SpokEasy

Author name: CAL

Again?!

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Here we go again! After a couple of rather balmy days, Winter has made a comeback. Early yesterday morning it wasn’t raining; but when I went out on the road bike I encountered heavy fog. It was a case of taking off my glasses, because they would have gotten too misted for me to see. I didn’t try to do any speed work because of poor visibility; and in any case I got going late, so I had to cut my ride a few miles short. Yesterday The forecast for yesterday predicted heavy rain during the afternoon and evening; so I decided not to ride to work. Riding a bicycle through the rain while enveloped in a flapping poncho gets old in a hurry; and I had already had two consecutive days of it. Rain and relatively warm temperatures persisted through midday; and then things began to change. The wind got strong; and the temperature began to fall. By 4:30 pm it was 58 degrees. I was getting ready to leave work; and was about to freak out because I couldn\’t find my gloves. I thought I had worn them when I walked to work in the morning; and of course that means cycling gloves. I don\’t need to lose those things, because they aren\’t cheap. Finally I gave up looking and went home. There were the gloves! I guess this weird weather is playing tricks on my brain. Today Last night at about 8:45 it began to thunder; and this morning it\’s still drizzly. At 5:00 am, NOAA said it was 39 degrees; the wind was from the North at 17 mph; and the chill factor was only 30 degrees! I must be getting old. I decided — again — to skip the jaunt on the road bike. This is the second time in recent weeks that I\’ve declined to go out in weather like that; and it used to be that I bundled up and went riding. If either the wind or the rain were absent; or it weren\’t cold; it would be a different story; but all three factors combined are rather overwhelming. I think I\’ll ride to work, though; and set up the trainer so I can do some pedaling when I get home this evening. I\’m in for a cold ride to the salvage store again; and another frigid Sunday ride. Winter drives me crazy. All those layers make riding harder; and at home, they\’re scattered all over the place. It\’s even worse during rainy spells. so I\’ll be glad when the weather is dry again.

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Malta

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Malta 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.” How did I get to thinking of Malta? It wasn’t from poring over a map; and it wasn’t from dreaming up a cycling adventure. While I was riding on the levee this past Sunday, I saw tanker heading upriver; and whenever I see a ship, I wonder where she came from. I didn’t recognize the half-white, half-red flag on the stern staff; but a few minutes’ searching in Google told me that it was the Maltese flag. Naturally I soon began to think of cycling opportunities on this island. It’s easy to enjoy both Malta itself and nearby Gozo by bicycle. The former is better for long road rides; while Gozo is better for short jaunts. The landscape is beautiful; and villages and towns aren’t far apart. You can pedal along quiet streets; or enjoy country lanes. Along the way are site of historic and/or cultural interest. You can rent a bike if you aren’t able to bring your own; but do be sure to bring your own helmet. 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 Pomp and Circumstance January 4, 2024 I Bee’d Lucky January 3, 2024 Sunblock Day January 2, 2024 2024! January 1, 2024 Load More TRANSLATOR

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Flunked!

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FLUNKED! Our local groundhog flunked, think. He didn’t see his shadow; so that’s supposed to mean that Winter is over. The NOAA forecast, however, tells a different story. Tomorrow night it’s supposed to fall into the low 40s; and Friday night’s low temperature won’t be much above freezing. I’ll have another frigid ride to the salvage store; and Saturday night will also be a cold one. It’s a nuisance to have to put on so many layers for my long ride! Before we get the cold front, more rain is all but certain; and they’re even predicting T-storms for tomorrow! It looks like they won’t start before 6:00 am, so maybe I’ll get to ride; but I think maybe I’ll skip riding to work. These rainy spells are when I almost wish I still had my bicycle rollers. They were tricky to adjust to, even on the hybrid; and even harder on the road bike. I think the problem was that I tended to be overly tentative; and that meant no gyroscopic effect to help keep me upright and moving. I finally sold the rollers; so maybe you can say that I flunked in that area of cycling! But I have the trainer; so I can still “ride” indoors when the weather is just too foul to ride outdoors. I’ll be glad to see drier weather return. Right now I have a dripping poncho and other wet items of clothing hanging around to dry. Of course I’m using more socks than usual; and when that happens, doing my laundry feels like washing clothes for a centipede! As to the groundhog’s prediction, at least I can be glad I’m not in the path of a huge storm. Winter definitely is not over for some poor folks!

