SpokEasy

SpokEasy

Author name: CAL

WATER!!!

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A blog about water?! This seems like an appropriate time for it. We\’ve got a deep freeze coming! With such weather comes the risk of frozen pipes; and I\’ll bet drinking water is flying off the shelves in any store that carries it. I\’m glad I keep several gallon jugs of Trinkwasser on hand. I did what I could to protect my pipes; but if it isn\’t adequate, and my pipes freeze anyhow, I won\’t have to worry about dehydration. I also did my laundry yesterday evening; and as always, I saved the water for \”flushing\”. If the pipes freeze, I\’ll still be able to, well, flush. Parts of the state might get sleet; and they say that power outages are possible. As things stand now, I\’d prefer frozen pipes to a power outage! I have to rely on electricity for heating; and without my electric heater, I\’ll be miserably cold in here. After all, I can drink only so much hot chocolate. I must keep mindful of the carbs; and I went over my count yesterday. Plain, hot H₂O doesn\’t appeal to me much; and more than small amounts of it make my stomach feel bloated. Green tea? Maybe. I\’m trying to ease more of it into my diet, to replace sodas; but I\’m not doing as well as I could wish ? At 8 am, it was a relatively balmy 40 degrees. I decided to hike to the drug store to get a few things. It\’s a good thing I went when I did. Before 10 am, the temperature had dropped to 33 degrees; the rain was getting heavier; and the wind was 24 mph. If I tried to go for a ride, my water bottles might freeze!

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Wild Ride

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It was a wild ride to the salvage store yesterday. The wind chill was in the mid-30s; and there were gusts up to 22 mph. I\’m glad I decided not to use the trailer. As it was, it felt like I\’d never get to the store! Of course I looked through the grab-bag bins — and found an RXBar! There were some packs of BelVita, too; and I got a few candy items for portioning out. Then I took a leisurely stroll through the store. I found corn tortillas; mild green taco sauce; canned chicken; and more. Thanks to the weather, I decided I could leave the cooler at home. That left more space in my panniers; and sure enough, the large bag of frozen peas I bought stayed cool. Then came the wild ride home. The wind direction meant that I got a lot of headwind, both going to the store and riding back home. At least I wasn\’t in a hurry on the way home; and thank goodness it wasn\’t raining! It was a good thing I fueled up a bit before I began that ride. If I hadn\’t, I would have gotten too hungry! My foraging in the grab-bag bins unearthed a 4-piece package of SnackWell\’s; and I ate two of the cookies. Even so, my stomach was growling when I got home. And Today And today — well, I tried. I knew that the weather would be cold; and I knew it would be cloudy. At about 8:30 am checked the NOAA site. Temperature, 39 degrees (or 4 degrees, if you prefer Celcius). Wind, 10 mph, from the North. There\’s a hard freeze watch in effect, starting tomorrow evening; and a wind chill watch, too. I had already prepared my ride food; and last night I fixed a recovery drink: cashew milk with Vega. So I decided to be brave and go out on the road bike. Muy plan was to ride out 15-16 miles before turning back for home, but I ran into several problems. One, last Friday I forgot to recharge my Garmin. It almost certainly would have given me the Low Battery signal halfway through my ride; and it\’s aggravating when that happens. Two, I put warmers in my gloves; but my fingers were freezing before I had gone one mile. Another problem is that getting a bite to eat is awkward when I\’m wearing those heavy gloves; and today I ran into mist about half a mile from home. Over many miles, that means getting quite damp; and with a headwind on the way home, I would have gotten miserably chilled. So I decided to turn around before I had gone even two miles. On the one hand, that makes me feel like a cowardly wimp. On the other, however, wisdom is the better part of valor.

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Chill Out!

