SpokEasy

February 2021

Proverbial?

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I got proverbial yesterday, you could say; the proverbial first time. To explain: there\’s a vehicular access road to a mini-industry behind the levee, about half a mile from the salvage store; and I use it to get up and down from the levee bike path. I don\’t try to ride down. There\’s a stop sign at the bottom; and if I ride down that ramp without braking, I might not be able to stop. But if I ride down and brake frequently, guess what? I wear out the brake pads! Thus I walk my bicycle down; especially if I\’m using the trailer, as I did today. For several years, I\’ve always walked that loaded trailer up the access road. I didn\’t feel strong enough to ride up; but today I decided to try it. And I made it! To be sure, as I got towards the top of the ramp I could no longer hold to a straight line; but there wasn\’t a car coming, so I was OK. It helped that I didn\’t have the load that I had thought I\’d get; the pickings at the store were on the slim side. Sometimes they are; but sometimes I hit the jackpot. To my disappointment, I didn\’t see any refried beans; and although I found tuna and canned chicken, neither had a price sticker. I\’ve learned that it\’s better to leave unmarked products alone; sometimes they turn out to be expensive. As a rule, I don\’t go out on the road bike Saturdays; but yesterday morning I did a special ride so I could see the full moon. At first the moon was dodging in and out of the clouds, and there was fog again; but eventually there was enough of a clear spot for me to get a good view. Sunday Ride Foggy again! I sound like the proverbial broken record with all my griping about fog. Today I put in 30.2 miles; and for ride food I tried one of the Clif Builders Protein Bars I got at the salvage store yesterday. Box of 12 bars, $8.99! I also ate an RXBar and a GU-Gel. One bar isn\’t enough to sustain me when I\’m pedaling for well over two hours; and let it be confessed; I just plain love sweets. A long bicycle ride gives me an excuse for eating \”goo\”. It\’s quite warm today; 77 degrees by 11 am. The wind is from the South; and at times on the way home, it was dead on my nose. The forecast had predicted winds of 11 mph by 10 am, but I wondered how strong that wind had really been. I checked NOAA; and it had been blowing at 13 mph before I got back home. Less than an hour later, the wind was 17 mph; and gusts up to 28 mph. For my post-ride recovery drink, I used skim milk (I\’m out of almond milk) and Vega Caramel Toffee protein powder. I like it; but chocolate is even better!

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Keep Those Feet Warm!

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Keep those feet warm with these thermal socks. I tried these out for the first time last Sunday. By then we had gotten through our deep-freeze spell; but I certainly noticed how warm my feet felt! It might not get down to freezing again this season; and then again, it might. March can be very cold here. On the other hand, overnight lows of 80 degrees can set in as early as March. I\’ll keep these socks handy; on a frigid day it\’s important to keep those feet warm! Try them for cycling; skiing; or any other outdoor activity.

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Repeat

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This morning I got a repeat of yesterday morning\’s fog. Last night I saw the dense fog advisory, and decided to ride in the park this morning. There seem to be fewer hard-to-see people in the park; and I also used the hybrid, which has fenders. It\’s ironic that I did only a short ride. I work from home Fridays; and I could have taken the time for a longer ride than usual! But my legs objected to getting a long or vigorous workout this morning; they\’re still rather tired from yesterday\’s efforts. Incidentally, \”repeat\” sounds like interval training! Another reason I did a shorter ride was that I began to feel hungry; and I didn\’t have a GU-Gel with me. On top of that, my mind was distracted by the thought of the leftover Chinese food waiting in my fridge! Parts of the country are seeing a repeat of horrible weather: severe T-storms; heavy rain/flooding, and so on. Thunderstorms aren\’t in our forecast for the next few days; but I won\’t be surprised if they develop. After all, it reached 80 degrees this afternoon. This is a weather-breeder! I took a quick ride to the drug store at lunch time. It was nice to not have to bundle up before I went out! I don\’t need sodas, but that little bit of midday physical activity makes it a little easier to get through the afternoon. Forecast for tomorrow morning: dense fog. Again. I want to get up early to go for a moon ride, but it might be vain effort. I think I\’ll try, though. Then I\’ll have plenty of time to eat breakfast, and get ready for the trek to the salvage store. I love that place.

