SpokEasy

SpokEasy

Author name: CAL

BIG Spender

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BIG Spender is what I feel like at the moment. Wednesday evening I placed nearly $100 (yikes!) in online orders. I ordered more GU-Gels. I also ordered a book about diabetes and the athlete. Cat ears, too. But I forgot to order replacement bite valves for my Camel-Bak, and placed another order last night! This morning I decided to forgo the salvage store and hit Whole Foods instead. I got some mundane things such as grapes and bananas. But the rest of it? The nurse practitioner I spoke with day before yesterday suggested a lower-carb protein recovery powder called Vega. I tried a Vega bar a while back, and it was pretty good. I got a small (9.6 oz) canister of the powder. Almost $18 right there! The bulk bins were out of quinoa, and that meant getting a pre-packaged bag. Over $8 for 14.4 ounces! I decided to try Epic Bites as a low-carb snack. They aren\’t the cheapest munchie around. While I was at the store anyway, I checked for the sunblock that I use. It was on sale ? ; and when it is, I grab it, even if I have two unopened tubes at home. After the trip to Whole Foods, I had to visit my \”alternate drug store\”, as I call it. I browsed around a little, and found Iconic Protein Drink. I got one to try. Not cheap stuff, either. So yes, I\’ve been the big spender for a few days; but now I have enough GU-Gels for months. I can lessen the cost of Vega Protein powder by mixing it 50/50 with what I already have. I won\’t need to get more sunblock for several months, either. And next Saturday I can head for the salvage store again!

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Carb Watching

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Carb Watching Go easy on the bread if you’re carb watching! I’m carb watching! Yesterday I had a teleconference with a nurse practitioner. I decided it would be a good idea to work with someone who can help me figure out what and how much I need to eat. After all, I’ve got pre-diabetes hanging over my head. How do I manage that around my cycling activities? I had seen my primary care physician the day before for a follow-up, and we spoke about the pre-diabetes. He said to limit carbs to 100 grams per day. That seems too restrictive to me. After all, as soon as I began to look at the carb content of various foods that I eat regularly, it became plain that a 100-gram/day limit would make it next to impossible for me to get enough to eat! That’s all the more true as I don’t eat much of meat, poultry, fish, or eggs. Taking in lots of low-carb animal foods is a good way to send my cholesterol level soaring. My stomach can hold only so much in the way of low-carb, high-bulk foods, so eating pounds of broccoli isn’t the best solution, either. The nurse practitioner thinks that 150-200 grams of carb per day is a more realistic goal than 100 grams or less. So do I! It’s a goal that even lets me fit in a little sweet treat. We haven’t talked much yet about my exercise routine, and how to adjust my diet to it, because we ran out of time. We’ll discuss that at at later meeting. I’m continuing with my food log, but now of course have added carb watching. As to my Sunday long ride, I probably need extra carbs. I seem to need more calories during those rides! Last Sunday I burned 1357 calories, and took in about 710. No wonder I got tired on the way back home!      

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Overthinking

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Overthinking can get us into a lot of trouble. Imagine going for a bicycle ride, and thinking about what your legs are doing with each and every pedal stroke! Before long my brain would probably paralyze my muscles into inability to do anything at all! Such an approach to learning any activity is a method that few people need, because it only makes things harder. I can see the point of such analysis for, let\’s say, the physical therapist in training. For the rest of us? We just work at learning to manage that bicycle until our bodies get the hang of it. Overthinking can spoil a story, too. In previous posts, I\’ve mentioned my interest in ballet. Take the ballet Giselle. I love the music, and enjoy watching the dancing. The story line? The more I think about it, the more unbelievable it gets. The story is set in the Rhineland, in the middle ages. Giselle is a frail, young, innocent peasant girl who is in love with a young man who calls himself Loys. In fact, they plan to marry. This Loys is, in truth, Count Albrecht. Not only that; he\’s already engaged to another woman! When, inevitably, Loys/Albrecht\’s cover is blown, Giselle goes mad and (according to the production) either dies when her weak heart gives out; or stabs herself to death with Albrecht\’s sword. End of Act I. So — how did Albrecht imagine that he could pass himself off as a peasant? It seems to me that he would have immediately been spotted for an imposter. Even dressed in peasant garb, wouldn\’t Count Albrecht\’s physical carriage alone have made him stand out as someone who was no commoner? In Act II, Giselle\’s spirit saves Albrecht from the terrible wilis; vengeful spirits of jilted young maidens who died unwed. Albrecht must have been out of his mind to visit any grave at midnight! And let\’s not even start on the story after the story, that is, did Albrecht marry his original intended? So there you have it. Overthinking in this case overrides suspension of belief. I think I\’ll stop thinking and go for a ride.

