SpokEasy

SpokEasy

Author name: CAL

Enlighten Me

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Can anybody enlighten me here? What\’s going on with my headlight? When I was out on the road bike this morning, it kept looking like my headlight was going dim. I\’ve had it go very dim on me before; and that\’s annoying, because I have to slow my speed to a crawl. I don\’t want to run into anybody; and I see people out there all the time who are \”un-lit\”. They\’re hard enough to see with 500 lumens going full blast. If I need someone to enlighten me, they need some enlightening, too. So was the light running out of charge; or was it jiggling around a bit and creating the impression of dimness? I wasn\’t sure; but I decided that it would be wise to cut the ride a little short. I didn\’t want to risk having my headlight go too faint for me to see. Before that happened, I finally did a few \”force\” intervals. I\’ve been hesitant to do any this week because I\’ve felt very tired for some reason. It was difficult to keep the intensity for a full minute; and, as usual, the first effort went the best. Peak speed, 20.81 mph. I\’m pleased with that, but it\’s not a record. Several  months ago I hit 21.71 mph! Getting back to the headlight, recently one of its rechargeable batteries stopped holding charge. I ordered two new ones from the manufacturer. I\’d better break them out of their packaging and start using them, before I get left in the dark.

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Katy Trail

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Katy Trail 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.” The Katy Trail first came to my attention in early 2013. A then co-worker, who was originally from Missouri, told me about this route. He had ridden it twice. (I don’t know whether this pic is really the Katy Trail, but it looks nice). It sounded wonderful. There’s an annual organized group bicycle ride that covers the entire length of the trail. The route alternates between East to West one year; and the opposite direction the next. The Katy is one of the Rails to Trails paths, following a former railroad route. I hear that those routes are almost flat, having at most a very slight grade. That’s good news for a spoiled flatlander like me! For the history buff, more than half the Katy follows the route of the Lewis and Clark expedition along the Missouri River. I was considering going for the Katy Trail group ride. Unfortunately this would have meant getting to the trailhead to begin with. I don’t own a car; and transporting a bicycle by air wouldn’t have been so cheap. I was reluctant to bother somebody to drive me up there.   It would’ve meant finding a way to borrow (or — gulp! — buy) camping equipment such as tent and sleeping bag if I don’t want to pay for provided accommodations. If I bought those things, where would I store them? Would I ever use them again? The more I thought about doing the Katy Trail, the more I realized that I could spend several thousand dollars on something that would last about two weeks. That put rather a damper on my enthusiasm; and I decided that I’d be better off spending that money on a road bike. I’ve never regretted the decision; but the Katy Trail is still on my bucket list! 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! You can read all about it in My Story. 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 Think Ten Times! December 9, 2023 Going Farther Afield December 8, 2023 Mini-Ride! December 7, 2023 I Still Can’t Ride! December 6, 2023 Load More TRANSLATOR

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Biking in the Rain

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I\’m biking in the rain; to paraphrase the song. But I don\’t really feel like singing when I\’m out for a ride and it begins to pour. Even if I have a poncho with me, I\’m soaked by the time I can get into it. In warm weather, vigorous exercise and a plastic covering are not a good mix; I get too hot. If I put on the poncho but don\’t pull its hood over my head, the rain runs down inside the poncho\’s neck opening and I get wet through anyhow. It\’s like not having a poncho at all. If it\’s dark as well as raining, reduced visibility is a problem. It\’s especially bad when I have hard efforts planned. Sometimes, however briefly, I get up to 21 mph; and I worry more than usual about the people who are out there with no lights; nothing reflective; and wearing dark clothing. Or course sometimes the rain catches me when I\’m already out riding. Somehow that doesn\’t seem as bad as starting a ride in the rain. Maybe it\’s because I can be philosophical about the former. I can\’t do a thing to stop the rain; so I\’ve got to keep biking in the rain if I want to get back home. In addition, I\’ve gotten some endorphins in my system to help combat the wet-weather blues. There are times when we get a long streak of rain-free days. Then again, we\’ll get seemingly endless spells of rain every day. If the only way I can get my ride is to get wet, I\’ll just have to get wet. And be sure I have a lot of spare socks on hand.

