SpokEasy

December 2021

Rolling Lab

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Do you ever feel like your bicycle is a rolling lab? My road bike sure is! For years, I\’ve experimented with different kinds of on-bike food during my long Sunday rides; and over time I\’ve come up with some favorites. I also have learned that some foods don\’t work so well. FitCrunch bars are one of those favorites. I got started on FitCrunch bars when I first found some in the grab-bag bins at the salvage store; and getting them at those bargain-basement prices sure spoiled me! Before FitCrunch bars came along, I often used Clif bars. I phased out regular Clif bars on the advice of a nutritionist, because they\’re high-carb; and low in protein. Clif Builder\’s bars are another story; and sometimes I use them instead of regular Clif bars. For today\’s ride I decided to take along pieces of an Epic venison strip, as well as pieces of Met-Rx, and a Special K Protein bar. I wanted to try something other than all those bars; and as long as I\’m still entertaining notions of doing a century, I\’ll need greater variety in my on-bike menu. The oft-repeated advice for all-day rides is, do not try any new food or drink during the event; so I\’m trying it now. Thus I need to make my bicycle a rolling lab! Results The results of today\’s food experiment: Epic venison tastes OK; but it has a bit of pepper. The pepper is liable to catch in my throat, and make me cough. I think I\’ll look for something else if I want savory on-bike food. Another rolling lab experiment of mine is to eat a bit less on the bike; and now I cut those FitCrunch and other bars into eight pieces, instead of six. So far it seems to work well. Things that don\’t work well for long rides include Combos. I like them, and their saltiness is good on a hot ride; but they have no sustenance. They also have the drawback of crumbliness; and those crumbs tend to stick in my throat. If I want a salty snack, olives are good; and if you want something salty, but don\’t want the fat content of Combos, this is a way around it. Today\’s ride felt harder than last Sunday\’s; and no wonder! The wind was stronger than it was last Sunday; and I also rode several miles farther. Oddly, I didn\’t burn quite as many calories today; and I\’m sure I was working just as hard. In fact, I became quite tired well before I finished the ride. But Winter Wheelers is in progress; and I wanted the miles!

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Somebody Moves the Ends

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\”Just when you think you can make ends meet, somebody moves the ends.\” I don\’t remember where I first saw that quote; but it seems to be quite accurate. Think about it. You start trying to work up to a century; and then something throws the proverbial monkey wrench into the machinery. The upshot of it is that you don\’t get to do that ride. I started trying to work up to a century in July; and was aiming for an October 9 ride day. My program included on-bike force-development exercises once a week; and I worked towards longer and longer bursts of pushing for 15 mph or more. Sounds like a sensible plan, doesn\’t it? Along came late August; and with it, Hurricane Ida. Then came several weeks of little or no true exercise; and when I returned home the third week in September, I was too out of shape to consider an October century. My weekday morning rides seem back to normal; but my weekly long ride is still only 42-44 miles. I\’m not sure I\’m ready to jump from forty-something miles to a full 100 miles. If I try it; and the day I choose presents me with a strong wind; I\’ll have a tough time. In other words, somebody moves the ends. Half of me thinks I need to work up to regular Sunday rides of 55-60 miles — maybe even 70 miles — before I\’m ready for a century. I probably need to work on increasing my pace during those long rides, too. The other half of me says, You want to ride a century? Go for it! So what should I do? I don\’t have to decide this minute, but I need a firm date in mind; and please don\’t move the ends.

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Bessport Camping Tent

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The Bessport Camping Tent might be just what you need for next Summer\’s adventures. It\’s lightweight and weather-resistant; and easy to set up. It can even be moved without taking it down first! Aluminum alloy stakes included. Roomy enough for two people. Several colors available. I\’ve never tried bike-packing; but if I do, I think I would want one of these tents. A camping tarp to lay down underneath it is a wise idea; especially in damp climates. I don\’t want to try to sleep in a wet tent! Oh, dear. See where I\’m heading? A Bessport Camping Tent; then a tarp; and next it will be cooking equipment and who knows what else!

