SpokEasy

May 2022

Free Monday

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Free Monday Memorial Day It’s so nice to have a free Monday! I didn’t have to get up at 4:30 am; and I had time to do a 19-mile ride. I hesitate to say, Happy Memorial Day; for Memorial Day is actually quite a solemn occasion. We remember those who gave their lives for our country. Of course I went for a ride; and since I didn’t have to get to work, I had time to put in 19 miles. Naturally I had a headwind on the way back; and I get SO tired of that! But what else can I do? If I’m going to ride, I have no choice but to deal with headwinds. It was 80 degrees at 8:00 am; but the humidity is a relatively low 55%. Getting some comparatively dry air is a big relief. Even so, there’s a 20% chance of T-storms this afternoon. At least I don’t have to go anywhere; and I just hope that hurricane doesn’t cross over into the Gulf of Mexico! If it does, we might be in trouble. I’ve started to gather some canned goods to take along if I have to evacuate. After my many trips to the salvage store, I have plenty; and I’m looking for things that have pop-top lids. After all, what’ll I do if I forget the can-opener? With a free Monday, I had some time for cooking. I made a Hoppin’ John variation, with canned pinto beans and canned black-eye peas. I discovered that the plain yogurt had gone bad; and had to throw it out. Luckily the yogurt isn’t critical. The original recipe uses a little sour cream as garnish; so I mix in a little plain yogurt. Back to work tomorrow. What a drag!  

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Bananas

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Food, Uncategorized /

Bananas! Bananas are a popular food with cyclists! Today I finally got to the supermarket; and picked up some bananas. A favorite pre-ride snack of mine is a banana with peanut butter; and I was without bananas for something like two weeks! I didn’t have grapes, either; and grapes are another pre-ride favorite. They’re good with peanut butter; and also with — can you believe it? — hummus! This morning I discovered that there will be no more pre-work runs to the supermarket. I thought about going there first; then feeding the cat; and then heading out on the road bike. I decided to go take care of the kitty first; and when I got home from that, I changed into cycling shorts for the ride to the store. When I got there, I saw a sign posted at the entrance announcing new hours; and that new schedule began several days ago. They now open at 7:00 am; not 6:00 am. It’s a good thing I didn’t go to the store first thing! When I got home from the store, I put the groceries away; and got ready to go out on the road bike. The bananas I got aren’t as ripe as I like; but it was great to have one again. Then I filled the Camel-Bak; cut up a protein bar; and changed my blouse for a cycling jersey. It felt weird to start a ride so late: it was at least 8:30 by the time I got rolling. Maybe that’s why it seemed so hot; and that, in turn, was why the Propel tasted weird. I made this short for a Sunday ride; largely because I started so late; and because it was already getting hot. Besides, tomorrow is a holiday; and I can put in some more miles!

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End of the World

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, equipment /

End of the World Some people have completed a bicycle trip around the world! It feels like the end of the world. This morning I went to the salvage store; and they don’t have the grab-bag bins any more! I’ll sure miss them. Today I took the trailer; but it might have been better if I had left it home. Good for big loads; but I admit it’s quite heavy to drag along. There was a train blocking my usual crossing; and I had to make a detour. It’s lucky I allowed myself extra time to get to that store! I hoped the train would be gone by the time I came back home; but the dratted thing was still sitting there! There was no locomotive on either end; and who knows how long it might be before those cars get moved. Of course I had to make another detour to get home; and the trip that’s normally under 10 miles came to 12.66 miles! I planned to go out for a spin on the road bike after I got my loot from the salvage store home; but if that train is still there, it will mean yet more detours. I’m not in the mood for that; and I got a bit too hot on the way home from the store. (Next time take an extra bottle of water!) In addition, there’s an air quality alert in effect; and maybe I’d better wait a few hours to ride. Oh, well. It’s not the end of the world if I can’t ride. Meanwhile, I enjoyed Schumann’s Third Symphony; and of course I need to get the laundry done!  

