SpokEasy

April 2021

Rooting Around

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I\’m always rooting around, looking for new ideas for meals. For snacks, too; it\’s not unusual for me to chow down a quarter-pound of raw carrots as a snack. I especially enjoy them with hummus. But sometimes carrot sticks and apple wedges get wearisome. Ditto for almonds, hazelnuts, etc. I\’ve got to root around and find something else, then; and I don\’t mean candy bars! Maybe Laughing Cow? Sometimes I take a tablespoon or two of dried fruit with my carrot sticks; and that seems to help those carrots go down a bit easier. Even though my prediabetes seems to be in remission, I can\’t afford to slack off on the diet; so I keep browsing through my various books, looking for new recipes to try. Lentil Dal, for example; that\’s from page 24 of the vegetarian cookbook. It will let me use up the cauliflower that I have. I\’m glad I had a well-established cycling routine when I got my prediabetes diagnosis in February 2020. Otherwise I might still be rooting around, looking for some kind of exercise I could enjoy; and who knows, I might not have been able to shed those excess 26 pounds. We all know of another kind of rooting around: when we need an item of cycling gear (gloves, arm warmers, etc.); and need it right now; but it seems to have disappeared, even though we know we \”just saw it\”. That kind of burrowing activity can delay a ride; and is especially aggravating when time is already short. This ought to teach me to keep my things in better order. Unfortunately, I never have been the paragon of neatness. I keep a cardboard box next to my helmet, where I store gloves, helmet liners, and such; but it inevitably becomes a jumble!

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Cycle Kuwait

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Cycle Kuwait 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.” Cycle Kuwait? Kuwait seems very far away to me; and not only in geographical distance. It seems very far away culturally, too. How does cycling fit in? Are there opportunities to cycle Kuwait? Of course! October and November are the best months. Summers are very hot in Kuwait; and the climate is arid. I bet I’d want an extra-large Camel-Bak! You can choose from an array of rides of varying length and difficulty. Flat or uphill; hilly or downhill; even long tours. If you just want a leisurely ride, the Arabian Gulf Street tour, from Salmiyah to Arabian Gulf Street (Kuwait City); is not quite 7.5 miles long. Little climbing is involved; and most riders can complete this route in less than one hour. Salmiya is a moderate route, with over 2100 feet of climbing over about six miles. Let’s see — what’s the gradient of that? Sounds pretty steep — or are my calculations off? Have I read the ride info right? The tour between Belajat Street and Salmiya covers 18 nice,  flat miles. There’s one for me! It’s both flat, and not very long; my Sunday rides are typically much longer! If you still want a flat route, but want to go longer, how about the LOFTC133 Marina route? These 36 miles follow the shoreline; maybe you could get in some ship-watching? Want to go re-e-eally long? There’s the 145.4 mile “15th Avenue” trip. For a cyclist in good condition, that’s still short enough to accomplish in a single day; but remember Kuwait’s arid climate! Be sure you can stay hydrated; and don’t forget about electrolytes. If you want to cycle Kuwait, and are a woman, here’s something to keep in mind. I don’t know how old the article is; but in some cultures a woman in Lycra® would raise some eyebrows, to say the least. You don’t want to ruin your cycling adventure in Kuwait — or anywhere — by getting into trouble over your cycling attire.     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! You can read all about it in My Story. 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 I Traverse Afar? December 18, 2023 I Envy Time December 17, 2023 Holiday Food December 16, 2023 Glad I’m Home December 15, 2023 Load More TRANSLATOR

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Methodology?