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Darkness

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Darkness Riding in darkness is nothing new to me. I don’t remember exactly when I took to pre-dawn rides; but it’s been years now. Last night’s forecast for dense fog was spot-on; and between fog and the dark, I had to ride more slowly than I like. Eventually I had to remove my glasses so I could see! But maybe I needed a slower, shorter ride. Last week I rode more than usual; and my legs have felt tired much of this week. Of course bicycling in darkness means you have to take some precautions: good lights; reflective clothing; and extra caution until you adjust to such conditions. There are still times when shadows play tricks on me; and I have to stay alert at all times. Riding on top of the levee in the dark; and riding to and from a store in the dark, are two very different things. One of the local main roads runs parallel to the levee; and of course there are vehicles with bright headlights down there. But at least they aren’t at eye level. Running errands by bicycle in the dark means that an approaching vehicle’s lights are right in my face. Maybe my 500-lumen headlight has the same effect of the driver, though; so can we call it 50/50? How about personal safety when riding in darkness? I have some apprehensions about it; but if I want to ride, I just have to do it. A riding companion wouldn’t hurt; and might even help me with my attempts to improve my pace! They say, if you want to get faster, ride with folks whose cruising pace is little faster than yours. More fog is in the forecast. I’m glad I won’t have to ride in the dark tomorrow morning.

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Losing Count

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I think I’m losing count, here. Several weeks back, I thought I had reached my eleventh anniversary as a cyclist; but I was wrong. It was TWELVE years! Well, you know the saying: Time flies when you’re having fun; and I’ve sure had fun! Of course there were times when riding wasn’t so much fun while I was doing it. There were cold days when I got caught in the rain, and with a nasty wind to boot. On top of that, when it gets at all cool, my nose acts up; and that sure isn’t fun. In fact, it\’s quite disgusting. There were long rides when it was 80 degrees early in the morning; and I was out there in the blazing sunshine for several hours. Now and then I got caught in a T-storm; and fog plus darkness isn’t my favorite thing. But after a ride, there’s always the satisfaction that I did it; even if the ride itself wasn\’t all that pleasant. It will always be that way; but I intend to keep on riding, even if I\’m losing count of how many years I\’ve been doing it! Fog! Speaking of fog, we\’re getting a foggy spell. A dense fog advisory was issued yesterday evening; but despite the forecast, the fog wasn’t bad this morning. It was patchy; and really not very thick. Much of it was quite shallow; and I could still see the moon. There’s more fog in the forecast for the next two mornings; and tomorrow things might be very different. I\’m definitely losing count of the times I\’ve complained about misty mornings! If foggy conditions make your glasses too misty, anti-fog spray might help. I tried something like it once; and the fumes from the spray\’s residue made my eyes burn. Maybe that\’s just me; I\’m sensitive to stuff like that. Maybe I\’ll try it again sometime. Meanwhile I hope for decent visibility during tomorrow\’s ride.

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Bundle Up!

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Bundle up and get ready to ride! Winter Wheelers begins today! Our weather is going to be rather mild for the next few days, with lows in the mid-50s; but with patchy fog Thursday night through Friday morning. It looks like I won\’t have to bundle up much; and that\’s fine with me. Other parts of the country won\’t be blessed with this relatively balmy weather; and where there\’s plenty of snow, a fat tire bike might be a good idea. When the weather turns cold, of course we bring out the cold-weather cycling togs; but there\’s a bit more to winter riding than polar clothing. Lip balm is a good idea; and as long as your face isn\’t covered by a balaclava, don\’t forget the sunblock! Sunburned noses can happen in Winter, too. Good sunglasses are a must; especially if the day is sunny, but there\’s snow on the ground. You\’ll get the sunlight from above; and reflected glare from the snow! I can\’t say for sure, but maybe polarized lenses are wise for such conditions. If you have trouble with cold hands, Hotnwarmer Packs are a great help. I\’ve used them since las Winter, and I like them; but I wish I had room for them in my shoes! Even thermal socks don\’t quite cut it on the most frigid days. Incidentally, exactly what is \”frigid\”? To me, it\’s anything below 45 degrees; and if there\’s a strong wind, frigid begins as high as 55 degrees! For someone in New England, that\’s probably shirt-sleeve weather. It depends on what you\’re used to; and cold weather is more tolerable in drier climates. My Cold Rides It\’s cool enough now for me to need leg warmers; and a skull cap; and heavyish gloves. I also need to wear my vest under my jacket. On the coldest days, my water bottles get well chilled; and keeping hydrated during a long Sunday ride means that I get chilled from drinking cold fluid! I wonder whether a polar water bottle is good for keeping liquids warm as well as cold. I tried one once, but it\’s longer than a standard water bottle; and I had trouble getting it in and out of the bottle cage because of my road bike\’s frame size. This morning it was in the mid-50s; so I didn\’t have to bundle up too much. I kicked off Winter Wheelers with a ride of 13.2 miles; and it was worth it. I saw Orion setting; and I saw what\’s left of the moon, with the dark part showing. I love that! There were patches of ground fog; and I saw orange sky as the sun began to rise. I hope we don\’t get a cold snap like we did this past Winter; but if we do, all I can do is to bundle up and ride.

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