SpokEasy

Author name: CAL

Unify Attention?

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We hear about \”unify attention\” all the time; and especially when it comes to eating and weight control. They advise us, don\’t eat while you\’re reading/blogging/watching TV, etc. It\’s good advice in theory; but it isn\’t always practical. This morning I got back from my ride later than usual. It wasn\’t that I started late; but the headwind on the way back home made if feel as thought I might not get back home! It wasn\’t even a particularly strong wind; but it was dead on my nose, and it slowed me down big time. It was already past 6:30 when I at last did get home; and I ate bites of breakfast in between getting out of my cycling clothes, and getting dressed to go to work! As to \”unify attention\” — riding a bicycle is a multi-tasker\’s dream! First, there\’s the leg movement; and then there\’s balance. Then you have to hold a more or less straight line as you ride (I\’m not the champion at that, I\’ll admit!). If you\’re working on intervals; and don\’t rely on a bicycle computer to keep track of time for you; there\’s yet another task! Oh, and let\’s not forget eating on the bike! Getting back to that straight line, it\’s harder for me when I\’ve got a headwind; especially when I need to ride one-handed to get a drink. This morning I had to stop several times when I wanted some water, simply because that headwind made bike control so difficult. The wind is supposed to drop overnight; but it will be a few degrees colder than it was last night. It\’s kind of hard to unify attention when you\’re distracted by how cold it is!

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Rained Out

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Doesn\’t it gall you when you get rained out? I knew it was likely to happen. Last night\’s forecast said, showers likely; and wind gusts up to 25 mph. The overnight low temperature was 48; and for me that\’s cold. Add rain and gusty wind; and I have a hard time getting out on the bike. When I got up this morning it was drizzling, but the wind wasn\’t as strong as I expected; and I thought of pulling on the poncho and heading for the park. Fifteen minutes later, it was raining harder; and somehow I just couldn\’t stomach going out in it. I set up the bike in the trainer and pedaled for half an hour. Indoor riding is a drag; but better than nothing. I\’m not sure how much a rain suit would help. I suppose it would keep the rain off; but I suspect it gets very hot under that suit, even in cold weather. I\’ve got the idea that rain suits are for shorter, less intense rides; such as the commute to work. It remained gloomy gray all day; and it rained on and off. The high temperature was about 53 degrees; and tonight it will go down to about 40. It\’s going to be rather windy, too; and the chill factor could be as low as 31 degrees. And I\’ve got it easy compared to some people. I\’m glad I\’m not in the crosshairs of that Nor\’easter! At least the sky is going to clear up for a day or two. But I suppose the humidity will persist for a while; and I might get rained out again come Friday. I\’m glad the weekend will be clear.

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Long Haul?

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This cold snap feels like a long haul already. We\’ve had several consecutive nights of temperatures near or below freezing; and that\’s more than enough for me! Our humid climate makes the cold seep right down to my bones; and I feel sluggish and tired as a result. Some people say that \”cold perks you up\”; but it does NOT have that effect on me! Let those people spend one of these cold spells in New Orleans; and they might change their tune. Years ago I had a co-worker who had moved down here from somewhere in the North — Ohio, I think it was — and she said that, her first Winter here, she had never been so cold in her life! Cold weather makes the Sunday long ride feel like a long haul. As stated, the cold saps my energy; and that makes any ride seem longer and more tedious. My energy bars get hard and tough; and GU-Gels become semi-solid. The water in my Camel-Bak gets too cold; and so does my electrolyte drink. Thus keeping hydrated means getting colder! At a pit stop, all those layers are awkward; and the faucet at my usual pit stop produces only cold water. My hands do not like that! Thank goodness for warming packs! It happens like this so often. We plug along with weather that\’s really too warm for the season; and when it gets cold, it does so with a vengeance! The contrast is too sudden; and we have no time for a gradual adjustment. Is it like this everywhere? It isn\’t February yet; so we\’re in this for the long haul. In fact, February and March are generally our coldest months; and I just hope I can stay warm enough!