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On the Equator

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On the Equator Want to stand on the equator? Maybe a bicycle ride in Kenya would suit you. But before I began such a trip, I’d like to know this: if I stood on that imaginary dividing line; and looked up at the night sky; would I be able to see both the Little Dipper and the Southern Cross? In theory, at least. I asked my brother-in-law, who is an astronomy buff. He says, yes! Where in Kenya would I like to ride? Coastal Kenya has a tropical climate. For me, the very word “tropical” elicits inward groans. It sounds too much like Summer at home: hot; humid; and oppressive. As you move inland from Kenya’s coast, the climate becomes more arid. I think I’d want an extra-large Camel-Bak if I were to ride there! And there are many routes to ride in Kenya. The Limuru route sounds attractive to me in at least one way: few cars! Not so attractive: in some months it can be foggy. If you wear glasses, take along some anti-fog lens wipes. Visit during the drier months if fog would be too much of a problem.  The Diani route lets you visit Kenya’s southern coast. Enjoy riding the village roads and meeting the people there. For Muringato to Nyeri Hill, you’ll probably want a mountain bike. Not all the road is paved; and this short trail includes a steep climb! If mention of Kenya evokes thoughts of Christopher Froome (aka Froomey), you’re not alone. I wonder whether he ever took a ride on the equator. 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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Twisted Tongue

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A twisted tongue? Sometimes I think I have one. I don\’t mean the tongue twisters that were popular when I was a kid; for example, \”Still the sinking steamer sank.\” That one often morphed into: \”Still the stinking seamer stank.\” Over the years, however, I\’ve seen that studying a foreign language will eventually impact one\’s mother tongue. I got the chance to start learning German as a college sophomore. In between what formal courses I could fit into my schedule, I kept it up on my own. So here I am, many years later. I\’m always thinking \”neun\” (rhymes roughly with \”coin\”) for the numeral between 8 and 10; and \”Dezember\” (think DETS-ember) for the final month of the calendar year. Then there are those bars called Kind. I look at that word and out it pops with a short \”I\”; the German word for \”child\”. Most people say it with long \”I\”, to rhyme with \”mind\”. I\’m not the only one whose tongue does strange things. There\’s Mrs. Malaprop; and the Reverend Spooner. I wonder what those two might come up with when discussing bicycles! For that matter, I should be glad that I have a twisted tongue, and not twisted legs. Twisted legs would make cycling hard, indeed. But for some fun on the next long ride, how about practicing those tongue twisters to help the miles fly past? Still the sinking … How did that go, again?

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The Buckeye State

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The Buckeye State We haven’t visited the Buckeye State yet. How about taking a ride there now? We could start with the Ohio River Trail. The ORT has two components: the Ohio River Water Trail, and the proposed Ohio River Greenway Trail. The greenway trail would interconnect already existing trails in Ohio and several surrounding states. Another possibility is the Lake Erie section of the Great Lakes Trail. In 8 days of riding (9 days total), you’ll cycle the 582 miles around the perimeter of this lake. Visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; Niagara Falls; and roll through rural Ontario as well as along the Buckeye State shore. If water trips aren’t your thing, don’t despair. Ohio offers other possibilities. The capital city of Columbus alone, for example, has 11 different trails. Surfaces range from asphalt to concrete to gravel. Lots to choose from! 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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Rainbow Ride

