SpokEasy

SpokEasy

Author name: CAL

Clog

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It\’s good to know that clog doesn\’t always mean a plumbing problem, isn\’t it? There\’s clog dancing, too! I think it would be fun to learn the steps; and I wouldn\’t really need those wooden-soled shoes to do it. Sneakers would work fine, or even socked feet. (Sock hop, anyone?) Incidentally, it\’s amazing to watch that shoemaker at work. The clogs almost make themselves under his skilled hands. Skip the cycling shoes here. Even MTB cleats are probably too slick; and as for roadie cleats, don\’t even think of it. The dancing probably isn\’t good for the cleats, anyhow. Why wear them out unnecessarily? Incidentally, something funny was going on with my left cycling shoe this morning. It didn\’t feel right at all; and it kept coming unclipped. This is the pair of shoes that just got new cleats, too! Was I doing something wrong, or is something wrong with the cleat? I hope the pedals themselves aren\’t wearing out! This morning was great cycling weather. It actually felt more like October than May; but soon the heat and humidity of Summer will hit us full blast. Summer typically arrives too abruptly, and we don\’t have a chance to \”warm up\” to it. It looks like good riding weather again tomorrow morning; and as I work from home Friday, maybe I can make a trip to Whole Foods before I clock in for work. However happy I am about Friday, though, just remind me not to try dancing in my cycling shoes.

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Sturm und Drang?

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The constant threat of stormy – possibly even violent — weather brought Sturm und Drang to my mind. Those forecasts sure caused me a lot of stress. Can I ride, or will the weather force me to stay home? If I do go riding, will a T-storm break out when I’m miles from home? Getting soaked is one thing, although bad enough; but I don’t want to get fried! At about 1:15 am, I woke to heavy rain and frequent, bright lightning. I’m glad that was in the wee hours, and not when I was ready to go out and ride. At 5 am the sky was overcast, but it wasn’t raining; so I went out on the hybrid for a short, easy ride. I stayed dry, but there was a T-storm off in a northerly direction; I saw the lightning flashes low in the sky. Of course that was a bit of \”Drang\”; I couldn\’t be sure that the storm wasn\’t headed my way. During the ride to work, just past 7 am, it was still cloudy; and the overcast was darkening. I got to work dry, though; and a little earlier than usual. That was good thing! Shortly afterwards it became very dark, and the thunder began. A co-worker who arrived about 15-20 minutes later said she got caught in the downpour. Weather concerns aside, there’s the “Sturm und Drang” of the continuing pandemic. I\’m tired of wearing filter masks, and was long before the pandemic began; but I\’m also tired of worrying about new outbreaks and a possible shut-in order. The latter is why I continue to make trips to the salvage store to stock up, no matter how much I already have! Diet There\’s the Sturm und Drang of my diet, too. For several days I\’ve persistently fallen off the wagon, especially in the evenings. Above all I craved sweets; and that is not what I need in my diet if I\’m to keep that A1c count down! Maybe I need to eat more earlier in the day; I get hungry and eat junk as the afternoon and evening wear on. When I plan the next day\’s food, it looks like a lot on paper. It even looks like too much! In actual practice, it\’s usually not enough; and on days when I don\’t work from home, it\’s hard to get proper snacks: I can\’t just run to the fridge and grab a raw carrot and some hummus. Today I decided to let things go, which included getting Chinese take-out for supper. After a full day of nutritional naughtiness, I\’m usually ready to bring myself back to heel. The meteorological Sturm und Drang finally seems to be lifting: tomorrow morning it\’s supposed to be clear! It will be a relief to go for a ride and not have to worry about lightning.

