Classic Bicycles Wrap livens up gift-giving. Christmas is a-comin\’; and there are always birthdays! I\’d love to get some of this colorful, embossed paper; but I already have plenty of other wrapping paper. What fun it would be to have bicycle-themed paper to conceal a special gift for the cyclist in your life!
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Today is Black Friday; and sometimes it is, indeed, very black. We hear reports in the news of people being badly injured — or even killed — in the stampedes that ensue as stores open their doors to shoppers. Walmart didn\’t seem to have that problem; or maybe I got there after the main rush. When I checked their hours yesterday, it said that they opened at 5:00 am. I didn\’t leave for the store until at least 7:30. The \”black Friday\” part of it, for me, was the wind. When I set out, it was from the ENE at 21 mph; and when I left the store it was still blowing away. During the ride home, I had to spend a lot of time using my granny gear. I guess I overdid it a bit yesterday, because I felt rather tired. Or maybe it only seemed that way because of that dratted wind. It was worth it, though. I got most of my Xmas shopping done; and now I have to wrap the gifts, and pack them up for shipping. Shipping, incidentally, can cost as much as the gifts; or even more! I\’m glad the forecast for tomorrow shows much less wind than we\’re getting today! I want to head for the salvage store; and I want to take the trailer. When I go to the salvage store, I don\’t know what I might find; and sometimes I come across a bonanza that makes me glad I brought the trailer. Sunday there isn\’t supposed to be much wind; but there is a 40% chance of showers. I don\’t like that, naturally; but I\’ll just have to take my chances. Winter Wheelers is coming up; and I have to stay in shape for it!
Sometimes it seems that I ride to write. Being out on the bicycle can give me blog ideas; and that\’s a good thing. Coming up with blog topics isn\’t always easy; and I need to get ideas from somewhere. One day I\’ll blog about my force intervals; and the next I\’ll write about something unusual that I saw. There was the time that I saw some roseate spoonbills; and it was the first time I saw any outside of a zoo. It made me look twice, I can tell you! It\’s always exciting to spot a bald eagle; and now and then I see a bluebird. The full moon over the river has gotten mention a number of times; and of course I\’m always griping about headwinds! In fact, today I\’m grumbling about headwinds. The forecast I checked last night said, winds SE at 4 mph. That\’s not bad at all; and I wanted to take it at leisurely pace today. On the way home, I thought the wind felt quite strong; and indeed, it was no 4 mph! I l checked the NOAA site after my ride. The wind was 8-10 mph; and has strengthened a bit since I got home. Nothing to Report There was really nothing to report today: no sightings of eagles or roseate spoonbills; and wind is pretty much a given. I ride to write? It didn\’t seem like it this morning. As a rule, I ride short and easy the day after I do force work; but today I made an exception. While I tried to keep my pace easy, I rode 19 miles. It was compensation for the fact that I won\’t be out on the road bike for the next two days. Tomorrow I want to visit Walmart; although not for any Black Friday deals. We don\’t go for expensive Christmas gifts in my family. Then on Saturday, I want to hit the salvage store. I use the hybrid for such errands. I hope I come up with blog material during those trips. That\’s what ride to write is about; and of course I hope the weather is cooperative!
Are a bee\’s knees better than mine? I don\’t know; but my own knees are getting a bit creaky and cranky. Yesterday I had quite a long wait at a bus stop; and to pass the time, I started to do lunges. At repetition number eight, the areas around both knees suddenly began to hurt; so I decided I\’d better knock it off. Does that mean I\’ve been pushing too hard on the bike? Cycling, after all, can be rough on the knees if you try to push too hard a gear, too soon. On top of that, I\’ve had some arthritis in my knees for many years. At the same time, cycling is the bee\’s knees for having fun; and as long as you don\’t push too hard a gear; and your saddle is the correct height; you can pedal for miles without knee pain. Muscle soreness is another story. Some soreness is inevitable if you\’re working to improve your pace; or to develop better force. Maybe that was my knee problem yesterday; but I didn\’t want to take chances. It made me hesitant about doing on-bike force exercises this morning. I began my ride, though; and the discomfort I felt during those lunges seemed absent; so I went ahead and put in some force intervals. It didn\’t seem to cause any problems. Tomorrow is a holiday — Thanksgiving — so I can sleep a few hours later before I go for a ride. The weather outlook is good; and that\’s something to be thankful for. I think I\’ll keep it rather leisurely; and then I\’ll fix me a can can dinner. Naughty? I\’ll skip the dance, though. It looks like it\’s hard on the knees; and it\’s also too risqué for me. At the time the can can first appeared, it was considered most scandalous! One version I heard of its history says that the can can originated among laundresses, who were showing off whose linens were the whitest. Maybe that\’s true; but I didn\’t imagine those laundresses doing more than flipping their skirts up to their knees, if that high. After all, that was the nineteenth century. Apparently many people thought the can can was the bee\’s knees, because the dance is still around. But I\’d rather be riding my bicycle than showing off like that. In my book, it\’s cycling that\’s the bee\’s knees!