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Light in the Saddle

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Light in the Saddle   The fog was heavy this morning. I didn’t expect it; but I noticed it as soon as I stepped out my front door. I was surprised that the moon — now almost full — was visible through it. But the river was totally obscured. In fact, I was surprised that the moon was still up; then I remembered that I began my ride earlier than usual. I wanted to put in some miles on the road bike; and then ride the hybrid to the supermarket. Today I rode 12.7 miles in exactly one hour. That’s still quite slow; but I hit a max speed well over 17 mph. That light in the saddle work sure tired my legs, though! Once again, there was almost no wind. When I got home, I chowed down a Chocolate Chip RXBar; then hooked the panniers to the hybrid’s rack and rode to the supermarket. I was hungry by the time I got back home. I had to fix “real” breakfast; and then clock in to work. After work I rode over to the drug store to pick up a prescription refill; and I got Chinese take-out for my supper. Every two or three weeks my cravings for Chinese food get to be too much for me! But I must be careful not to eat too much of it (or, indeed, of anything) if I want to stay light in the saddle!  

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Giving It a Shot

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I’m giving it a shot when it comes to avoiding COVID-19. Of course I wore masks from the start of the pandemic. In fact, I\’ve worn them for many years because of my sensitivities to \”fragrances\”. I avoid crowds if at all possible. When I shop at a brick-and-mortar store, I go early; and get in and out as quickly as I can. But today I was finally able to get my first dose of the COVID vaccine. It was a bit weird. I didn\’t really feel the needle; but it did feel like somebody punched me in the arm! For a while my arm felt a bit sore here and there; but so far nothing bad. Maybe I was giving it a shot when I rode this morning; but I didn’t know it. I really wasn’t looking for the water bottle that I dropped yesterday; and that I thought I’d never see again. But, incredibly, I spotted it! Apparently I had dropped it a bit closer to home than I thought; and even at a rather low speed, a dropped water bottle can roll a long way. Today I rode at a rather leisurely pace; and I made it short. I had to catch a shuttle bus to get to the appointment for my COVID shot; and of course I didn’t want to miss it. I wish I could have done a longer ride, because this was another non-windy morning. It looks like tomorrow morning won\’t be bad, though; and I can try some more \”light in the saddle\” work. If I really want to get faster, it\’s worth giving this a shot.

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Dropsy?

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“Dropsy” is what I call it when I’m trying to get a water bottle back into its cage and miss. This morning I dropped a water bottle; and it seemed to vanish entirely. That\’s a drawback to riding in the dark. Or is there a black hole for bidons out there? Not that dropsy is anything to joke about. It can be the result of a serious medical condition; and it isn\’t something to ignore. Getting back to the problem of handling that water bottle: sometimes I don\’t have any trouble with it. Other times, I just can\’t seem to manage it. This morning I began to pull the bottle out of its holder; and for some reason let go of it before it was all the way out. My heavy gloves, with Hotnwarmers inside, no doubt contributed to my case of \”dropsy\”! Unfortunately the bottle was too far out of the cage to keep it from falling out. I stopped as quickly as I could, but several minutes of searching yielded no result; and I finally decided I had to go on. After all, I got very little riding last week; and I didn\’t want to miss any more! Aside from losing my water bottle, this morning\’s ride was great. The weather was clear; and while it was chilly, it wasn\’t frigid. There was almost no wind! I could have used an additional layer on my legs; but even so, it was nice to climb aboard without the binding effect of slacks over leg warmers. Next Step? And today, I began something new! My next step in improving my pace, I hope. Sometime last year, out of the blue, I found that I was pulling up on the handlebars and easing my weight on the saddle when “climbing”; that is, while riding over a hump or up an access ramp. I noticed that this let me push harder on the pedals. It\’s harder on my legs; but I seem to be able to climb more effectively when I do it. A few weeks back, I began to think: how about taking the next step; and using the same technique when I want to ride faster?  This morning, almost without conscious thought, I started to work on it. I can’t keep it up for long. My arms and upper body need a lot more strengthening; and my legs sure felt it, too. But it makes it easier to push 15 mph or more; and during long rides, short spurts of this \”half-stand\” pedaling will help when I need a bit of relief from saddle contact. By the way, \”dropsy\” is sure to happen again; and after work I rode to the bike shop and bought two water bottles. I want to have a spare on hand!

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Splits

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Splits are nice when they\’re banana splits. I\’d love to have one, if only I didn\’t have prediabetes. There are splits within the world of gymnastics, or ballet. Time was when I could do a split; but now I can\’t. Cycling has tightened up my hamstrings. Maybe my age is catching up with me, too.😞 With the cold weather come nasty splits at the corners of my fingernails; and they aren\’t fun at all. They\’re ugly; sometimes they even bleed; and they hurt because it\’s so hard to keep from bumping them. They also wreak havoc with fingertip sensitivity; and the fact that I so often can\’t keep my hands out of water (food prep, dishwashing, etc.) doesn\’t help. For years now I\’ve been making my own hand cream using grape seed oil, jojoba oil, and beeswax. The formula comes from Better Basics for the Home. I like it better than any commercially available hand lotion that I\’ve tried. Unfortunately I still get those mini-wounds. Maybe I\’ll try something else, such as Neutrogena. My sister-in-law says she really likes it. Skin care is important when you do a lot of outdoor activity; especially in cold weather. We sure got a lot of that last week; and today it got up to 68 degrees! Back down to 43 tonight; get out those leg warmers for tomorrow morning\’s ride! But bring along shorts to change into for the ride home from work: high of 70 degrees! Which season is this, anyway? Does our weather have a split personality?

