SpokEasy

Author name: CAL

Strange Appetite

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I guess I\’ve got a strange appetite. Some time ago, I blogged about \”you are what you eat\”. That was in reference to sunblock; but some of the food I fix might seem outlandish. I\’ve been working to keep prediabetes at bay; and that led me to this book: On page 151 is the recipe for \”Hoppin\’ John\”; and I ended up devising many variations on it. I tried different kinds of legumes; different cheeses; quinoa instead of rice; and different colors of bell pepper (but still not green!). Half the fun was inventing crazy names for my inventions: Leapin\’ Leo, Tardy Turtle, and so on. But that\’s not on-bike food. I can\’t ride no-handed while I use both hands to eat; so I have to leave Tardy Turtle, or whatever, at home. On-bike food must be things that are easy to grab and pop into my mouth. That means plenty of bar-type foods. Maybe it\’s good that I have a strange appetite! Over the years I\’ve tried many different bars as ride food; and naturally have settled on some favorites. I liked Clif Bar Sierra Trail Mix; but the nutritionist advised me to phase out Clif Bars. They\’re high in carbs, but low in protein. FitCrunch Birthday Cake is a favorite; but I\’ve run out of them. For a while, I found plenty of them in the grab-bag bins at the salvage store; and getting those bars on the cheap sure spoiled me! I hope I find some next time I visit the salvage store. What\’s in Store? I love that place because I never know what I might find; and it\’s fun to explore the aisles, looking for new things. When you\’re trying to eat on the cheap, having a strange appetite is useful! I hope I find almond milk on my next visit; and this time I won\’t have to worry about produce. Today I made a run to the regular supermarket before I went to work. I was worried that such a trip might be cutting the time too close; but I decided that I would never know unless I tried it. So I did; and it worked out fine! It helped that I went to the store early, before many other customers were there; and I didn\’t buy too many things. I was back home by 6:40 am; and that gave me enough time to get ready to ride to work without frantically rushing around. I\’ve got a feeling that this will become a regular routine. I can get the produce that I need to keep my diet on track; and still devote Saturday mornings to the salvage store!

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The Last Straw

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It would be the last straw if I had to leave my bicycles out in the weather. I\’m lucky that I can bring mine indoors; but if I can ever build a shed for them, I think I\’d like to try this: In fact, I used to have a copy of this book; but finally had to weed it out of my collection. It seemed highly unlikely that I\’ll ever be able to tackle this; and straw-bale construction does need special consideration in a humid climate. Our average annual rainfall is five feet! If I moved to a dry climate, it might make more sense. Reading \”Serious Straw Bale\” reminded me somewhat of the \”soddies\” on the frontier. It also, of course, made me think of the story of The Three Little Pigs! Maybe the first pig\’s house was merely a heap of straw? That\’s how I always pictured it; but if the pig\’s house had been made of bales, it might have withstood the wolf\’s blowing. If I had my own place I could try building a bicycle shed like this, even if I can\’t construct an entire house. I also dream of having a system for collecting rainwater; and maybe some solar panels, too. Oh, if only I were younger — and rich — and more mechanically inclined! Or maybe it\’s all mere pipe dreaming; like my notions of doing a long bicycle tour! I don\’t have a touring bicycle; or camping equipment; and group tours can be too expensive for my budget. Maybe someday. Even if I never get to do that long tour, I hope I never have to give up riding. That would really be the last straw!

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Hootenanny?

