SpokEasy

SpokEasy

Author name: CAL

Thor?

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Thor, of Germanic mythology, wielded a hammer. Such was his effect that they named a day after him! Cyclists call riding fast and hard \”putting the hammer down\”. To me that sounds like a sudden, final sprint, when a rider abruptly surges ahead of the others in a dash for the finish line. On the other hand, I\’ve also come across the expression \”hammer away\”, which sounds like riding hard and fast for hour after hour. How good am I at \”Thoring\”? I\’m not sure. I\’ve never really tried to see how much of a sprinter I might be, and I can\’t ride full gas for very long. Low anaerobic endurance, I guess. Or maybe my legs aren\’t as strong as I like to think they are! Maybe my \”force intervals\” count as hammering? Here\’s what I do: I keep shifting into harder and harder gears until my cadence is down to about 50 rpm; then work to push the cadence to 70 rpm; anywhere from 10 seconds to a minute or even a bit longer. It sure is hard on my legs! Sometimes my quads start to burn as soon as I begin the effort. The purpose? I\’m trying to develop better force (aka strength) so that my cruising speed will improve. Hey, that\’s kinda funny. HAMMERING to BUILD strength. Sounds like carpentry, doesn\’t it? But I hope Thor doesn\’t decide to start tossing his thunderbolts while I\’m out there hammering away.    

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Notions

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I sure do get notions. I daydream about doing bicycle tours. I imagine what it might be like to ride day after day, getting to see the country. I have notions about doing more century rides, even if just on my own. I also have ideas, admittedly rather vague, about writing an ebook based on this web site. Now, that\’s an enormous job. IF I do it, it won\’t be finished any time soon. How would I go about developing a small web site into a full-length ebook? Luckily I have all my cycling journals, going back to the early days of the tricycle. Having them should be helpful. Another idea I have is to get a flash drive to use solely for the purpose of composing an ebook. Yes, I have this site\’s pages backed up on a flash drive, but I don\’t want to be mixing up site pages and ebook pages. It sound odd for me to be thinking about doing an ebook anyway, when I\’ve always been one for BOOK-books. Reading from a screen means missing the tactile sensations of holding a book in my hands. I seem to remember things better when I\’ve read actual print. Besides, if the power goes out, I can still read a BOOK-book. A BOOK-book isn\’t likely to break if I drop it, as I suspect an electronic device would. But loath as I am to admit it, it seems as though print books may be drifting down the path to extinction. I wonder, when print books first appeared, did devotees of papyrus scrolls eye them with disdain? And did they ask, who came up with that crazy notion?

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New Product Report

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New product report today: I\’ve tried sun sleeves! I first read about them some time ago, but hadn\’t gotten around to using them. Just before I bought mine, I was chatting about sun sleeves with another rider who was wearing a pair. He said they feel pretty hot when you aren\’t moving; but once you are, you feel cooler for not having the sun directly on your skin. Today I tried mine — on both arms this time! –and found what he said to be true. I pushed for 45 miles this morning, and got in 45.6 miles. To my surprise, my average speed was the same as it was last Sunday when I rode 40.4 miles. I felt very slow on the way home (headwind of 10 mph much of the time); got very tired; and was thinking that 45 miles might be a bit too much. WAS I going for too many miles? Did I need more electrolyte drink? More water?  Good grief, I downed some 3 liters of water during that ride, and over a liter of electrolyte drink. Did I need more food? Maybe I was pushing too hard? Possibly I\’m not acclimated to the heat yet. I saw plenty of wildlife today: an alligator, a small turtle, lots of dragonflies, and a snake. I\’m glad the snake was on the opposite side of the path, and pointed away from me. By the snake\’s color and head shape, I\’d say it was a cottonmouth. I sure don\’t need to get snake-bit! If I did, I\’d be doing another new product report about a snake-bite kit. I\’d rather spare myself that trouble.    

