SpokEasy

January 2022

Sox

BACK ISSUES /

Sox? Isn\’t that a baseball team? Well, yes; in fact, there are two teams of Sox. For me, though, socks are something I put on my feet before I pull on my shoes. I never have been comfortable in shoes without socks! Lately we\’ve had a lot of cold weather; and that\’s when I pull out the thermal socks. Even double thermal socks don\’t keep my feet from getting chilled when the weather is cold; so I guess I\’ve got sensitive feet. When it\’s warm, cycling socks are fine; and they seem to be a bit more comfortable than regular socks. What can we do when it\’s cold; but we\’ve just gotta get out there and ride? And suppose it\’s raining as well? Shoe covers help keep out wind and water. Incidentally, I can\’t help but view \”keeps out water\” with some skepticism. Where I live, it\’s apt to rain heavily; and \”waterproof\” things aren\’t so waterproof in such conditions. Take my bike trunk, for example. In a heavy rain, the zippers leak; and I\’ve long since developed the habit of wrapping everything in that trunk in plastic bags! Getting back to sox: if you have circulation problems in your legs, compression socks may be in order. I have a pair of prescription compression socks; but my experience with them has not been positive. It\’s hard to get them on in the first place; and those socks are so tight that they hurt! Therefore I haven\’t tried to wear them for months. When it\’s chilly, I like to wear terrycloth socks at home. I\’m not a fan of wearing shoes indoors; and I need something to keep my feet warm. All those sox! Maybe I should start my own team?

Sox Read More »

No Shadow

BACK ISSUES /

It looks like there will be no shadow for our groundhog. The forecast for February 2 says, chance of showers and T-storms; and such weather means no shadow for anything. We\’ve got a warming trend setting in; and that often means rain. I won\’t mind the chance to thaw out a bit; but later in the week the chill will return. At least we don\’t seem to be in the path of the Groundhog Day storm they\’re talking about; and we don\’t have iguanas falling out of our trees. Today we have plenty of sunshine; and by midday it was 64 degrees. I went out for a long ride about 8:15 am; and for once I had a good tailwind on the way home. It was chilly when I started; and of course I piled on the layers. Maybe it was actually a bit too much! Between the tailwind and sunshine, I started to feel overheated; and I eventually needed to stop and partially unzip both jacket and vest. The headwind on the way out made me feel like such a weakling! I was dreadfully slow; and it took me an hour and twenty-two minutes to ride 14.5 miles. Am I too cowardly to work at pushing hard into the wind during my long rides; and do I worry too much that I\’ll \”blow up\” miles from home? As I rode home, I got the impression that the wind was strengthening; and as it turned out, it sure was! I\’m glad it was behind me. Too often it\’s the other way around. I have to keep the rain gear handy this week. Dragging it around is a nuisance; but so is getting caught in the rain without it.

No Shadow Read More »

Chilling Out

BACK ISSUES /

I\’m chilling out yet again; although not to the extent that I\’m getting about on skis. Just looking at that pic makes me feel cold; and temperatures in the low 40s are already cold enough for me. This morning I rode to the salvage store; and I took the trailer. I planned to get another mega-pack of bathroom tissue if the store had them; and sure enough, they did! Now I don\’t need to buy any more for a considerable time. I was happy to find canned chicken; last time I was at the store, there wasn\’t any. There were some Progresso® soups for 99¢ a can; and I found small cans of deviled ham @ 2/$1.00. Deviled ham isn\’t bad! Today, to my disappointment, the grab-bag bins didn\’t yield any protein bars; but I got an assortment of snacks. In fact, I ate one before starting the ride home; and it was a good thing I did. Getting back home was a slow trip. The wind was only about 7 mph, but that trailer was heavy; and riding felt like hard work. I was hungry when I reached home, even though I had eaten that snack! Once indoors, I started chilling out again after I had cooled down from the ride. I didn\’t leave the electric heater going while I was out; and it got pretty cold in here. So I fixed myself a mug of green tea; but it didn\’t do much to warm me. Repeat? It looks like I\’ll be chilling out tomorrow, too. The temperature will probably be around 46 degrees when I begin my long ride. I hope I won\’t be too cold if I don\’t wear slacks over my leg warmers, because that doesn\’t always work out well. Today I dressed in leg warmers and cycling shorts; and I wore slacks over them. The shorts kept creeping up my legs; and it drove me crazy. That\’s one reason why I prefer warm weather!

Chilling Out Read More »

Bicycle Floor Parking

BACK ISSUES /

Bicycle Floor Parking is suitable for both MTB and road bikes. No need to lean your bicycles against the wall! I\’ve long had the idea that such leaning isn\’t good for the bicycle\’s wheels; and I use a similar stand for my road bike. Bicycle Floor Parking is made with a special push-in design; and the stand folds easily when you want to take it along to events. Fits most bicycles up to tire width 2.4 in/~6 cm; and has a lifetime warranty. Made of heat-treated, quality steel; and with normal use lasts for years.