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The Thaw

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We\’ve got the thaw today! At 8 am it was already 51 degrees; and by noon it was well into the 60s! Unfortunately it still feels cold in my apartment; and as a result I was actually overdressed for my ride. On the way out I had a tailwind; and I got to feeling almost too warm. Of course I had a headwind on the way back home; and the wind felt pretty chilly then. Now it\’s up to 20 mph, so I\’m glad I\’m not out there fighting it. The thermal socks that I had ordered came a day or two ago; and this morning I tried them. The sure feel warm; but since the weather is much warmer today, I can\’t be sure how they\’d feel when the mercury drops to freezing. I still might get the chance to test that; March can be very cold. On the other hand, overnight lows near 80 degrees can set in as early as March. That\’s taking the thaw a bit too far! After this morning\’s ride, I enjoyed a recovery drink made of almond milk and protein powder. It wasn\’t long, though, before I wanted something more to eat; and my mood shifted South. I prepared a high-calorie, high carb \”Mexican\” lunch: refried beans with a little cheese on top; two corn tortillas; some guacamole; and olives. Now I\’ve got to clean up the kitchen from lunch; wash my cycling shorts; and then get back to cooking. Oh, this never-ending cooking! But that\’s part of keeping on top of prediabetes.

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Pure Inspiration?

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Pure inspiration is something I could use; and I thought, maybe this protein powder will help! Purely Inspired Organic Protein is vegan-friendly; free of cholesterol; and has no added sugar. Each two-scoop serving (scoop included) packs in 20 g of protein! I found this product at the salvage store this morning, and decided to try it. The main reason was that it cost several dollars less than at a regular store; and that\’s one of the things I love about the salvage store. I can try out new things for less money! After lunch I got out the almond milk, and mixed up a serving of \”pure inspiration\”. I tasted it; and I think it\’s better than chocolate Vega. Most of the mixed drink is for after tomorrow\’s ride; it will keep for 24 hours, I\’m sure. Here\’s my problem with this: the canister is quite large in diameter; and smooth in texture. The lid is also smooth, and it\’s the twist-on type. It\’s a bit difficult for my hands to manage; and it probably doesn\’t help that my hands are cold! Incidentally, the ride to the store meant using another product: Hotnwarmer Packs. It was only a few degrees above freezing when I set out; and I knew my hands would get too cold without the warming packs (this danged Raynaud\’s!) Luckily there wasn\’t much wind, and it\’s now in the mid-40s. Of course I hit the grab-bag bins. I found a Fit Crunch bar; and got some carb-y snacks that will have to be worked into my day-to-day carb count, including some BelVita Sandwiches. Tonight the low will be around 43 degrees; but tomorrow the wind will be stronger. Going for a ride will mean being purely inspired, I guess!

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Jamaica

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Jamaica 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.” Jamaica sure sounds attractive when we’ve had a few days of frigid weather. The island’s climate is tropical: hot all year round!  Jamaica has bicycle tours to offer. Maybe you’d like to undertake one uning a Sixthreezero EVERYjourney e-bike! There’s the popular Reggae Ride, based out of Montego Bay. This escorted group ride has something to offer cyclists of all ability levels. You can visit farmers’ markets; chat with school kids; or even climb a waterfall! Is downhill MTB your thing? The Blue Mountain Bike Tour might be right up your alley. This all-day tour is easy and fun; but do be prepared for wet weather. Part of the route takes you through a rain forest. The Fat Tire Festival is held annually, in the third week of February; and it sells out fast! Register early if you want to join this week-long celebration of MTB trail riding. Train up, too — some tough climbs are involved. If you’re looking for family fun, try the Braco Bike Trail. This one combines biking and hiking; and includes (of course) a visit to the beach. Relax and enjoy the sounds and sights of rural Jamaica; and learn about the island’s wildlife.  COVID-19 seems to be making a comeback; so traveling might be on the sidelines. In addition, as of September 19, 2023, Jamaica is under a Level 3 travel advisory. But when the COVID threat is over, you might still want to dust off your passport; pack up your bicycle and bathing suit; and head for the Caribbean.

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