SpokEasy

May 2021

Good as a Mile?

BACK ISSUES /

A miss is as good as a mile; or so the old saying goes. Today I gave the salvage store a miss. Let\’s face it: I stocked up so much that I\’ve got to use up some of the stuff! If a hurricane struck tonight, or a sudden COVID-19 surge hit; and I were literally stuck indoors for two months; I probably wouldn\’t run out of food. This miss wasn\’t exactly \”good as a mile\”, because I went out on the road bike and put in 10.2 miles! I tried to take it easy; and maybe I really should have given that ride a miss. I think my allergies are acting up, because I\’m tired and my head is rather stuffy. I ate a snack before the ride, but at the turnaround point I decided to eat a GU-Gel; and maybe that wasn\’t a good idea. The GU made me very thirsty; and you know those days when you have trouble getting the water bottle back into its cage? It happened to me today — yet again. The wind was a bit of a problem as well. I did a quick check of a weather site before I went out; and it said the wind was 5 mph. After I was back home I checked the 3-day weather history; and it said the wind was 12 mph! That\’s quite a difference. It looks like tomorrow will be great riding weather: warm enough to leave the leg warmers off. (I wore them this morning, and got a bit too warm!) Clear skies. Wind 10-15 mph, which I don\’t like; but at least it won\’t be cold. In fact, May is National Bike Month. A miss is as good as a mile? Not when I want to put in the miles!

Good as a Mile? Read More »

Rack and Ruin?

BACK ISSUES /

We don\’t want our bicycles to go to rack and ruin. But a rack over the rear wheel is a great idea! This sturdy rack from Ibera can hold up to 55 lbs/25 kg; and lets you turn your bicycle into a pack mule. Hang on the panniers and bring home a load from the grocery store; or pack them up and go on a tour. This rack is also useful for carrying a cooler (mine is the size of two six-packs stacked up) with my lunch to work. After I got a diagnosis of prediabetes, I needed to watch the carbs; and couldn\’t get away with compact, sandwich-and-apple lunches. Now I need the cooler to bring along what I need to eat during the day; and having the rack lets me put the cooler into a pannier and hang it on said rack. So don\’t go to rack and ruin. Get a real rack!

Rack and Ruin? Read More »

Trailblazing

BACK ISSUES /

True trailblazing, I suppose, is a thing of the past. Most of our planet has already been explored and mapped. Even trailblazing in the universe beyond our solar system is getting more and more common. This morning, however, I saw a meteor blazing a trail across the sky. That\’s a rare treat! I seldom see meteors; and most of the ones that I do see are tiny, and so fleeting that I feel like I was looking at the wrong place. The one I saw today was a big one; and lasted long for a meteor. It was white, with a pale greenish tinge. If only it hadn\’t been for the treetops, I would have had a much better look at it, as it lasted several seconds. After that it faded quickly. I saw the moon, too. It\’s still a few days away from old-fingernail-paring stage; but it was nonetheless beautiful. I might not get to see the final remnant of the old moon, because by Sunday evening more clouds, rain, and T-storms will arrive. It looks like Sunday\’s weather will be OK; low 62 degrees; and high 82. Perfect cycling temperatures! Getting back to trailblazing: even if I can\’t blaze a new trail, I could follow someone else\’s. There are many: the Grand Canyon! For the truly hardy, there\’s the Hotter n Hell ride. If you want something cooler, how about Lappland? Soon the Summer heat and humidity (\”the muggies\”, some people call it) will set in. I\’m trying to get leg warmers and other cold-weather gear put away; but this morning it was in the low 60s! That\’s too cool for bare legs, as far as I\’m concerned; and I don\’t have any embrocation cream. Saturday I think I\’ll skip the salvage store tomorrow. I considered going to a thrift store for a new pair of (non-cycling) shorts, but maybe I\’ll just sleep in; and then go \”trailblazing\” on the road bike. Usually I skip the road bike on Saturday, but now and then I do go for a ride. I\’ll keep it pretty short; I want to save my energy for the long ride on Sunday!

