SpokEasy

October 2021

Comfort Food

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Everyone seems to have a favorite comfort food. For some, this means a serving of French fries, with loads of ketchup. Others turn to a bowl of soup; perhaps with crusty bread. A favorite of mine Diet Coke and chocolate! We love those things that give a us a mood boost when we’re feeling low. When it comes to on-bike food, I think more of adequate fueling than I do about comfort food. Of course I have my preferences; but even these favorites have their seasons. For example, I might choose FitCrunch over other bars for several months; and then for a while I’ll prefer Gatorade Whey bars. The same applies to energy gels. I have my favorites; but even favorites become discomfort food if I have the same kind for every ride! However, there are some two dozen flavors of GU-Gel; so I don\’t get bored. As a rule, I have at least two different flavors of GU-Gel on hand. At present I have Campfire S’mores; Tri-Berry; and several others. When this supply runs low, I\’ll get some different flavors; perhaps Chocolate Outrage and Salted Caramel. When I\’m off the bike, \”comfort food\” often means eating whatever I\’m in the mood to eat! Sometimes it\’s Chinese take-out; and sometimes it means garbage soup over sourdough bread; with a little cheese on top. Now and then I\’ll step out of my gustatory comfort zone and try something entirely different. Try it; you might find yourself with a new favorite! But don\’t try it for an important biking event. That\’s the time to stick with what you know. Otherwise the results might be quite UN-comfortable!

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Holyhead?

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How on earth did I start thinking of Holyhead? Because I\’ve got a holey head! I usually take my lunch cooler to work in a pannier on the hybrid\’s rack. Day before yesterday, after work, I carried the cooler and my bike trunk out to my bicycle; and only then realized that I had left the pannier at my desk! It made me think, \”Gosh, I\’ve got a holey head!\”; and \”holey head\” lead quite naturally to Holyhead. Of course I soon became curious about opportunities for cycling adventures in this Welsh town. Cycling Holyhead If you\’re interested in cycling Holyhead, there are plenty of routes available. The Beach Road to Gwelfor route is designed for MTB and gravel bikes; and includes 178 meters of climbing over 8 kilometers. From the map provided, it looks like this means some steep up-and-down riding; so I don\’t think that one is for me. Some of the Quick Rides are only a kilometer or two long; but one, the Holyhead route, is 44 kilometers! In my opinion, 44 kilometers, or 27+ miles, isn\’t exactly a \”quick\” ride; but it\’s a nice distance for a Sunday ride. Happily, there are several flat routes for uphill antagonists like me; and some long routes, such as the 77 kilometer (47.8 miles) Anglesy Loop. Wales is quite mountainous. I\’m sure I\’d enjoy the scenery; but I might not enjoy trying to ride through such terrain! As I\’ve said time and again, my legs are far from ready for such a test; and it\’s hard to get ready for hilly rides if you live where the ground is flat! The climate of Holyhead is maritime. Cool Summers and mild Winters sound great to me; but strong winds are common there! I get headwinds often enough here; so I don\’t think I\’ll travel to Wales only to get more wind. Maybe it\’s like the Seagull Century? For that matter, the average January temperature at Holyhead is below 40 degrees Fahrenheit; and that\’s not \”mild\” as far as I\’m concerned. I\’d sure need my helmet liner; or my poor head would freeze!

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Summer Again?

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It feels like Summer again. Afternoon temperatures are reaching well into the 80s; and Friday afternoon and night there\’s a chance of T-storms. That\’s like having Summer again, even though it\’s October. But then, Saturday night, it\’s supposed to go down to 57! I\’ll need my cold-weather gear for the Sunday ride: leg warmers; skull cap; jacket; and possibly even full-fingered gloves. Fifty-seven degrees might not sound all that cold; but add a 10 mph wind and the forward motion of riding, and the wind chill mounts. And I\’m definitely not looking forward to the way that my nose behaves under such conditions! The weather is crazy this time of year. One day we\’re sweltering; and the next day we have to dig out the heavy sweater! Thanks to the constantly changing conditions, I have all sorts of cycling togs strewn about. One day I need leg warmers; and the next day bare legs are just fine. Sometimes it\’s hard to keep track of all that stuff; but I don\’t want to lose any of it. It\’s too expensive for that. It\’s now dark by 7:00 pm or so; and that, at least, is definitely like Fall. It also is still dark when I finish my morning ride. It\’s a relief to not have to apply sunblock before those rides! The tropics seem to be winding down, too. Theres\’ a disturbance out there; but it probably won\’t present a threat to us. All the same, we still can\’t let our guard down. Just look at last year\’s Zeta! I don\’t want Summer again if it means a hurricane! We already had Ida; and that was enough and then some.

