SpokEasy

Author name: CAL

Back to Basics

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Back to Basics is a guide to many old-time skills. Learn gardening and cheesemaking; off-grid living; and much more! Take a look into the world before power tools and convenience foods took over! Sometimes I wish I could learn these things, especially gardening; and in fact there\’s a community garden not far from where I live. For the time being, however; it\’s closed. Even if it were open, when can I go there? I have to go to work every day. And, am I physically capable of the work involved in keeping a garden? Do I need to provide my own gardening tools if I use a community garden? If I do, where can I keep them? Gardening leads quite naturally to canning and freezing; and, I hope, a reduced grocery bill! But not right away. It takes time for a garden to get going well; and the beginner should start with only a few things. Thomas Jefferson is supposed to have said that, although he was an old man, he was still a young gardener. That makes me a not-yet-born gardener! The catch with these old-time skills is that they take, well, time; and many of us don\’t have that time. As long as I\’m still in the workforce, trying to keep a garden would mean scant time for cycling. Yes, I\’d like to go Back to Basics, and learn these things; but not at the expense of my riding!

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Skinflint or Spendthrift?

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Am I a skinflint or a spendthrift? I seem to have traits of both; and I\’m not sure which side of me is the stronger! This morning I rode to the salvage store again; and took the trailer. Riding the bicycle meant no bus fare; and that\’s a skinflint trait. Sometimes, after I get back home from such an expedition, I pull out my sales slip; and look up online prices for the things that I bought. It\’s slow and tedious; but I do need to have some idea of what I\’m spending; and of how much I\’m saving. Today\’s bill was nearly $55; and that\’s easily my largest total at the salvage store so far. It makes me feel very much like a spendthrift! But I did save at least something on most items. As usual, I made a beeline for the grab-bag bins; and I found three Supreme Protein bars, plus two FitCrunch bars. It\’s been a while since I found any, so of course I was delighted. I also found several other items that I can use for ride food; and the savings on those bars was almost $19.00. Another point for skinflint! Sometimes I\’ll save only a few cents on a particular item; and sometimes what I buy at the salvage store costs more than it would elsewhere. When I discover that in my price-checking, I do not feel like a tightwad at all! I don\’t have a car; using a bicycle costs far less, and spares me the expense of a gym membership. But cycling clothes are expensive, and I probably spend at least a hundred dollars a year that way. So am I skinflint, or a spendthrift?

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Normal?

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Are things getting back to normal? Today my trash got picked up! The usual days are Wednesday and Saturday; but I put the trash can out early this week. It was pretty full; and I didn\’t want to miss the pick-up when it did come. The pharmacy I use definitely is not normal for the time being. Temporarily, they close at 5:30 pm; and aren\’t there on weekends! To complicate matters, a few days ago I received a text message that I had two refills ready for pick-up. I waited through a long line; and then found out that the message was from the store I had used while I was in Spokane! Now I can\’t get my meds until Monday. It was already 5:30 pm when I finally got home; and I discovered that I was hungrier than I thought. Supper was quick and lazy: garbage soup over sourdough bread. There were already enough dishes to be washed; and I didn\’t want to generate any more if I didn\’t have to. I\’m planning a ride to the salvage store tomorrow; as usual for Saturday. I think it\’s a good idea to use the trailer whenever possible, because I might find a good buy on something big and bulky. If not for that trailer, I would have lost out the time I found 48-roll packs of bathroom tissue! That\’s a rare find. For Sunday, of course, I have a long ride in mind. Last Sunday my legs felt tired; and maybe I should stick to 29-30 miles for this ride. Or do I need to push it a little more? Yesterday I began doing \”force intervals\” again. It\’s not too soon for that, is it? I always wonder whether I\’m doing the right thing. That\’s normal — isn\’t it?

