SpokEasy

SpokEasy

Author name: CAL

I\’m Tired of Gray

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I\’m tired of gray skies! Today was another damp, gloomy, gray day. At 59 degrees (4:15 pm) it isn\’t so very cold, but I wouldn\’t mind seeing a little sunshine. It\’s so humid that the carpet in this place feels damp. This morning I felt very tired, so I didn\’t go for a ride. Every cyclist needs the occasional break, anyhow. I\’m tired of gray; and on top of that, the constant threat of rain is driving me crazy. At least it looks like tomorrow\’s rain is most likely starting from early afternoon. That might let me get in my Sunday long ride without getting wet. But showers are expected every day through next Wednesday. Of course that includes New Year\’s Eve and New Year\’s Day. All I can do is hope for the best. And I want to do a long ride tomorrow! I think I can push for 50 miles without overdoing it too much. Winds are forecast to be 5-7 mph, which isn\’t too bad. Of course, I\’ll have a headwind on the way back home! Temperatures in the upper 50s mean I\’ll need the leg warmers and skull cap, but not my heaviest gloves. That\’s always a good thing, because I can manage on-bike eating much more easily if I\’m not wearing thick, heavy gloves. The trouble with a gray sky during any ride is that it makes me feel lethargic. During a long ride it makes things seem harder. I\’ll see how it goes. If I can\’t manage 50 miles tomorrow, I can do another ride on Monday. But how nice it would be if I could wash that gray away!

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Time Is Running Short

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Time is running short. We have only three more days left to accomplish our 2018 cycling goals. Can we make them all? Last Sunday I met my mileage goal for the year: 5000 miles between my two bicycles. Now I want to bring my road bike\’s long-term total mileage to 21,000 by the end of the year. It won\’t be a disaster if I can\’t make it; but I want to try. When I checked my records early this week, I saw that I was getting very close. Now I have just under 50 miles to go; so it looks quite possible. Mileage-wise, that is. The question is, will the weather cooperate? Both tomorrow and the next day, there\’s a 50% chance of rain. New Year\’s Eve has an even greater chance of rain. At least it won\’t be too cold; upper 50s and low 60s. Speaking of rain and riding, have you ever noticed how much harder it is to go out when it\’s already raining; than to get caught in the rain when you\’re miles from home? It seems that, when the latter occurs, I can be philosophical about it. I shrug mentally and think: \”Well, it\’s raining; I can\’t do anything about it\”. That helps me to keep going. I might have to go out in the rain over the next few days. I don\’t like the idea, much less the deed; but as I\’ve already said, time is running short.  

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Sleigh Ride?

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Sleigh Ride Can a sleigh ride also be a bicycle ride? Maybe, if you could find a rider strong enough to pedal a pedicab, equipped with special tires, hitched to said sleigh. The trouble with such an arrangement is this. The only one getting the bike ride, and the exercise, would be the person on the pedicab. I’m not sure I’d like to be either the pedicab rider or the passenger. If the former, I’d be at risk of  overexertion and overheating. I would have to remove layers of clothing; then be ready to put them back on in a hurry as soon as I stopped pedaling. If I were the passenger, I’d get too cold from just sitting there; and the motion of the sleigh would add wind chill. It’s fun to imagine a sleigh ride through the snowy fields, though. And under a full moon! How about a troika? If your fancy doesn’t tend towards the three horse open sleigh,  I suppose that Leroy Anderson had the one horse open sleigh in mind? Here’s another idea. How about a full team of pedicab pedalers to pull the sleigh? Sort of like a dog team during the gold rush in the Yukon. Or one pedicab rider per sled, and see who can get from Point A to Point B the fastest? Maybe they could add that to the Winter Olympics? However you do it, enjoy the ride, and finish up with some scrumptious hot chocolate!

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Pilot

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Did you ever dream of being a pilot? With Christmas just past, no doubt there are a lot of youngsters who are all excited about their brand-new bicycles. Once they get the hang of riding, how many of them imagine that they\’re a cowboy (or cowgirl)? Or a race-car driver, or an airplane pilot? Maybe even a World War II fighter pilot? If you can get past the off-color word \”bastard\”, there\’s a book about B-17 crews and their missions over enemy territory. Crewmen who survived all their required flights became members of The Lucky Bastard Club.  Incidentally, if you happen to be a WWII buff, and come to visit New Orleans, your might want to include the D-Day Museum in your itinerary. It\’s been many years since my one visit there; but it was interesting. On display was a vehicle called a halftrack. It had regular tires in front; and bulldozer-like caterpillar treads in the rear. Now I know where General Halftrack comes from! Getting back to bicycles, how many young \”fighter pilots\” on two wheels are aware that bicycles were used in war? It just goes to show how versatile the bicycle is. Come to think of it, now \”road warrior\” has another meaning!  

