SpokEasy

SpokEasy

September 2025

Didn’t Work

BACK ISSUES /

Didn’t Work 🙄 I tried an experiment yesterday; and it didn’t work. Not very well, anyhow. I’m spending enough time outdoors that I need sunblock; but I don’t want to get sunblock all over that arm brace. My left hand, although it’s much better, isn’t yet up to the task of pulling a sun sleeve over my right arm; and I don’t think a snug sun sleeve is the best thing for fresh surgical scars. So forget about wearing one on my left arm. I finally decided to wear one of my ancient, worn-thin, long-sleeved blouses; and put the arm brace on over it. Getting the blouse on wasn’t too bad; but getting it off after I had become sweaty was another story. This idea didn’t work as well as I’d hoped; so I won’t do it again. All I can do is go out early; and stay in the shade. In the Shade ▓ It’s nice to stay in the shade, anyway. Out weather is still hot; and I wish it would cool off a bit. The trouble is, when cooler weather finally comes, it often arrives too abruptly! I wish I had more to report; but I can’t ride yet. A physical therapist came by; and we discussed exercising my elbow. We also went outdoors so they could observe me walking along the sidewalk. They said that, as fast as I walk, shows great balance! 🙂 Maybe I’d put other folks in the shade? Othere thoughts: I need to make plenty of smoothies for awhile. I have enough almond milk left that I wish I could freeze it; but I tried freezing almond milk once and it didn’t work. So I’ve got to use it up somehow! 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.” ABOUT ME I began this website primarily as a way to present the story of how I accomplished a century ride on an adult tricycle. Other riders of adult trikes might want to know whether it’s possible. It sure is! You can read all about it in My Story. I live in New Orleans; and  retired in January 2023. More time for cycling! Website designed by Cecile Levert © This website is the property of its author. DISCLAIMER I am not a cycling coach; nor a health professional. This site is based on my own experiences, opinions, etc. If you need help, please consult the appropriate professional.   FRESH FROM MY JOURNAL No Layout Found TRANSLATOR

Didn’t Work Read More »

Tie My Shoes

BACK ISSUES, Outdoors /

Tie My Shoes 👟 Wow, I was able to tie my shoes this morning! My hand seems to be recovering quickly from all the swelling (surgical insult, I suppose); and the main thing is to be careful of that elbow. I expect that I’ll have a built-in weather predictor for a long time. One year in high school, we read Our Town. In the opening scene, the town doctor is asking a boy how his knee is now. The boy says the knee is fine: “Except like you told me. It lets me know when it’s going to rain.” That struck a chord with me, because my sister had injured her knee a few years earlier. I’m glad I can tie my shoes, even though the elbow has a long way to go. And it will be great when I can ride again, because some things are better on the bike. Better on the Bike 🚲 Ever notice that some things are better on the bike? Electrolyte drinks are among them, as far as I’m concerned. I’ve been advised to be sure I drink adequate amounts of fluid during my recovery. This afternoon I got tired of plain water; and mixed up a serving of GZ, as I call it. I can tell you, that stuff tastes better on the bike! I can’t ride for the time being; but I can tie my shoes and walk. I’m getting far too little exercise; and it’s making me antsy! I’ll feel better on the bike. 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.” ABOUT ME I began this website primarily as a way to present the story of how I accomplished a century ride on an adult tricycle. Other riders of adult trikes might want to know whether it’s possible. It sure is! You can read all about it in My Story. I live in New Orleans; and  retired in January 2023. More time for cycling! Website designed by Cecile Levert © This website is the property of its author. DISCLAIMER I am not a cycling coach; nor a health professional. This site is based on my own experiences, opinions, etc. If you need help, please consult the appropriate professional.   FRESH FROM MY JOURNAL No Layout Found TRANSLATOR

Tie My Shoes Read More »

How Soon?

