SpokEasy

SpokEasy

Author name: CAL

Just a Number

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I agree: age is just a number. Do you think you\’re \”too old\” to ride a bicycle? Especially if you\’re a beginner? Fear not. Cycling is for all ages. I rode very little as a kid; and started again at age 51! At the time I had some issues with dizziness, so I got an adult tricycle; I didn\’t dare trust myself on two wheels. Maybe it was all the vigorous exercise; but after about two and a half years of pedal pushing the weird, wobbly sensations in the middle of my head seemed much reduced. I had become very interested in long-distance cycling; and long rides would be faster and easier on two wheels. That\’s when I got a hybrid bicycle. Not quite a year later, I added a road bike to my \”fleet\”. Soon after that I let the tricycle go; the guys at the bike shop had warned me months earlier that the trike was \”on its last legs\”. In fact, they said they had never know anyone to wear out an adult tricycle. Well then, I was the first! I tracked my mileage almost from the start. Now my trike + hybrid + road bike grand total is over 42,000 miles! Shall we light the candles and celebrate; even though it\’s not my birthday? Because, as we know, age is just a number.

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Heads Up!

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Just a heads up here. I wanted to let you all know that threewheelstwowheels.org, my \”pre-SpokEasy\” site, if you will, may not be available now. I decided it would be a good idea to have a \”goof-off\” site where I could tinker to my heart\’s content; and not have to worry that I\’d ruin SpokEasy. After giving it some thought, I decided to switch threewheelstwowheels from Weebly® to WordPress®. I\’m trying to set it up as nearly identical to SpokEasy as possible, so I can practice slide-building and whatever else I chose to do. It\’s rather a headache, because I\’ve forgotten so much of what I did while getting SpokEasy set up. It will be worth it, though; and now that I\’ve finished revising SpokEasy, I\’ll be able to put in some time on it. But — just a heads up — maybe not tomorrow. Tomorrow I\’ll be getting ready for Tour de Cure!

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You Call THAT Riding?

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You call that riding? Pedaling in a trainer isn\’t \”riding\”; but there\’s still a chance of T-storms for the next hour or two; and I didn\’t want to go out and get caught in the rain. I just lubed the road bike\’s chain day before yesterday; and I don\’t want to have to do it again so soon. I didn\’t want to miss riding entirely; and not knowing what the weather might do, I hooked the hybrid into the trainer and pedaled for a half hour. It was better than nothing; but I took it very easy and hardy broke a sweat. You call that riding? I don\’t! I\’m glad I don\’t need to resort to using the trainer very often. It is B-O-R-I-N-G as you-know-where, and makes thirty minutes seem endless. \”Riding\” indoors might be more interesting if I had one of these Computrainer Lab  set-ups; but who has $1800 just lying around for the spending? In addition, if the screen for that system is as big as it appears to be in the pic, I don\’t have room for it. And is it, essentially, a wide-screen TV that would require my paying for cable? I can do without that, thank you very much. Once again, it\’s back to the old make-do-with-what-you-have, even if it\’s not exactly fun. The sun will come out again, and then I can go for a real ride!

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Rats!

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Oh, rats! I\’m really disappointed. It must be almost a month since I special-ordered a bag of Skratch (with raspberries) from a local bike shop. Yesterday I called and asked whether it had come in yet. The person I spoke with said, to my dismay, that the raspberry flavor is no longer being made. Rats, shucks, durn it, and so on. I love raspberry; and \”with Raspberries\” was my favorite Skratch. I have just enough of my old bag of Skratch Raspberry left for one 16-oz bottle of water; and I\’m keeping it for Tour de Cure. Then I must try another flavor. Either that, or stick with Nuun. I hope it stops raining soon, so I can ride to that bike shop; but rain, thunderstorms, and possible high winds are expected until late morning. I\’d rather not ride outdoors in such conditions; and I\’m glad that TdC is not today. If it were, it would be a miserable ride!

