SpokEasy

SpokEasy

Author name: CAL

Keep on Logging

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Keep on Logging! Birling, anyone? I’d keep on logging if I were a lumberjack. Maybe I’d even try birling! With prediabetes and carb-counting, I have to keep on logging in another way. I have to admit that this constant food-tracking is something of a drag. It’s partly an awareness exercise, I think. I’ve begun to see that, if I want rolled oats mixed with yogurt for breakfast, I’ll have to make it mainly yogurt, and not so much oatmeal. I’ve also noticed that I need to do more advance planning. So far I’ve planned meals one by one, as the day goes on. A little more work ahead of time should make it easier to keep the carbs in check. I’ve probably already mentioned that I’m working out ways to use up my stock of “naughty” foods; diluting the carbs, so to speak. Sammac, for instance. This creation let me get rid of a box of mac n cheese by mixing the prepared mac n cheese with 14.75 oz of (canned) salmon. The box from the mac n cheese says, about 3 servings per box; 51 (yes, that’s fifty-one!) grams of carbs per serving. Mixing in all that salmon, and some peas, means 26 grams of carbs per 1/2 cup serving. SamMac seems quite solid and filling to me, so I don’t eat huge amounts at one time. In addition to trying to curb the carbs, I’m tracking calories. That’s a tricky one. How many calories do I really need? If I go out on a Sunday; ride 44-45 miles; and burn off 1200+ calories, I need fuel! Whatever calorie count I need, I need to pick up the riding again. And log some more miles for Cycle September!

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Under Cloudy Skies

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We\’ve been under cloudy skies here for several days. It keeps things from getting so hot, of course, but a constantly gray sky is a little depressing, too. It\’s a good thing I can listen to a cheerful march or two. This morning it wasn\’t raining, but the wind was quite stiff. Riding against it made my legs feel stiff! More rain is likely over the next two or three days, so I\’ll have to ride under cloudy skies for a while longer. Thankfully, we were spared the heavy rain of Beta. So far. Beta has crawled ashore over the Texas coast, and is now moving ENE. If it doesn\’t degenerate soon, I guess we aren\’t completely in the clear yet. Hurricane Teddy is aiming for Nova Scotia. Paulette regenerated herself; a rare occurrence, but it can happen. We\’ve had a windy few days. Yesterday I went to the park to ride because it was both blowing pretty hard and raining. I didn\’t dare to ride as fast as I wanted, because it was hard to see. I\’m not sure anti-fog spray would have helped. I tried something like that years ago, and the stuff fumed off and made my eyes burn. Besides, it was raining; not foggy. When I ride in the rain, and have to go in to work on-site afterwards; what do I do about socks? During rainy spells I typically end up with extra pairs of socks in the laundry. Yesterday after my ride, I decided not to change into dry socks. I had to get to work, and that would have meant a second pair of wet socks. I\’m looking forward to seeing the sun again, but I hope it starts to get cooler. If we\’re tired of clouds and rain, we\’re also tired of heat!

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Calculations

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The calculations are constant under certain conditions. When drizzles all day, and you\’re tired of being shut up indoors; can you go for a ride? Will the wind rise too much? Will lightning move in? That was the case last Saturday. With the hybrid in the shop, I didn\’t have my usual way to go grocery shopping. So I stayed home, and did some more cooking during the morning. Here is where calculations come in again. I sound like a broken record talking about that salvage store, but what can I do? That place is habit-forming, and I have plenty of canned goods from the store. Among them were two cans of Chef Boyardee® pasta and meatballs. Pasta again! All that high-carb stuff, unsuited to a prediabetes eating plan. How can I use it up? On went the thinking cap. I soon hit on a way to \”dilute\” the original canned product. Step 1: put 1/2 cup of the canned pasta stuff in a large cooking pot. Portion out the rest, 1/2 cup to a food storage box. Freeze them for later. Step 2: to the cooking pot, add: one 28 oz can of tomatoes; one 15 oz can of tomato sauce; 1 cup chopped red onion; and 1 1/2 cups chopped zucchini. Put the pot over medium heat. When it\’s about at the boiling point, turn the heat down to a simmer. Cook 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until zucchini is tender. Makes ~6 1/2 cups. Per 1 cup: 78 calories/14 grams carbs. By 3 pm, I had had enough of cooking, carb-counting, and sitting around. I decided to go for a short ride, although it was still drizzling. I couldn\’t know whether drizzle might suddenly turn to deluge. Call it a calculated risk.