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Personal Care /

How Soon? 🕰️  Of course I’m wondering how soon I might ride again. Before I left the hospital, I thought they said, five weeks; but I suspect it will be longer than that. Yesterday I got the surgical dressings off. I may take the brace off to shower; and it was wonderful to be able to wash my hair. I wasn’t like being at a spa; but it still felt good. I’m now allowed to  walk to my heart’s content. I hope I feel more energetic tomorrow; but the sheer difficulty of finding a comfortable position in bed makes sleep very difficult. No wonder I’m sort of spacey. I’ll soon be starting some physical therapy; a home health care person is coming in a few hours to give me an evaluation. Physical Therapy 💪 Once I’ve had the physical therapy evaluation, I might have a better idea of how soon I may ride again. I hope it’s not too long! When I get the green light to ride, I’ll start with the hybrid. It might be some time before I get a new road bike. The poor road bike that I had can’t be salvaged. You should have seen the wheels — some spokes gone; and others sticking out at weird angles. The front fork had been damaged, too; and the frame might have sustained damage that doesn’t show externally. That can happen with carbon fiber; and they say you should never ride on a cracked frame. It might fail drastically at any time. Then you could be in a situation that no physical therapy can fix. 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.” ABOUT ME I began this website primarily as a way to present the story of how I accomplished a century ride on an adult tricycle. Other riders of adult trikes might want to know whether it’s possible. It sure is! You can read all about it in My Story. I live in New Orleans; and  retired in January 2023. More time for cycling! Website designed by Cecile Levert © This website is the property of its author. DISCLAIMER I am not a cycling coach; nor a health professional. This site is based on my own experiences, opinions, etc. If you need help, please consult the appropriate professional.   FRESH FROM MY JOURNAL No Layout Found TRANSLATOR

How Soon? Read More »

Hanging Loose?

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

Hanging Loose? 🥱 Is that splint on my arm thinking of hanging loose? It doesn’t feel quite so tight in the last day or two; especially on my forearm. What a relief that is! “Hanging loose” sounds sort of like hang-gliding; and I remember the Gossamer Albatross. I sure don’t have that kind of leg power! I’ll be glad when I can again use what leg power that I have. I’m tired of  sitting around; but for now I can’t do much else. Well, I’m glad my head didn’t get bashed up! That would be much worse than flabby legs. And even before the accident, I could have used getting my abs to tighten up! Tighten Up? 🪢   Working my core is a good way to tighten up said abs. However, I’m not sure how soon I may perform curls (very like crunches); and of course a left-sided crank plank is out if the question. I’ll probably get to ask some questions soon about what exercises I may do. It will be great to be out and walking again. I need some fresh air; but I’m not quite up to vigorous walking yet. But do I need it! My belly might end up hanging loose if I can’t burn off some calories!   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.” ABOUT ME I began this website primarily as a way to present the story of how I accomplished a century ride on an adult tricycle. Other riders of adult trikes might want to know whether it’s possible. It sure is! You can read all about it in My Story. I live in New Orleans; and  retired in January 2023. More time for cycling! Website designed by Cecile Levert © This website is the property of its author. DISCLAIMER I am not a cycling coach; nor a health professional. This site is based on my own experiences, opinions, etc. If you need help, please consult the appropriate professional.   FRESH FROM MY JOURNAL No Layout Found TRANSLATOR

Hanging Loose? Read More »

In the Nursery?

BACK ISSUES, Personal Care /

In the Nursery? 👶🏻 I feel like I’m now in the nursery. Today someone from a home health care service  came to see me; and we discussed my medications; upcoming physical and occupational therapy, etcetera. I’ll have some further home nurse visits; hence the feeling that I’m in the nursery. I was relieved to learn that I might get medical transport through my health-care plan; and I’m happy to know that I might not always have to  bum rides from friends when I have to get to appointments. I sure won’t be able to ride places for a while; and I need to get a new helmet first, anyway. So I’ve got a list of phone calls to make come Monday; and I want to get back to what off-bike exercises that I may do, Squats will be OK; but little else. And at present, medication for muscle spasms has me rather groggy. Monday 📞 Monday has many of us feeling like this; and reaching for an energy gel. But for once I’m looking forward to Monday; I have a lot of things to take care of; I want to get them done; and I can’t stay in the nursery! I must make phone calls for this and that; I need to get my will finalized; and I’m sure more will come up. It admittedly sounds rather exhausting; and right now I’m working to chart my post-op medications. There are four to keep track of, in addition to my usual meds. It’s a bit overwhelming; but I’ll get through it somehow.   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.” ABOUT ME I began this website primarily as a way to present the story of how I accomplished a century ride on an adult tricycle. Other riders of adult trikes might want to know whether it’s possible. It sure is! You can read all about it in My Story. I live in New Orleans; and  retired in January 2023. More time for cycling! Website designed by Cecile Levert © This website is the property of its author. DISCLAIMER I am not a cycling coach; nor a health professional. This site is based on my own experiences, opinions, etc. If you need help, please consult the appropriate professional.   FRESH FROM MY JOURNAL No Layout Found TRANSLATOR