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Here We Go Again

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Yes, here we go again. Oh, that season that nobody living near the Gulf or Atlantic coasts wants! Or, for that matter, any coast. June 1 is the start of the official Atlantic hurricane season. Here in New Orleans we\’ve been lucky since Katrina (2005), but how long will we continue to dodge the bullet? Nobody likes to think about it, but someday we\’ll get walloped again. Before \”The Big Bad K\” came along, we hadn\’t had a direct hit since Betsy in 1965. At that, Katrina wasn\’t quite a direct hit. A last minute jog to the East actually spared us being slammed head-on. If not for the notorious levee breaches, things might not have been so terrible. So what can we do, cyclist or not, to prepare? Lay in supplies! Bottled water. Canned goods of all sorts, such as tuna. Other non-perishables, such as crackers and cereal bars. Don\’t forget to be sure you\’ve got working flashlights on hand, with an ample supple of batteries. I could go on and on. Suppose the threat of a hurricane means you can\’t ride outdoors? Get that trainer set up. Or perhaps a set of rollers. It\’s nice to know that we don\’t have to miss our riding because of tropical weather. Oh, and one last thing: let\’s all hope that the butterfly on the other side of the world doesn\’t flap its wings too hard. If it does, we\’ll be groaning, Here we go again. Another hurricane!

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Carbo-Loading

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Carbo-loading is something we\’re sure to see mentioned when reading up on cyclist training. It\’s important not to run low on glycogen during a ride. Sure, riding a bicycle burns fat; but fat has been likened to the wax of a candle, and glycogen to the wick. A wick-less candle doesn\’t burn very well, does it? Therefore we riders need carbs. What\’s the method for carbo-loading? Back in the 1970s it meant several days of  a very low carbohydrate diet along with intense training, then eating high-carb just before the event. Those days of little glycogen sound miserable to me. Nowadays the advice is to keep to your usual diet, but to increase the percentage of carbohydrate in your diet to 70 percent. You don\’t really need to stuff yourself with pasta, either. There are other nutritious, high-carb foods. I haven\’t participated in enough events, such as centuries, to have any real experience with carbo-loading. When I do my weekly long ride, I take along Clif Bars and GU-Gels as my main food. I also experiment with fig bars, Combos, and so on. I\’m very lazy as far as diet goes, anyway, I really need to get back on track. Maybe I\’ll even try carbo-loading some day.

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No Funny Looks Please

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I want no funny looks, please! For one thing, others\’ funny looks appear just as weird as I do! So don\’t look at me, cat. Day before yesterday the sun sleeves I had ordered online arrived. Today I took them to work with me. When I was ready to come home this afternoon, I rolled up my long sleeves, and put a sun sleeve on my right arm. Yes, that\’s correct; the right arm only. Then I rode home. Looking weird, people might say. Hey, it was an experiment! I wanted to see whether there would be any  difference in the way my arms felt. My right arm did feel a little warmer than the other arm, but the left arm seemed to feel the sun more. I plan to wear both sun sleeves for my long ride day after tomorrow. Then I\’ll probably be better able too say how well they work. The ride home from work isn\’t even three miles. A long ride of 40 or more miles will be a much better test. So next time you see me with only one sun sleeve on (sort of like Deedle-Deedle Dumpling), no funny looks, please. I\’m my own products testing laboratory.

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Fending off the Weather

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Fending off the weather is an inevitable aspect of the cycling life. What cyclist doesn\’t get caught in the rain occasionally? Or, depending on where you live, it might be quite often! Fenders don\’t keep you dry, but they do keep you from getting a dirty stripe up the back of your jersey. That\’s the drawback to my road bike: no fenders. A poncho can keep the worst of the rain off, especially if it\’s not too windy. Unfortunately a poncho can also billow out to the sides, making it difficult or impossible to see what might be coming up from behind. A flapping poncho also slows you down. A rain suit looks like it would offer more complete cover, without the billowing of a poncho. I suspect that a rain suit can get a rider really hot and sweaty; and neither rain suit nor poncho protect the feet. Shoe covers would be nice, especially if it\’s cold. Wet, cold feet make a body quite miserable. Waterproof gloves would also be nice. The problem is, exactly what does \”waterproof\” mean? In the kind of heavy rain we can get where I live, nothing seems to be waterproof! Lights are an important component of cycling gear. That\’s true even in clear daylight. If it\’s raining — especially if it\’s also dark — lights are even more vital. Ever notice how hard it is to see a car that doesn\’t have its lights on in a downpour? A cyclist without lights would be even harder to see. On a related note, a reflective vest is also a good idea; day or night, clear or otherwise. Or maybe forget about fending off the weather, and just ride in the rain; even if you don\’t sing while you\’re at it.