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I love a rainbow ride! Much of the sky looked stormy when I set out this morning. I didn\’t care for the appearance of the clouds, and as usual I was concerned about the possibility of lightning. But that didn\’t stop me from riding. It was still quite early; before 7 am. When the sun began rising above the horizon, it created rainbows in the clouds! Partial rainbows, anyhow. They came and went, according to the amount of sunlight. At one point there were two at once, in different parts of the sky. That\’s a real rarity! The smaller segment was brightly colored. The larger arc was paler, but still easy enough to see. For most of this rainbow ride, the wind was very light. That\’s another rarity. More than once I could see rain in the distance, and could only hope that it would stay in the distance. Fortunately, it did. The worst that I got was a light sprinkle here and there. The overcast was a welcome change. I don\’t realize how much blazing sunshine saps my energy until a day like today. About two miles before I got back home the sun came fully out for a few minutes; and the difference was immediately apparent. About then the wind started to kick up, too. It made forward progress seem very difficult, and I was glad that I had only two miles to go; not twenty-two! Incidentally, I seem to be doing something differently when it comes to pedaling. Whatever it is, I\’m feeling my hamstrings more than I used to. After I was home, I made my new culinary invention: Mayocoba Madness! Now of course I have to clean up the kitchen. ? I\’d rather be riding.

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The Learning Curve

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The learning curve is something that we deal with all our lives. Every time we begin something new, there\’s that **** curve staring us in the face again! Cycling, of course, is no exception. The learning curve for a beginning cyclist can seem steep and endless. I never rode much when I was a kid, so as an adult beginner I got the full brunt of it. I had no muscle memory to go on, and had to start from scratch. An important part of learning how to ride a bike as an adult is: make up your mind that you won\’t let yourself feel silly; and that you won\’t let the occasional tumble embarrass you. I suspect that getting such mental blocks out of the way is actually physically helpful. When I first got my hybrid, I started with glide biking. That activity is something that most people think is for young children; indeed, for toddlers! Thus my remark about deciding that you won\’t let yourself feel silly. Don\’t feel that you must adhere to a certain time table, either. Take your time. Let your strength and handling skills build up before worrying about speed. After all, you don\’t want to get hurt and have to stay off the bike for several weeks! Start with short, easy rides; long rides will come. Start learning about long-distance cycling well before that first long jaunt. Experiment with \”ride foods\”, electrolyte drinks, and so on. Figure out how to dress for various weather conditions. Above all: Have Fun!

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Released!

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I\’ve been released! For a couple of days I didn\’t quite dare to go riding as usual. Weather forecasts were dire: \”Tropical storm conditions possible\”, and such statements. I didn\’t want to risk being unable to ride back home if the wind got too strong for me. It feel great to get outdoors and ride again! Today is Friday, too, which makes it even better! Locally, we\’ve been released from worrying about Hurricane Laura. We were very lucky. Unfortunately thousands of others have much to worry about. Of course Hurricane Laura caused plenty of damage; and sadly, the death toll is rising. After I clocked out from work-at-home and shut down the work laptop, I decided to get Chinese takeout. I think I was tired and stressed more than I was actually hungry. The ride to get my supper got me outside and moving, which helped me to feel better. While outdoors, I saw a big cloud towards the West that seemed to be building up rapidly. Fifteen minutes after I got back home, I noticed that it was getting darker outside. I was glad I had ridden my hybrid to get that Chinese food, instead of walking; but I suppose my bike trunk will smell like fried rice for a while! It looks like the weather will be OK tomorrow morning. I want to ride to Wal-Mart for a few things. Maybe I can get what I want there, and go to the salvage store afterwards! I\’ve never done that before, but there should be no reason why I can\’t.

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The Day After

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The day after is not, I would say, a time to be happy when a big, powerful hurricane has just passed over. Naturally there are people who are thankful that they didn\’t come out of the storm as badly as they might have; but those who must rebuild I\’m sure aren\’t jumping for joy. New Orleans so far has had minimal impact from Laura, but we aren\’t quite out of the woods yet. We were under a tornado watch much of the day, and there was still a wind advisory. The day after has been gray and overcast locally, with some thunder here and there. The only \”riding\” I got was 15 minutes in the trainer at lunchtime. I was glad I hadn\’t tried to go for a ride, however short, outdoors. It began to rain and the lightning began to act up as well. Laura is now downgraded to a tropical storm, and is moving into Arkansas. That was one mean storm, too. Reports of storm-related fatalities are beginning to emerge. A chemical plant in southwestern Louisiana caught fire; something about all the rain causing a reaction with the chemicals. And hurricane season still has three full months left! If only we could be sure that cycling would help keep hurricanes away, I bet there would be many people doing much more riding.

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