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What methodology should you use to improve your cycling? That\’s one of the questions that can be answered: Ask 50 people, and you\’ll get 50 different answers! One thing that my reading on the subject has taught me is: don\’t rush it. Take things at your own pace, and you\’ll do better in the long run. An all hard, all the time boot-camp approach is likely to result in exhaustion; burnout; and possibly injury. Keep in mind that not everyone\’s body has the same response to any given training load. Some people are so-called \”fast responders\”; and others respond more slowly. It can be discouraging for those in the latter group to see the fast responders make rapid gains, while they themselves seem to be getting nowhere; but there\’s nothing wrong with being a slow responder. It does require more patience, though! I\’m not sure which type I am. I\’ve never participated in any kind of formal cyclists\’ training program, and don\’t feel the need to do so. If I could afford a coach, it might help me to make more rapid improvements towards becoming a faster rider; but unless I decide to go for racing, there\’s not much sense in my spending the money. Weight Loss How about weigh loss methodology? Like cyclist training, there\’s no one-size-fits-all. Weight loss must be tailored to the individual. How much weight needs to be lost? Are there medical conditions — for example, hypertension — involved? What are the individual\’s food preferences? There are even religious attitudes towards food to consider: for example, in some religions, pork is taboo. Is the person physically active? What kind of activity, and how much? If exercise wasn\’t in the picture before, what can the person do; and how much is tolerable? What kind of activity does the person like? Nobody enjoys having to participate in a disliked form of exercise! When I learned I had prediabetes in February 2020, I weighed about 128 pounds; and for me, that was borderline overweight. It was at the point where I could barely get into my cycling shorts; and I didn\’t want to have to start buying them in a larger size. (Oh, the embarrassment!) So, what did I do? The \”Diet\” For year or more, I had been devouring loads of candy bars and other unhealthful snacks; mostly mindless stress eating, as I was working like mad on this web site! My cycling hadn\’t been enough to keep the pounds off. I had to do something about that; but my methodology wasn\’t to \”go on a diet\”. First, I began to write down what I was eating; and worked to cut the candy and other snacks by 50%. I started to turn to apple wedges and carrot sticks when I felt like munching on something. In a month or so I lost 5-6 pounds; and it didn\’t seem all that hard. Fast-forward to November, 2020. By then I was down to about 105-107 pounds; but to my dismay, my A1c levels hadn\’t dropped. I realized that I needed to tighten the screws, so to speak. That\’s when I began to work with both a nurse practitioner and a nutritionist. I then had guidelines for calorie and carb intake, and I worked to keep track of it all. My eating plan is: try to get plenty of vegetables; eat complex carbs such as legumes; and limit simple carbs such as M&Ms. Eating plan; not diet. \”Diet\” sounds too much like a painful struggle, including being hungry all the time. We know that that does not work! An eating plan must be sustainable in the long run; and extreme diets do not fall under that heading. Yes, It Worked! And yes, it worked; by last month my A1c levels had fallen below the prediabetes range. Just barely, though; and I intend to keep working at the eating plan I\’ve followed for the last 14 months. Sure, some days I go totally off the rails; but that\’s only human. When it happens, don\’t beat yourself up over it; just work at bringing yourself back to heel. Cycling is a great help in weight loss/weight maintenance. I don\’t yet ride much more than I did pre-prediabetes, but I do seem to be riding a bit more intensely; and riding at a higher intensity burns a few extra calories. As I think I\’ve said before, I seem to lose weight quite easily once I set my mind and work on it, but what worked for me might not work for everybody; so get professional advice if possible; and chose your own methodology.