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Always Looking for Vindication

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Always looking for vindication, Part II: To continue with yesterday\’s list: #15: Oh, the \”cyclist\’s tan\”! Pale hands with tanned arms; and a clear demarcation where the legs of your shorts end.  #16: Some say that the grease mark on the right leg is a sure sign of a newbie. Not necessarily. There are still times when my leg makes contact with that chain. #17: My walking route to work (~1 mile) and my preferred cycling route to work (~2.8 miles) take roughly the same about of time. I\’d rather ride my bike to work just because I like to ride. #18: MapMyRide? Well, maybe someday.  #19: Taking good care of cycling clothing makes sense, because it\’s not cheap! #20: Smooth legs aren\’t as important as smooth pedaling! #21: I used to be quite particular about inflating my tires before every ride but have found that every two rides is often adequate. #22: I\’ve got a reflective vest that is downright gaudy! #23: What kind of time do they mean? A weekly 50-miler, or 4-hour hammerfests three times a week? #24: My saddle is comfortable enough, but would it not be if I went into serious training? #25: My Saturday rides are usually grocery runs. But I start my long Sunday rides before a lot of folks are even up. #26: What are hills? #27: Luckily I don\’t need a physical therapist — so far. #28: I don\’t have any jeans, so of course I have more cycling shorts than jeans. #29 – #31: As a renter I can\’t repaint my place; but my bicycles stay indoors when I\’m not riding! Who cares whether they match the walls?  #32: I try hard to remember to unclip before I\’ve lost all momentum, but I suppose this might happen someday. #33: That wouldn\’t be my approach. I know not everybody can drop several grand on a bicycle; and for a beginner I\’d advise against it. Get a \”work pony\” such as a hybrid. It\’s more stable than a \”fancy trotter\” of a road bike. #34: Aerodynamic shopping carts? I\’ve used enough shopping carts that don\’t even roll properly! #35: Fortunately I haven\’t had this bad a fall … yet … Can you add anything more to this list?  

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Spooked? Or Spoked?

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Spooked? Or Spoked? Are we spooked? Or spoked? Happy Hallowe’en, everybody! Today is a great day for a “spirited” ride.  Just don’t let the spooks get into your spokes!  Watch that you don’t get gremlins in your derailer, either. I don’t think I’ll dress up to ride … aren’t I scary enough as it is?   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; and I hope I can provide a bit of inspiration.   Along the way, I got into blogging; presenting my kitchen experiments; and even setting up a store. You can visit my Facebook page here; or check into my Twitter (aka X) page, Cyclo_Pathy. 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 ✍? Facebook Twitter Youtube Legs Are Feeling It October 29, 2024 Not the Chain! October 28, 2024 Have I Derailed? October 27, 2024 On the Edge October 26, 2024 Load More TRANSLATOR

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Always Looking for Vindication!

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Are we always looking for vindication? How many lists such as this does it take any rider to convince him/her that, \”Yes, I\’m a true cyclist\”? #1: It\’s a long time since I last rode with a local group; but I found it hard to recognize many of the other riders when they weren\’t wearing helmet and sunglasses. #2: My dishwasher, just for the record, is called a pair of hands. And yes, water bottles do become scruffy-looking rather quickly. I don\’t care about that, as long as they\’re clean inside. #3: I\’m still not sure I\’ve found the \”perfect\” ride food/drink. I\’ve experimented with it, and have discovered that some things, while tasty. lack the \”oomph\” needed during a long ride! #4 & #5: I don\’t qualify here. I haven\’t had a car for nearly 16 years! #6: YES!! #7: I haven\’t reached the point of posting FB pics of me, but gosh, that\’s some gorgeous landscape! With the Matterhorn! #8 & #9: Again, I don\’t drive a car, and try to not have to ride alongside traffic too much; precisely because there are some crazy drivers out there. #10: When I go to the salvage store (a discount grocery), I do wear cycling shorts. It\’s a round trip of over 9 miles; and especially when it\’s hot, cycling shorts are more comfortable. #11: I avoid gyms because of my sensitivities to \”fragrances\”; and because I don\’t enjoy the loud \”music\”. #12: Bouncing in the saddle? You need to work at developing a smoother pedal stroke; and yes, probably a harder gear. #13: I probably need some group rides that will challenge me to ride a bit faster. Guess I\’ll have to put that on my bucket list! #14: Travel costs too much, so I\’m quite the one for \”staycations\”. But I\’d like to do another 100-miler, even if it\’s all on my own. Continued later.