Trailblazing Read More »

Clog

BACK ISSUES /

It\’s good to know that clog doesn\’t always mean a plumbing problem, isn\’t it? There\’s clog dancing, too! I think it would be fun to learn the steps; and I wouldn\’t really need those wooden-soled shoes to do it. Sneakers would work fine, or even socked feet. (Sock hop, anyone?) Incidentally, it\’s amazing to watch that shoemaker at work. The clogs almost make themselves under his skilled hands. Skip the cycling shoes here. Even MTB cleats are probably too slick; and as for roadie cleats, don\’t even think of it. The dancing probably isn\’t good for the cleats, anyhow. Why wear them out unnecessarily? Incidentally, something funny was going on with my left cycling shoe this morning. It didn\’t feel right at all; and it kept coming unclipped. This is the pair of shoes that just got new cleats, too! Was I doing something wrong, or is something wrong with the cleat? I hope the pedals themselves aren\’t wearing out! This morning was great cycling weather. It actually felt more like October than May; but soon the heat and humidity of Summer will hit us full blast. Summer typically arrives too abruptly, and we don\’t have a chance to \”warm up\” to it. It looks like good riding weather again tomorrow morning; and as I work from home Friday, maybe I can make a trip to Whole Foods before I clock in for work. However happy I am about Friday, though, just remind me not to try dancing in my cycling shoes.

Clog Read More »

Sturm und Drang?

BACK ISSUES /

The constant threat of stormy – possibly even violent — weather brought Sturm und Drang to my mind. Those forecasts sure caused me a lot of stress. Can I ride, or will the weather force me to stay home? If I do go riding, will a T-storm break out when I’m miles from home? Getting soaked is one thing, although bad enough; but I don’t want to get fried! At about 1:15 am, I woke to heavy rain and frequent, bright lightning. I’m glad that was in the wee hours, and not when I was ready to go out and ride. At 5 am the sky was overcast, but it wasn’t raining; so I went out on the hybrid for a short, easy ride. I stayed dry, but there was a T-storm off in a northerly direction; I saw the lightning flashes low in the sky. Of course that was a bit of \”Drang\”; I couldn\’t be sure that the storm wasn\’t headed my way. During the ride to work, just past 7 am, it was still cloudy; and the overcast was darkening. I got to work dry, though; and a little earlier than usual. That was good thing! Shortly afterwards it became very dark, and the thunder began. A co-worker who arrived about 15-20 minutes later said she got caught in the downpour. Weather concerns aside, there’s the “Sturm und Drang” of the continuing pandemic. I\’m tired of wearing filter masks, and was long before the pandemic began; but I\’m also tired of worrying about new outbreaks and a possible shut-in order. The latter is why I continue to make trips to the salvage store to stock up, no matter how much I already have! Diet There\’s the Sturm und Drang of my diet, too. For several days I\’ve persistently fallen off the wagon, especially in the evenings. Above all I craved sweets; and that is not what I need in my diet if I\’m to keep that A1c count down! Maybe I need to eat more earlier in the day; I get hungry and eat junk as the afternoon and evening wear on. When I plan the next day\’s food, it looks like a lot on paper. It even looks like too much! In actual practice, it\’s usually not enough; and on days when I don\’t work from home, it\’s hard to get proper snacks: I can\’t just run to the fridge and grab a raw carrot and some hummus. Today I decided to let things go, which included getting Chinese take-out for supper. After a full day of nutritional naughtiness, I\’m usually ready to bring myself back to heel. The meteorological Sturm und Drang finally seems to be lifting: tomorrow morning it\’s supposed to be clear! It will be a relief to go for a ride and not have to worry about lightning.