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Water Torture

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Riding in the rain feels like water torture. If there\’s only a slight drizzle, it\’s not too bad, especially in hot weather; but in cold weather, it\’s a different story. Even a light sprinkle is chilling; and if it starts to rain hard, things get miserable in a hurry. If I get caught in a heavy rain, I often need to take off my glasses so I can see; and if a strong headwind is blowing rain right into my face, I\’m pretty much riding blind. Perhaps worse than that is a gusty sidewind; because on top of being cold and wet, I have to struggle to control the bike! Come to think of it, that\’s something I\’ll need to be prepared for if I do any bicycle touring! There\’s also water torture in keeping hydrated during lengthy rides. I can\’t do a Sunday long ride on only two regular bottles of water; and so I have a Camel-Bak. But when I fill up the reservoir with three liters of water; and then add a cable lock; tube of Chamois Butt\’r; and roll of bathroom tissue to the Camel-Bak\’s pockets; I have quite a load on my back! That can seem quite tortuous; but I\’ve got to stay hydrated! In addition to the Camel-Bak, I take a spare bottle of water; and during a long, hot ride, I usually empty the bottle into the Camel-Bak at least once (I can refill it when I make my pit stops). Wild Weather Ahead All day I endured the “water torture” of wondering when it would start raining; and how heavily it would rain. By noon, the wind was up to 24 mph; and gusts were as strong as 32 mph. It was blowing from the Southeast; and I hoped it wouldn’t switch to the North or West. Wind from those directions mean a headwind once I’m on the bike path when I\’m heading home from work. I was surprised when the sun made a brief appearance late in the morning; but it didn’t last long; and the wind made it too chilly for me to eat lunch al fresco. When I left work it was sprinkling; and a sprinkle can turn into a downpour in no time. I turned tail; went back indoors (to be out of the wind); and got into my poncho. Sure enough, it began to rain harder as I rode. Or did my forward motion just make it seem like it was raining harder? It seems like water torture when we\’ve barely dried out after a rainy spell; and along comes more rain! It looks like our groundhog won\’t see his shadow tomorrow. There\’s a 70% chance of rain; and by tomorrow night we might have T-storms. The rain might not end before Friday; but at least we\’re not in line for the storm that\’s moving over much of the USA. That\’s some really wild weather!

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Sox

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Sox? Isn\’t that a baseball team? Well, yes; in fact, there are two teams of Sox. For me, though, socks are something I put on my feet before I pull on my shoes. I never have been comfortable in shoes without socks! Lately we\’ve had a lot of cold weather; and that\’s when I pull out the thermal socks. Even double thermal socks don\’t keep my feet from getting chilled when the weather is cold; so I guess I\’ve got sensitive feet. When it\’s warm, cycling socks are fine; and they seem to be a bit more comfortable than regular socks. What can we do when it\’s cold; but we\’ve just gotta get out there and ride? And suppose it\’s raining as well? Shoe covers help keep out wind and water. Incidentally, I can\’t help but view \”keeps out water\” with some skepticism. Where I live, it\’s apt to rain heavily; and \”waterproof\” things aren\’t so waterproof in such conditions. Take my bike trunk, for example. In a heavy rain, the zippers leak; and I\’ve long since developed the habit of wrapping everything in that trunk in plastic bags! Getting back to sox: if you have circulation problems in your legs, compression socks may be in order. I have a pair of prescription compression socks; but my experience with them has not been positive. It\’s hard to get them on in the first place; and those socks are so tight that they hurt! Therefore I haven\’t tried to wear them for months. When it\’s chilly, I like to wear terrycloth socks at home. I\’m not a fan of wearing shoes indoors; and I need something to keep my feet warm. All those sox! Maybe I should start my own team?

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No Shadow

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It looks like there will be no shadow for our groundhog. The forecast for February 2 says, chance of showers and T-storms; and such weather means no shadow for anything. We\’ve got a warming trend setting in; and that often means rain. I won\’t mind the chance to thaw out a bit; but later in the week the chill will return. At least we don\’t seem to be in the path of the Groundhog Day storm they\’re talking about; and we don\’t have iguanas falling out of our trees. Today we have plenty of sunshine; and by midday it was 64 degrees. I went out for a long ride about 8:15 am; and for once I had a good tailwind on the way home. It was chilly when I started; and of course I piled on the layers. Maybe it was actually a bit too much! Between the tailwind and sunshine, I started to feel overheated; and I eventually needed to stop and partially unzip both jacket and vest. The headwind on the way out made me feel like such a weakling! I was dreadfully slow; and it took me an hour and twenty-two minutes to ride 14.5 miles. Am I too cowardly to work at pushing hard into the wind during my long rides; and do I worry too much that I\’ll \”blow up\” miles from home? As I rode home, I got the impression that the wind was strengthening; and as it turned out, it sure was! I\’m glad it was behind me. Too often it\’s the other way around. I have to keep the rain gear handy this week. Dragging it around is a nuisance; but so is getting caught in the rain without it.