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Gamble

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I took a gamble yesterday morning, and rode to the salvage store. I knew that rain was possible; maybe even a T-storm. But last Saturday I didn\’t go there; and I wanted to make the trip. It was overcast, but not raining, at around 7:20 am; and I decided to set out. I figured I ought to take advantage of the break in the weather. Maybe I could beat any rain to the store; and besides, I wanted to ride at leisure. I took the trailer this time, and of course that slows me down. There was some light sprinkle here and there, but not enough for me to stop and pull on the poncho. By the time I reached the store, however, the drizzle was a bit heavier; and steadier. I figured I\’d have a wet ride home! I was disappointed that the grab bag bins weren\’t there. They\’ve been the biggest attraction in the whole store, and I hope they come back soon. I hoped to find hummus, and there didn\’t seem to be any. But I found other merchandise that I\’ve bought before now; and at lower prices.😊 Swiss Miss Keurig, for example: it used to cost $1.69 for a box of 12 pods; today it was only 99¢! Goin\’ Home Then I had to load my loot into the trailer. The cover doesn\’t fit as snugly as it needs to; or maybe I was just too lazy to fix it properly. Of course it leaked! At any rate, by the time I left the store it was raining steadily. Luckily it wasn\’t a hard rain; but it was still a nuisance. I absentmindedly pulled the poncho on over my reflective vest, instead of the other way around; and the poncho had nothing to hold it in place. So there I was, riding along with a flapping poncho. It wasn\’t wind still, and there were times when gusts were enough for me to shift temporarily to my granny gear. Goin\’ home seemed like a long, slow trip; perhaps because of the rain. It addition, it was a bit chilly; but that plastic poncho helps keep me warm. In a sense, my gamble paid off. My major concern, lightning, didn\’t happen. It rained, but at least it didn\’t pour. I brought home a pretty good haul: tuna, canned chicken, hazelnut spread, etc. And I got some good exercise to boot! Around 11:30 am I began to hear the grumbling of thunder. I was glad that I went to the store early in the morning. Then my thoughts turned to today\’s long ride: is 20% chance of showers a low enough risk? Maybe. It\’s all a gamble. Goin\’ Long Sunday is the day for goin\’ long, although today I didn\’t go as far as I did last Sunday. Even so, 40+ miles is quite a respectable distance. It was rather sunny when I began the ride; but high clouds were gathering. By the time I got back home at around 11:30 am, the sky was mostly overcast. The forecast didn\’t predict rain; and I\’m glad there wasn\’t any. Whether it will rain is often a gamble. So is wind. Today it was blowing from the NE, at 10 mph. As usual, that meant a headwind on the way back home. Those long slogs against the breeze make goin\’ long a bit daunting. All in all, today\’s wasn\’t a bad ride. I saw a bald eagle; and a bluebird, too. I complain about headwinds; but all the same, it feels like I\’m a little stronger riding against them than I used to be. The only way to be certain is to find records of long rides when wind conditions were similar to today\’s; and seeing how my average speed was on those rides. I\’m too lazy for that. Back to work tomorrow. It looks I won\’t have to gamble against the weather for a few days. That\’s a relief!

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In Reserve

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Keep something in reserve! That applied to many things in life; and when you\’re on a long bicycle ride, you\’ll want to have plenty of water in reserve. The Camel-Bak 3L Hydration Pack Reservoir lets you keep hydrated, be it hot or cold outdoors. It\’s amazing how much water you need on a cold day! Wide mouth allows for easy filling; even for ice cubes. Drinking tube\’s shut-off valve prevents dripping. Leakproof. Includes cleaning kit. Can replace the reservoir in your old Camel-Bak.

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Don\’t Toss It Yet

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Don\’t toss it yet! Hang on to it a while. Has it got any more wear in it?If not, can it be used for something else? Re/Uses presents many ways to reduce your trash output; keep things out of the landfill; and even save you money. It\’s a book that I wish I had! I grew up seeing my mother reuse things. She saved glass jars and food cans even when we really didn\’t have room for any more in the cupboards! Ergo I often find it difficult to throw things away; especially the aforementioned glass jars. Recycling and reusing doesn\’t have to be about major things. Here\’s one I just did: I had an empty canister from Vega; I used the last of the powder a couple of weeks ago. But I didn\’t throw away the container, nor even put it in the recycling bin. I figured I would think of a way to use it; so I washed and dried it, and set it aside. Sure, and I did think of something to do with it. My raids on the grab-bag bins at the salvage store resulted in my having many packs of Hazelnut Spread M&Ms; some single-serve size, and others share size. Those packs were still in the grab bag; and that bag took up a good bit of space in the fridge. I decided to empty the packs of M&Ms into the old Vega canister. All but one pack fit into the canister; and the canister takes up much less room than the grab bag did. So don\’t toss it yet. You never know what it might be good for!

