SpokEasy

SpokEasy

Author name: CAL

Christmas Coming

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It hardly feels like Christmas coming. The weather is wintry enough for me; but otherwise it doesn\’t really seem like holiday time. We all know the biggest reason for that: that notorious virus. Among other things, COVID-19 makes gatherings precarious. On December 25 I usually join the folks who lived down the block from my family when we were kids. This year, I don\’t quite dare. Online shopping is another way in which it doesn\’t seem like any special day is on the calendar. Whether it\’s Christmas coming; or someone\’s birthday; or an anniversary, there\’s something cold and impersonal about buying gifts online. Children\’s tricycles; special goodies; just about anything we want to find, we don\’t have to go to a brick-and-mortar store. The excitement of looking for that special something gets lost. Shipping gifts halfway across the country is a very different thing from tucking wrapped presents under a Tree. The sense of anticipation for unwrapping gifts with family simply isn\’t there. Besides, when we have to ship everything, most of us must put limits on the size and/or weight of each item. My front room is so cold that I stay out of it as much as I can. It\’s tolerable for indoor riding, when the activity will warm me up; but even if I had room for it, a Christmas tree wouldn\’t be much fun. Not if I have to bundle up to go sit next to it! I\’m now on holiday break; and don\’t have to return to work until January 4, 2021. It looks like the weather will be clear on the 21st, and hope to see the \”kiss\” in the sky. That would be a great Christmas gift!

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Cold Weather Woes

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Cold Weather Woes A polar bear I am not! Cold weather woes are abundant for me. To begin with, I’m not a polar bear. Even this one looks like it might not be too happy about the cold weather! I’m the type who gets cold easily; and the older I get, the more sensitive my head is to cold. I sure do need my helmet liner!   I’ve had wardrobe issues ever since it got cool enough for me to want leg warmers. Last February I weighed at least 20 pounds more than I do now; and my cycling clothes got too stretched out. As a result, the silicone bands now can’t grip well enough. Thus my shorts’ legs slip up as I ride; and the leg warmers‘ top bands slide downwards. I have to stop way too often to pull things back into place; and it’s most annoying. If I’m using the road bike, there’s the added hassle of keeping the bike from falling over while I’m adjusting my clothing. I need four hands! I live in a humid climate. Humidity is notorious for making hot weather seem hotter; and it also makes cold weather seem even colder. Add wind, and you’ve got a penetrating, bone-numbing chill. No amount of clothing seems adequate against it. My heaviest gloves don’t keep my hands warm enough. Double socks don’t keep my feet warm. Even with several layers on them, my arms feel cold. This morning, as of 6 am, it’s 41 degrees; and the chill factor is 35. Humidity, 74%. I’m debating whether to make a trip to the supermarket in about half an hour. On the one hand, if I go now I won’t have to go on Saturday. On the other, I’d freeze out there. Oh, these cold weather woes!

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An Early Start

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An early start can be helpful. For example, the cycling enthusiast who aspires to ride in Grand Tours might have an advantage if he* got started as a little tyke on a balance bike. Of course it\’s important not to push training too hard, too soon; from all I\’ve ever read, that can be disastrous. No matter what ambitions you might have to compete, enjoying your time in the saddle is important. If you want to improve, of course that means putting in the effort; and I\’ll be the first to admit that that\’s not always fun! I\’ve long had the idea that an advantage to beginning while young, is that the muscles are getting strengthened and trained as they grow. Youngsters have more energy than adults; and the younger you are, the more quickly you can bounce back from minor injuries and muscle soreness. An early start is important in other ways, too. Take century-ride day, for example — especially if you\’re using an adult tricycle. I began that ride before 5 am; and struggled with the wind all day. It slowed me down so much that it was almost 8 pm when I at last hit the triple-digit mark. I had trained up as well as I could; and even gotten a 3-speed hub. But that wind was almost too much. Today I started early in another respect. After work, I got Chinese take-out: \”Christmas dinner\”! My fortune cookie read: \”Only one who attempts the absurd can achieve the impossible\”. It reminded me of that long, tough day on the tricycle, putting in 100 miles. I had once thought such a trek was impossible. I sure fooled myself on that one! *\”He\” is gender-neutral here; there are big, important bicycle races for women, too!