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Last night I thought of \”hootenanny\” when I heard owls! I think they were barred owls; and it sounded like two of them calling back and forth. For some reason, I thought that hootenanny was a hippie-like person who was a jobless bum and a troublemaker; but it’s not a person at all! Maybe I have vague memories of my parents using the term in that way; and things like that stick. And the \”hooten\” part of the word does does sound like hollering to me. It’s rare for me to hear owls where I live; but I like them. Now and then I hear an owl when I’m out riding before dawn; and an owl’s call would have been most suited to this morning’s view of the crescent moon. I only have a day or two more to enjoy that moon; so I hope the weather cooperates. Today I worked on my pace again; and tried four-minute intervals of pushing for at least 15 mph. On the way out, I did three sets of three. Homeward-bound, I started to fade big time during the second interval; so I “just rode” the rest of the way home. As usual, that makes me feel like a wimp. It happened last Tuesday, too! How am I ever going to improve my pace if I don\’t push through the discomfort more often? There was almost no wind this morning, and of course that was a big help. I\’m going to get spoiled if it keeps up! Wednesdays I usually do my force efforts; so no hootenanny for me tonight!

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Is It Fall?

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IS it Fall; or isn\’t it? I can\’t rely on the leaves to tell me. We don\’t get this spectacular foliage in the Autumn; so there\’s no leaf-peeping here. We\’re getting some temperature swings; and that, at least, is typical of both Fall and Spring. This morning it was cool enough that I wore leggings for the ride to work. I like them better than slacks for riding, because there aren\’t loose cuffs to worry about. By the time I left work, it was 72 degrees; and tonight it\’s supposed to go down to 56 degrees. Leg warmers for the morning ride, among other cold-weather gear. Then up to 74 tomorrow afternoon. That\’s why I ask: IS it Fall? Actually, weather like this year-round would be ideal; especially for the weekly long ride. When it\’s already 80 degrees at 5 am, I get very hot during that ride; and I wonder whether I\’m truly properly acclimated for it. But for now, I\’ll think about enjoying this weather while we have it, because it won\’t last long. The century bug is still buzzing around me; and it would be great if I could do it before we get our first real cold front. I don\’t think it\’s wise to go for it yet, though. Yesterday I rode 37.4 miles; and my roll time was 2:48:55 (total time 3:10:01). From there to 100 miles is a big jump; both mileage-wise and time-wise. I suppose it would be possible to do it. Once I read an article about century rides that said, it\’s possible to do double or even triple your weekly long mileage in one day; but I\’d prefer to work up to it more. After all, Pride goeth before a fall!

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Neither Fish Nor Fowl

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This weather at present is neither fish nor fowl; especially when I\’m indoors at home! In this place, which has no central climate control, it\’s chilly enough for me to want to use my electric heater (the \”fish\”). At the same time, it isn\’t cold enough for such a heater to keep running (the \”fowl\” — or should I say \”foul\”?) It drives me crazy. I don\’t want to use warming packs indoors, because I need to keep them for outdoor rides when it gets colder; and rest assured, it will get colder at some point. Even New Orleans gets freezing temperatures sometimes! Hot chocolate? The trouble with hot drinks is that they warm me up only briefly; and I\’ve got to be mindful of my A1c levels. Ergo I have to take it easy with chocolate; whether hot or cold. Of course physical activity helps to warm a body up; and it isn\’t good for me to sit with a laptop for prolonged periods. On the other hand, who wants the \”Phys Ed\” of housework all day? Cycling can get me warm; but I can\’t go full-tilt for hours on end. In a strong, cold headwind, it\’s hard to get warm at all; and my feet often stay cold, anyhow. At least the warming packs help keep my hands from getting too cold. That\’s outdoor cycling, though. How about indoor cycling? Pedaling while fastened in place sure makes me warm — too warm! It doesn\’t matter if it\’s literally freezing cold in here; I have to have the window unit and the ceiling fan blowing on me so I don\’t overheat; and the whole business is exercise, yet not exercise. Neither fish nor fowl, you could say. Nice Change Today\’s long ride was a nice change. It was cool; but not too cool. The sky was clear; and at least on the outward leg of my ride, the wind was calm. That\’s most unusual. By the time I turned around to head home, there was a bit of a breeze; but I\’m glad it wasn\’t a 14-mph wind. My average speed today was actually a little faster than last week\’s; and over the same route. For a short while I was moving at 15 mph! Have I gotten stronger at last? Another nice change was that I didn\’t need to take a bath in sunblock. It was cool enough for long sleeves and leg warmers; and I needed sunblock only on my face. On the way home, I twice passed tandem riders heading in the opposite direction. I\’ve never tried the \”Daisy Bell act\” myself; but it looks like a lot of fun! Now it\’s time for some lunch; and since I\’m talking neither fish nor fowl, I\’ll settle for Tardy Turtle.