In the Nursery? Read More »

Helmets Save Lives

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

Helmets Save Lives! 🧠 “Helmets save lives.” I can just hear you all now — “*yawn*. Tell me something new.” But I always believed that helmets save lives; and now I’m even more sure of it. This past Monday I was riding; and got hit by a pick-up truck. I was so glad it’s always been my habit to wear protective headgear! My helmet hit the road; then did a sort of bounce-and-scrape. If I’d been bare-headed,  I might not be typing this now. I ended up spending four days in the hospital, including surgery; and now I’m rather laid up. Laid Up 🫤 Being laid up is most tedious. I can’t ride now, of course; when I got hit and went down, my left elbow took the brunt of the fall. It was severely dislocated; and required surgery. When they got me to the operating room, the orthopedic surgeon spoke with me before they gave the anesthesia. He explained that joint dislocation causes damage to tendons and muscles; and that I’d done it “pretty spectacularly”. So I was in a surgical splint until yesterday, shortly before I went home; and now I’m in one of those ROM braces. I’ve got physical therapy coming up; and who knows what all else. I might have been released from the hospital a day earlier; but they wanted to run an MRI to be sure I hadn’t suffered a concussion. The one-day delay gave my sister a chance to get here.  She’s a great help when I’m laid up. 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.” ABOUT ME I began this website primarily as a way to present the story of how I accomplished a century ride on an adult tricycle. Other riders of adult trikes might want to know whether it’s possible. It sure is! You can read all about it in My Story. I live in New Orleans; and  retired in January 2023. More time for cycling! Website designed by Cecile Levert © This website is the property of its author. DISCLAIMER I am not a cycling coach; nor a health professional. This site is based on my own experiences, opinions, etc. If you need help, please consult the appropriate professional.   FRESH FROM MY JOURNAL No Layout Found TRANSLATOR

Helmets Save Lives Read More »

Which Is It?

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Food, Outdoors /

Which Is It? 🤔 Come on, which is it? Are we in for very windy weather; or not? If we are, Wind-Blox Pro are great for reducing wind noise; but the forecast keeps changing! About midday, I saw a forecast for “breezy” conditions tomorrow through next Tuesday or Wednesday. It said that gusts could reach 40 mph! Several hours later, that forecast had been taken down. So which is it? I guess I’ll have to play it by ear again! By Ear 🐰 Playing it by ear is rather galling when I want to plan for a long ride. If I don’t know when (or even whether) adverse conditions will arise, I don’t know whether I’ll need to cut the ride short. Will I need to stay close to home; or can I get away with riding out for 10 miles? Which is it? I’ll skip ear buds; I need to hear what’s going on around me, no matter what the weather. I’m a classical music fan, too; and the pieces I’d be putting on my playlist constantly change volume. I can’t be adjusting the volume all the time while riding. I might also want to stay rather close to home because —  if you’ll pardon the indelicacy — I’m on a course of antibiotics. That can wreak havoc on the GI system! I’m trying Activia to see whether it will settle things; and I hope it does! 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.” ABOUT ME I began this website primarily as a way to present the story of how I accomplished a century ride on an adult tricycle. Other riders of adult trikes might want to know whether it’s possible. It sure is! You can read all about it in My Story. I live in New Orleans; and  retired in January 2023. More time for cycling! Website designed by Cecile Levert © This website is the property of its author. DISCLAIMER I am not a cycling coach; nor a health professional. This site is based on my own experiences, opinions, etc. If you need help, please consult the appropriate professional.   FRESH FROM MY JOURNAL No Layout Found TRANSLATOR

Which Is It? Read More »

Pumped Up?

