SpokEasy

April 2022

What Season IS It?

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

What season is it? First it got quite warm, into the 80s; and now it’s turned cooler! The wind late this morning felt downright chilly. I was outside eating my lunch; and I had to move so as to get out of the wind. I had a stiff headwind half the way home; and tonight it’s going down to 57 degrees! Has Fall come back? I’m glad I didn’t pack away the leg warmers yet! I’m glad it isn’t hurricane season, although that will begin all too soon; and it seems to last only too long! The roster of this year’s tropical storm names is out; and I hope we don’t exhaust the list. We’re all tired of the endless procession of tropical storms; and the devastation that frequently results. Some poor folks can’t recover from one storm before another strikes. I can believe in climate change when a hurricane develops in May. It didn’t used to be that way. Good grief, Hurricane Betsy was a September storm! It’s still April; but some days it feels like it’s Summer already. So — what season is it, really? Let’s think of it this way: it’s BICYCLE season! For me, that’s pretty much all year long. My Season Sure, it’s hard to get out and ride when the chill factor is below freezing; and all Winter I complain about how miserable it is riding in the cold and wind. I get tired of having to bundle up in multiple layers. My nose drives me crazy in cold weather; and if I had to contend with snow and ice, things would be even harder! I wouldn’t mind living where I’m out of the immediate reach of hurricanes; but that might mean much colder Winters. It’s quite possible to ride in the snow; and a fat-tire bike can help with that. Sometimes, when I’m out for a ride, someone passes me on a fat-tire bicycle. Those wide tires are a bit noisy on pavement; but if they provide better grip on less-than-firm surfaces, I’m sure they’re worth it. I don’t have the space to keep a fat-tire bike; snow is very rare here; and I’m nowhere near a beach; so I don’t need a fat-tire bike. But if I ever wind up in, say, Canada, maybe I’ll want one!

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Confusion

Uncategorized /

Sorry for the confusion: I hadn’t planned for the new dot net version of this site to be live so soon; and I didn’t even realize for some time that it was live. Now the dot net is in Coming Soon mode. Please see the old site (www.spokeasy.org). Dot net has tons of editing to be done; and since I don’t have eight hours a day to work on it, this is going to take a long time.

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Eggciting?

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

Today’s ride wasn’t particularly eggciting; even though it’s Easter. In fact, I thought of buying a half-dozen eggs when I was at the store Friday, but they weren’t on my list; and I forgot to get them. No big deal — I’m really not a big fan of eggs; and they weren’t on my mind when I went out for a ride. Well, not real eggs; but I was thinking of the candy eggs I planned to eat when I got back home! I pulled back the mileage today. I thought of pushing for 50 miles; but was too sleepy to get up for a 5:00 am start. On top of that, the weather forecast was on my mind. From what I read online yesterday, things were going to get stormy by early afternoon; and I wanted to be home before it began. I was delayed in reaching the bike path, thanks to a long freight train. That wasn’t eggciting at all; and in fact, it was quite an aggravation. A few miles into my ride I saw what looked like rain falling in the distance. I’m glad it was far away; and not falling on me! I kept watching the clouds the entire 40.4 miles that I rode, hoping it wasn’t going to storm. I didn’t see anything eggciting today: no eagle; and no rabbit. I did see some flags on ships at dock: South Korea; South Africa; and one that I think was the Marshall Islands. For once the wind on the way home tended to be a TAIL-wind. Good thing; my legs were rather tired by mile 35. I got home around 10:45 am; and by then the forecast had changed to say, T-storms late tonight; and maybe into tomorrow morning. Looks like a wet ride to work!

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Stick to Your List

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Outdoors /

Stick to your list when shopping, they say. I don’t always do it; and if I followed that rule to the letter, I might miss some good bargains. When I went to Whole Foods day before yesterday, sunblock wasn’t on my list; but I saw it on sale and got it. If I’m ever able to take my dream bicycle tour, my wish list would be extensive; and it might be hard for me to “stick to your list”. If neither my hybrid nor my road bike will do, Item Number One is a touring bike! The next question is: is this tour self-supported? If it is, I have to look into camping equipment; and this is where the list gets long! I’ll need a tent; and that’s barely the beginning! A waterproof tarp to put under the tent is a must. The List Goes On So, I have my touring bicycle; my “ground cloth”; and I have my tent. Don’t forget, though: on a bicycle tour you need to eat; and by all accounts, that’s a lot of food! It’s too expensive to buy ready-made food all the time; so self-supported bicycle touring means outdoor cooking! Cooking isn’t all that needs to be done. We’ve got to wash our clothes, too! Pack along some mesh laundry bags to protect your more delicate items of clothing. Incidentally, what clothes do I need for a tour? They say, if you’ve packed clothes for a few days, you’re good to go for weeks; just “recycle” things. All well and good; but I have to consider what weather conditions I can expect. Some kind of rain gear is a must; and keeping arm and leg warmers handy isn’t a bad idea, even in Summer. Don’t forget spare tubes; and a basic tool kit is also a must. So is a first aid kit. Omigosh, how can I “stick to your list?” For every item I think of, I extend it to several more!