Sturm und Drang? Read More »

Drop Roll and Stop

BACK ISSUES /

Drop, roll, and stop? Wait a minute. Isn\’t it stop, drop, and roll? If you clothes happen to catch fire, it is. But this morning I dropped my water bottle; my rear tire rolled over it; and I had to stop and go back to fetch it! Hence drop, roll, and stop. The past few days, I seem to be riding more strongly than usual. That\’s gratifying, but it has its catch. I don\’t know whether I\’m using my left leg with less force; but my right hamstring suddenly has a tendency to knot up. I wish I could get to a WattBike, and maybe I could see what\’s going on. Or maybe I simply need to haul out my long-unused foam roller! I also wish I knew what the weather is going to do! During this morning\’s ride it was heavily overcast; but fortunately not raining. At about 10 am it rained hard for a while. After that, although the sun dodged in and out, the sky looked stormy all day. I\’m glad the sun was out while I rode home from work; but there are still plenty of dark clouds. Showers and T-storms are still in the forecast, both for tonight and tomorrow. So — to ride, or not? If it\’s only rain, I can pull on the poncho and ride the hybrid. Unfortunately this is the season when rain is likely to include atmospheric electricity! Even it there\’s no lightning when I begin a ride, it can move in very quickly. I can only wait and see. \”Immer die alte Leier\”, as the Germans say.

Drop Roll and Stop Read More »

Eye on the Tropics

BACK ISSUES /

Eye on the tropics, already? Official hurricane season doesn\’t begin until June 1, does it; so why worry now? Well, the season now begins on May 15! At the moment the tropics are quiet; but they could begin to crank out the storms at any time. The time to start keeping an eye on the tropics is right now. I\’m glad I have a good stash of canned goods from the salvage store. I need to sort through the stuff and set aside my \”emergency rations\” in case a hurricane does hit, and nobody can go anywhere for a couple of days. Tuna and canned chicken are high on the list; and I\’ll want some canned fruit and veggies, too. Keeping the freezer full isn\’t a bad idea. They say that a full freezer stays cold longer; and during last year\’s hurricane, that seemed to be the case. I\’ll want bottled water, too. I have several one-gallon jugs, but they\’ve been around a few months. I think I\’ll buy fresh jugs, and use the ones I have. Meanwhile, the day-to-day weather is enough of a concern for me. It looks like I have a decent chance of riding early tomorrow and staying dry. Riding home from work might be another story! But hey, this is Bike Month! Today it stayed overcast much of the time; and I felt a few drops as I rode home from work. I also had a terrific tailwind, and hit a max speed of 15.8 mph! On the hybrid, that\’s terrific. Tomorrow afternoon there\’s a 50% chance of T-storms; some possibly severe. \”Possibly severe\” T-storms is why I cut my ride so short yesterday. I hope it won\’t repeat itself next Sunday. Eye on the tropics? I need to keep an eye of the sky right here.

Eye on the Tropics Read More »

For Naught?

BACK ISSUES /

Last night I hoped that my ride prep wasn\’t for naught. I did the usual things: put Nuun in the fridge to chill; and got my recovery drink ready. I planned my ride food, too. But I can\’t do a thing about the weather; and the forecast looked chancy. It predicted scattered T-storms all morning; and by 11 am, T-storms. I discovered that a flash flood watch was in effect from 1 am today; and there was a \”slight risk\” of severe weather. During these severe storms, wind gusts might reach 58 mph or even stronger! Do I have the strength to stay in control of a bicycle if the wind gusts are 58 mph? Heavy rain in addition to strong wind makes it hard to see anything. If there\’s lightning, I get VERY uneasy. The ride food in my top tube pouch gets soaked. It isn\’t fun. The Upshot The upshot of it all: my ride prep wasn\’t for naught; in a sense. I checked the forecast at 6:30 am, and it looked like the bad weather was still about two hours away. I decided to take a chance and go for a ride; but I kept it short. As I was getting ready, I heard a few drops of rain; and that made me uneasy. It was very cloudy, and for all I knew the floodgates might open at any moment! Not a drop fell on me; but there was a stretch of a mile or two where it had already rained. I\’m glad it missed me! Luckily the wind wasn\’t too much of a problem; and riding \”short\” meant I could work harder and not have to worry that I\’d end up exhausted when I was still 15 miles from home. It was about 8 am when I got back here. Soon afterwards, I checked NOAA. The temperature was down from 75 to 69; and the site reported a T-storm at the airport, which is West from here. I figured the storm was probably heading this way. It feels weird to not be doing a 40-50 mile ride on a Sunday. It\’s rather frustrating, too: I want to get in my miles for Bike Month! On the other hand, I didn\’t want to get caught in a T-storm with nowhere to take shelter. All my hard work and mileage would be for naught if I got struck by lightning!

