spoiled I was before this began! However, I would rather do all that carb-watching and calorie counting than have to go on medication for diabetes; and I certainly want to avoid having to take insulin! Cycling should be a big help here. It burns calories; and I enjoy it. I\’m amazed at the athletes on Team Novo Nordisk. They must learn how their blood sugar reacts to what level of effort; and what length of effort. This book goes into some detail on the subject. I admit that it\’s rather over my head, so I hope I\’ll never need to worry about it. Yesterday I got my hybrid back from the bike shop; and this morning I was able to take a trip to the supermarket. I looked for tofu in several sections of the store, but couldn\’t find it. I got everything else; and later, when it\’s a bit warmer, I want to go out on the road bike. I only hope the wind won\’t be as pesky as it was yesterday!

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Watch It!

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I\’d better watch it! Yesterday my weight was back to almost 108 pounds. I know — some day-to-day fluctuation in weight is normal. The problem is, I was born with a mega-sweet tooth, and I always have had trouble curbing my appetite for candy. Controlling that sweet tooth is especially hard in the evenings. I often feel hungry when I\’m probably actually tired, or thirsty, or both. Sometimes I nibble on sweets when I\’m bored. Other times there\’s something that needs doing, and I don\’t feel like doing it; and I\’ll snack instead. How can I watch it? I can heed the usual advice. I can try taking a drink of water. Maybe I\’m really thirsty; not hungry. Or I can do something that will keep my hands busy, like washing the dishes. That reminds me of something that was in the humor section of a magazine eons ago. The writer told that her husband wanted to quit smoking, and decided to take up knitting, so he\’d have something to do with his hands. Of course the wife was worried about \”what will the neighbors think.\” The man replied that he didn\’t care what they thought, as long as they didn\’t think he was knitting!😉 I had an appointment this morning, and didn\’t get to ride until about 11:00. On the way out, I picked up a terrific tailwind; and set a new speed record: 24.55 mph! Naturally I paid for it on the way back home. The gusts were as high as 20 mph, and bike control was difficult. Often I had to stop when I wanted to pull out the water bottle. I hope we don\’t have wind like this come Saturday!

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Which Day Is It?

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So, which day is it? Being on vacation throws off my sense of time. Day before yesterday it felt like Sunday, because I had done my long ride. It also didn\’t feel quite like Saturday, because I didn\’t do laundry. Yesterday didn\’t really feel like Sunday. I did laundry; and as a rule, I don\’t wash my clothes on Sundays. I wasn\’t riding, either. I thought of going for a short, easy ride; but the wind was stronger than it had been the day before! It\’s not an \”easy\” ride when I\’m battling the breeze. I kept thinking of making a trip to the grocery store, only to remember that the hybrid is still in the shop. The shop is closed on Sunday and Monday, so I won\’t have that bicycle back before tomorrow. At about 4 pm yesterday I finally decided to take a short ride. I was tired of sitting around. The wind wasn\’t quite as bad as I expected, but on the way out I had the sun right in my eyes. That\’s not fun. This morning I had to go for a COVID-19 test. Even though I\’m on vacation, I think it would be a good idea to check my work email once a day to be sure there aren\’t any messages about a shut-down because of the virus. As of last Friday, we\’re operating under the Orange level. But for now I can take it easy. Which day is it? When I\’m on vacation, it doesn\’t really matter!