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Let\’s chill out with this delicious frozen dessert! Maybe I\’m crazy for wanting ice cream on a day like today. In fact, at 8 am, the chill factor was down to the mid-30s. It was a cold ride to the salvage store; and with wind gusts up to 22 mph, it almost seemed that I\’d never get there! And it\’s cold in my apartment. I get tired of sitting in front of the electric heater. If only I could have central heating! But sometimes the ambient temperature has nothing to do with my desire for ice cream. It\’s all about sweetness. Enlightened Mint Chocolate Chunk® combines the coolness of mint with the richness of chocolate; great when you want to chill out on a hot day. It\’s great on a cold day, too — as long as you\’re parked in front of the heater! This dessert is keto-friendly. I\’m not on a ketogenic diet; but I do need to watch the carbs. Enlightened contains no high-fructose corn syrup; and no hydrogenated fats. I was very tempted to ride over to the store before work yesterday to buy some of this stuff. I finally decided to skip it. The very cold temperatures hadn\’t arrived yet, but it was drizzling; and starting to thunder. Maybe some other time!

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Wet Journal

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It\’s a wet journal today! At 5 am, it was raining. Not very hard; but raining nonetheless. I debated whether to try a short ride while I had a bite to eat. Here and there I heard a grumble of thunder. It seemed to be moving this way; and there\’s no telling when distant lightning might suddenly move a lot closer. I was of half a mind to poncho up and ride around the park a few times; then head for Whole Foods and get ice cream. But I spent a lot at a different grocery store yesterday; and it seemed a bit crazy to make a trip to the store for one item. It was also a cool 50 degrees; and wet hands and feet are cold hands and feet! This would have been a great chance to test hand warmers in wet conditions; but I just didn\’t feel like it (read: I was LAZY!) By 7:20 am, the temperature had dropped a few degrees; and the wind had become stronger. Gusts up to 22 mph! Staying in gave me time to wash yesterday\’s cycling shorts; and I hauled out the trainer for an indoor \”ride\” later. This is a work-from-home day, so the pedaling had to wait. To continue the wet journal, when I clocked out for lunch break it wasn\’t raining; although it was still overcast. The wind was picking up too; but I decided to ride over to the drug store. All week long, no matter what I did, I couldn\’t shake the desire for ice cream! Since I was going to be bad anyhow, I decided to go for broke; and bought a pint of Talenti. Salted Caramel Truffle. YUMMY! Tomorrow, 50% chance of rain; and mid-40s in the morning. Going to be a cold ride to the salvage store!

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Hunker Down

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It\’s time to hunker down again — but not for a tropical storm this time. We\’ve got rain and much colder weather on the way. It already rained today; and more is coming. The coldest weather will be Monday night; down to freezing or even below. That does not bode well for a Tuesday ride. The chill factor will be frightful that morning; and I simply don\’t have the right clothing for excursions in such conditions. I\’d have to bundle up such to a degree that I could hardly move! Sometimes it\’s better not to try to tough it out. We all have our limits; and we need to know them. I can hunker down at home with a cup of hot chocolate; and then put the bicycle in the trainer. But I\’m getting ahead of myself. One day at a time, they say! How about tomorrow? It likely will be raining, and a T-storm is possible. Fifty degrees and wind 10 mph. Not fun. Maybe I\’ll don the poncho and go ride the hybrid in the park. I\’m glad we didn\’t get any rain today until mid-morning. It was very foggy, though! I\’m also glad that I made a run to Winn Dixie. They open at 6 am, and that gave me more time to get what I wanted; and still reach home by a little after 7:00. There were few other shoppers there at that hour; and that\’s important in these masking days! Saturday\’s trip to the salvage store will be chilly; and possibly wet. As of now, it\’s a flip-of-the-coin, 50% chance of showers. Sunday, a 20% chance. That looks better for riding, but it will still be cold and windy. Now for the paradox: despite the approach of frigid conditions, I want ice cream!