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Tinkering

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Tinkering doesn\’t have to involve hammer and chisel, and it doesn\’t require a tool shed. Day before yesterday I got to tinkering again — in the kitchen. I had piled up some dozen boxes of various brands of mac n cheese. I need to start using it up, and that\’s rather a predicament. I\’m working at limiting carb intake to 150-200 grams per day; and macaroni is high-carb! I don\’t want to throw away all that mac n cheese. Is there a way around it? Most definitely, yes! I\’ll refer to the salvage store again. Some months ago, I was shopping there and found a 14.75 oz can of wild-caught salmon; and for less than $3.00! I got the idea for this new dish from a book of mine. It suggested stretching boxed mac n cheese by adding a can of drained tuna, and a half-cup of peas. I\’ve done that often enough, and the results are quite good. Why not use salmon, since I had it on hand? I used the entire can; drained and flaked. The instructions on the box of macaroni said, use 2 tablespoons of butter or margarine; I used one tablespoon of olive oil. And 1/4 cup plain yogurt instead of 3 tablespoons of milk. Today I had fresh rosemary. It seems to be the go-to garnish for grilled salmon; and I assure you, dried rosemary from the spice rack can\’t compare to its fresh counterpart! I also finally used the last of some scallion tops. Simply prepare the mac n cheese per directions on the box; and mix in the rest of the stuff. Yield: ~4 1/4 cups. Per 1/4 cup: 129 calories/13 grams carbs. Oh, by the way, if I may say so myself: SamMac, as I call it, is really macaroni!

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The Northern Plains

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The Northern Plains Let’s head for the Northern Plains! Sparely populated North Dakota, aka the Peace Garden State, seems to have ample room for cyclists. The state maintains a number of trails; both off-road and paved. Mongoose Malus Fat Tire MTB Is mountain biking your thing? MTB trails vary widely in length. The Hillman Trail in Icelandic State Park is three-quarters of a mile long; the Maah Daah Hey trail system totals 144 miles. Each of the MDH’s nine segments has its own unique character. It looks to me like MDH would make a complete vacation; take a day or two to explore each part. The trail system includes eleven campgrounds. Maybe pack along a tent, and stay on the trail until you’ve ridden all of it? Tommaso Sentiero For we roadies who prefer to ride on paved surfaces, there are four parks offering such trails. All are short, ranging from 2.1 miles to 13 miles. Missouri Valley Millennium Legacy Trail leads to interesting historical, cultural, and recreational points along the Missouri River. I think I’d enjoy that one. It would be great to have a look at the USA’s longest river. The Cavlandic Trail is 13 miles out-and-back. It connects the city of Cavalier to Icelandic State Park. Perhaps you could enjoy the park, then pedal to Cavalier for dinner? North Dakota has some of the most varied weather in the United States. June through August is the best time for outdoor activities. Winters can get very cold; well below zero degrees Fahrenheit. Too cold for me! On second thought, I think I might do well to avoid the Northern Plains. 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.” ABOUT ME © 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 ✍🏻 Facebook Twitter Youtube INTERPRETER

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Battle Weary

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This battle weary knight has lots of company. We who live on and near the Gulf are SO TIRED of hurricanes! Laura and Sally spared New Orleans, but now there\’s a tropical storm off the coast of central Mexico; and guess which way it\’s headed at the moment? In our direction. So we still can\’t really relax. My ride plans for the weekend are rather nebulous. The hybrid is still in the shop, and I don\’t suppose I\’ll have it back before next Tuesday. Things might not be so great for the road bike, either. Rain if forecast for all weekend! I certainly feel battle weary for always having to watch the forecasts. How hot/cold? Rain, or no? Wind? Back to the hybrid. Grocery shopping is tricky without my sturdy cargo-carrier, especially for more fragile items such as bananas. They don\’t do very well in a backpack that bounces and jolts around with my every step, and they fare even worse carried in my arms. Last night I placed an online order with Whole Foods, so I don\’t need to worry about food shopping until next week. I have another battle on my hands, too. I need to start using up some of the stuff from the salvage store before I run out of room for myself. As I now have pre-diabetes, I invent ways of using the high-carb items so that I won\’t exceed my daily carb limit of 150-100 grams. For example, I think we\’re familiar with boxed mac n cheese. I have some 12 boxes of it on hand. I got out the 14.75 oz can of salmon that I found at the salvage store (under $3.00!), and made SamMac; to wit, salmon and macaroni. That\’s really, well, macaroni!

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Pound for Pound?