Are a bee\’s knees better than mine? I don\’t know; but my own knees are getting a bit creaky and cranky. Yesterday I had quite a long wait at a bus stop; and to pass the time, I started to do lunges. At repetition number eight, the areas around both knees suddenly began to hurt; so I decided I\’d better knock it off. Does that mean I\’ve been pushing too hard on the bike? Cycling, after all, can be rough on the knees if you try to push too hard a gear, too soon. On top of that, I\’ve had some arthritis in my knees for many years. At the same time, cycling is the bee\’s knees for having fun; and as long as you don\’t push too hard a gear; and your saddle is the correct height; you can pedal for miles without knee pain. Muscle soreness is another story. Some soreness is inevitable if you\’re working to improve your pace; or to develop better force. Maybe that was my knee problem yesterday; but I didn\’t want to take chances. It made me hesitant about doing on-bike force exercises this morning. I began my ride, though; and the discomfort I felt during those lunges seemed absent; so I went ahead and put in some force intervals. It didn\’t seem to cause any problems. Tomorrow is a holiday — Thanksgiving — so I can sleep a few hours later before I go for a ride. The weather outlook is good; and that\’s something to be thankful for. I think I\’ll keep it rather leisurely; and then I\’ll fix me a can can dinner. Naughty? I\’ll skip the dance, though. It looks like it\’s hard on the knees; and it\’s also too risqué for me. At the time the can can first appeared, it was considered most scandalous! One version I heard of its history says that the can can originated among laundresses, who were showing off whose linens were the whitest. Maybe that\’s true; but I didn\’t imagine those laundresses doing more than flipping their skirts up to their knees, if that high. After all, that was the nineteenth century. Apparently many people thought the can can was the bee\’s knees, because the dance is still around. But I\’d rather be riding my bicycle than showing off like that. In my book, it\’s cycling that\’s the bee\’s knees!
I got a new toy last week! My road bike\’s computer seemed to be wearing out. After I charged up on a Friday night, the thing gave me a Low Battery warning the following Tuesday; and a charge-up used to last a week! So I got a new one: The readout screen is different from the one on the old Garmin 520. The data show up in different locations on the screen; and I\’m not sure that the chest strap that I already had is compatible with the new device. So far I\’m not getting a heart rate readout; and I entered my zones via my laptop. Do I have to do something with my cell phone? All this technology drives me crazy: apps, programs, and so on. Is this how the older generation felt about telephones when they were the latest thing in communications? Back to my new toy. I might have to bother the bike shop again to figure out how to download my heart rate zones. I\’m not sure which of three apps I need to use; and all this sync stuff makes me feel, well, sunk. Today was a pace-work day; but I\’m not sure I could say I was working on my pace while I was outward-bound. I had a pretty good tailwind; and averaging over 15 mph for 5.5 miles seemed quite easy. Coming back home of course I had a headwind; and averaged only 11.78 mph. According to NOAA, the wind then was from the East, at 18 mph. I find that hard to believe. ME, riding well over 11 mph against an 18 mph wind? A wind like that used to push me back to 8 mph, or even slower. Looks like my force work is finally paying off.