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Not So Gras

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It looks like Mardi not so Gras this year. Ordinarily New Orleans sees fat profits from Fat Tuesday. Tourism is a major source of income for the city; but this year is different. New Orleans will be pretty much shut down. Bars will be closed for the weekend, beginning on the 12th. Hotel occupancy is well below normal; and there will be no parades. All that is a major blow for industries that are already struggling. The reason for the shut-down is, of course, the effort to keep Mardi Gras 2021 from becoming a super-spreader event. I must say that I\’m not confident that it will work. In a way, maybe the \”no parades\” is just as well. The weather will start getting colder tomorrow night; and Monday night won\’t be much above freezing. The high temperature for Mardi Gras Day won\’t reach 50, if the forecast is accurate. Some die-hard parade-goers would be out there anyway; but it\’s too cold for me! At least it will be sunny, but rain is predicted for tomorrow and Friday; and I hope it holds off long enough tomorrow morning for me to hit the supermarket before work. There\’s a chance of rain Saturday, too; and that\’s not so good. I want to go to the salvage store! Rainy weather and a long weekend make a good time for me to stay home a lot, and do some not so gras cooking. I try to keep things low in fat: limit cheese; use only small amounts of oil; and so on. It\’s time to take inventory of what I have in the freezer! I also have to plan the weekend\’s riding. With cold and rain about to set in, I think I\’ll emphasize use of the hybrid. It has fenders.

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Do I Flatter Myself?

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Do I flatter myself that I have an aerodynamic build? Maybe I do. I have narrow, sloping shoulders; and my bust is hardly worthy of the name. Much of my bulk is below the waist; a physique I inherited from my paternal grandmother. I have short legs; and no matter how much weight I lose, my legs will look heavy. I was well into my twenties before I came to grips with that fact! So, how muscular and strong are those legs of mine? I suspect that they aren\’t as strong as I wish, or I\’d be faster on the bike by now! Maybe I need more squats and lunges off the bike? It would help my aerodynamics if I rode in the drops more. When I\’m riding before daylight, it seems to me that I can see ahead better if I\’m not in the drops; and that\’s important. It\’s even more important on a foggy morning like today. Another reason I don\’t stay in the drops for long at a time is, I haven\’t yet learned how to manage a water bottle while in the drops. Water-bottle handling can be awkward when I\’m riding on the hoods! I wonder, am I truly a roadie? Riding in the drops can get uncomfortable quickly when I have a loaded Camel-Bak along for the ride. I notice that day before yesterday, when I was out for my long ride. At least I\’m not too bad at grabbing the Camel-Bak\’s drinking tube while in the drops; and that\’s a start. Aerodynamics is also about having minimal flap from clothing, etc. That\’s a requirement I certainly don\’t meet! But as long as my build is aerodynamic — or do I flatter myself?

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Slow Start

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Slow Start I got a slow start this work week. It’s just as well that I don’t go out on the road bike Monday mornings. For starters, I overslept. It was already 7:00 when I woke up; and I have to be at work for 8:00 on Mondays. This is another reason I wish I could work from home full time! Getting up so late threw today’s meal plans out of whack. Last night I planned to cook a turkey burger for breakfast, and there wasn’t time. Instead, I grabbed a couple of the cheap snacks from the salvage store. Fine nutrition, that! It’s lucky I fixed lunch last night; all I had to do was pack it in the cooler, so my slow start didn’t matter in that regard. It was just as well that I decided not to ride to work. A train came along just at the right time to block my entrance to the bike path. Normally I have one or two small bites of candy before I leave for work. I figure I’m coming out ahead if that indulgence keeps me from buying candy at work. This morning I was in too much of a hurry for it; and I wound up buying M&Ms at lunch time. And I thought I was doing so much better at avoiding sweets! Guess I was wrong. Maybe I was hungrier than I thought, too. As I was leaving work, I dug a GU-Gel out of my backpack pocket and devoured it. I wouldn’t have, but I had to detour to the drugstore to pick up a refill; and I didn’t want to get so hungry that I couldn’t resist ice cream. When I got home, I finally got to cook that turkey burger. I had breakfast for supper!