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Slow Burn?

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

Am I in a state of slow burn on the bike? Yesterday I went out on the road bike; and put in 17.4 miles. I had a pretty stiff headwind; it felt like I was working hard; and my calorie burn of 400 seems a bit low. Maybe because I, myself, was slow. My legs felt tired; I didn’t want to push it; and I averaged all of 11.35 mph. It’s a good thing I wasn’t trying for that century ride, after all! I began this morning with more slow burn. At 5:15 I went out for a short, slow ride on the hybrid. It’s full-moon time; and I hoped the clouds would part enough for me to see that moon. They didn’t; but at least I got in a few miles for Love to Ride! Of course I went to the salvage store; and for a change I didn’t bring home any canned stuff. I wonder, however, just how much of my “stash” I should keep in case a hurricane decides to head our way this season. The salvage store still has those Gatorade Whey Protein bars; and as long as I can, I’m going to buy them to stash away for long-ride food. The drawback to those bars is, the chocolate coating gets half melted when the weather gets warm; and when I try to pick up a piece of bar, it’s apt to disintegrate. Most bars have the same problem! It looks like tomorrow will be cloudy; and possibly foggy before 8:00 am. The Easter Bunny will need a good headlight! As for me, I just hope the T-storms they’re predicting wait until at least 2 pm to break out.

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The Stuff of Nightmares

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

I call it the stuff of nightmares when I dream that something goes wrong with my bicycle! Last night I dreamed that I was riding the hybrid somewhere; and after a halt for a stop sign, the bicycle’s wheels suddenly wouldn’t turn! I don’t know what made me dream that; but dreams are weird. The totals at a store’s check-out often seem like the stuff of nightmares, too. I rode to Whole Foods this morning; and YIKES! I spent $72.26; and that’s a lot! It wasn’t all food, though. My preferred sunblock was on sale; and when it is, I’ll buy some even if I have four tubes at home already! I got two tubes; and that right there was nearly $26. My steamer basket is positively ancient; and I decided to get a new one. I bought dish soap, too; and about half my total was non-food stuff. I found Nuun on sale; so I got some of that, too. It will keep; and I decided to buy a few RXBars for ride food. After I was home from Whole Foods, I got ready to go out on the road bike. The forecast said the wind was 9 mph, but it was more like 12 mph; and up to 17 mph by the time I got back home. Wind sure can be the stuff of nightmares! I hope it won’t be as windy tomorrow. I want to go to the salvage store; and I want to take the trailer. Wind, of course, makes hauling that thing harder. Sunday looks like it will be cloudy again; and I hope any T-storms hold off until afternoon — not only for my ride, but for Easter egg hunts!

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Big Mistake

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

It wasn’t raining when I got up this morning; but while I was getting ready to ride, I heard a drizzle. I just wasn’t in the mood to get wet; so I decided to wear the poncho. I would have done better to use the hybrid; or else leave the poncho at home. Shortly after 5:00 am, a weather site I checked said 7 mph wind. As soon as I got going, I could tell that that wind was no seven mph; and it made bike handling hard, especially with that poncho flapping around! I had to be careful not to sit on the poncho in a way that made me feel like its neckband was choking me. As a result, the poncho flapped all over the place in the wind. I felt so out of control that I needed to stop whenever I wanted some water; and once, I caught the bottom of the poncho on the water bottle. Talk about a big mistake! I didn’t see that the poncho was stuck; so when I tried to start up again, I got pulled down. I hadn’t even reached the point of getting my left foot clipped in; but that actually was good. It kept me from falling and ripping up my leg warmers; but I had to let myself down onto the ground to untangle things. Not the Best Fix I wasted as much as ten minutes trying to fix things so that I could ride. I took the poncho off, and rolled it up; but it wouldn’t fit in the spare bottle cage. It was also too big and bulky for my reflective vest’s pockets; and I didn’t have my backpack with me. In the end, I put the poncho back on, even though the rain had stopped; and I decided to go home. I didn’t get in much over three miles; and I hope for better tomorrow. I hope the forecast isn’t a big mistake; nor even a little one. Tomorrow I’m taking off from work; and I want to visit Whole Foods. Rain chances are most likely in the afternoon; and I want to get home from the store and take off on the road bike! By the way, will an abacus keep me from making such a big mistake again?