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The Kitchen Sink

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Everything but the kitchen sink! I often feel like that\’s what I\’m taking along for a long ride. To begin with, I fill the Camel-Bak\’s reservoir with water. In addition to that, I cram a cable lock; tube of Chamois Butt\’r; and a roll of bathroom tissue into the Camel-Bak\’s largest pocket. Why the lock? I never know when I might have to make a stop where I need to secure the bicycle; so I put up with the extra weight on my back. I take my cell phone, too. In case of an emergency, I\’ll need it! I put the phone in the Camel-Bak, too, because I need room on my bike\’s top tube for my \”feed bag\”. More and more stuff; and I\’m not even ready to get on the bike yet! For long rides, of course I need to take on-bike food with me; and usually that means more than will fit in the top-tube pouch. My second bag of cut-up bars goes into the Camel-Bak\’s smallest pocket; and thanks to all the other stuff already packed, that can be a tight fit. For rides longer than 30 miles, especially in hot weather, I\’ll take along a spare tablet for electrolyte drink. I don\’t always use it; but if I need it, I\’ll have it. Which brings me to another point. I take a spare bottle of water in the cage on the seat tube. When the temperature is 80 degrees at 5:00 am, I need that extra water; and I can refill the bottle at my pit stop. This is starting to feel like everything but the kitchen sink! More Stuff I haven\’t even gotten to clothing yet. When the weather turns cold enough for layering, what can I do if I start to feel too warm? The obvious answer seems be: take off a layer and stuff it into the Camel-Bak. But the \”obvious\” isn\’t always practical. I\’ve already mentioned how crammed my Camel-Bak gets. It does have a large pocket for holding a helmet; but unfortunately this pocket doesn\’t zip closed. I don\’t need to have a rolled-up jacket work its way out of there as I\’m riding! Then there\’s the under-saddle pack. It, too, is quite crammed. I keep a tube of sunblock in there; along with a spare tube for the bike; CO2 cartridges; a small tool kit; and some GU-Gels. It\’s no wonder I feel like I\’m dragging along everything but the kitchen sink. Getting ready for that weekly long ride feels like preparing to go on safari.

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Bear Creek

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Bear Creek Creamy Potato Soup warms you up on chilly days. Quick to prepare in a microwave oven; and tastes \”just like Mom\’s!\” This is one of 15 delicious flavors available. Pack of six. I found a single serving of this in the salvage store once; and got it to try. I don\’t have a microwave; but it actually works fairly wave to cook it on the stovetop. I just poured the soup mix into some boiling water; and heated it for 4-5 minutes while I stirred it. I frankly get tired of seeing so many cook-in-microwave things in stores; and it\’s nice to find ways to get around it — as I did with Bear Creek.