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Dropped and Light

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Dropped and light? That sounds rather contradictory. But I did it during this morning\’s ride. To start at the beginning, I got rolling about half an hour later than I had wanted to. The forecast last night predicted possible T-storms starting at 6 am; and of course I don\’t want to be out there on top of the levee in a T-storm! I thought of starting my ride at 5 am, so that I could beat the bad weather home. Wouldn\’t you know, I didn\’t get out until 5:30. I thought of riding 7 miles, then turning back. About 5 miles out, I saw a blink like a flash bulb going off; and thought, \”Uh-oh. Was that lightning?\” Sure enough, it was. I saw a second flash about a mile later; and decided to turn around early. The lightning came from a westerly direction; and as weather typically moves West to East, I was uneasily aware that I was going to have a T-storm chasing me home. It spurred me to work harder and ride a bit faster than usual. And, as usual, I had a headwind on the way home; and here is where \”dropped and light \” comes in. Riding on the drops lets me pedal harder and also reduces wind resistance a little, so that I can ride a little bit faster. So there\’s the \”dropped\”. Here and there, while riding on those drops, I caught myself adding in a bit of my unclimbing technique. So there you have it: dropped and light! Getting Home Getting home was a bit nerve-wracking. The lightning became more frequent; and I was still nearly three miles from home when I first heard thunder. They say that, if you can hear thunder, you\’re close enough to the storm to get struck by lightning. That\’s not a comforting thought. When I\’m out riding and the lightning fires up, I get the uneasy feeling that I\’m a rolling lighting rod! On top of that, when I\’m riding a bicycle, lightning is probably pretty close before I can hear the thunder! That\’s because of wind noise: the noise of a headwind can block out a lot of other sound; and there\’s always the wind noise generated by my own forward motion. It began to sprinkle a bit when I still had 1.5 miles or so to go. I didn\’t have a poncho with me; and I could only hope that I would reach home before it began to pour. It\’s too cool for me to need rain to ease the heat; and rain can wreak havoc on visibility. I don\’t have windshield wipers on a bicycle! I arrived home about 6:30; and soon afterwards the drizzle became heavier. Just before 7 am, a weather statement was posted about strong T-storms, with wind gusts as strong as 45 mph! It made me glad that I got home when I did. Dropped and light might not help much in such conditions.

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Beanie?

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Do I mean beanie, or do I mean bean-y? What we called \”beanie\” when I was a kid was more like a skull cap; and not what this image shows. I call these things \”stocking caps\”; and in cold weather, I\’d be miserable without one. But this morning I sure got bean-y with breakfast. One of the wonderful things about being on staycation is that I don\’t have to rush through breakfast. I can take my time preparing it! I have time to enjoy eating it at leisure; and for many people who are vegetarian or low-meat, beans are a staple breakfast food. This morning I took it to town! I heated a cupful of refried black beans, adding a little dried chimichurri and freshly ground black pepper. The warmed beans went over tofu, with a bit of chopped red bell pepper and red onion on top. Over all went two tablespoons of mild red taco sauce. This is a morning meal that I\’d like to have more often. Bean-y, but good. The weather at present isn\’t good for riding, nor for going anywhere. There was a brief lull; but then the rain began again. Several hours ago it poured like crazy, and the lightning was almost non-stop. I\’d like to run a couple of errands, but I know that flooded streets are only too likely; and I\’d rather keep me and my bicycles dry. Maybe in the afternoon I can go for a ride. I looks like the rain will let up, although it will still be cloudy. Just now, at least, it\’s cool enough that I\’d want a skull cap under my helmet. Or do I mean beanie? Post Meridian Shortly before 12 pm, aka post meridian, I decided I could risk going for a ride. I chose to use the hybrid, in case the ground was very wet; and also in case it started to rain again. To my surprise, the bike path\’s surface was much less wet than I expected. The sun even peeked out now and then; but the sky was still gray most of the time. In fact, before I got back home it looked rather threatening. Half an hour or so later, I thought I heard distant thunder; but wasn\’t sure. After the ride, I fixed lunch; but I didn\’t get bean-y this time. I ate tuna with a little ranch dressing; and frozen blueberries mixed with plain, non-fat yogurt and ground flax seeds. And I had a few M&Ms. I still have to watch the sweets; and probably always will. Now, what else do do post meridian? I want to make good use of what I have left of my staycation!