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Pound for pound? Weight is a concern for many people, both cyclist and non-cyclist. I know I\’d like to shed a few more of my half-kilos. I\’ve read often enough that muscles weighs more than fat. Probably most people have! Some argue that such a statement is nonsense; that 16 ounces is 16 ounces. And so it is. We know the ancient joke about feathers and lead, don\’t we? I call the \”muscle weighs more than fat\” statement overly simplistic rather than nonsensical. I think that what it really means is, per unit of volume (such as a cubic centimeter), muscle is heavier than fat. When I first read about how pro cyclists train for a racing season, I came across the term \”making weight\”. That puzzled me for a bit, because it sounded like gaining weight. After a while I figured out that it means \”making it to racing weight\”, whether the rider must lose or gain. It only goes to show that every little niche has its own vocabulary! Pound for pound, I certainly prefer muscle over fat. Muscle can help me to pedal my bicycle! Fat on my body is only excess baggage. Since I began counting carbs, I also pay more attention to how much I eat; whether it\’s carrots and hummus or rolled oats mixed with yogurt. I\’ve lost several more half-kilos; in fact, almost too easily. Maybe I need a few more calories. Just don\’t let me go hog-wild with the Talenti® again!

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What a Day

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What a day today was! I was very tired this morning, and overslept. That meant no pre-work ride. I had to to work on-site this morning. My hybrid is still in the shop, and I had to walk. Walking seems so very slow these days! A mile isn\’t really all that far, but I felt like a snail. Monday my workplace closed at noon because of the weather threat. I had the option to work remotely, and took it. Unfortunately I automatically went into my work-from-home timing, which meant I clocked out for lunch about 11:20. When I checked my email after I clocked back in an hour later, I saw a new email message reminding us of the noon closure. That meant I had 45 minutes of time to make up. Doing make-up time is stressful; in fact, it wears me out. Good grief, what a day! Hurricane Sally finally made landfall. We\’re in the clear now. Several other states weren\’t so lucky. I do wonder, though, whether the wind we\’re getting is being generated by Sally. After I clocked out of work, I went for a short ride on the road bike. It was under nine miles, but it was very hard work. I still (!) haven\’t gotten my heart rates set for my new Garmin HR monitor, but I\’m quite sure that there were times when my HR was in the maximum range! I checked the local weather\’s 3-day history when I got back home. The wind was 17 mph, with gusts up to 23 mph! Luckily it looks like the wind will subside a bit overnight. I\’ll see how things are tomorrow morning.

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Get It Over With!

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C\’mon, Sally! Let\’s get it over with! Decide where to make landfall and get ashore, so we can get it over with! We\’re all tired of gnawing on our fingernails while you keep us in suspense. Said suspense isn\’t so good for our heart rates, either. Hurricane Sally is still drifting NW, so it looks like New Orleans is still in the crosshairs. The forecasts for tropical storm conditions are no longer in effect here, but you never know. We can\’t let down our guard just yet. My workplace is closed today. That\’s fine with me. I slept a few hours later; I went to the drug store for #2032 batteries; and I could go about my carb-watching work in more leisurely fashion. I\’m getting weary of staying indoors, so after a while I think I\’ll set up the trainer and do some pedaling. Why don\’t I go ride outside if I\’m tired of sitting around inside? The wind is 20 mph, which is very strong for me. Chances of rain are 70%. I feel tired, besides. That happens often now. Is my reduced-carb diet to blame? The forecast shows plenty of rainy weather ahead, hurricane or no. I hope Saturday morning is OK. I need to go to the (non-salvage) store and buy veggies!

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Lei’d Back Riding?

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Lei’d Back Riding? Want some lei’d back riding? How about heading for the Aloha State? Yes, there are mountain bike tours; but as far as I’m concerned, lei’d back riding means — as usual — flat ground. It looks as if not all road bike tours in Hawaii are on flat ground, though. Here’s where an ebike might come in handy! The Kona Coffee Tours are great for the lover of “joe”.  The Hawiian Vanilla Co. tour might be for you if you love vanilla. If you want to mix it up a bit, there’s the Big Island Multi-Adventure Tour. In addition to cycling, you can paddle a kayak or an outrigger canoe; and you can go snorkeling or hiking. Hawaii has its share of mountainous areas; including, of course, volcanoes. The Multi-Adventure tour includes a view of Kilauea. The volcano erupted as recently as 2024; but I hadn’t  known that the lava flows had buried the black sand beach. If you don’t already live in Hawaii, of course there’s the problem of getting there; and transporting your bicycle if you prefer not to rent one. There are cases that allow you to put your bike in an airliner’s luggage hold. These reduce the chances that your bicycle will get damaged in transit. If I visited Hawaii, what would I want to see and do, aside from challenging my legs with some of those cycling tours? Visit Diamond Head, Oahu, maybe. Learn how to dance the hula? Or even learn how to make poi! Whatever you do in Hawaii, have a good, old, lei’d back time! 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.” ABOUT ME © 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 ✍🏻 Facebook Twitter Youtube INTERPRETER

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