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Slippery?

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This sure feels slippery. I\’ve been at it yet again. I\’m toggling back and forth between the slide builder and the web site; and working on the spacing of the various elements of each slide. It\’s turning out to be quite a lot to do. I was working on the first slide of the For All Cyclists gallery, and when I checked it in the actual web site, the text was difficult or impossible to read! The problem was that the pic had too many different colors in it. A uniform color of text blended in too well with the background in some places no matter what color I made it. I finally decided that I needed to get rid of that slide and build a new one. If I might say so, the new one looks much better. If nothing else, it\’s much easier to read. The same goes for the second slide. The text blends in too well, no matter what color I make it. Luckily there are web sites chock-full of pics that are free, so I\’ll be sure to find something suitable. I\’m so glad I\’m on vacation; it gives me plenty of time to work on this slippery problem.

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Urgent Question

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Here is an urgent question: Are we cyclists; or aren\’t we? Am I, myself, a cyclist? If being a cyclist has to mean a $5K bicycle gracing the home, count me out. I don\’t have that kind of money to spend on a bicycle; or on anything else. If being a cyclist means reading about cycling; planning a week\’s rides every Sunday; and feeling \”off\” when you miss a day of riding, I\’m in! It\’s interesting to read The Cyclist\’s Training Bible, even I can\’t really train that way. The book seems to be aimed primarily at riders training for racing; but it does discuss structured training, which is important for any cyclist who wants to improve. For me, that means increasing my cruising pace. To do that, I began doing \”force intervals\” once a week; far in advance of the upcoming Tour de Cure. I\’ve described those exercises before: I shift into harder and harder gears until my cadence (rpm) is slowed to about 50. Then I work to jam it up to 70 rpm. I began with 10-second intervals, and at first it took most of those 10 seconds to reach 70 rpm! Over time, I lengthened the intervals until I was at 60 seconds or more. Oops! I\’m drifting off the subject here. Let\’s get back to the urgent question. You don\’t train for bicycle racing; and you don\’t do interval workouts? That\’s OK. Do you happen to be the \”from point A to point B\” type of rider? I\’d say don\’t let that get to you. You still ride a bicycle, right? That\’s the important thing. It\’s what makes you a cyclist!

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Vacation!

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Yes, I\’m on vacation. I chose to take it now partly because of \”use it or lose it\”; and partly because I want to get some R&R in advance of TdC.  This view is so relaxing! It would be wonderful to be able to get away to something like that; but unfortunately such a trip is a bit beyond my budget. Just now I can\’t afford to be away from riding my bicycle, anyway. Tour de Cure is only a few days away; and I must stay in condition. Today, Monday, is my usual off-bikes day. Tomorrow through Thursday I plan to do \”pace\” rides. But no \”force\” intervals! My pace has improved as much as it will before TdC. Doing very hard workouts at this point will likely do more harm than good. Then, on Friday, I\’ll do a short and easy ride. After TdC, of course, I can start the force intervals again if I want to. I\’ve already gathered my on-bike food for the big day; and am planning my clothing for the ride. The weather forecast has changed since yesterday; no surprise there. Yesterday it said, wind 5 mph; and now it says 10 mph. Temperature between 58 ad 74; and sunny. Well, I think I\’d rather have a 10 mph wind all the way back to the venue than rain. Meanwhile, I\’m having a working vacation trying to improve my web site!

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