SpokEasy

SpokEasy

Author name: CAL

Gamble

BACK ISSUES /

I took a gamble yesterday morning, and rode to the salvage store. I knew that rain was possible; maybe even a T-storm. But last Saturday I didn\’t go there; and I wanted to make the trip. It was overcast, but not raining, at around 7:20 am; and I decided to set out. I figured I ought to take advantage of the break in the weather. Maybe I could beat any rain to the store; and besides, I wanted to ride at leisure. I took the trailer this time, and of course that slows me down. There was some light sprinkle here and there, but not enough for me to stop and pull on the poncho. By the time I reached the store, however, the drizzle was a bit heavier; and steadier. I figured I\’d have a wet ride home! I was disappointed that the grab bag bins weren\’t there. They\’ve been the biggest attraction in the whole store, and I hope they come back soon. I hoped to find hummus, and there didn\’t seem to be any. But I found other merchandise that I\’ve bought before now; and at lower prices.? Swiss Miss Keurig, for example: it used to cost $1.69 for a box of 12 pods; today it was only 99¢! Goin\’ Home Then I had to load my loot into the trailer. The cover doesn\’t fit as snugly as it needs to; or maybe I was just too lazy to fix it properly. Of course it leaked! At any rate, by the time I left the store it was raining steadily. Luckily it wasn\’t a hard rain; but it was still a nuisance. I absentmindedly pulled the poncho on over my reflective vest, instead of the other way around; and the poncho had nothing to hold it in place. So there I was, riding along with a flapping poncho. It wasn\’t wind still, and there were times when gusts were enough for me to shift temporarily to my granny gear. Goin\’ home seemed like a long, slow trip; perhaps because of the rain. It addition, it was a bit chilly; but that plastic poncho helps keep me warm. In a sense, my gamble paid off. My major concern, lightning, didn\’t happen. It rained, but at least it didn\’t pour. I brought home a pretty good haul: tuna, canned chicken, hazelnut spread, etc. And I got some good exercise to boot! Around 11:30 am I began to hear the grumbling of thunder. I was glad that I went to the store early in the morning. Then my thoughts turned to today\’s long ride: is 20% chance of showers a low enough risk? Maybe. It\’s all a gamble. Goin\’ Long Sunday is the day for goin\’ long, although today I didn\’t go as far as I did last Sunday. Even so, 40+ miles is quite a respectable distance. It was rather sunny when I began the ride; but high clouds were gathering. By the time I got back home at around 11:30 am, the sky was mostly overcast. The forecast didn\’t predict rain; and I\’m glad there wasn\’t any. Whether it will rain is often a gamble. So is wind. Today it was blowing from the NE, at 10 mph. As usual, that meant a headwind on the way back home. Those long slogs against the breeze make goin\’ long a bit daunting. All in all, today\’s wasn\’t a bad ride. I saw a bald eagle; and a bluebird, too. I complain about headwinds; but all the same, it feels like I\’m a little stronger riding against them than I used to be. The only way to be certain is to find records of long rides when wind conditions were similar to today\’s; and seeing how my average speed was on those rides. I\’m too lazy for that. Back to work tomorrow. It looks I won\’t have to gamble against the weather for a few days. That\’s a relief!

Gamble Read More »

In Reserve

BACK ISSUES /

Keep something in reserve! That applied to many things in life; and when you\’re on a long bicycle ride, you\’ll want to have plenty of water in reserve. The Camel-Bak 3L Hydration Pack Reservoir lets you keep hydrated, be it hot or cold outdoors. It\’s amazing how much water you need on a cold day! Wide mouth allows for easy filling; even for ice cubes. Drinking tube\’s shut-off valve prevents dripping. Leakproof. Includes cleaning kit. Can replace the reservoir in your old Camel-Bak.

In Reserve Read More »

Don\’t Toss It Yet

BACK ISSUES /

Don\’t toss it yet! Hang on to it a while. Has it got any more wear in it?If not, can it be used for something else? Re/Uses presents many ways to reduce your trash output; keep things out of the landfill; and even save you money. It\’s a book that I wish I had! I grew up seeing my mother reuse things. She saved glass jars and food cans even when we really didn\’t have room for any more in the cupboards! Ergo I often find it difficult to throw things away; especially the aforementioned glass jars. Recycling and reusing doesn\’t have to be about major things. Here\’s one I just did: I had an empty canister from Vega; I used the last of the powder a couple of weeks ago. But I didn\’t throw away the container, nor even put it in the recycling bin. I figured I would think of a way to use it; so I washed and dried it, and set it aside. Sure, and I did think of something to do with it. My raids on the grab-bag bins at the salvage store resulted in my having many packs of Hazelnut Spread M&Ms; some single-serve size, and others share size. Those packs were still in the grab bag; and that bag took up a good bit of space in the fridge. I decided to empty the packs of M&Ms into the old Vega canister. All but one pack fit into the canister; and the canister takes up much less room than the grab bag did. So don\’t toss it yet. You never know what it might be good for!