Bicycle Floor Parking Read More »

Organ Transplants?

BACK ISSUES /

My hybrid had some organ transplants, you might say. Yesterday I got it back from the shop; and it now has new derailleurs, front and rear; and new cables. It has new brake pads, too. I rode my rejuvenated hybrid to the supermarket this morning. For a day when I intended to go rather easy, I actually rode fairly hard! The store opened a little late; and I needed to hurry on the way home. And  there was one block where road construction obliged me to dismount, and walk my bicycle along the sidewalk. That was a big nuisance! It was already 6:50 when I got home; and I had to hustle through putting away the groceries. In between that getting ready to go to work, I had to have something more to eat (I had a snack before I went to the store; but it wasn’t enough to hold me until lunchtime). On my previous visit the store was out of kitchen matches, but today the they had them; so now I\’ve got enough matches for a long time. I got produce and hummus, too; and mini Diet Cokes. Now I\’m thinking about the trek to the salvage store tomorrow. It won\’t be an easy trip; but it\’s a good thing that I\’m not trying to get there right now. We\’re under a wind advisory until 4:00 am tomorrow; and the overnight low temperature won\’t be much above freezing. Fortunately my trailer doesn\’t need any organ transplants. I got it ready for the trip right after I got home from work; so now I don\’t have to do it tomorrow morning. I know I\’ll have all I can do just to get moving because it will be so cold!

Organ Transplants? Read More »

Nothing New

BACK ISSUES /

There\’s nothing new under the sun, they say; but does that also mean that there’s nothing new under the stars? Pre-dawn riding is a habit I\’ve had for many years; and the routine seems old and tedious sometimes. I drag myself out of bed at 4:30 am; and in this cold weather, it\’s a difficult start to my day. When I\’m cold, I feel tired; slow; and rather stiff. It doesn’t help that I really don’t get enough sleep. My pre-ride snack has little variety: usually it’s a banana or a cupful of grapes, with peanut butter. Next, I have to get dressed to ride; and cold weather means I need more layers. Of course all those layers mean I spend more time getting ready to ride; and somehow I tend to underestimate the amount of time I need. Once outdoors in the cold and dark, the usual woes quickly set in. After about half a mile, my nose is already runny; and it doesn’t take long for my feet to feel cold. We have several more cold nights store; and the trip to the salvage store on Saturday will be a frigid ride. Tomorrow morning\’s trek to the supermarket will be chilly, too. Today I got the hybrid back from the shop, so I should be able to go; and I need to! I\’m \”out-of\”, as my mother used to say; or at least, about to run out of things: apples, carrots, etc. Visiting the supermarket will mean I can\’t go out on the road bike; but such a trade-off is nothing new. Today I did hard efforts on the road bike, so I\’d ride easy tomorrow, anyhow. I might as well get in an errand while I\’m at it.

Nothing New Read More »

Unify Attention?

BACK ISSUES /

We hear about \”unify attention\” all the time; and especially when it comes to eating and weight control. They advise us, don\’t eat while you\’re reading/blogging/watching TV, etc. It\’s good advice in theory; but it isn\’t always practical. This morning I got back from my ride later than usual. It wasn\’t that I started late; but the headwind on the way back home made if feel as thought I might not get back home! It wasn\’t even a particularly strong wind; but it was dead on my nose, and it slowed me down big time. It was already past 6:30 when I at last did get home; and I ate bites of breakfast in between getting out of my cycling clothes, and getting dressed to go to work! As to \”unify attention\” — riding a bicycle is a multi-tasker\’s dream! First, there\’s the leg movement; and then there\’s balance. Then you have to hold a more or less straight line as you ride (I\’m not the champion at that, I\’ll admit!). If you\’re working on intervals; and don\’t rely on a bicycle computer to keep track of time for you; there\’s yet another task! Oh, and let\’s not forget eating on the bike! Getting back to that straight line, it\’s harder for me when I\’ve got a headwind; especially when I need to ride one-handed to get a drink. This morning I had to stop several times when I wanted some water, simply because that headwind made bike control so difficult. The wind is supposed to drop overnight; but it will be a few degrees colder than it was last night. It\’s kind of hard to unify attention when you\’re distracted by how cold it is!