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A New Cycle

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I\’m beginning a new cycle in my kitchen. Over the last few weeks, I finally used up a lot of the stuff that had been cramming my freezer; and yesterday, I began more cooking projects. Here we go again! I kicked off the new cycle with Bald Eagle. I was much surprised when I sighted an eagle, and it was singing! My father would have loved that. After I packed away the Bald Eagle, I made a use-it-up type of dish. For quite some time I\’ve had two cans of yams (sweet potatoes) and a can of spinach hanging around; takes from the salvage store. I need to weed out my supply of canned goods, and the yam-mash got rid of three cans. The yams and spinach weren\’t the only things that needed using up. I had part of a cauliflower and part of a red onion that were getting old. Ergo here is the recipe: two 15 oz cans yams, drained and rinsed (an attempt to get rid of some of the sugar) 15 oz can chopped spinach, well drained 1 cup chopped cauliflower (1/2\” pieces) 1/2 cup chopped celery scant cup chopped red onion freshly grated nutmeg; freshly ground white pepper; and salt to taste. Put the yams, cauliflower, and celery in a 2 quart pot with water just to cover. Bring to a boil, and turn heat down to simmer. Cook for 5 minutes. Drain and mash. Stir in nutmeg, pepper, and salt. Add the spinach and onion. Makes ~4 3/4 cups. Per 1 cup serving: 168 calories; 39 grams carbs. Now, what can I make next? After I finish up the hummus, eat the half-avocado, etc.

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Not One Iota

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\”Not one iota\” typically means, \”not the slightest\”. It\’s different when a storm of that name is heading your way. Under such circumstances nobody can afford to be indifferent. Tropical Storm Iota is expected to strengthen further before making landfall next Monday. Unfortunately it looks like it\’s aiming for Nicaragua and Honduras; as if they haven\’t had more than enough already! Today keeps feeling like Sunday. For this weekend, I decided to do my long ride on Saturday. but I didn\’t go out as far as I had planned. When I stopped to reapply sunblock, I checked my food supply; and it looked like I might not have enough. As it turned out, I probably did have sufficient fuel with me; but why risk bonking? The wind was a nuisance on the way home, as usual. An added aggravation was having to take a detour to get home, thanks to a train that was just sitting there. That detour means riding over very rough street surfaces! I decided to get Chinese take-out for lunch, and chose the General Tso\’s Chicken combination plate. I like the lunch combination plates because they aren\’t as big as the dinner combos. Even then, it\’s too much for one meal; but that\’s OK. In effect, I\’m getting lunch and supper for the price of one meal. Can\’t beat that, right? After lunch and dishwashing, I went to work on my latest Hoppin\’ John variation: Bald Eagle Black Field; or Bald Eagle for short. I was very surprised this morning when I heard something from a bald eagle that wasn\’t a screech. So now I\’m pretty tired. Maybe I\’ll be lazy and let laundry wait until tomorrow. After all, I\’m on vacation, so switching my schedule around won\’t matter — not one iota!

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Buzzwords

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Buzzwords are all around us. Sometimes, I admit, they\’re as annoying as a mosquito buzzing around my ear. On the other hand, such lingo has its place. So, how about come cycling buzzwords? Athena? It\’s lucky my weight doesn\’t fall into that category, or I\’d be in a LOT of trouble. But even if it did, it wouldn\’t have to mean I couldn\’t ride. See also Clydesdale. Bibs aren\’t only for infants. These shorts with built-in suspenders have some advantages, such as no waist band digging into your middle when you\’re riding on the drops. Bonk? We don\’t want to go there, so we must keep ourselves fueled during long rides. Ride food alone can set anybody\’s head to whirling, thinking of RXBars, GU-Gel, and so on. One step at a time! Try one new food or drink per long ride; or better yet, test new foods when you\’re not riding. Hammer sounds like something from a carpenter\’s toolkit. If you love pedaling hard and fast in the hard gears, you\’re hammering. But don\’t use a hammer on your frame! LSD doesn\’t necessarily mean street drugs. Long Steady Distance riding helps develop aerobic endurance. Those are just a few of the terms that get tossed about by cyclists. I suppose a non-cyclist, or a newbie rider, would quickly feel punch-drunk when surrounded by all this lingo. Fear not, you\’ll catch on. After all, they were all newbies once!

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Heads Up

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Just a heads up: I\’ll soon be at work on this web site again! Next week I\’ll be on vacation, the perfect time for such a task. My vacations always seem to turn into working vacations! The main thing will be restructuring the Slides. So if things look weird, or error messages crop up, that\’s probably why. Now I\’ve got to go do some off-bike exercises, then get to bed. Tomorrow is a work day!

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