Don\’t Toss It Yet Read More »

Dropped and Light

BACK ISSUES /

Dropped and light? That sounds rather contradictory. But I did it during this morning\’s ride. To start at the beginning, I got rolling about half an hour later than I had wanted to. The forecast last night predicted possible T-storms starting at 6 am; and of course I don\’t want to be out there on top of the levee in a T-storm! I thought of starting my ride at 5 am, so that I could beat the bad weather home. Wouldn\’t you know, I didn\’t get out until 5:30. I thought of riding 7 miles, then turning back. About 5 miles out, I saw a blink like a flash bulb going off; and thought, \”Uh-oh. Was that lightning?\” Sure enough, it was. I saw a second flash about a mile later; and decided to turn around early. The lightning came from a westerly direction; and as weather typically moves West to East, I was uneasily aware that I was going to have a T-storm chasing me home. It spurred me to work harder and ride a bit faster than usual. And, as usual, I had a headwind on the way home; and here is where \”dropped and light \” comes in. Riding on the drops lets me pedal harder and also reduces wind resistance a little, so that I can ride a little bit faster. So there\’s the \”dropped\”. Here and there, while riding on those drops, I caught myself adding in a bit of my unclimbing technique. So there you have it: dropped and light! Getting Home Getting home was a bit nerve-wracking. The lightning became more frequent; and I was still nearly three miles from home when I first heard thunder. They say that, if you can hear thunder, you\’re close enough to the storm to get struck by lightning. That\’s not a comforting thought. When I\’m out riding and the lightning fires up, I get the uneasy feeling that I\’m a rolling lighting rod! On top of that, when I\’m riding a bicycle, lightning is probably pretty close before I can hear the thunder! That\’s because of wind noise: the noise of a headwind can block out a lot of other sound; and there\’s always the wind noise generated by my own forward motion. It began to sprinkle a bit when I still had 1.5 miles or so to go. I didn\’t have a poncho with me; and I could only hope that I would reach home before it began to pour. It\’s too cool for me to need rain to ease the heat; and rain can wreak havoc on visibility. I don\’t have windshield wipers on a bicycle! I arrived home about 6:30; and soon afterwards the drizzle became heavier. Just before 7 am, a weather statement was posted about strong T-storms, with wind gusts as strong as 45 mph! It made me glad that I got home when I did. Dropped and light might not help much in such conditions.

Dropped and Light Read More »

Beanie?

BACK ISSUES /

Do I mean beanie, or do I mean bean-y? What we called \”beanie\” when I was a kid was more like a skull cap; and not what this image shows. I call these things \”stocking caps\”; and in cold weather, I\’d be miserable without one. But this morning I sure got bean-y with breakfast. One of the wonderful things about being on staycation is that I don\’t have to rush through breakfast. I can take my time preparing it! I have time to enjoy eating it at leisure; and for many people who are vegetarian or low-meat, beans are a staple breakfast food. This morning I took it to town! I heated a cupful of refried black beans, adding a little dried chimichurri and freshly ground black pepper. The warmed beans went over tofu, with a bit of chopped red bell pepper and red onion on top. Over all went two tablespoons of mild red taco sauce. This is a morning meal that I\’d like to have more often. Bean-y, but good. The weather at present isn\’t good for riding, nor for going anywhere. There was a brief lull; but then the rain began again. Several hours ago it poured like crazy, and the lightning was almost non-stop. I\’d like to run a couple of errands, but I know that flooded streets are only too likely; and I\’d rather keep me and my bicycles dry. Maybe in the afternoon I can go for a ride. I looks like the rain will let up, although it will still be cloudy. Just now, at least, it\’s cool enough that I\’d want a skull cap under my helmet. Or do I mean beanie? Post Meridian Shortly before 12 pm, aka post meridian, I decided I could risk going for a ride. I chose to use the hybrid, in case the ground was very wet; and also in case it started to rain again. To my surprise, the bike path\’s surface was much less wet than I expected. The sun even peeked out now and then; but the sky was still gray most of the time. In fact, before I got back home it looked rather threatening. Half an hour or so later, I thought I heard distant thunder; but wasn\’t sure. After the ride, I fixed lunch; but I didn\’t get bean-y this time. I ate tuna with a little ranch dressing; and frozen blueberries mixed with plain, non-fat yogurt and ground flax seeds. And I had a few M&Ms. I still have to watch the sweets; and probably always will. Now, what else do do post meridian? I want to make good use of what I have left of my staycation!