Have I been overfueling my Sunday long rides? For a long time, my strategy was one-sixth of an energy bar every 15 minutes. My go-to favorites for ride food are FitCrunch bars and Met-Rx bars; and usually I finished a ride with one or two pieces of bar left. Yesterday I tried a different strategy: I cut the bars into eight pieces, instead of six. I wanted to see whether the smaller amounts of food would make a difference in my energy level; and whether it would actually be enough food. Maybe eating slightly less on the bike is better. I got home with half of a Met-Rx bar left; and I never felt bonkish during the ride. I was even slightly faster than I was the Sunday before; but that might be a coincidence. Or could it mean that I was overfueling before now; and the excess food was weighing me down? In fact, I burned some 1547 calories; and ate 730 calories. That\’s quite a deficit! Maybe it\’s why I kept feeling a bit hollow all afternoon; and often wanted to eat. At about 7:00 pm I was downright hungry; and it was too early in the evening to wait until the next day to eat! So I turned to a banana with peanut butter, which is usually a pre-ride snack. So I guess I have a new ride-food routine. My mind is also turning over possibilities for savory on-bike foods, instead of nothing but bars. Many of the bars that I use are quite sweet; and on an all-day ride, all sweet food gets to be too much even for me. It\’s a matter of balance: don\’t go overfueling; but don\’t eat too little, either. Quite a learning process!
Overdressed sounds like wearing a tuxedo to the beach, or white tie and tails as gardening attire; and I think I was overdressed for today\’s long ride. At 7:00 am, the temperature was 66 degrees. I wore leg warmers; a long-sleeved blouse; a skull cap; and a cycling jacket. This outfit is fine for such weather when I\’m riding before daylight, and for only an hour or so; but today it reached the mid-70s before I got back home. I was almost too warm by the time I finished. It was overcast a good part of the time; and that kept it from getting quite so hot. Today I pushed for a few more miles than I did last Sunday; and I surprised myself by riding a bit faster than last week. If I can ride 44.3 miles in 3:19:46 of pedaling time, how long will it take me to ride 100 miles? Theoretically, I estimate 7.5 hours of pedaling time; but mind you, that\’s in theory. Today the wind was only 4-5 mph; but I might not be as lucky on event day! When I have a headwind of 10 mph or more, it wreaks havoc on my pace. On top of that, I don\’t think it\’s wise of me to try to jump from 44 miles to 100 all of a sudden. I certainly don\’t want to be overdressed for a century ride. I got almost too warm on a ride of less than 45 miles; and 100 miles will give me that much more time to get overheated! Then again, I remember my first century, when I couldn\’t get warm. I had to make detour to home so I could get another layer. I don\’t think I was overdressed then!
I wish my glasses had windshield wipers. They\’d be very handy when I\’m out for a ride, and get caught in the rain. Even light precipitation makes a mess of lenses; and in a heavy downpour, I can hardly see a thing. It\’s ironic that I have to take my glasses off then, so that I can see. I\’m lucky that my vision really isn\’t too bad; 20/40 without glasses; and mild astigmatism. If anything, fog is worse than rain. Windshield wipers would be great when I run into a patch of mist; and suddenly am almost blind. Fog is also most galling when I\’m trying to push my pace; and am forced to slow down because of visibility problems. I wonder, is it possible to install battery-powered wipers on a fairing? I\’ve seen bents that have these screens; but honestly I have no plans at present to try a bent. I have nowhere to keep one! It looks like I won\’t have problems with either rain or fog for a few days; so I should be able to see. There\’s a slight chance of rain Sunday night; and a chance of showers on Thanksgiving. But the weather is trying to get colder. Night before last the temperature dropped to the lower 50s. Sunday\’s high is forecast to be well into the 70s; but next Monday night they\’re predicting a low of 45. As if that weren\’t enough, the wind will be 10-15 mph. The mere thought of it makes my nose feel sniffly. Fortunately a runny nose doesn\’t fog up my glasses. And I hope this run of dry weather continues. Sometimes we have spells when it seems like it will never stop raining; and I don\’t have windshield wipers.
The BelVita Sandwich is something many of us long for: a sandwich that\’s easy to slip into a pocket! Two golden oat breakfast biscuits hold creamy peanut butter; each sandwich can provide energy for as long as four hours. Free of artificial sweeteners; no high-fructose corn syrup. Certified kosher. If you\’d rather skip the \”PB\”, try BelVita Breakfast Biscuits! I\’ve tried both the BelVita Sandwich, and the biscuits. If I want only a tiny snack, one of the biscuits is a better choice for me. If I want something a bit heavier, the sandwich fits the bill. The BelVita products don\’t seem to make good ride food for me. When I\’m pedaling for three hours and more, I need something with more substance; and turn to various protein bars. They might work great for another rider; as usual, experiment and see what works for you. Here\’s an experiment I haven\’t tried yet: BelVita instead of whey protein after my Sunday long ride. Sometimes I need a break from the usual!