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Drop Roll and Stop

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Drop, roll, and stop? Wait a minute. Isn\’t it stop, drop, and roll? If you clothes happen to catch fire, it is. But this morning I dropped my water bottle; my rear tire rolled over it; and I had to stop and go back to fetch it! Hence drop, roll, and stop. The past few days, I seem to be riding more strongly than usual. That\’s gratifying, but it has its catch. I don\’t know whether I\’m using my left leg with less force; but my right hamstring suddenly has a tendency to knot up. I wish I could get to a WattBike, and maybe I could see what\’s going on. Or maybe I simply need to haul out my long-unused foam roller! I also wish I knew what the weather is going to do! During this morning\’s ride it was heavily overcast; but fortunately not raining. At about 10 am it rained hard for a while. After that, although the sun dodged in and out, the sky looked stormy all day. I\’m glad the sun was out while I rode home from work; but there are still plenty of dark clouds. Showers and T-storms are still in the forecast, both for tonight and tomorrow. So — to ride, or not? If it\’s only rain, I can pull on the poncho and ride the hybrid. Unfortunately this is the season when rain is likely to include atmospheric electricity! Even it there\’s no lightning when I begin a ride, it can move in very quickly. I can only wait and see. \”Immer die alte Leier\”, as the Germans say.

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Eye on the Tropics

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Eye on the tropics, already? Official hurricane season doesn\’t begin until June 1, does it; so why worry now? Well, the season now begins on May 15! At the moment the tropics are quiet; but they could begin to crank out the storms at any time. The time to start keeping an eye on the tropics is right now. I\’m glad I have a good stash of canned goods from the salvage store. I need to sort through the stuff and set aside my \”emergency rations\” in case a hurricane does hit, and nobody can go anywhere for a couple of days. Tuna and canned chicken are high on the list; and I\’ll want some canned fruit and veggies, too. Keeping the freezer full isn\’t a bad idea. They say that a full freezer stays cold longer; and during last year\’s hurricane, that seemed to be the case. I\’ll want bottled water, too. I have several one-gallon jugs, but they\’ve been around a few months. I think I\’ll buy fresh jugs, and use the ones I have. Meanwhile, the day-to-day weather is enough of a concern for me. It looks like I have a decent chance of riding early tomorrow and staying dry. Riding home from work might be another story! But hey, this is Bike Month! Today it stayed overcast much of the time; and I felt a few drops as I rode home from work. I also had a terrific tailwind, and hit a max speed of 15.8 mph! On the hybrid, that\’s terrific. Tomorrow afternoon there\’s a 50% chance of T-storms; some possibly severe. \”Possibly severe\” T-storms is why I cut my ride so short yesterday. I hope it won\’t repeat itself next Sunday. Eye on the tropics? I need to keep an eye of the sky right here.

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For Naught?

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Last night I hoped that my ride prep wasn\’t for naught. I did the usual things: put Nuun in the fridge to chill; and got my recovery drink ready. I planned my ride food, too. But I can\’t do a thing about the weather; and the forecast looked chancy. It predicted scattered T-storms all morning; and by 11 am, T-storms. I discovered that a flash flood watch was in effect from 1 am today; and there was a \”slight risk\” of severe weather. During these severe storms, wind gusts might reach 58 mph or even stronger! Do I have the strength to stay in control of a bicycle if the wind gusts are 58 mph? Heavy rain in addition to strong wind makes it hard to see anything. If there\’s lightning, I get VERY uneasy. The ride food in my top tube pouch gets soaked. It isn\’t fun. The Upshot The upshot of it all: my ride prep wasn\’t for naught; in a sense. I checked the forecast at 6:30 am, and it looked like the bad weather was still about two hours away. I decided to take a chance and go for a ride; but I kept it short. As I was getting ready, I heard a few drops of rain; and that made me uneasy. It was very cloudy, and for all I knew the floodgates might open at any moment! Not a drop fell on me; but there was a stretch of a mile or two where it had already rained. I\’m glad it missed me! Luckily the wind wasn\’t too much of a problem; and riding \”short\” meant I could work harder and not have to worry that I\’d end up exhausted when I was still 15 miles from home. It was about 8 am when I got back here. Soon afterwards, I checked NOAA. The temperature was down from 75 to 69; and the site reported a T-storm at the airport, which is West from here. I figured the storm was probably heading this way. It feels weird to not be doing a 40-50 mile ride on a Sunday. It\’s rather frustrating, too: I want to get in my miles for Bike Month! On the other hand, I didn\’t want to get caught in a T-storm with nowhere to take shelter. All my hard work and mileage would be for naught if I got struck by lightning!