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, equipment /

Pumped Up? ✊ We need to get pumped up before a ride, right? There’s not much sense in riding on under-inflated tires. I’m glad I don’t need a “pecky-bird” (as we called these oil pumps when we were little) to inflate my bicycle tires! For several weeks, I’d been having problems with my pump. It did OK on Schrader valves; but wasn’t making a snug seal on Presta valves. It made it rather hard to get those tires pumped up. Good grief, did I need a new pump? So I carried my pump to the bike shop. They tried it on a bicycle that was on display; and it was OK. Apparently I was pushing the pump’s nozzle down too far. Tomorrow I’ll find out whether I can get it right. Get It Right ✅ I hope I can get it right as a midlife cyclist, too. I’m not trying to train for racing; so I might not have to worry that I’ll work too hard. In fact, some intense work is necessary to improve fitness; and I suspect that I might need more of it! Naturally there are days when it’s hard for me to get pumped up about riding; today I felt like that before I was out of bed. I read somewhere that sometimes you can’t wait for motivation to strike; that you “have to prime the pump”. So I went for a ride; and once under way, I enjoyed it! That’s what I need to do to get it right! 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.” ABOUT ME I began this website primarily as a way to present the story of how I accomplished a century ride on an adult tricycle. Other riders of adult trikes might want to know whether it’s possible. It sure is! You can read all about it in My Story. I live in New Orleans; and  retired in January 2023. More time for cycling! Website designed by Cecile Levert © This website is the property of its author. DISCLAIMER I am not a cycling coach; nor a health professional. This site is based on my own experiences, opinions, etc. If you need help, please consult the appropriate professional.   FRESH FROM MY JOURNAL No Layout Found TRANSLATOR

Pumped Up? Read More »

Safe Route

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

Safe Route 🚲 “If only there were a safe route.” How many times do cyclists say that? How often do we feel obliged to use other forms of trasport, because going by bicycle feels like risking life and limb? Yesterday I had a minor varicose vein procedure; and there’s no safe route for cycling to the clinic. The distance is less than 6.5 miles; yet using public transit would be a time-consuming hassle, with at least one change of buses. There’s no way to safely walk there; and in this heat it probably isn’t a wise idea. I ended up using an expensive taxi! Car-Centric 🚙 I often see social-media comments about how car-centric many societies are. Certainly in the USA! And apparently this mindset starts early. Yes, kids still too young for bicycles enjoy riding toys; but when it comes to real cars, there are too many of them. Parking is often a problem. That’s what comes of the car-centric mindset. Here in my home town, there are plenty of motorists who drive like they’re crazy; so no wonder cyclists feel like there’s no safe route. Add to that cyclists who ride the wrong way in bike lanes with arrows showing direction  — when bike lanes exist; on top of having to worry about getting “doored”.  Learn the Dutch reach, everyone! 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.” ABOUT ME I began this website primarily as a way to present the story of how I accomplished a century ride on an adult tricycle. Other riders of adult trikes might want to know whether it’s possible. It sure is! You can read all about it in My Story. I live in New Orleans; and  retired in January 2023. More time for cycling! Website designed by Cecile Levert © This website is the property of its author. DISCLAIMER I am not a cycling coach; nor a health professional. This site is based on my own experiences, opinions, etc. If you need help, please consult the appropriate professional.   FRESH FROM MY JOURNAL No Layout Found TRANSLATOR

Safe Route Read More »

Too Quiet?

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

Too Quiet? 🤫 Can it be too quiet? It’s hard to imagine such a thing; especially when I’m trying to sleep. But I commented recently that the tropics have been almost too quiet; and today I saw an online article that says, activity could ramp up soon. So we have to stay alert! That sure gets tiresome, though; it’s hard to make hurricane plans when I don’t know when (or even whether!) a storm will set its sights on New Orleans. Today I tried to ramp up my efforts on the bike. On the way home, I was riding against a 13 mph wind; with gusts up to 20 mph. I made five or six attempts to push my speed to 13 mph in that headwind. I really need it, even if my efforts are short. I’ve got to start somewhere! Start Somewhere 🏁 If I must start somewhere, here and now is as good as anything else. Time won’t put itself on pause while I figure out when to begin working towards the next RAGBRAI. And I did make a beginning today! Tomorrow I’ll make it short and easy; and work on my pace again the next day. All hard, all the time simply doesn’t work for me; but neither does keeping it too “quiet”! 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.” ABOUT ME I began this website primarily as a way to present the story of how I accomplished a century ride on an adult tricycle. Other riders of adult trikes might want to know whether it’s possible. It sure is! You can read all about it in My Story. I live in New Orleans; and  retired in January 2023. More time for cycling! Website designed by Cecile Levert © This website is the property of its author. DISCLAIMER I am not a cycling coach; nor a health professional. This site is based on my own experiences, opinions, etc. If you need help, please consult the appropriate professional.   FRESH FROM MY JOURNAL No Layout Found TRANSLATOR

Too Quiet? Read More »