For Naught? Read More »

ADA Vegetarian Cookbook

BACK ISSUES /

The ADA Vegetarian Cookbook is for you if you\’ve been diagnosed with diabetes or prediabetes; and are interested in a meatless diet. Authored by a chef who was diagnosed with prediabetes, this cookbook contains recipes for a number of courses: soups, side dishes, sauces, and so on. When I got the ADA Vegetarian Cookbook in February of last year, the first thing I tried was the Cauliflower Potato Cheddar Mash (page 87). It uses russet (aka baking) potatoes; and later, when I looked up the carb content of potatoes, I was surprised. Sweet potatoes are lower in carbs than other \’taters! I had the idea that sweet potatoes were the high-carb ones! Since then, I\’ve use sweet potatoes for this recipe; and I like them better than russets. Recently I tried the Basil Ginger Cashew Pilaf, on page 57. I didn\’t have fresh basil, and substituted the dried kind. I also didn\’t have any cashews, and used peanuts instead. Another twist I made on this recipe was long-grain brown rice instead of basmati rice. It came out OK. I want to try out more of the recipes, but at the moment my freezer is too crammed. After I use up the stuff that I already have, I\’ll try some more new recipes. Lentil Dal (page 24) sounds good, for example. Getting back to that pilaf, don\’t be afraid to experiment. You might come up with a new favorite!

ADA Vegetarian Cookbook Read More »

Finders Keepers

BACK ISSUES /

\”Finders, keepers; losers, weepers\” was a phrase I heard quite often when I was a kid. It seemed to mean that, if you found something, great; and if you happened to lose something, tough luck. Yesterday I thought I needed to buy a new water bottle. I dropped the bottle while trying to get it back into its cage; and that bidon rolled all the way down the side of the levee. I could see it; but retrieving it was another matter. This happened as I rode through a section where the river side of the levee is both steep, and clad in concrete \”aprons\”, I believe they\’re called. I started down, but had to give up very soon. Cleats don\’t do well on a steeply slanted, cement surface. If I could have used my hands, maybe I could have managed the climb; but I didn\’t want to leave my bicycle lying there. Then this morning I rode the hybrid to the salvage store. On the way, I watched for my \”lost\” water bottle; and sure enough, I saw it. This time I was wearing sneakers, so I parked the bike; eased myself down the side of the levee; and grabbed the bottle. Finders, keepers; and I\’ve saved seven bucks! The salvage store is great for finders, keepers. Today I found dried cranberries! A hunt through the grab bag bins yielded, among other items, two FitCrunch bars! On the more mundane side, I got more (!) canned goods. Well — I\’ve got to get set for hurricane season. Those storms seem to start popping up earlier every year. Getting Back Home Getting back home was rather tough. I had a headwind (did I really need to say that?), and was hauling the trailer. Now that the weather is warmer, I need the trailer so I can bring the cooler. I never know when I\’ll find a good deal on cheese, or hummus. When I do, there\’s no point in finders, keepers if what I buy gets too warm before I can get it home. I\’m glad the sky was mostly overcast. That kept me from getting too hot. Now I\’ve got an anxious eye on the forecast for tomorrow. Rain is likely, even T-storms, especially after 10 am; and the wind, 15-20 mph! Getting back home against a breeze like that won\’t be easy, even without rain. It\’s a good thing I went to the store today!

Finders Keepers Read More »