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ADA Vegetarian Cookbook

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The ADA Vegetarian Cookbook is for you if you\’ve been diagnosed with diabetes or prediabetes; and are interested in a meatless diet. Authored by a chef who was diagnosed with prediabetes, this cookbook contains recipes for a number of courses: soups, side dishes, sauces, and so on. When I got the ADA Vegetarian Cookbook in February of last year, the first thing I tried was the Cauliflower Potato Cheddar Mash (page 87). It uses russet (aka baking) potatoes; and later, when I looked up the carb content of potatoes, I was surprised. Sweet potatoes are lower in carbs than other \’taters! I had the idea that sweet potatoes were the high-carb ones! Since then, I\’ve use sweet potatoes for this recipe; and I like them better than russets. Recently I tried the Basil Ginger Cashew Pilaf, on page 57. I didn\’t have fresh basil, and substituted the dried kind. I also didn\’t have any cashews, and used peanuts instead. Another twist I made on this recipe was long-grain brown rice instead of basmati rice. It came out OK. I want to try out more of the recipes, but at the moment my freezer is too crammed. After I use up the stuff that I already have, I\’ll try some more new recipes. Lentil Dal (page 24) sounds good, for example. Getting back to that pilaf, don\’t be afraid to experiment. You might come up with a new favorite!

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Finders Keepers

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\”Finders, keepers; losers, weepers\” was a phrase I heard quite often when I was a kid. It seemed to mean that, if you found something, great; and if you happened to lose something, tough luck. Yesterday I thought I needed to buy a new water bottle. I dropped the bottle while trying to get it back into its cage; and that bidon rolled all the way down the side of the levee. I could see it; but retrieving it was another matter. This happened as I rode through a section where the river side of the levee is both steep, and clad in concrete \”aprons\”, I believe they\’re called. I started down, but had to give up very soon. Cleats don\’t do well on a steeply slanted, cement surface. If I could have used my hands, maybe I could have managed the climb; but I didn\’t want to leave my bicycle lying there. Then this morning I rode the hybrid to the salvage store. On the way, I watched for my \”lost\” water bottle; and sure enough, I saw it. This time I was wearing sneakers, so I parked the bike; eased myself down the side of the levee; and grabbed the bottle. Finders, keepers; and I\’ve saved seven bucks! The salvage store is great for finders, keepers. Today I found dried cranberries! A hunt through the grab bag bins yielded, among other items, two FitCrunch bars! On the more mundane side, I got more (!) canned goods. Well — I\’ve got to get set for hurricane season. Those storms seem to start popping up earlier every year. Getting Back Home Getting back home was rather tough. I had a headwind (did I really need to say that?), and was hauling the trailer. Now that the weather is warmer, I need the trailer so I can bring the cooler. I never know when I\’ll find a good deal on cheese, or hummus. When I do, there\’s no point in finders, keepers if what I buy gets too warm before I can get it home. I\’m glad the sky was mostly overcast. That kept me from getting too hot. Now I\’ve got an anxious eye on the forecast for tomorrow. Rain is likely, even T-storms, especially after 10 am; and the wind, 15-20 mph! Getting back home against a breeze like that won\’t be easy, even without rain. It\’s a good thing I went to the store today!

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Bikeable?