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Before the Fall

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This is the night before the fall. Speaking of falling, I sure wouldn\’t want to fall over that cliff! If that\’s a bike path I see, ride it very carefully; especially if the wind is blowing hard towards the sea. At present, the temperature is 50 degrees. According to the forecast, it won\’t get much cooler overnight. But tonight there\’s an 80% chance of rain; and tomorrow the temperature will drop all day long. Tomorrow night, it\’s down to 39! That\’s quite a change. I\’ll need quite a few layers for riding in that chill; and a 10 mph wind won\’t help. The prospect of rain doesn\’t please me at all. It means more mud! Riding in the rain is miserable in cold weather. I don\’t have enough high-tech rain-shedding cycling gear; and I quickly get soaked. Then my hands and feet get too cold; and of course my nose acts up. Incidentally, a drawback to using a helmet-mounted headlight is this: I can\’t use a helmet cover. If I don\’t have a poncho with a hood that can go under the helmet, wet-day rides mean soaked hair; and that isn\’t fun when I have to go to work after my ride. It\’s not fun even when I don\’t have to go to work! So when the weather is going to turn a lot colder, give some thought to how you\’ll dress for your rides before the fall. It\’s much better to have all your gear ready, than to have to frantically hunt for leg warmers, skull caps, and so on after the temperature has dropped. And how nice it would be to enjoy a mug of hot chocolate after a freezing-cold ride!

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Prelude

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We\’re getting a prelude to Winter, it seems. The official first day of the season is a week off, but we\’re getting some cold weather; and it arrived with some strong wind! In fact, there was a wind advisory last night. It makes me glad that Monday is off-bikes day. At 5 am, the wind was 17 mph; and gusts up to 29 mph! The chill factor was something like 44 degrees. If I were riding on top of the levee, such cold and wind would be a major headache. The wind is dying down, but tomorrow morning it will still be barely 50 degrees. As far as I\’m concerned, that\’s cold! Time for some layering! When the temperature drops, I\’m liable to opt for a long-sleeved blouse rather than a cycling jersey. This gives my arms an extra layer of covering. Depending on how cold it is, I might pull on a jersey over the blouse. Then comes my vest and a windbreaker. I really need to get another cycling jacket, because the windbreaker is too long for cycling clothing. When I stop and want to dismount, the windbreaker\’s tail is too likely to snag on the rear of the saddle. For leg warmth, I\’m experimenting with wearing an old pair of slacks over my cycling shorts. At least they won\’t slide down as my leg warmers are apt to do! And there are gloves, extra socks, and — a filter mask? Sometimes. I don the mask; put on my helmet and fasten the strap; then pull the mask down to my chin. I can quickly pull the mask up into position if I need to. So there it is; our prelude to Winter.

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Not My Name

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That\’s not my name! I certainly hope not. Mud, that is. There\’s plenty of mud in my neighborhood now. Road work is in progress; and the rain we had over Friday night/Saturday morning has made a real mess of things. Yesterday afternoon I went for a ride on the levee. I didn\’t think to carry my bicycle over that mud into the street (there\’s not much of a sidewalk here); and the mud patch was too wide for me to step over it. Not that it would have helped much; there\’s mud smeared all over the street surface, too. So there I was, pedaling with muck-slicked shoes. I\’m glad the hybrid has toe clips, not cleats, because the cleats would have gotten gummed up. Platform pedals might not have provided the traction my shoes needed. When I got back home, of course I had to tread back through all that mess again. I had to fetch my whisk broom so I could brush at least the worst of the mud off of my bicycle\’s tires before taking it indoors. Today I didn\’t ride until 9 am, which is late for my Sunday ride. Even then I did only 10 miles. The road bike is still in the shop, and my main aim is to keep from becoming completely out of condition before I get it back. This time, when I arrived back home, I remembered to carry my bike over the worst of the muck. Incidentally, conditions underfoot reminded me of this children\’s poem. More showers are likely tonight, and again Tuesday night. That certainly won\’t improve matters! Not for me, anyhow; but some cyclists enjoy riding through the mud. Mud? That\’s not my name. I\’ll stick with road riding.

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Lethargic

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Lethargic is what I am today. It was gray and rainy this morning. I didn\’t ride to the salvage store, and the lack of exercise only made me feel less energetic. I went to the drug store, but I didn\’t ride. There\’s road work in progress in the street where I live; and it\’s enough of a mess even when it isn\’t raining. I didn\’t feel like riding through all that mud. At the drug store, I found Cold Stone Protein Crisp bars. The one I got is a flavor called Birthday Cake Remix. It\’s pretty good; another addition to my ride-food pantry! By noon or so the rain had stopped; and the sun was dodging in and out of the clouds. Around 1 pm I finally decided to go for a ride, to see if I\’d feel less lethargic afterwards. I also needed to do something to get myself to stop nibbling for a while. Recording everything I eat is irksome at times; but if I want to keep pre-diabetes from progressing to full-blown Type II, I\’ve got to be honest with myself about what I eat; even if it seems downright brutal. It was warm enough not to need leg warmers for the ride. I\’m glad of that! I get so sick and tired of slip-down leg warmers and slip-up shorts legs. It was warm enough for half-fingered gloves, too. I wore my lightweight skull cap, though; and a long-sleeved blouse and my vest. The ride didn\’t make me feel take-on-the-world energetic, but I\’m glad I rode. If nothing else, I burned off about 200 hundred calories. Once back home, it\’s still hard for me to keep from munching — especially the ice cream I got yesterday!

