SpokEasy

July 2023

Cloud Cover

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

Cloud Cover I was thankful for the cloud cover this morning. Yes, it looked like it might rain any minute; but a good cloud cover keeps things a tad cooler. Today I cut my mileage a little, because I did some force efforts. I hit a max speed of 19.83 mph! I’m rather lazy, though; and do such work only once a week. I still limit these efforts to 30 seconds at a time; but maybe I should start pushing for 40 seconds.  I do know, however, that really intense work should be limited to once weekly; and skip it every fourth week (if you’re under 40); or every third week (if you’re over 40). I’m eyeing the forecast for tomorrow. It looks like it probably won’t rain early in the day; so maybe I’ll take an early-morning ride to the supermarket. We’re still wilting under heat advisories; and I try to be home and indoors by 10:00 am. Cloud cover keeps things a little bit cooler indoors, too; so I’m happy when the sun isn’t blazing down all day long! We finally got a good rain yesterday afternoon; and we really needed it.  Speaking of heat, I have a cooling device that does help. It’s only about two inches wide; but I can put it around my neck and tuck the loose ends inside my jersey. It’s one of my salvage store finds! Of course I’m planning to ride to that store come Saturday — and am hoping for some cloud cover to keep me from broiling.  

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What’s Afoot Now

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

What’s Afoot Now? What’s afoot now? Seems like something’s always going wrong! Today I saw a podiatrist. Maybe I waited too long for it! For some years, my left big toe’s base joint has become more and more rigid; and now it has almost no flex. I finally asked my primary care physician about it last week; and he gave me a referral to a podiatrist. Well, my right big toe has a bunion; and the left one has arthritis plus a bone spur. I could have surgery for it; but I’m not in a hurry for more surgery. The CMC arthroplasty six months ago was enough for this year. It would mean several weeks off the bike; and what a drag that would be! Could I be recovered and riding again with enough time to train up for potential participation in RAGBRAI 2024? I think I’ll try some athletic shoes first; and after that, orthotics. If it is going to come to surgery, I hope it can wait until the weather is cooler again. I suppose that hopping around on crutches is very hot work; but then again, I might not need crutches. I think the doctor said I’d be in a boot. Walking is more likely to bother my foot than cycling, which is all to the good; but walking over a mile can cause a flare-up. My smaller toes feel like there’s something sharp under them. The weather is driving me crazy. Despite the forecasts, my neighborhood hasn’t had much rain. So what’s afoot now? And, is it better to have all these heat advisories

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Belly Up

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Food /

Belly Up? I feel rather like going belly up. If not for the fact that I don’t drink alcohol, I might belly up to the bar right now. Prolonged editing sessions tend to do that to me. Today it was Bar None; and I didn’t realize how many bars I had in my Store! The editing took longer than I thought it might. The table I use is really a little too high; and that causes tension in the back of my neck and shoulders. My wrists aren’t at the proper angle, either. No wonder it’s so physically tiring. I hope I can go for a ride tomorrow morning; it might help clear my head. This morning I skipped riding because I had an appointment; and after I was back home, I was waiting for a phone call. So I didn’t “ride” in the trainer, either. Now I need some good exercise! At the moment, I don’t want to go for a ride. It’s past 7 pm, but still almost 90 degrees; and there’s a T-storm not too far from here. I have no idea which way it’s moving; but storms can move fast. No way I can outride them; and I don’t want lightning to knock me belly up! The weather for tomorrow looks iffy, too — 50% chance of rain. Well, there’s always that trainer.

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Not Wet Yet

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

Not Wet Yet It’s getting on towards noon; and we’re not wet yet! It might be coming, though. The sky is mostly overcast; and a little while ago, I thought I heard thunder. In this place, I’m almost too insulated from the weather. So far it’s one of the few drawbacks that I’ve found. Another is that the bedroom has no window; and I’d prefer to get some natural light as morning approaches. Today I didn’t get out on the bike until about 6:00 am. It was too late to see the moon looking orange-y; but I still got to see it. It looked very big. There seemed to be no wind this morning, which is a rare treat. I made some efforts at riding at least 15 mph; and I increased the time from 30 seconds to 40. I’ve got to start doing that if I hope to ever get any faster! Or, at least, a little stronger. Yesterday I ate so much that I still felt a bit bloated this morning; so I didn’t eat before I rode.  I took along a protein bar in case I got hungry; but I lasted until I was back home. I’ve read about fasted training; but have always shied away from trying it. I believe it’s meant for low-intensity rides, and not hard efforts. Maybe I can experiment with it now; I no longer have to worry about getting too exhausted, and having to go to work in that state! I just looked at an online weather radar. We’re not wet yet; but apparently rain is approaching from the West. I’m glad I don’t have to go anywhere! As long as I’m home, though, I need to get some sweeping done.

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Wet Fourth

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

Wet Fourth It looks like we’ve got a wet Fourth of July in store. The forecast for the next few days is for showers and T-storms. We need rain; but why does it have to arrive for Independence Day? A lot of people will want to have barbecues; picnics; and other outdoor activities. It looks like the bad weather won’t start tomorrow before late morning; so I’m debating whether to ride or not. If I do ride, I want to go very early! Today I went out at 5:00 am to see the full moon; and it was a welcome relief to not have the sun beating down on me.  Maybe I should keep it up for the Summer; and as far as tomorrow goes, I want to be back indoors before people start lobbing firecrackers around!  Maybe a wet Fourth wouldn’t be all bad. It might cool us off a little. The heat index is over 100 degrees again today; and it’s getting very tiresome. When I was a kid, it didn’t start to get really hot until after the first week of July. For many years now, we can get 100+ heat indices in MARCH! Today I had to go downtown for an early afternoon appointment; and it’s not fun using public transit in the middle of the day during hot weather. The streetcar isn’t air conditioned; but at least I didn’t have to wait long for a car to come along. Sometimes it takes 20 minutes!

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Ranch Eggs

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Food /

Ranch Eggs? This morning I had ranch eggs — sort of. I had some blackney beanpot that needed to be used up; so I put the beans in a bowl; topped them with an egg; and microwaved the stuff for two minutes. Then, I put some ranch dressing on top! I think this would have tasted better with a bit of red bell pepper; but I was short of time for chopping things. Our weather is still very hot; and that’s one reason I want to get going early for the ride to the salvage store. Another reason for going early is, I want to avoid traffic. For about two blocks of my route, I have to take to a traffic lane; and the earlier I go, the fewer the cars! I still have to be careful not to buy too much canned stuff; but today I got three 10 oz cans of chicken. I’ve been watching for that for several weeks; so I was glad to find it. Then, the ride back home. Fortunately there was little wind today; but I still got plenty hot. It was about 9:30 am when I got back home; and the heat index was already around 105 degrees! Tomorrow will be another hot day; but there’s a chance of late-afternoon T-storms. I hope we get one; then maybe things will cool off. We need rain, anyway. What shall I take along for ride food tomorrow? Ranch eggs won’t do, that’s for sure! No matter what I take, it’s sure to get half-melted; sticky; and messy. I need to browse through Feed Zone Portables for ideas!    

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