Beanie? Read More »

Staycation

BACK ISSUES /

I\’m enjoying a staycation this week! Sunday Sunday I put in a half-century ride. The next day my legs were a bit stiff, but that was to be expected. And there\’s a difference between muscles being a bit sore; and muscles that are screaming \”ouch!\” Now I\’ve put in a 50-miler; and I want to work at continuing 50-mile rides on Sundays. Monday On Monday I rode to Whole Foods, instead of waiting for Friday morning seniors\’ hour; and it was nice to not have to rush through the store. I didn\’t have to worry about getting home to clock in at 8:00! I found my usual sunblock on sale, and got two tubes. Don\’t worry, it\’ll keep; and I\’ve got enough sunblock now to last me for months. I\’m also trying vanilla protein powder, instead of the usual chocolate flavor. It\’s a store brand, not Vega; but that\’s OK. I don\’t have to have name brands. This vanilla stuff is all right; but I still much prefer chocolate. I decided to get turkey burgers, too. I\’m on staycation; why not live it up a bit? Tuesday Ah, staycation! It\’s great to be able to start my morning rides a little late; yet still have time to do a few more miles than usual. I put in 16 miles; ordinarily the most I can get in is about 14.5. It was still dark when I set out; and once again, I saw alligator eyes! First, I saw one eye. I looked again, and saw both eyes. Then I looked a third time, and watched the eyes fade from view. I guess the reptile submerged itself. Fine with me; it\’s better than having a curious-as-a-cat gator emerging from the water to check me out! I also went to check out a nearby farmers\’ market. I already had too much stuff at home to let me buy much from them; but I got scallions and strawberries. I got there for opening time. For one thing, I\’m sure their produce goes fast. For another, the forecast predicted scattered T-storms from 10 am. It was hard to believe that while I was out on the road bike, because the weather was beautiful then. I was home from the farmers\’ market by 9:00 or so. About half an hour later it began to drizzle; then to rain on and off. Soon it began to thunder here and there; and around 11:00 o\’clock I learned that there was a flash flood watch in effect. I had thought of riding to the bank; but if it was going to pour, I preferred staying home. Indeed, shortly past noon a severe T-storm watch was posted; and it was in effect until 6 pm. I was glad that I was at home, and didn\’t have to worry that I might have to ride home from work with lightning cracking overhead. And Today This morning I did only a short, easy ride; and I used the hybrid. The ground was still pretty wet after yesterday\’s rain, and I didn\’t feel like getting the road bike mucked up. And today I finally got those stitches out of my thumb! What a relief that is! I no longer have a slippery bandaid that makes it hard to hang on to things. I also had to go downtown for an appointment with my neurologist. Even though my appointment was for 1:00 pm, I caught the 10:15 shuttle. The weather looked like it was going to take a turn for the worse; and if I could beat it downtown, so much the better. I took along a book to read; and got some lunch in the medical center\’s food court. So that\’s my staycation so far. I\’m looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow morning, for a change. The forecast says T-storms are likely; and what better time to get in an extra snooze?

Staycation Read More »

Left in Stitches

BACK ISSUES /

I was left in stitches on Easter Monday, you might say. The evening before, I was cutting up cabbage; and managed to give myself a nasty cut in the left thumb. The cut bled pretty heavily; and I had to put double bandaids on it. Every time I got my hands wet, the blood started oozing through the bandaids! Next morning, it was the same. That cut still bled a lot when I took the wet dressings off; and I figured I needed skin glue, or something. I wasn\’t about to visit an emergency room; but there\’s an urgent care clinic not far from here. I called them and told them about my predicament; and they said I could come in. Luckily things weren\’t so bad that I couldn\’t ride my bicycle over there. The outcome: they put two sutures in my thumb. I was left in stitches, literally! Since then those stitches have made things awkward. I was supposed to keep the area clean and dry. Easy to say; but I simply can\’t keep that thumb from getting wet. I\’m my own chef; and my dishwasher is called a pair of hands. I\’ve been washing my cycling shorts as well as I can using one hand; but it\’s not easy. I\’m glad those stitches come out tomorrow. I want to get back to normal!