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We Have Ours Too

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We have ours, too? Our what? Those of you who happen to be religiously inclined are aware of the number of saints out there. There seems to be one for everything. Saint Joseph, patron saint of workers. Saint Cecilia, patron saint of music. And on and on. So, I finally thought, is there a patron saint of cyclists? There is, indeed. And do we need a saint! Ours is the Madonna del Ghisallo. Perhaps she can team up with Saint Christopher to help keep us safe on the roads. We hear so much about aggression by motorists towards cyclists. There are also reports of spectators at pro tour races throwing things at the riders, or strewing tacks on the road. That, in addition to everyday hazards such as bad riding surfaces, adverse weather, and the possibility of bonking. We need all the help we can get. Sure, cycling is about self-reliance. But a little assistance from \”upstairs\” doesn\’t hurt, either. Among the many saits, we\’re lucky we have ours, too.            

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RAGBRAI

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RAGBRAI RAGBRAI?! What on earth is that? Oh, those long rides to put on a bucket list! I’ve daydreamed about Adventure Cycling tours. And about riding the Katy Trail. Or at least doing another personal century ride. Now I’ve got another item on the list: RAGBRAI! Although there are moments in that video when I think that RAG-PIE is more like it! The Queen Anne’s lace (those white flowers growing beside the road) is beautiful. I get a big kick out of that Fiddler on Two Wheels. And did you catch the fleeting glimpse of the rider on a penny-farthing? I thought that the video made it look like RAGBRAI is a pretty flat ride. Not so fast. When I actually read about it, I saw that  this year’s route includes well over 14,000 feet of climbing! I guess I’ve never shed my childhood idea of Iowa as endless flat miles of cornfields. Well, come to think of it, I’m sure Iowa isn’t only about corn, just as Louisiana isn’t only about swamps. RAGBRAI sounds like a wonderful ride; but apparently it’s not about “register; show up; and ride”. It’s a sort of lottery. As I understand it, you pay the registration fee; and your name is “put in the hat”. If your name isn’t drawn to be a rider, the fee is returned. It’s too late for this year. But maybe I can dream of riding across Iowa in a few years? 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 © 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 ✍🏻 Facebook Twitter Youtube INTERPRETER

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We Aren\’t Camels

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We aren\’t camels. We can\’t go for days — or even hours — without adequate hydration. You don\’t have to be riding through a landscape like this to have to guard against dehydration. It doesn\’t have to be hot, either. Even in cold weather, when I do my weekly long ride, I use my Camel-Bak. I fill it all the way, and sometimes I don\’t drink more than a third of it. But I think it\’s important that I remain used to riding with the full load, so that the weight doesn\’t come as a shock when the hot season begins. Water alone isn\’t enough. Electrolyte drink is also important, especially if you sweat heavily. You don\’t need to guzzle gallons of water and no electrolyte drink, and develop hyponatremia. Next, how often should you drink? And how much? There\’s a lot of advice out there. Some of it says that thirst is a poor guide; some says the opposite. Some says, if you suddenly start to feel tired or lightheaded, you may be getting dehydrated. (You also might need to eat something!) Finally, when your ride has ended, how do you tell whether you\’ve become dehydrated? When  you get up that morning, after you visit the bathroom but before you dress; or eat or drink anything, weigh yourself. Write it down. Post-ride, empty your bladder and weigh yourself again. If your weight is more than a pound less than is was before you began the ride, you\’re dehydrated. Don\’t forget, we aren\’t camels.  

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