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Sun Again

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Sun Again Today we finally saw the sun again! Today we saw the sun again; and what a relief that was! Gray skies and rain had become quite tiresome; but now it looks like I can get in a good ride tomorrow morning! I’ve got a three-day weekend coming up; and that’s always good news. When Monday comes, I can sleep a few extra hours; and that’s a rare luxury. But I wish I didn’t need earplugs to sleep! These help when you’re noise sensitive! Saturday I have to get moving early, so I can visit Winn Dixie before heading for the salvage store. I think I’ll put in 10 miles or so on the road bike afterwards; and do a shorter ride on Sunday. Some friends and I want to get together for lunch on Sunday; and if I try to do a 45-mile ride that day I might not be home in time. Monday I want to put in a lot of editing work on the dot org site. There’s still plenty to do; and I wish I could devote eight hours a day to it until I can finish it. Unfortunately that’s simply impossible as long as I’m still working. I’m considering retirement; but it won’t happen instantly. After I retire, my web site will be my full-time job! Now that we’ve got sun again, I hope the mud dries up. The street where I live is all torn up. I think they’re rebuilding it rather than simply resurfacing it; and what a mess it is! Plenty of areas are now full of standing water; and I’m afraid that means plenty of mosquitos!

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Obliging

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Obliging What do sunflowers do when it rains? Today the weather was surprisingly obliging to me, considering the forecast. Showers and T-storms were predicted; and last night a flood watch was posted. When I went out on the road bike, the sky was overcast; but it didn’t rain. I also got to work dry; but about 11:30 am it started to come down hard! I was disappointed, because I wanted to eat lunch outdoors; but when it’s pouring, alfresco activities are out of the question. In fact, we had a flood warning for a while! The weather was obliging again while I rode to the drug store after work; and then home. All the same, I wore my poncho. Helps keep you — well, less wet — on rainy rides. I didn’t know when it might start pouring again; and it’s a big nuisance to have to stop riding to put on the poncho. I have to remove my helmet and reflective vest; put on the poncho; replace the helmet; and put the reflective vest on over the poncho. That last is important, because otherwise the poncho flares out to the sides too much. When I try to look behind me, all I see is that yellow plastic! Around 6:30 pm it began to drizzle again. Heavy rain is in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow morning; and the flood watch is in effect until noon tomorrow. Itsy Bitsy Spider would have a hard time of it! After tomorrow, we’ll have a few sunny days; and I hope it’s enough to dry up all the mud. The weekend looks sunny; and it’s a three-day weekend, too! I can ride a little extra!      

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Blow It Off

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

Blow It Off Sometimes it’s fun to blow it off! Yesterday I decided to blow it off, and skip blogging. Sometimes it gets to be a bit too much! This morning I didn’t do much of a ride. It was drizzling; and I heard some thunder. It wasn’t close, but there’s no thunder without lightning; and stormy weather can move very fast. I didn’t want to get caught in a T-storm; so I set up the trainer with the hybrid, and pedaled for half an hour. This device can rescue a ride in inclement weather. As usual, that was a long half hour; and also as usual, I had to make a very rough guesstimate as to my mileage. But at least it was a little better than sitting around doing nothing! I’ve been working at product grids for the upcoming dot net version of this web site; and this evening I blew it off, too. My brain needs a rest from it; and I worked on Slides instead. I hope the weather won’t force me to skip riding tomorrow; but the forecast is for rain; and it could be heavy. It’s no fun to ride in pouring rain: even though it isn’t cold, I’ll still have visibility problems; and of course, concerns about lightning. I got spoiled by our long spell of little rain. It was great for the Love to Ride April Challenge; and so far May has been pretty dry. But now we’re getting a wet spell; and actually, I think we need it. Some parts of the country need it even more than we do. I wish I could send them some of our rain!

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Out of Stream

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

Out of Steam? I wish I had energy like this! Am I running out of steam? I feel so tired lately; and I don’t only mean low on energy. My legs don’t feel right; and that’s very aggravating. Last night I thought I’d have to skip riding today; and in fact the forecast this morning predicted a 100% chance of T-storms. At that moment, though, the sun was out; and the hourly forecast said the weather wouldn’t turn stormy until early afternoon. I finally decided to go for a short ride; and 19 miles is short for a Sunday ride! The sky became cloudier and cloudier; and since I got home at about 10:50 am, I’ve expected all fury to break loose at any time. But I checked the hour-by-hour forecast at 2:30 pm; and it showed it wasn’t expected to get stormy until 9:00 pm! And they say, La donna è mobile? Today I sure felt like I was running out of steam on the way home. The wind really wasn’t all that strong; but I felt like it was hard to make any headway. My legs were persistently tired; and I just wanted to stop. It’s time to haul out the sun sleeves now. If I wear them, I can save a bit of sunblock; and sun sleeves actually do keep my arms a bit cooler. Sun sleeves keep your arms cooler while protecting your skin from UV rays. Back to the weather. It looks like the next three days will be quite stormy; and of course that doesn’t bode well for cycling. The street where I live is still all torn up for construction; and that means a lot of mud when it rains. I wish they’d hurry up and finish that job!