Unify Attention? Read More »

Rained Out

BACK ISSUES /

Doesn\’t it gall you when you get rained out? I knew it was likely to happen. Last night\’s forecast said, showers likely; and wind gusts up to 25 mph. The overnight low temperature was 48; and for me that\’s cold. Add rain and gusty wind; and I have a hard time getting out on the bike. When I got up this morning it was drizzling, but the wind wasn\’t as strong as I expected; and I thought of pulling on the poncho and heading for the park. Fifteen minutes later, it was raining harder; and somehow I just couldn\’t stomach going out in it. I set up the bike in the trainer and pedaled for half an hour. Indoor riding is a drag; but better than nothing. I\’m not sure how much a rain suit would help. I suppose it would keep the rain off; but I suspect it gets very hot under that suit, even in cold weather. I\’ve got the idea that rain suits are for shorter, less intense rides; such as the commute to work. It remained gloomy gray all day; and it rained on and off. The high temperature was about 53 degrees; and tonight it will go down to about 40. It\’s going to be rather windy, too; and the chill factor could be as low as 31 degrees. And I\’ve got it easy compared to some people. I\’m glad I\’m not in the crosshairs of that Nor\’easter! At least the sky is going to clear up for a day or two. But I suppose the humidity will persist for a while; and I might get rained out again come Friday. I\’m glad the weekend will be clear.

Rained Out Read More »

Long Haul?

BACK ISSUES /

This cold snap feels like a long haul already. We\’ve had several consecutive nights of temperatures near or below freezing; and that\’s more than enough for me! Our humid climate makes the cold seep right down to my bones; and I feel sluggish and tired as a result. Some people say that \”cold perks you up\”; but it does NOT have that effect on me! Let those people spend one of these cold spells in New Orleans; and they might change their tune. Years ago I had a co-worker who had moved down here from somewhere in the North — Ohio, I think it was — and she said that, her first Winter here, she had never been so cold in her life! Cold weather makes the Sunday long ride feel like a long haul. As stated, the cold saps my energy; and that makes any ride seem longer and more tedious. My energy bars get hard and tough; and GU-Gels become semi-solid. The water in my Camel-Bak gets too cold; and so does my electrolyte drink. Thus keeping hydrated means getting colder! At a pit stop, all those layers are awkward; and the faucet at my usual pit stop produces only cold water. My hands do not like that! Thank goodness for warming packs! It happens like this so often. We plug along with weather that\’s really too warm for the season; and when it gets cold, it does so with a vengeance! The contrast is too sudden; and we have no time for a gradual adjustment. Is it like this everywhere? It isn\’t February yet; so we\’re in this for the long haul. In fact, February and March are generally our coldest months; and I just hope I can stay warm enough!

Long Haul? Read More »

Northern Lights

BACK ISSUES /

It\’s been so cold here, I almost feel that I can step outside at night and view the Northern Lights. Unfortunately we\’re too far South here to see them; but all the same, my place feels like an igloo. I even wonder whether an igloo would be warmer! Last night it got colder than ever. The overnight low was all of 29 degrees; and we\’re lucky that the wind has fallen to near-calm. When there\’s a strong wind, the cold gets driven into my abode; and of course I get a nasty headwind for part of my ride. And no Northern Lights to help take my mind off the cold! It\’s also lucky that the weather has cleared up. When the sun is out, cold weather is a tiny bit more bearable; and that makes it a little easier to get out there on the bike! Today\’s ride was a short one. I got to my usual pit-stop point, and discovered that the restrooms were padlocked shut. There was a sign there saying that the restrooms were closed because of the freezing temperatures. I didn\’t know where else I might find a restroom; and it\’s lucky that I didn\’t really have to \”go\”. There was no point in riding any farther; so I headed back home. I was a real slowpoke today, even though there wasn\’t much wind. Cold weather makes me feel stiff; unenergetic; and tired. I rode miles before I began to feel warmed up. All those layers probably didn\’t help. Slacks worn over leg warmers somewhat hamper my legs\’ movement; and I don\’t know why I didn\’t think to wear thermal socks. I did wear double socks, including one pair of merino socks; but my poor feet quickly became cold. Back Home Once back home, I downed my recovery drink; and then got busy cooking. I made squashed sauce; and used up a jar of spaghetti sauce that I got at the salvage store. The squash and onion had been in the fridge; and it was amazing just how hard it was to chop them. I was standing right in front of my heater; but even so, my hands were stiff and clumsy from the cold. Handling cold veggies only made my hands clumsier; and I was relieved to get the task finished. Lunch was squashed sauce over hominy. I got the hominy at the salvage store as a \”just to try it\” purchase; and it was immediately clear that hominy is better mixed with other things. It has little flavor of its own! I wish I could call on the Northern Lights to get my laundry done for me. It\’s quite a nuisance doing laundry at any time; but when it\’s as cold as it is today, it\’s even harder. But I loathe having to go to the laundromat; so I\’ve just got to do the washing at home. It will be cold again tonight; and rain is on the radar for tomorrow night. I wouldn\’t be able to see the Northern Lights even if we weren\’t too far South.

Northern Lights Read More »