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Under the Weather

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I think I\’m under the weather, because I feel a bit like this frowny face right now. At 7:25 am, I was surprised that the sun was out. In a half-hour or so it was overcast again. But rain wasn\’t expected for several hours; so I ran the errand that I skipped yesterday because of predicted rain. Then it didn\’t rain yesterday, after all. I could have gone out! Once back home, I decided to head for the park on my road bike before conditions got worse. The wind was already pretty strong, so I didn\’t want to go on the levee. Before I was halfway to the park, it had begun misting. Then the mist seemed to be turning onto drizzle, which I thought meant that it would start pouring any moment; so I went back home. Shortly after I got there, the wind began to strengthen. A hour or so later it still wasn\’t raining, although the wind kept getting stronger. Now my legs are itching to move; but it isn\’t a good time to go out on a bicycle. The wind is blowing at 28 mph, with gusts up to 35 mph. I\’m on tenterhooks, still expecting it to pour. We\’re currently under a wind advisory. In addition, we\’re under a tornado watch and a flash flood watch. Despite my wanting to jump on that road bike and get in some more miles, it would probably be the better part of wisdom to stay home. But wisdom or not, it makes me feel under the weather. Maybe I\’ll set up the bike in the trainer, once my lunch settles. I don\’t count such \”miles\”; but at least my legs get to move. It helps that frowny face to cheer up a little!

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Oily in the Morning?

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I need my bicycle\’s chain to be oily in the morning. It reminds me of this old joke: Why did the man sleep under the petroleum tank? Because he wanted to get up \”oily\” in the morning. Every two or three weeks, I need to lube to my road bike\’s chain; and if I get rained on a lot, it needs to be done more often. I use a self-cleaning lube, because I\’m tired of having jars of dirty, oily water sitting around. In fact, they\’re still here because it\’s so hard for me to get to a toxic-waste drop-off facility; and I don\’t want any more of them. The general suggestion is that you clean/lube your bicycle\’s chain in the evening; let it sit overnight so the oil can soak in; then hold an old rag or a paper towel (like a shop towel) loosely around the chain while you turn the pedal. This removes excess lube that would only attract dirt and grit that make a chain wear faster. A clean, properly lubricated chain runs better; shifts better; and lasts longer. Sometimes I think I need to attend to my bicycle chain every week, but I\’m too lazy for that. Maybe a good New Year\’s resolution for me would be to take better care of my bicycles\’ chains!

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Apres

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Apres Noel! With Christmas past, I have to try to pull myself out of the holiday haze of goodies. I have some broccoli in the fridge; but it\’s been there a long time, and I fear it\’s no longer fit to eat. I still haven\’t cleaned the carrots I bought several weeks ago; and I hope they\’re still good. At least I kept up my regular riding over Christmas. Today, in fact, I worked on pushing the pace hard. I hadn\’t done that for a while. It wasn\’t the \”force\” workouts; I stayed on the small ring. But for a minute at a time I rode hard, working to stay at 15 mph or more. I did shift onto smaller cogs during these efforts. After each of these intervals, I shifted back to a larger cog and rode easy for two minutes. I hope the weather doesn\’t prevent my riding in the coming days. I need to burn off some calories! Unfortunately the forecast isn\’t too good. It isn\’t expected to be cold; but we\’ve got a flash flood watch for tomorrow. It hope I can get out and ride first; then it may pour. Apres moi le deluge?

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No Pedigree??

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No pedigree? It\’s gotten warm for the time of year. People used to call it a \”weather breeder\”. Does whoever breeds that weather have a proper license? Maybe there\’s something in the expression \”weather breeder\”. The forecast currently shows 30-90% chance of T-storms right through next Sunday. And can you imagine the genealogy table for tomorrow\’s forecast? Showers and T-storms paired with 15-20 mph wind = disgruntled cyclists; myself, for one. I especially want to get in my distance because the road bike\’s total long-term mileage is closing in on 21,000. Only 72.47 miles to go, and I hope to make it by December 31. The bright spot regarding the weather forecast is that I don\’t go back to work until the day after New Year\’s. If it\’s storming early in the morning, I can go out later. Right now NOAA says \”fair\” for my location, but all the same it\’s drizzling on and off; and it sounds like the wind is strengthening as well. I\’m debating whether to run a couple of errands or to stay home. At least I got in my stint on the road bike. Even then the sun was dodging in and out; and a couple of miles before I got back home, the wind suddenly got stronger. Twice I had to stop in order to get a drink of water, because the wind made bike control tricky. It remains to be seen whether the weather will be a \”purebred\” or a \”mutt\”; but it looks like the latter is much more likely: no pedigree.

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Anticipation

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Anticipation is sometimes more fun than the longed-for day itself. Oh, what shall I do tomorrow? I want to go for a ride. Unfortunately there\’s a 30% chance of rain; and there might be some patchy fog. I do not like fog! Shall I ride first; and open my presents when I get back home? Or the other way around? Of the gifts from my sister, I\’m sure one is a book. Its size and shape are a strong hint! Yesterday as I was starting my ride, the Garmin gave me a \”low battery\” message for my speed sensor; and today I tried to change the battery. I got the cover off of the battery compartment; but I couldn\’t get the battery out! I had to go to the bike shop with it. That they were open today is a Christmas present in itself. Normally they\’re closed on Mondays; but since today is Christmas Eve, I had an idea they might be there. I called to be sure, and they said they\’d be open until 2 pm. So off I went; and now my speedometer should be OK. Last week I bought a quart of eggnog (which I drink \”without the nog\”, as my sister says); and I put most of it in smaller jars and froze it. Frozen eggnog is wonderful when it gets thawed enough to be slushy, with big, crunchy  crystals in it. Grab a spoon and dig in! Thinking of enjoying that slush tomorrow is delightful anticipation! Have a wonderful Christmas, full of delights!

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