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rescue

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

Rescue Rescue isn’t always this dramatic. This morning it was GU to the rescue. Keep some GU’s handy whenever and wherever you ride! I ate a Quest bar and some yogurt before I rode to the salvage store; and I was already getting hungry by the time I got to the store! You know what they always say about food shopping: don’t do it when you’re hungry. I was glad I could pull out that GU, so I wasn’t starving as I cruised the aisles. The grab-bag bins were a disappointment again: there was not much in them, and nothing at all that I wanted; so I didn’t make a grab bag today. But I found another flavor of Dang bars; dry-roasted peanuts; and I got a can of mackerel. I don’t believe I’ve even had mackerel before; and it might be interesting to try it. On the way home from the store, I had a stiff headwind the last two miles. I wished for a tailwind to come to the rescue! It seemed like I was never going to get home; and I when I did, I was worn out; hungry; and very thirsty. My original plan was to dump my loot from the salvage store at home; and head out for a short spin on the road bike. I decided it might be better to drop that idea. Yes, I have a mileage goal to work towards; but sometimes we have to forget goals for a day. Besides, I downed plenty of fluid I when I got home from the store; and I’ll need a restroom too often to make a road bike ride sensible. The wind is up to 20 mph, too; and I don’t feel like fighting it. Let’s be lazy!

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What Ails My Legs

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

What Ails My Legs? Cycling is for ALL legs! What ails my legs today? They feel stiff and tired; and I thought that there didn’t seem to be a ready explanation for it. Maybe my legs need a good dose of “Jensie”! Maybe “Jensie” has the right idea! My mileage is about as usual; and this week I’m not doing any “force” work. This morning I did about 90 seconds total of pushing the pace; and that shouldn’t wear me out so much. I rode to work; and that’s nothing unusual. While I was riding home I felt very tired; but not until about 7 pm did I figure out what ails my legs. I take medication for hypotension; and this morning I forgot to take it! No wonder I felt tired and limp at work; and now I know why I felt almost too tired to ride back home this afternoon. I also forgot my evening dose, because I plunged right into work on my web site. In fact, I was so tired this afternoon that I was considering skipping the trip to the salvage store tomorrow; and sleeping in. After a glance at the weather forecast, I’m reconsidering that plan. It looks like tomorrow morning will be OK; but Sunday’s outlook is a stormy one. I want to get in some riding tomorrow in case I can’t on Sunday; and if the weather does permit a Sunday ride, so much the better! Of course I’m chipping away at my Love to Ride goal; and every little ride helps!

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That Monkey

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, equipment /

That Monkey! Monkeys can be a nuisance! Darn that monkey! It looks like it might throw its wrench into my Love to Ride mileage goal. Yesterday I saw my rheumatologist; and we discussed the problems I’m having because of my left thumb. The doctor is referring me to a hand specialist; and it looks like surgery is likely. The hand has lost strength since my first visit with that particular doctor; and it looks like things are likely to continue down the same path. Recovery from such surgery might take several months; and that’s bad news for everything, including cycling. I might be allowed to ride as long as I don’t use the front shifters; but that will drive me crazy. What a hassle that monkey is liable to cause! Triple cranksets give a greater range of gears. I’ll probably have to reduce mileage; and be more careful not to get caught in the rain because of whatever splint is on the hand. So, what can I do? Set up the trainer and “ride” indoors? I’m glad I don’t need to ride inside much. It drives me crazy. How do I keep the tires properly inflated when the bike is hooked into the trainer? It won’t be good for those tires to have the bike just sit there for weeks. Of course a splinted hand means everything else will be a hassle: washing my hair; cooking; and all sorts of things that I do daily; and normally take for granted. All I can do is to wait and see what comes of my visit to the hand specialist; and if we’re going to do surgery, it must wait until after June 20. I’m cat-sitting for some friends; and “scooping the box” won’t be good for a surgical site!

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