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Land of the Quetzal

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Land of the Quetzal 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.”   There’s the Double Down Enduro Ride for those who love downhill; and there’s the Golden Arches Lujo Ride for groups of mixed ability. There are rides designed for those who who are just developing their mountain-biking skills. Love coffee; and specially if it’s coffee produced by small-scale farming? Maybe the Sip n’ Cycle Tour is for you. Learn about how coffee is planted, grown, and harvested; and enjoy the local “brew”! If you want to combine pedaling and paddling: go for it! This two-day adventure includes marvelous views of volcanoes; and lets you mix cycling with kayaking and hiking. If you’re feeling super-adventurous, you can even try some cliff-diving! Naturally the Land of the Quetzal isn’t entirely about off-road adventures; but sometimes the roads aren’t so easy. IS it a backroad; or is it a main road? Some roads are really steep; and some make the streets around my part of town seem in reasonably good condition! Oh, and watch out for tumulos! But you can visit out-of-the-way Mayan villages; and watch for wildlife along the road. Maybe you’ll even see a quetzal! Check up on local laws before your trip, of course; and use common sense when it comes to personal safety. The principal language of Guatemala is Spanish; so even if you don’t know the language, learn these helpful phrases. Guatemala has a tropical climate; but some elevations top 13,000 feet. Such altitudes get cold at night, even in the hot season; so sure to bring some warm clothing — say, a Pearl Izumi Ultra Barrier jacket. With its ancient Mayan sites; rainforests; and volcanoes, Guatemala seems to have something for everyone!    

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In the Air

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There was a bit of Fall in the air Thursday morning. It was cool enough for long sleeves on my morning ride; but that isn’t to say that the Summer heat is over! The weather could very well turn hot again. Christmas is already in the air, too. While I was in a store, I saw something that I thought my brother-in-law will like; so I bought it to put away for Xmas. It will keep; and I can’t be sure of finding it again. If I wait until December, I can’t be sure that I’ll remember that I saw it! Even if I write myself a note about it, I can\’t guarantee that I won\’t lose that note. It feels great to ride and not end up dripping with sweat; and still not need cold-weather gear. I’d better enjoy it while I can! At some point I\’ll have to haul out the leg warmers; the jacket; and all the other things I need when the weather turns chilly. Maybe some day I\’ll get up the courage to try embrocation cream instead of wearing leg warmers; but first I have to find out whether the stuff smells like wintergreen (phew!)! Is there a century ride in the air? I originally hoped to do one this month; then I thought of jumping the gun and doing it during Cycle September. True, it would have been a rather slow ride; and taken all day. Then along came Ida and took the decision out of my hands. Or, should I say, my legs? It\’s too soon to try to ride 100 miles in a day this month; but maybe there will be Winter Wheelers again. So can I aim for December?

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New Record!

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I quite surprised myself by setting a new record today! When I got back from my ride, I selected Save Ride on my cyclocomputer, as usual. Up popped a screen that said, New Record! Fastest 40K! I wasn\’t trying to set any records; and in fact I got slower during the return leg of my ride. There was enough of a wind for me to feel it; and naturally that provoked me to reduce my speed. So that message on the Garmin screen was totally unexpected. Today I tried a new ride food: Think! Lemon Delight is, of course, a bit tangy; and that\’s a nice change from most bars that I use as on-bike food. Today it\’s cool enough that the coating on my protein bars didn\’t get half-melted😊; and I say it\’s about time! In fact, at 7:00 am it was just 70 degrees; and I considered using arm warmers. But the forecast showed that it was going to warm up quickly; so I went out in short sleeves. No unusual sightings today, unless you want to count all the roofs that are still covered in blue tarps. I didn\’t see an eagle; or a bluebird. I did see some critter that I think was a coyote; but I never before saw a coyote that was sitting down!

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Back to Basics

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Back to Basics is a guide to many old-time skills. Learn gardening and cheesemaking; off-grid living; and much more! Take a look into the world before power tools and convenience foods took over! Sometimes I wish I could learn these things, especially gardening; and in fact there\’s a community garden not far from where I live. For the time being, however; it\’s closed. Even if it were open, when can I go there? I have to go to work every day. And, am I physically capable of the work involved in keeping a garden? Do I need to provide my own gardening tools if I use a community garden? If I do, where can I keep them? Gardening leads quite naturally to canning and freezing; and, I hope, a reduced grocery bill! But not right away. It takes time for a garden to get going well; and the beginner should start with only a few things. Thomas Jefferson is supposed to have said that, although he was an old man, he was still a young gardener. That makes me a not-yet-born gardener! The catch with these old-time skills is that they take, well, time; and many of us don\’t have that time. As long as I\’m still in the workforce, trying to keep a garden would mean scant time for cycling. Yes, I\’d like to go Back to Basics, and learn these things; but not at the expense of my riding!