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Northern Lights

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It\’s been so cold here, I almost feel that I can step outside at night and view the Northern Lights. Unfortunately we\’re too far South here to see them; but all the same, my place feels like an igloo. I even wonder whether an igloo would be warmer! Last night it got colder than ever. The overnight low was all of 29 degrees; and we\’re lucky that the wind has fallen to near-calm. When there\’s a strong wind, the cold gets driven into my abode; and of course I get a nasty headwind for part of my ride. And no Northern Lights to help take my mind off the cold! It\’s also lucky that the weather has cleared up. When the sun is out, cold weather is a tiny bit more bearable; and that makes it a little easier to get out there on the bike! Today\’s ride was a short one. I got to my usual pit-stop point, and discovered that the restrooms were padlocked shut. There was a sign there saying that the restrooms were closed because of the freezing temperatures. I didn\’t know where else I might find a restroom; and it\’s lucky that I didn\’t really have to \”go\”. There was no point in riding any farther; so I headed back home. I was a real slowpoke today, even though there wasn\’t much wind. Cold weather makes me feel stiff; unenergetic; and tired. I rode miles before I began to feel warmed up. All those layers probably didn\’t help. Slacks worn over leg warmers somewhat hamper my legs\’ movement; and I don\’t know why I didn\’t think to wear thermal socks. I did wear double socks, including one pair of merino socks; but my poor feet quickly became cold. Back Home Once back home, I downed my recovery drink; and then got busy cooking. I made squashed sauce; and used up a jar of spaghetti sauce that I got at the salvage store. The squash and onion had been in the fridge; and it was amazing just how hard it was to chop them. I was standing right in front of my heater; but even so, my hands were stiff and clumsy from the cold. Handling cold veggies only made my hands clumsier; and I was relieved to get the task finished. Lunch was squashed sauce over hominy. I got the hominy at the salvage store as a \”just to try it\” purchase; and it was immediately clear that hominy is better mixed with other things. It has little flavor of its own! I wish I could call on the Northern Lights to get my laundry done for me. It\’s quite a nuisance doing laundry at any time; but when it\’s as cold as it is today, it\’s even harder. But I loathe having to go to the laundromat; so I\’ve just got to do the washing at home. It will be cold again tonight; and rain is on the radar for tomorrow night. I wouldn\’t be able to see the Northern Lights even if we weren\’t too far South.

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The Cold Shoulder

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Mother Nature is giving us the cold shoulder, big time. Yesterday morning I skipped going out on the road bike, because it was so frigid. The chill factor was in the upper 20s; and there was the threat of rain as well. There was even a chance, albeit a slight one, for a bit of sleet. I have zero experience riding in sleet; and didn\’t need to get caught in it. Yes, I know: we learn by doing; but in the dark isn\’t the best time to start learning how to ride on ice! I wished I didn\’t have to go to work; but I had to anyway. So I piled on the layers; and put warming packs inside my gloves. If I could have ridden the hybrid to work, the activity would have helped keep me warm; but the poor bike is in the shop. All day I kept checking the NOAA site, and at noon it was still just 37 degrees; and the chill factor was still below freezing. In fact, a freeze warning was posted for last night! I had to skip the trip to the salvage store today. In addition to my bicycle woes, the chill factor was 28 degrees at the time I would have started for the store; and a NNE wind at that. That means a headwind on the way home! It would be some consolation, maybe, if I could give Mother Nature the cold shoulder right back; but I\’m not sure how to do that. I know this much: I don\’t want to risk hypothermia in the attempt!

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Bicycle Charm

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Bicycle Charm can be read in two ways. There\’s the charm of riding a bicycle and seeing new places; and there\’s Bicycle Charm do-it-yourself jewelry. This kit includes 30 pieces; each one measures 24 x 31 mm/0.94 x 1.22 inches; and weighs 2.5 grams/0.88 oz. Made of zinc alloy. Color: antique silver. Enjoy making jewelry for yourself; or to give as gifts to your cycling friends. Great for keychains, necklaces, and more!

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In Reverse

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I\’m doing things in reverse today: blogging in the morning; and I\’l have to set up the trainer so I can \”ride\” after work. It\’s simply too cold out there this morning. I feel rather like a wimp for not bundling up and going for a ride; but let\’s face it. It\’s 37 degrees; and the chill factor stands at 27 degrees. Bucking a 20 mph wind on the way home isn\’t fun even in warm weather; but in temperatures like today\’s, it\’s tortuous! We have a freeze warning for tonight; and that\’s unusual for us. Of course tomorrow morning will be very cold; and it might deter me from going to the salvage store even if my hybrid weren\’t out of commission. All I can hope for, is that this weather won\’t last long. At least the wind should be much calmer by Sunday; but it will still be frigid. Maybe it\’s time to take the occasional Sunday off from riding? We all need a break now and then; and if my feet are cold right now, they\’ll be much colder during a 40-mile ride on a cold day! Perhaps ironically, \”riding\” in the trainer because it\’s so cold outdoors makes me overheat! That\’s kind of going in reverse. I\’m running out of time, so I have to cut this short. I need some extra time to bundle up so I won\’t freeze while walking to work.