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Weekend Fun

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Weekend fun? That depends on how you define \”fun\”. News reports give me the impression that most people aren\’t having the time of their lives: wearing masks; social distancing; and on and on. It certainly is wearisome, and many people are more than fed up with it all. I can\’t really blame them. I\’ve been thankful all during this pandemic that I\’m not the kind who needs a lot of socialization in order to enjoy myself. Some people thrive on that, and the current restrictions must be very hard on them. I wonder how avid group-riding cyclists are coping. Do they wear filter masks during their rides? Make sure to stay at least one bike-length apart at all times? Or have they had to put group rides on hold? My weekend fun might be rather damp. It\’s warming up again, and rain is in the forecast. A 40% chance doesn\’t mean certain rain, but all the same I might skip going to the salvage store tomorrow. I enjoy the ride, and in the store there\’s always the excitement of the chase: what will I find this time? And for a fact, I would like to get more hummus! But at present I don\’t need more canned goods. For months my excuse for continuing to stockpile stuff is: suppose a major COVID-19 shut-down comes, and everybody has to stay strictly indoors for several weeks? I don\’t think it\’s impossible. Sunday looks like it could get wet, too, although mainly in the afternoon. I hope I don\’t get rained on during my long ride! Then, Sunday night, the temperatures will drop again; down to the mid-40s! That\’s not my idea of fun.

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By Camel-Bak?

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By Camel-Bak? 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.” “This is a paid link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.” For me, mention of Arabia conjures up images of endless, sandy desert. In one Bugs Bunny cartoon, Bugs ends up in Arabia (I suppose it’s Arabia) while trying to get to Miami Beach; and I guess I’ve seen it too many times. The UAE has its share of cycling possibilities; check out Dubai! Or, try the Seih Al-Salam. This is a desert trail; so I got that one right, anyway! Other trails are located in parks; and Nad Al Sheba is a converted camel racecourse. It includes several loops of varying lengths, and a children’s course as well. Naturally there’s more to the UAE than Dubai. See here for more ideas. You’ll find Quick Rides, Long Tours, and more! The UAE even has a cycling event especially for women: the Dubai Women’s Cycling Challenge. This event is open to female riders of all abilities, from novices to racing cyclists.  I don’t think want to cycle the UAE in July or August. Temperatures during the Summer can reach well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and that’s too hot for me! Bring on the cooling vest; and don’t forget the sunblock! Winters are warm, with minimum temperatures of 50-57 degrees Fahrenheit. For me, that’s not “warm”; it’s cool enough for cold-weather gear. Bring out the leg warmers; or try some embrocation cream. Arabic is the UAE’s official language, although English is often spoken there. Even so, learning some frequently used expressions in Arabic is helpful. Some of these etiquette tips sound familiar; it’s a small world, isn’t it?    

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Reschedule?

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Must I reschedule my breakfast time? For the longest time, my usual weekday-morning thing is to eat something small, e.g. a banana, before I go out on the road bike. When I get home afterwards, I eat \”real\” breakfast. But after a ride, especially if I did intense efforts, I usually don\’t want a large meal right away. That causes complications on the days when I must go to work on-site. I have only half an hour to forty-five minutes to fix and eat breakfast; dress to go to work; and then head on out. If I do eat a large meal then, I have to gulp it down too fast for comfort. I feel overly full and bloated afterwards. But a small meal won\’t hold me over until my morning break; much less until lunch time! Reschedule breakfast so I have a full meal before I ride? Uh, no, I don\’t think so. A big meal 15 minutes after I roll out of bed doesn\’t sit very comfortably in my stomach; and can get a lot more uncomfortable if I do on-bike force exercises! I keep snacks at my desk; and try to leave them alone unless I really need something to eat. Now that I have pre-diabetes and must be carb-conscious, I have to watch what I eat for snacks. Too many easy-to-grab items are chock-full of carbohydrates, and not the good kind. We really aren\’t supposed to eat at our desks, and that\’s another limitation. Plain carrot sticks are permissible, I guess; but no hummus! I\’m very much looking forward the holiday break (we get two full weeks this year!), when I don\’t have to rush off to work post-ride. Then I can have real breakfast!

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