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Skinflint or Spendthrift?

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Am I a skinflint or a spendthrift? I seem to have traits of both; and I\’m not sure which side of me is the stronger! This morning I rode to the salvage store again; and took the trailer. Riding the bicycle meant no bus fare; and that\’s a skinflint trait. Sometimes, after I get back home from such an expedition, I pull out my sales slip; and look up online prices for the things that I bought. It\’s slow and tedious; but I do need to have some idea of what I\’m spending; and of how much I\’m saving. Today\’s bill was nearly $55; and that\’s easily my largest total at the salvage store so far. It makes me feel very much like a spendthrift! But I did save at least something on most items. As usual, I made a beeline for the grab-bag bins; and I found three Supreme Protein bars, plus two FitCrunch bars. It\’s been a while since I found any, so of course I was delighted. I also found several other items that I can use for ride food; and the savings on those bars was almost $19.00. Another point for skinflint! Sometimes I\’ll save only a few cents on a particular item; and sometimes what I buy at the salvage store costs more than it would elsewhere. When I discover that in my price-checking, I do not feel like a tightwad at all! I don\’t have a car; using a bicycle costs far less, and spares me the expense of a gym membership. But cycling clothes are expensive, and I probably spend at least a hundred dollars a year that way. So am I skinflint, or a spendthrift?

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Normal?

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Are things getting back to normal? Today my trash got picked up! The usual days are Wednesday and Saturday; but I put the trash can out early this week. It was pretty full; and I didn\’t want to miss the pick-up when it did come. The pharmacy I use definitely is not normal for the time being. Temporarily, they close at 5:30 pm; and aren\’t there on weekends! To complicate matters, a few days ago I received a text message that I had two refills ready for pick-up. I waited through a long line; and then found out that the message was from the store I had used while I was in Spokane! Now I can\’t get my meds until Monday. It was already 5:30 pm when I finally got home; and I discovered that I was hungrier than I thought. Supper was quick and lazy: garbage soup over sourdough bread. There were already enough dishes to be washed; and I didn\’t want to generate any more if I didn\’t have to. I\’m planning a ride to the salvage store tomorrow; as usual for Saturday. I think it\’s a good idea to use the trailer whenever possible, because I might find a good buy on something big and bulky. If not for that trailer, I would have lost out the time I found 48-roll packs of bathroom tissue! That\’s a rare find. For Sunday, of course, I have a long ride in mind. Last Sunday my legs felt tired; and maybe I should stick to 29-30 miles for this ride. Or do I need to push it a little more? Yesterday I began doing \”force intervals\” again. It\’s not too soon for that, is it? I always wonder whether I\’m doing the right thing. That\’s normal — isn\’t it?

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Voice Power

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Voice Power Voice power isn’t always about the glass-shattering high C of the coloratura soprano. Ringing my bicycle’s bell sometimes doesn’t seem to attract attention; but when I call out, “Bicycle!” it’s more likely to get people’s notice. That’s especially true when there’s more than one person; and they’re all busy talking. It’s often even harder to get the attention of people whose heads are buried in texting. That’s why it’s a good idea to use both bell and voice. You don’t have to shout at the top of your lungs; but voice power doesn’t have to mean that. All the same, I sometimes feel like bawling out certain persons whom I see on the path. Some folks are out there jogging, or even cycling, in the dark; and they don’t have any lights; they’re wearing minimal or no reflective material; and often they’re wearing dark clothing. It drives me crazy. Unfortunately that’s going to be more common for some months, now that sunrise is later in the morning. It doesn’t help that my regular morning route passes through areas that still don’t have many lights. Maybe they had trouble with damage to power-producing equipment as a result of Ida; and not only downed power lines. I hope they can get electricity back soon. Meanwhile, it’s darker than usual out there! Getting back to voice, there are organizations that advocate for cyclists and bicycling; such as People for Bikes. Among other things, People for Bikes is working to get out the word on ebikes. I’m not into electric bikes; at least, not yet. But that day might come. I’m hardly elderly; but I’m not exactly a spring chicken, either. Some day I might need the boost that an ebike can provide if I’m to keep cycling.

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