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Inventory

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I took inventory yesterday, instead of riding to the salvage store to buy yet another load of canned goods. I missed getting the ride; but the weather was gloomy, gray, and chilly. Mid-afternoon I set up the trainer and did some indoor pedaling. Boring, but better than nothing. Back to the inventory. I hadn\’t truly realized how much stuff I\’ve got! Just for starters, I have 15 cans of tuna fish (4.5-5 oz sizes; different brands); plenty of refried beans; and lots of whole beans. The canned whole beans will be handy if I want to make a Hoppin\’ John variation, and forget to soak the dried beans in time; or if I run out of dried beans. Now I\’ve got lists of what I have, and how much of it, for three locations: the back room; the front room; and (yes) under the bed. I\’ve organized the cans according to food type: tomatoes, refried beans, and so on. Canned goods aren\’t the only thing. I have several types of dried pasta on hand, too. Thanks to my carb-watching, I haven\’t cooked pasta in nearly a year; and I think I better use some of it before it starts to deteriorate. My stock of spices warrants inventory as well. Some are years old, and probably ought to be discarded. All they\’re doing is taking up space. I\’ve made a start on the stock of refried beans. Lunch was a cupful of refried black beans, heated with two cups of lightly sautéd chopped cabbage. It was pretty good; and it got some vegetables into me! Next Saturday I hope to get to the salvage store. I don\’t need more canned stuff; but I want to raid the grab-bag bins! And Today And today again it was overcast and gloomy. At 7 am, it was about 50 degrees; slightly warmer than I expected, but certainly not warm. And today, like yesterday, I didn\’t really feel like riding. It took some self-prodding to get myself to get dressed and out there on the bike. The wind was 12 mph; and I knew that that would only make me feel colder. I think I actually overdressed a little; but to me that\’s better than being too cold. If I knew that I could cruise at 20 mph for hours, slightly underdressed would make sense; but at my sometimes plodding pace, no. Thank heaven for warm packs. My heaviest gloves are oversized, which easily leaves room for them. Those heavy gloves made on-bike fueling awkward, though. The wind made bike control difficult at times; and I probably didn\’t take in as much electrolyte drink as I should have. At least once I had to grip the bottle\’s nozzle in my teeth while I stopped, so that I could put the bottle back into its cage. The sun stayed behind the clouds for most of my ride. It almost shone through for a moment now and then; and here and there I saw a small patch of blue sky. I\’m glad it didn\’t rain! I hope for more agreeable weather next Sunday. It\’s time to start pushing for a few more miles; and that will be easier if it\’s not cold!

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Pipe Dreaming

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Pipe dreaming doesn\’t always mean visions of being a virtuoso on the organ. We can\’t all be Buxtehude, after all! My version of pipe dreaming consists of notions of a long bicycle tour — \”some day\” — and that\’s big-time dreaming! I\’d need a LOT of training, that\’s for sure; and that\’s not easy. Like so many of us, I have limited time to ride and train. I\’m lazy, too. Despite good intentions, my \”force work\” days often fall short. My legs seem to get too tired, too fast; and if I work to get my heart rate into its maximum range, the legs are shot by the time I get there! Then there\’s the big question: will the tour have a SAG wagon? If not, what load will I have to carry? Tent? Cooking gear? I\’ll have several days\’ clothes; and snacks; and rain gear. The list can go on and on; and then I\’ll have to pore over it and pare down as much as possible. \”Travel light\” is the supreme rule! A touring bicycle needs racks fore and aft for carrying panniers; and the rear rack also needs carrying capacity on top. A handlebar bag is a good idea, too, if you don\’t want to have to stop every time you need to grab a bite to eat. Don\’t forget, fenders are important. I suspect that it\’s a rare tour that doesn\’t run into rain at least once! Fenders help keep your panniers — and your back — from getting too much dirty water sprayed all over them. It all sounds rather overwhelming; and potentially costly. Maybe some day I can do that bicycle tour. For now, it\’s merely pipe dreaming.

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