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What a Relief!

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What a relief! All the to-do over Tropical Storm Gordon turned out to be much ado about nothing, at least in my immediate vicinity. It didn\’t even rain much, although we\’ve got showers and thunderstorms in the forecast for a few days. Some areas got hit pretty hard, despite the fact that Gordon never reached hurricane strength; and the storm resulted in at least one death. Regions farther North in Gordon\’s path could get a lot of rain, so the threat isn\’t entirely over. This morning the wind was only 6 mph; and for a change I had it behind me on the way home. What a relief that was! I worked at stints of pushing for 16 or even 17 mph; and for 6.5 miles I averaged 15.55 mph! I think it\’s time now to take things up a notch, and work for 16 mph as a regular thing. By the time I left work the sky had some very stormy-looking clouds; and I was glad to get home without getting wet. It isn\’t raining yet; but I expect it any time.

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NOW I\’m Freezing!

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Now I\’m freezing! It isn\’t unusual for our first cold weather of the season to arrive abruptly. One day it\’s in the 80s; and the next morning it\’s down to 40 degrees! If riding in the heat presents problems, riding in the cold comes with its own set of difficulties. I don\’t want to collapse with hypothermia like that poor bicycle on the left! Where I live, snow; ice; and sleet are extremely rare. A little sleet shuts down the entire city; but when the temperature starts to get much below 60 I really feel it. I always was sensitive to the cold. I guess I should be glad I don\’t live where I\’d need icebike.org. If a humid climate makes heat seem worse, it also makes cold seem worse; the chill seems to penetrate right down to the bones. Post-Katrina I stayed with my sister in eastern Washington State; and there, temperatures in the teens are more comfortable than New Orleans at 40 degrees! When the weather turns \”brisk\”, I bring out the skull cap; leg warmers; and so on. But perhaps the biggest annoyance about cold-weather riding is the way my nose runs; especially if there\’s a wind. If I don\’t want to keep wiping my nose on a glove, the only alternative is the snot rocket. Yes, it sounds disgusting; but what can a body? If I want to keep in shape, I\’ve got to ride in all weathers; even if now I\’m freezing. If only layering could take care of that nose!

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Celebrating!

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I feel like celebrating! I finally got the Home page of my web site restored. I\’d like to know why the image disappeared in the first place, so if it happens again, I\’ll know what to do. I\’ve sure got plenty to learn about keeping a web site going. Aside from that, we\’re all on tenterhooks around here. Tropical Storm Gordon is headed this way. It looks like his main impact will be to the East of us; but those storms can do weird things. In their own way, they\’re as erratic and unpredictable as tornadoes. So I don\’t know whether I\’ll get to ride tomorrow morning. It depends on whether it\’s raining; and how hard; and how strong the wind is. So far there\’s no word from my employer about a closure because of the storm. As things stand now, I have to go to work tomorrow. I do not feel like celebrating about that.

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I\’m Melting!

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I\’m melting! And often it feels like I\’m not merely melting; but dissolving, thanks to our high humidity! Riding in hot weather certainly presents its challenges. For months on end, our overnight low temperatures can be at or near 80 degrees! That\’s one reason I ride so early in the day. When the afternoon heat index is about 100, going for a long ride is unwise. I would have to start by riding only a few miles; and then build up. It seems rather pointless because, by the time I did get acclimated, Fall and cooler weather would be here. I\’d still ride in the morning, too; or I won\’t get enough exercise! Between high temperatures and high humidity, sometimes the heat index rises to the point that a heat advisory is issued; and that\’s when it\’s time to just ride home from work (less than three miles) and stay put. But what about the Sunday long ride, when it will already be hot when I start? I fill up the Camel-Bak; and take along electrolyte drink (such as Zym); prepared the previous evening, and  chilled overnight. I don\’t blast away trying to ride at top speed for the whole ride. In fact, the Sunday ride is about long and steady at a moderate pace. Not working to go too fast helps keep me from overheating too badly; but I still feel like I\’m meltilng. It would help, of course, if I had a cycling path with some shade. But I don\’t; so I take whatever precautions that I can — and do my best to enjoy the ride despite the heat.