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Bad Trip

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This morning I tried to ride to the supermarket; but it turned into a bad trip. There had evidently been heavy rain; and the path I was using was totally awash in some places. For a short while it rained hard again; and that made a mess of my glasses. Then the mini-bungee that secured the right-side pannier to the rack came loose. It caught in the rear derailer; and oh, what a mess that was! The derailer got yanked out of position; and the bungee had detached itself from the pannier, and was stuck in the derailer. I had to pull pretty hard to get the bungee out; but I couldn’t get the derailer into place. In fact, it looked like it was caught in the spokes. The bike was unridable; and I had to walk it home. It\’s a good thing the rain had pretty well stopped; and it’s also a good thing that this didn’t wait to happen until I was just leaving the supermarket parking lot! Thanks to the rain, there were areas that were very muddy; and that contributed to the bad trip impression. It was still dark, too; and that didn\’t help. Frigid As they say, misfortunes seldom come singly. As I was rolling my crippled bicycle home, my left shoe came untied; and I had to stop to tie the laces. Soon afterwards, my right shoe repeated the act; and in a few minutes, it came untied again! I left work early to give me time to get the bike to the shop. I figured my derailer problem was no quick, easy fix; and I was right. I had to leave the bike there; and it might be a week before it\’s ready. I guess I\’ll have to forget about going to the salvage store Saturday. It will be a bad ride if I go out on the road bike early tomorrow! It won\’t be much above freezing; and winds of 10-15 mph mean a chill factor in the 20s! On top of that, there\’s a 50% chance of rain. The frigid temperatures will be bad enough; but add getting soaked and I\’ll be miserable. I know from experience that a poncho isn\’t the answer. Even with that covering I still get plenty wet; and a wind-whipped poncho makes it hard to control the bicycle; especially if it\’s a strong sidewind. It looks like there\’s even a slight chance of some sleet, or freezing rain. I don\’t have the right kind of tires for riding in such conditions; so it looks like I\’ll have to set up the road bike in the trainer. Part of me says, Go out and ride, and don\’t be a sissy; and the other part says, You\’ve got to draw the line somewhere. No sense risking hypothermia. That would be a really, REALLY bad trip!

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Mental Gymnastics

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Trying to do intervals feels like mental gymnastics. My bicycle computer isn’t set to remind me when it\’s time to begin the next hard effort; so I have to rely on my mind. That\’s surprisingly difficult. This morning I did force work; and during the second set, I lost count of the intervals. For the first set, I did three efforts of 30-45 seconds; with easier riding for 90 seconds before the next hard push. During the second set, I suddenly couldn’t remember whether I had done three efforts; or only two! On the way back home, I had a slight breeze against me; and I worked at pushing the pace against it for 30 seconds; riding easily for a minute and a half;  and then doing another hard effort. After 15-20 minutes of this, I couldn’t keep track any more. My mental gymnastics need a lot more exercise, I think. They certainly aren’t ready for the Olympics; nor even the local competition. This morning it was about 10 degrees warmer than it was yesterday; and I didn’t need to add a second layer to my legs. I didn’t need thermal socks, either. 🙂 But tonight it’s going to get colder again; and on top of that, rain is likely. All day it’s going to get even cooler; and tomorrow night’s low won’t be much above freezing. Ditto for Friday night. I hope I can ride to the supermarket before work tomorrow, and get a few things. I really need to go to the salvage store Saturday; because when I got home after my last visit, I saw that I’d been undercharged for three items. It’ll be a cold ride, though! Are there any mental gymnastics that can keep me warmer?

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Debating Team?

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Does the cycling world sometimes feel like a debating team? For example, there\’s the argument over whether or not to shave your legs; especially for men. Proponents say that shaved legs heal more readily in case of road rash; and make massages more comfortable. They say that shaved legs provide an aerodynamic plus; and I agree with the opinion that shaved legs simply look better. I\’ve got a personal question for the debating team; and that is whether I\’m doing my \”training\” wrong! Like so many riders, I have limited time to spend on the bike; and we time-crunched cyclists must make the best of what time we do have. I’m not sure I’ve been making good use of my time, because it’s taken several years for me to get marginally faster! I\’m sure the debating team is arguing about the best on-bike food. Some cyclists are all for energy bars; and other riders argue for real food, à la Feed Zone. I myself have drifted into the energy-bar camp; and over the years have tried a number of different products. My food for the weekly long ride has to be compact in size; calorie dense; and easy to carry. Once I tried taking along a sandwich, cut into quarters; and it was simply too bulky to be practical. The debating team can tear into everything from roadie shoes versus MTB shoes; to rice cakes versus Clif Bars; to training with power versus training with heart rate. The list goes on and on! It\’s all too much to keep up with. I\’ll leave the arguing to the debating team; and keep using what works for me.

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