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Voice Power

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Voice Power Voice power isn’t always about the glass-shattering high C of the coloratura soprano. Ringing my bicycle’s bell sometimes doesn’t seem to attract attention; but when I call out, “Bicycle!” it’s more likely to get people’s notice. That’s especially true when there’s more than one person; and they’re all busy talking. It’s often even harder to get the attention of people whose heads are buried in texting. That’s why it’s a good idea to use both bell and voice. You don’t have to shout at the top of your lungs; but voice power doesn’t have to mean that. All the same, I sometimes feel like bawling out certain persons whom I see on the path. Some folks are out there jogging, or even cycling, in the dark; and they don’t have any lights; they’re wearing minimal or no reflective material; and often they’re wearing dark clothing. It drives me crazy. Unfortunately that’s going to be more common for some months, now that sunrise is later in the morning. It doesn’t help that my regular morning route passes through areas that still don’t have many lights. Maybe they had trouble with damage to power-producing equipment as a result of Ida; and not only downed power lines. I hope they can get electricity back soon. Meanwhile, it’s darker than usual out there! Getting back to voice, there are organizations that advocate for cyclists and bicycling; such as People for Bikes. Among other things, People for Bikes is working to get out the word on ebikes. I’m not into electric bikes; at least, not yet. But that day might come. I’m hardly elderly; but I’m not exactly a spring chicken, either. Some day I might need the boost that an ebike can provide if I’m to keep cycling.

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Dawn Rider

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Dawn Rider I’m a dawn rider again Yes, it’s back to pre-dawn riding for me. During the Ida/vacation break, it was nice to not have to get up at 4:30 am if I was to get in the day’s miles. If I hadn’t been out of condition because of the break enforced by Ida, I would have done longer rides! Now that Fall has begun, the daylight is barely beginning when my morning ride ends; and I don’t need to wear sunblock for a ride that begins at 5:15 am! I really don’t mind riding in the dark; but getting up so early day after day is a bit of a drag. This morning the weather was mostly clear; and there were still some constellations visible. I saw Canis Major and Orion. It was a few degrees warmer than the forecast predicted; but my arms still felt cool when I started out. I wore a short-sleeved jersey; but it really wasn’t cool enough for arm warmers. But it’s coming, especially with my being a dawn rider. Today I worked at one-minute intervals of pushing my pace. Am I in better shape than I was last week; or did I not push hard enough? My heart rate didn’t reach zone 5. I don’t think I’m quite ready for force work yet; but that’s OK. It, too, will come. I haven’t seen much wildlife lately; but today I saw an armadillo. Or, to be more precise, I saw part of an armadillo. The forepart of it was hidden in the tall grass; and I suppose it was grazing. Since I got back into town, I’ve seen a bald eagle! It’s supposed to go down to 70 degrees tonight. This dawn rider had better wear long sleeves tomorrow morning!

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Salt Mines

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Today it was back to the salt mines. Going back to work was hard. This was the first really long break I had had since Katrina; and I went to work feeing rested since I don’t know when. It made me realize just how tired I usually am. On top of that, we started to use a new computer program shortly before Ida; and I had forgotten that we were using it! It’s a good thing I have notes and “cheat sheets”, because now I’m learning it all over again. I rode the hybrid to work, even though I usually don’t ride on Monday. I didn’t feel like walking; and maybe I’m subconsciously trying to make up for the lack of riding last month. I rode even despite my misgivings about the weather this afternoon. The forecast predicted an 80% chance of rain later in the day; so I packed along the poncho. Less than hour before my clock-out time, I looked out the window; and saw that it had become considerably cloudier. From then on, I kept looking to see whether it was raining. When I left work, it was still very overcast; but not raining. All the same, I put on the poncho, just in case it started to pour on the way home. All I felt was a drop here and there; but as always, I got pretty hot under that plastic! It began to drizzle a little some time after I got home; and the weather site showed that there was a T-storm not far away. It looks like it won\’t be raining early tomorrow; and only 71 degrees. That\’s cool enough for long sleeves! But I hope I get in a good ride before I have to head for the salt mines.

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Too Soon?

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Is it too soon for me to extend my long ride to 29-30 miles? Today my legs felt tired; and my muscles were achy. As a result, I did a large portion of my mileage on the small ring. I rode for 35 minutes before I felt up to trying the large ring! Usually I shift to the large ring after the first mile or so. Maybe I\’m feeling the aftermath of yesterday\’s trip to the salvage store. I\’ve brought home bigger loads than yesterday\’s; but just now I\’m rather out of shape. Next trip I better leave the trailer at home, so I won\’t be tempted to bring home scads of canned stuff! Naturally I had some concerns about the weather. There was hardly any wind 😊; but I was rather worried about rain and T-storms. I could see some big clouds off to the North; but the forecast said the main chances for rain were from 1:00 pm onwards. And the rain did hold off. Most of the clouds were high and thin, and helped keep the sunlight from getting too strong. I think I need to pay more attention to my posture on the bike. My lower back has begun to feel sore and strained; and when it does, it usually means that I\’m arching backwards as I ride. I also need to start back extension exercises again. Tomorrow it\’s back to work. As usual, it\’s too soon!