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Skywatching

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

I’m skywatching again; and I don’t mean stargazing. It’s going to rain tonight, they say; and it could be heavy. In fact, we’re under a flood watch until 10:00 am tomorrow! The weekend might be OK. Rain chances are highest in the afternoons; and I do my riding/errand running in the morning. I want to head for the salvage store on Saturday; and how nice it will be if I find some FitCrunch bars in the grab bag bins! Tomorrow morning doesn’t look good. The forecast is for T-storms, right at the time I normally go out for my morning ride; and for that matter, the rest of the week doesn’t look good. Forget about going for broke and trying for that 100-mile ride day after tomorrow. There’s a 30% chance of showers and T-storms; and that’s bit too high of a risk for me. On top of that, I’m simply too tired to try for a century right now. My web site work is keeping me up too late; and I’m tired all the time. My nutrition is suffering as well; and I’m eating far too much junk food. I’m sure it’s wreaking havoc on my A1c levels! So I need to get back on track; and riding ought to help. As far as tomorrow goes, I can only wait and see what morning brings. Today I was skywatching as I rode; and hoped it wouldn’t start to rain. About five miles from home there were a few drops; but luckily nothing more. I hope the sky is clear enough Saturday morning for me to see the full moon; but alas! The forecast says, overcast. That really has me downcast!

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Atmospheric Intervals?

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Uncategorized /

It seems like atmospheric intervals around here. Most cyclists are familiar with the concept of interval training. You go hard for a set amount of time; ease up the effort for a set time; and repeat. Our weather is doing something like that. But what is it about Wednesday? For the fourth consecutive week, we’re facing the possibility of severe weather; and most of the time this storminess has come on Wednesday! We’re all storm-weary; and here in my neighborhood we’ve been much luckier than some folks. No tornadoes so far, knock on wood; and I hope our luck continues to hold. If atmospheric intervals seem bad with T-storms, they’ll be much worse if this season’s tropical storms take up the craze. As usual, it isn’t a bit too soon to start preparing for hurricane season; and from that point of view, even bringing home more canned goods from the salvage store isn’t going too far. The forecast for the next few days looks wet and stormy; and I hope it doesn’t curtail my riding. Why did the weather have to turn bad just in time for a Love to Ride challenge? I won’t be any too happy if this trend continues all month long! I say it’s already gone on long enough. There’s a 40% chance for showers and T-storms Saturday; and they had better wait for afternoon to move in. It will be full moon time; and this one is the Paschal moon. As a rule, I don’t get up at 4:30 am on Saturdays; but if the full moon is on the calendar, I do. So those atmospheric intervals need to take a break Saturday morning!

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Marshall Islands

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

Marshall Islands 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.” I never thought about cycling in the Marshall Islands; and in fact, I seldom though of them at all. Then, a week or two ago, I was out riding and saw a ship that was flying the flag of the Marshall Islands. That finally did get me to thinking! The many small atolls are quite spread out; and until quite recently, I wasn’t even quite sure where the Marshall Islands were! Now I know; but what is it like to cycle there? Kwaj bikes are much in use by the residents. These bicycles are sturdy; and they need to be, because of the humid, salty atmosphere. I can believe that the bicycle gears we know so well in the USA quickly rust away in such a climate. Here in New Orleans, a bicycle that’s left out for as few as three days begins to show signs of rust on the drive train. After a few weeks, both gears and chain are completely rusted over; and I’m sure our air isn’t nearly as salty as that of the Marshalls. We do, however, get a lot of rain. Most Kwaj bikes are one-speed; and have coaster brakes. I’m so used to hand brakes that coaster brakes would drive me crazy; and I don’t think that high handlebars would be very comfortable. I never have understood the appeal of “ape hangers”; but it’s obvious that some people enjoy them. The climate is tropical, with an average year-round temperature of 82ºF. That sounds like unending Summer; and if I were to go cycling there, I’d do my riding very early in the day, if at all possible. With that heat, don’t forget the Camel-Bak; and a pair of sun sleeves will help keep you cooler!    

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