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To a T

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Green tea was not to a T yesterday. Some things suit me to a T, as the saying goes; but my attempt to use green tea and not buy a Diet Coke didn’t go well. Maybe the tea has less caffeine than the cola. Whatever it was, I still felt tired and groggy, despite a mini-cola before I left for work; and got the 20-oz soda anyway. This has happened many a time; and as I’ve been telling myself for years, I’ve got to do better than that. I finally prodded myself into some price-checking. Two of those tea bags costs about $0.67; a 16-oz soda in most vending machines here costs $1.75! If I regularly drink the tea, and skip the soda, I save a bit over a dollar a day! Over the course of a year, that’s $300! Another Attempt Today I tried again; and it went better. I had a mini-Diet Coke before I left for work; but that was it for the day! I took green tea along with me; and managed to stick with it. I kept the soda bottle from yesterday, and rinsed it out. When it gets dry, I can put a penny into it to represent each soda that I did not buy out of machine! The savings will certainly suit me to a T; but I need to find some kind of incentive. Save towards some new bicycle gadgetry? Of course I can use the money to buy groceries; or even put it towards retirement! Wind conditions today definitely did not suit me to a T; or to any other letter, either. It was blowing strongly; and I decided to be wimpy yet again, and went to the park to ride. I also had to cut it short, because I got going some 15 minutes late. I still don\’t have my hybrid back; so forget going to the salvage store tomorrow. In fact, I think I\’ll order groceries online. It\’s more expensive than going to the store myself, but I need quite a few things; and some items don\’t do well when carried a long way in a backpack. This evening I finally got Internet back. That was a major relief, because I can\’t do anything without it! Sure, I can read books; but I can\’t blog; and that\’s maddening. Neither can I check the weather forecasts. This morning I had no idea what the temperature was; nor how strong the wind was. So I had to guess; and leg warmers; vest; jacket; and full-fingered gloves proved to be a good guess. Down to the low 50s tonight. It feels like Fall!

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Wimp Again!

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I was the wimp again Tuesday morning. Same old story, right? I intended to work at 4-minute intervals of pushing for at least 15 mph. Outward bound, I did OK, even though my legs felt rather sore; but coming back home, I could hardly do anything! For the first effort on that half of the ride, I couldn’t sustain it for a full 4 minutes; and after that I was reduced to intermittent efforts that lasted 30 seconds, at most. I had a headwind, and it seemed pretty strong. As I found out afterwards, the wind was not as strong as I thought. It felt like a 10-12 mph wind; and it was only 5-6 mph. Then yesterday we got some get some rough weather; including strong wind! In fact, I thought I might be the wimp again today and ride laps around the park. Gusts up to 30 mph are no joke when I’m up there on top of the levee! I often do my \”force\” workout on Thursday; but this week I switched it around. I knew that wind conditions today were likely to be really tough; and sometimes it doesn\’t do to be \”tough\”. Addendum Friday, October 29, 2021: well, I need to make an addendum here. I came home yesterday to an Internet outage; and was unable to complete this blog. I only got Internet back a few minutes ago (about 6:05 pm). Back to the wimp again subject. Yesterday morning the wind wasn\’t bad yet; but I rode in the park anyhow. When I got on the bike, my legs said, \”NO! We\’re not going up that access ramp!\” I decided to go to the park, and make it a recovery-type ride. It\’s surprisingly hard to stay in heart rate Zone 1; and getting a water bottle in and out of its cage sends my heart rate into Zone 2! By late morning a wind advisory went into effect; and when the wind is that strong, I\’m actually glad if I didn\’t ride to work!

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Crystal Ball

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I wish I had a crystal ball. Don’t we all? Especially when it comes to the timing of an important ride. It’s maddening to spend months working up to a century; and when the target date arrives, it’s pouring rain. Or there’s a strong wind that will sap  our energy. If our planned century is self-supported, we can wait and do it the next day; but if it\’s an organized ride, we\’re out of luck. We have to bite the bullet and do it that day; or miss out entirely. A crystal ball would have been useful today. Last night and this morning, the forecast predicted rain and T-storms this afternoon; but the weather kept me guessing. Was I going to need the poncho for the walk home, or not? When I went out on the road bike, it was overcast. By midmorning, the sun was coming out; but by late morning the wind had strengthened considerably. There was a report of a tornado at the Texas/Louisiana border; and I figured our bad weather was on the way. A tornado watch was issued early in the afternoon; and I kept an anxious eye on the sky for the next few hours. It got more and more overcast; and for a while it rained quite hard. I\’m glad it stopped raining by the time I left for home. I got home dry; and now I\’m waiting to see what\’s going to happen. I wish it would storm and get it over with! This waiting drives me crazy. It\’s a good thing I rode this morning! It isn\’t wise to ride with a severe weather threat; but if I had that crystal ball, I\’d know what\’s in store. Oh, wait … I hear thunder now!

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