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Cleat or Pedal?

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Was it cleat or pedal that was wrong? Several months ago, I got new cleats on one of my pairs of cycling shoes. From the start, I had trouble with the left shoe. It was hard to get the shoe clipped in; and it had a way of coming UN-clipped as I was riding. Early this week, I had the cleat re-adjusted for about the third time. At first, it seemed to be all right at last; but yesterday morning the shoe unexpectedly came out of the pedal as I was accelerating. I took the shoes to the bike shop again. They said the cleats are all right; and in fact, I say they should be OK. They\’re only a few months old; and the bike shop said the pedal might be the problem. At the moment we couldn\’t check that, because I rode the hybrid to the shop. The catch with the pedal theory was, my other pair of bike shoes doesn\’t have this problem! Why would one pair of shoes be OK; and the other one not? On top of that, the OK pair of shoes is the older pair! So, is it cleat or pedal? Checking It Out First thing today was a trip to the salvage store. They finally re-opened yesterday; and I heard that the store was packed with shoppers. That didn\’t surprise me; and I guess it\’s why the grab-bag bins didn\’t have much in them! But I found canned chicken; and bought new condiments such as ranch dressing. I didn\’t dare keep what had been in the fridge prior to Ida; there\’s no sense taking chances with food poisoning. There were no protein bars in the grab-bag bins, but I found Think! bars; a box of 10 for $7.99! I got some to use as ride food, because I was running low on such items. After I got my groceries home, I headed for the bike shop to see to that cleat or pedal question. I wore the non-problematic pair of shoes; and brought the other pair along in my backpack. At the shop, I told them that the shoes I was wearing weren\’t causing trouble. It turns out that something on the pedal had a bit too much \”play\” it; and I also got new cleats for the \”bad\” shoes. Now things seem better. When it comes to cleat or pedal, I\’d far rather have to buy new cleats. They cost less than pedals!

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AYAMAYA Helmet Cover

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The AYAMAYA Helmet Cover is a useful piece of foul-weather gear. It\’s windproof and waterproof; and highly visible neon yellow with reflective stripes. Elastic edge provides a snug fit; and the AYAMAYA Helmet Cover fits most helmets. More than once I\’ve wished I had one of these things. For me, the drawback to this helmet cover is my helmet-mounted headlight. That light can get quite warm; and I worry that it will melt the cover; or, even worse, cause it to catch fire. An opening for the headlight would defeat the purpose of the cover; so I\’ll have to make do with my hooded poncho.

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My Fair Lady?

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Am I in the cast of My Fair Lady? This morning my bicycle computer said \”Fair\” recovery for the second day in a row! That\’s unusual for me; and I guess it means I\’m not back in shape yet. But I don\’t worry too much about it. I\’m not training for a big event. Sure, there\’s the century I hoped to do. I\’m not giving up on it just yet; but I think it\’s too soon to resume my force-development exercises. It\’s also too soon for me to push for 50-mile rides on Sundays. I need to build back up again; but maybe I can aim for a century on Thanksgiving weekend? This morning I thought I was going to run into rain. I could see that it was raining several miles away; but I got lucky and stayed dry. The weather is still quite warm, even though it\’s now October. By 10:00 am, the temperature had risen to 80 degrees; and it\’s going to stay warm at least through the weekend. I wonder how soon we\’ll get our first real cool weather. Last week we did get a couple of chilly mornings; but that didn\’t last long. A good, stiff cold front might be a boon, because it should help keep hurricanes away! Yes, we can get hurricanes in October. Just look at last October\’s Zeta. I\’ve got some projects lined up for today. I have to stir up a jar of peanut butter; and cook Kooky Kookaburra; and it\’s time to do laundry again. A visit to the bike shop is in order, too. The cleats on my bike shoes are giving me trouble. There\’s a lot to do; so I\’d better get busy! Even if I really am My Fair Lady, I don\’t have a maid.

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