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In a Rut

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Don\’t get stuck in a rut! I, for one, can\’t realistically hope to get as fast as the rider shown here; but I do want to improve my pace as much as I can. At least one source I read says, if you want to get faster, don\’t go out and ride at the same intensity day after day. That leads to a cyclist becoming \”a one-speed wonder\”, as someone put it. When I first started riding the adult tricycle, I decided to let speed take care of itself; and for a while, it did. In the early weeks the best I could manage was 5-6 mph. After maybe six months, I was up to about 8 mph. But then I got stuck. After several more months with no further increase in my pace, I realized that I\’d have to start making deliberate efforts to ride faster. For the last several years one of the items on my annual list of goals has been to increase my cruising speed to 15 mph. I always fell short. Then, last November, I began weekly on-bike drills to improve my force (strength). It\’s taken until quite recently, but I\’m finally a little better at riding 15 mph. I do those force exercises only one day a week, which could be why it\’s taken so long for them to have an effect. During July I took a break from them; and on my usual schedule, every third week I skip them; that\’s for recovery. The main purpose of this work to develop more strength for riding faster is, Tour de Cure. But even after TdC is over, I think I\’ll keep the exercises as part of my regular rides. I don\’t want to wind up stuck in a rut.

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Whoa!

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Whoa! This is happening too fast! I knew there was a weather system in the Caribbean that they were watching; but I sure didn\’t expect there to be a tropical storm warning in effect already! I found out when I checked the NOAA site at about 7:45 am. No doubt the weather service wants people to have plenty of advance warning, especially as this is a holiday. People will be out and about, cycling; having barbecues; picnics; perhaps even boating. The boaters will need to get off the water soon! The wind a few hours ago was only about 6 mph (it\’s up to 10 mph now!), so I went out on the road bike and put in 21.2 miles. As all too often happens, I had the wind against me on the way home. Riding in the face of even that amount of breeze often feels like hard work. For a while I worked at holding to 15 mph, but soon ran low on the energy for it. I still need a lot of hard work before I can buck the breeze at 15 mph mile after mile. Even so, I averaged 14 mph! That\’s progress =) Whether you\’re bicycling; or roasting hot dogs over a campfire; or plain old relaxing at home, Happy Labor  Day! And let\’s tell that storm, WHOA!    

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Riding Indoors

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Riding indoors is, to me, a last resort; and I suppose this is what my legs might feel like if I did a truly hard session on a Wattbike: totally burned out. It\’s been months since I climbed aboard a Wattbike. Weekends I\’m busy with errands and the weekly long ride. After work, I\’m rushing home to work on my social media. A short Wattbike session once or twice a week would be beneficial, I think. One of the things a Wattbike does, is to let you see whether your left/right pedal stroke is even. Mine isn\’t as even as I would like. A perfect 50%/50% is very hard to maintain, and for me a L/R \”score\” of 48/52 is very good, indeed. If I\’d just get back on a Wattbike, I could see what wattage I\’m capable of producing. I don\’t remember for sure what it was before, but my peak wattage was in the 200s, I think. It would be interesting to see whether my force exercises have increased that wattage. One of my reasons for hesitating to get back to working on a Wattbike is that I don\’t need it to push my off-bike resistance and core work to the side. I really need those exercises! In addition, I can\’t get to a Wattbike until after I\’m off from \”work-work\” for the day; and by then I\’m tired. Even doing a very short session of 15 minutes means that I don\’t get home until about 6 pm. The Wattbike would be good for a Sunday when the weather is truly terrible. Maybe I\’ll try sometime, even though riding indoors is not my thing.

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