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Staycation

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I\’m enjoying a staycation this week! Sunday Sunday I put in a half-century ride. The next day my legs were a bit stiff, but that was to be expected. And there\’s a difference between muscles being a bit sore; and muscles that are screaming \”ouch!\” Now I\’ve put in a 50-miler; and I want to work at continuing 50-mile rides on Sundays. Monday On Monday I rode to Whole Foods, instead of waiting for Friday morning seniors\’ hour; and it was nice to not have to rush through the store. I didn\’t have to worry about getting home to clock in at 8:00! I found my usual sunblock on sale, and got two tubes. Don\’t worry, it\’ll keep; and I\’ve got enough sunblock now to last me for months. I\’m also trying vanilla protein powder, instead of the usual chocolate flavor. It\’s a store brand, not Vega; but that\’s OK. I don\’t have to have name brands. This vanilla stuff is all right; but I still much prefer chocolate. I decided to get turkey burgers, too. I\’m on staycation; why not live it up a bit? Tuesday Ah, staycation! It\’s great to be able to start my morning rides a little late; yet still have time to do a few more miles than usual. I put in 16 miles; ordinarily the most I can get in is about 14.5. It was still dark when I set out; and once again, I saw alligator eyes! First, I saw one eye. I looked again, and saw both eyes. Then I looked a third time, and watched the eyes fade from view. I guess the reptile submerged itself. Fine with me; it\’s better than having a curious-as-a-cat gator emerging from the water to check me out! I also went to check out a nearby farmers\’ market. I already had too much stuff at home to let me buy much from them; but I got scallions and strawberries. I got there for opening time. For one thing, I\’m sure their produce goes fast. For another, the forecast predicted scattered T-storms from 10 am. It was hard to believe that while I was out on the road bike, because the weather was beautiful then. I was home from the farmers\’ market by 9:00 or so. About half an hour later it began to drizzle; then to rain on and off. Soon it began to thunder here and there; and around 11:00 o\’clock I learned that there was a flash flood watch in effect. I had thought of riding to the bank; but if it was going to pour, I preferred staying home. Indeed, shortly past noon a severe T-storm watch was posted; and it was in effect until 6 pm. I was glad that I was at home, and didn\’t have to worry that I might have to ride home from work with lightning cracking overhead. And Today This morning I did only a short, easy ride; and I used the hybrid. The ground was still pretty wet after yesterday\’s rain, and I didn\’t feel like getting the road bike mucked up. And today I finally got those stitches out of my thumb! What a relief that is! I no longer have a slippery bandaid that makes it hard to hang on to things. I also had to go downtown for an appointment with my neurologist. Even though my appointment was for 1:00 pm, I caught the 10:15 shuttle. The weather looked like it was going to take a turn for the worse; and if I could beat it downtown, so much the better. I took along a book to read; and got some lunch in the medical center\’s food court. So that\’s my staycation so far. I\’m looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow morning, for a change. The forecast says T-storms are likely; and what better time to get in an extra snooze?

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Left in Stitches

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I was left in stitches on Easter Monday, you might say. The evening before, I was cutting up cabbage; and managed to give myself a nasty cut in the left thumb. The cut bled pretty heavily; and I had to put double bandaids on it. Every time I got my hands wet, the blood started oozing through the bandaids! Next morning, it was the same. That cut still bled a lot when I took the wet dressings off; and I figured I needed skin glue, or something. I wasn\’t about to visit an emergency room; but there\’s an urgent care clinic not far from here. I called them and told them about my predicament; and they said I could come in. Luckily things weren\’t so bad that I couldn\’t ride my bicycle over there. The outcome: they put two sutures in my thumb. I was left in stitches, literally! Since then those stitches have made things awkward. I was supposed to keep the area clean and dry. Easy to say; but I simply can\’t keep that thumb from getting wet. I\’m my own chef; and my dishwasher is called a pair of hands. I\’ve been washing my cycling shorts as well as I can using one hand; but it\’s not easy. I\’m glad those stitches come out tomorrow. I want to get back to normal!

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