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We hear about bikeable communities. I\’m all for bikeable communities; but shoes and clothing need to be bikeable, too. Yesterday, when I left my road bike at the shop for new tubes and tires, I also left one of my pairs of cycling shoes. The right one didn\’t clip in well, and I figured the cleats needed replacing. Today, when I went to pick up bike and shoes, I forgot to bring along my orthotics; and as a result, the shoes felt far too big. In addition, I was wearing regular shorts. Between ill-fitting shoes and non-cycling shorts, I felt very awkward on the bike. On top of that, I ran into a number of gravelly road construction patches that made me wish I were on a mountain bike. In fact, the final block before I got home is such a mess that I walked that last block! I couldn\’t go for a real ride right then; the sky looked rather like rain, and I had to get back to work. The work day over, I finally decided to go for a spin. Usually I don\’t ride in the evening; but I wanted to get in some last licks for the April Love to Ride Challenge! It was overcast, but I took the gamble; and I won! Not a drop! After I got home, I launched into a cooking project; I have several planned for the weekend. This evening\’s job: Tardy Turtle. I did a lot of the prep work yesterday, so this evening it went quickly; most unlike a turtle. I want to ride to the salvage store tomorrow. After all, tomorrow is the first day of National Bike Month! I want to start it off right.

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Walkable?

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Are MTB shoes really so walkable? True, they\’re easier to walk in than roadie shoes. MTB shoes\’ cleats are at least partially recessed; and that helps. But \”walkable\” bike shoes seems to mean the walking done at pit stops; or at rest stations during long rides. But my bike shoes certainly don\’t do well when I have to walk a mile in them; and that does happen now and then. Today I took the road bike in to the shop. The rear tire seemed to have a slow leak; and when I thought about it, I realized it was probably time to replace those tires. I work from home on Thursdays; so I clocked in half an hour early and took a long lunch break, so I could ride the bicycle to the shop. I didn\’t expect to have to leave my bike there; but they said it would be about an hour until they could take care of it. That left me no choice but to leave the bike at the shop and walk home, wearing my bike shoes! The soles of even MTB shoes are quite rigid; and those cleats do make contact with the walking surface. Cement sidewalk surfaces can\’t be very good for the cleats, and I felt like my feet might slip at any moment. Another problem is that I recently developed arthritis in the base joint of my left big toe; and those stiff soles don\’t help the joint to feel better. As much as I could, I walked on the softer surface beside the sidewalk; and was I ever glad it wasn\’t raining! About 1 pm the shop called and said my bike was ready; so tomorrow I can get it. But I\’ll wear sneakers to the shop; they\’re walkable!

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Keep Me Out

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Keep me out; out of the peloton, that is. My squirrely riding will have every other rider on edge. A cyclist who doesn\’t ride a straight line annoys every other cyclist in the pack; they have to waste mental and physical energy watching the \”squirrel\” and trying to avoid disaster. They know that a wavering rider can bring down the entire pack if wheel contact occurs! So keep me out of there. I don\’t want to cause a big crash. I didn\’t have quite as much trouble with wavering today; but I still did more of it than pleases me. Riding on rollers is supposed to be excellent for developing straight-line riding; but I don\’t have any rollers. I did try them, though; and it felt like trying to ride on ice. Actually, I suppose I do a lot of wavering all the time; but for some reason it\’s seemed worse in the last two days. A high cadence in a low gear contributes to the problem. My churning legs seem to overpower my upper body\’s ability to hold the bicycle steady. I know what that means: the need for more upper body/arm/core work off the bike! So I need to get back to doing my off-bike exercises regularly. It isn\’t easy to fit it in when I\’m so busy with other stuff: blogging; planning meals; cooking; or cleaning up the kitchen. (Hey, wanna make a fortune? Invent a self-cleaning kitchen! Unfortunately I can\’t afford one ?) The April Love to Ride Challenge is almost over; but if you want to log some rides, there are two days left. Then May is Bike Month! So let\’s get out and ride! But as for that peloton, keep me out.

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