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Chilling Out

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I\’m chilling out yet again; although not to the extent that I\’m getting about on skis. Just looking at that pic makes me feel cold; and temperatures in the low 40s are already cold enough for me. This morning I rode to the salvage store; and I took the trailer. I planned to get another mega-pack of bathroom tissue if the store had them; and sure enough, they did! Now I don\’t need to buy any more for a considerable time. I was happy to find canned chicken; last time I was at the store, there wasn\’t any. There were some Progresso® soups for 99¢ a can; and I found small cans of deviled ham @ 2/$1.00. Deviled ham isn\’t bad! Today, to my disappointment, the grab-bag bins didn\’t yield any protein bars; but I got an assortment of snacks. In fact, I ate one before starting the ride home; and it was a good thing I did. Getting back home was a slow trip. The wind was only about 7 mph, but that trailer was heavy; and riding felt like hard work. I was hungry when I reached home, even though I had eaten that snack! Once indoors, I started chilling out again after I had cooled down from the ride. I didn\’t leave the electric heater going while I was out; and it got pretty cold in here. So I fixed myself a mug of green tea; but it didn\’t do much to warm me. Repeat? It looks like I\’ll be chilling out tomorrow, too. The temperature will probably be around 46 degrees when I begin my long ride. I hope I won\’t be too cold if I don\’t wear slacks over my leg warmers, because that doesn\’t always work out well. Today I dressed in leg warmers and cycling shorts; and I wore slacks over them. The shorts kept creeping up my legs; and it drove me crazy. That\’s one reason why I prefer warm weather!

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Bicycle Floor Parking

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Bicycle Floor Parking is suitable for both MTB and road bikes. No need to lean your bicycles against the wall! I\’ve long had the idea that such leaning isn\’t good for the bicycle\’s wheels; and I use a similar stand for my road bike. Bicycle Floor Parking is made with a special push-in design; and the stand folds easily when you want to take it along to events. Fits most bicycles up to tire width 2.4 in/~6 cm; and has a lifetime warranty. Made of heat-treated, quality steel; and with normal use lasts for years.

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Organ Transplants?

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My hybrid had some organ transplants, you might say. Yesterday I got it back from the shop; and it now has new derailleurs, front and rear; and new cables. It has new brake pads, too. I rode my rejuvenated hybrid to the supermarket this morning. For a day when I intended to go rather easy, I actually rode fairly hard! The store opened a little late; and I needed to hurry on the way home. And  there was one block where road construction obliged me to dismount, and walk my bicycle along the sidewalk. That was a big nuisance! It was already 6:50 when I got home; and I had to hustle through putting away the groceries. In between that getting ready to go to work, I had to have something more to eat (I had a snack before I went to the store; but it wasn’t enough to hold me until lunchtime). On my previous visit the store was out of kitchen matches, but today the they had them; so now I\’ve got enough matches for a long time. I got produce and hummus, too; and mini Diet Cokes. Now I\’m thinking about the trek to the salvage store tomorrow. It won\’t be an easy trip; but it\’s a good thing that I\’m not trying to get there right now. We\’re under a wind advisory until 4:00 am tomorrow; and the overnight low temperature won\’t be much above freezing. Fortunately my trailer doesn\’t need any organ transplants. I got it ready for the trip right after I got home from work; so now I don\’t have to do it tomorrow morning. I know I\’ll have all I can do just to get moving because it will be so cold!

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Nothing New

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There\’s nothing new under the sun, they say; but does that also mean that there’s nothing new under the stars? Pre-dawn riding is a habit I\’ve had for many years; and the routine seems old and tedious sometimes. I drag myself out of bed at 4:30 am; and in this cold weather, it\’s a difficult start to my day. When I\’m cold, I feel tired; slow; and rather stiff. It doesn’t help that I really don’t get enough sleep. My pre-ride snack has little variety: usually it’s a banana or a cupful of grapes, with peanut butter. Next, I have to get dressed to ride; and cold weather means I need more layers. Of course all those layers mean I spend more time getting ready to ride; and somehow I tend to underestimate the amount of time I need. Once outdoors in the cold and dark, the usual woes quickly set in. After about half a mile, my nose is already runny; and it doesn’t take long for my feet to feel cold. We have several more cold nights store; and the trip to the salvage store on Saturday will be a frigid ride. Tomorrow morning\’s trek to the supermarket will be chilly, too. Today I got the hybrid back from the shop, so I should be able to go; and I need to! I\’m \”out-of\”, as my mother used to say; or at least, about to run out of things: apples, carrots, etc. Visiting the supermarket will mean I can\’t go out on the road bike; but such a trade-off is nothing new. Today I did hard efforts on the road bike, so I\’d ride easy tomorrow, anyhow. I might as well get in an errand while I\’m at it.

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