Left in Stitches Read More »

Unseated!

BACK ISSUES /

Get unseated during a jousting match, and it\’s not so good. But just a couple of days ago, I discovered that I can climb unseated! To be sure, I\’m not tackling the cols of La Grande Boucle. I\’m merely going over the mild humps that my regular riding route presents. But to ride over any hump out of the saddle is, to me, a feather in the cap. This latest achievement stemmed from my unclimbing efforts. In fact, I had an inkling that unclimbing just might lead to it! Climbing unseated involves very much the same use of the arms and core: I pull on the handlebars with my arms, and that lets me get up off the saddle. The core must hold me steady enough that I don\’t waver all over the path. Although I had done a little out-of-saddle pedaling here and there, I didn\’t feel ready to climb out of the saddle. Then, all of a sudden, I was doing it! Is this analogous to an infant/young child hitting his or her developmental milestones? If so, I\’m one heck of a slow developer! I\’ve been cycling since November 2009; and on two wheels since May 2012. And I\’m only now figuring out how to climb without being firmly planted on that saddle! During yesterday\’s ride I did very little or no unseated work. I spent much of the time on the small ring; and out-of-the-saddle work goes better when I\’ve got the resistance of the big ring. As with any new skill, it\’s better if I don\’t try to do too much, too soon; and there\’s no hurry about it. After all, I\’m not preparing for a bicycle tour in the Ozarks! I\’ll just let it come as it will; and be glad that being unseated doesn\’t mean I\’ve lost the contest.

Unseated! Read More »

Half Measures

BACK ISSUES /

Sometimes I do things by half measures. Century rides, for example. Last time I rode 100 miles in one day was July 2013; a long time ago. Something in me seems to think that it\’s high time I did it again. So today, I decided to shoot for a half-century. Most Sundays I\’ve been riding up to 30 miles or so; and if I can do that, I figured I could manage 50 miles. If I have any notions of doing a century before this year is out, I have to start working up to the mileage right now! I\’m on vacation this week, and had thought of doing this ride about Tuesday or Wednesday; but the long-range forecast given last Friday night made me change my mind. Today was predicted to be clear; and not much wind. By the middle of the week, things were likely to turn stormy once more. The Ride Well, the wind was stronger than the 5-7 mph forecast of last night; I could tell that as soon as I went outdoors! But I reminded myself that today\’s ride wasn\’t about speed, or even about endurance-building; it was just about doing 50 miles. As a matter of fact, I seemed to do fairly well riding into that wind. Better than I could do a few years ago, anyhow. I tested a new ride food, the Met-Rx Super Cookie Crunch; and also took along an old favorite, the FitCrunch Birthday Cake bar. That particular item is becoming rather a problem, now that the weather is warmer. The coating gets half melted, and is very messy! And if I think it\’s bad now, just wait until the days when the temperature is already 80 degrees at 5:00 am! Next time, eat the FitCrunch first. A Quest S\’mores; a couple of GU-Gels; and Zym completed my ride menu. Today I didn\’t bother much with riding on the big ring; that probably would have tired me too much, too soon. I used it when the wind got behind me; and the rest of the time I rode on the small ring. I did, however, maintain a pretty high cadence: average 81 rpm for the entire ride. I didn\’t see much of special interest: no bluebird sightings; no alligators; and of course the moon wasn\’t out! I rode out as far as the spillway; and after a brief rest stop headed for home. Naturally that\’s when I got the headwind! I reminded myself again that I didn\’t have to hurry; and worked to keep a brisk cadence in an easy gear. A wind such as that used to push me back to 8 mph; or even a miserably slow 6 mph. Today, my overall average was 11.33 mph; so it looks like I\’ve gotten a little bit stronger!? So there\’s my first half-century in quite a while. That\’s certainly doing things by half measures! !

Half Measures Read More »

Mirror off the Wall

BACK ISSUES /

Mirror off the wall? What would the Queen in the story of Snow White think of that? Well, let her think whatever she wants. When I\’m riding, especially at night, I want plenty of lights and reflective material. These reflective bands, in neon yellow, fit around ankles or wrists; arms or legs. I made it a habit to wear reflector bands when riding from the very start. If putting them on before mounting a bicycle is automatic, I\’m far less likely to forget them when I really need them. These mirror off the wall bands are helpful when it\’s raining, too; or any time that visibility is poor. They\’re lightweight and comfortable. I can easily forget that I have them on!

Mirror off the Wall Read More »