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Author name: CAL

The Old Groove

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I\’m getting back into the old groove. Wednesday I returned to work; and today I rode to the salvage store. I took along the trailer; and I was glad to find that the store had the mega-packs of bathroom tissue. I found six-packs of bottled Propel. It will do as electrolyte drink for my Sunday long rides; and I thought it might be cheaper than Nuun. It is; but only by a few pennies. Oh, well. \”A penny saved is a penny earned\”, as the saying goes. Today I didn\’t do well by the grab bag. For the last few months the grab-bag bins haven\’t offered much that\’s suitable for ride food; and I got only 12 items. It wasn\’t a total loss, though. One of the items had its old price sticker on it: $2.29; and I got it for a quarter! I like getting candy bars and other snacks on the cheap. It means I can eat one bite and not feel too bad about throwing out the rest. I\’m always going to have to keep my A1c in mind; and I shouldn\’t be bringing home sugary junk food at all! But eating small amounts regularly is probably better than denying myself for weeks or months; and then bingeing. Of course there was a headwind on the way home; and that\’s the old groove, for sure. I felt terribly slow; and a 15 mph wind is harder to deal with when I\’m on the hybrid and hauling the trailer! Tomorrow? It\’s been getting more and more cloudy, and the forecast says showers are likely tomorrow; possibly even T-storms. You may be sure that I\’m not happy with such a forecast; but worrying about the weather is certainly the old groove. Day before yesterday I had a small biopsy done on my lower back; and I have two stitches. I hope the Camel-Bak won\’t rub it too much! I don\’t want to skip riding entirely, because I set myself a goal of 5000 miles this year. That isn\’t impossible, I know, because I came pretty close to it last year. All I can do is see what tomorrow brings.

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How Do You Breathe?

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How do you breathe: mouth or nose? When I’m cycling, I often wind up breathing through my mouth, thanks to my cantankerous nose. The colder the weather, the worse this problem is. That runny nose is an annoyance in itself; and breathing through my mouth so much makes me get thirsty faster! Thus I need the Camel-Bak on my Sunday long rides even if the mercury stands at the freezing point. I played a wind instrument for many years; so I guess I can say that I know something about breathing technique. Don\’t worry about \”breathing from the diaphragm\”, because the diaphragm cannot be consciously controlled. Pretend there\’s a line across you, at the point where your legs join your body. When you inhale, let yourself fill up with air down to that line. When I\’m riding hard, of course I\’m aware of my breathing; but my mind is on things other than my breathing technique. I\’m watching where I\’m going; and that\’s especially important when I\’m riding in the dark. At the same time, I\’m keeping an eye on the length of the current interval; and how fast I\’m going. Or I would be, if I could figure out how to program that Garmin. It\’s driving me bonkers. How do you breathe when something like that is wearing out your fingers and your brain? I got quite tense over it!

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Bicycle Power

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Bicycle power can do quite a lot. It lets us enjoy ourselves; and it takes us from Point A to Point B. I\’ve read of ways to hook up a bicycle to small appliances, such as blenders. But can bicycle power run a rototiller? Why am I writing about rototillers in a cycling blog? I daydream sometimes about having a garden, so I can grow some of my own food. Unfortunately, I\’m having trouble with apparent arthritis in my hands; and it\’s hard to peel the top off of a container of hummus. If a simple task like that is difficult, how could I manage gardening? Well, I can always hope. Growing my own produce, or some of it, means less reliance on supermarkets; and that\’s especially important for people who aren\’t close to a grocery store. Yesterday I watched a couple of YouTubes about food deserts; and it\’s rather scary. Sad, too. Fortunately I don\’t live in a food desert. The nearest supermarket to me is 0.8 miles away. The next closest is about 2.5 miles by my usual route; and there\’s one about 3 miles away. The salvage store is nearly 5 miles from home. These distances aren\’t a real problem as long as I can use bicycle power to get to those stores; but what if the time comes when arthritis in my hands means that I can\’t manage shifting bicycle gears? I can\’t carry much when I\’m walking; and it\’s hard dragging a big load of groceries via public transit. And no, I don\’t want to walk to the salvage store! So I hope I can continue to use bicycle power. It\’s fun (most of the time); it\’s good exercise; and it lets me bring home the groceries.

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Foiled Again

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I was foiled again this morning — by my Garmin. Since I got it about six weeks ago, I haven\’t been able to figure out how to program the display screen. I want to see what my heart rate is as I ride; and I also want to see which zone I\’m in. The bike shop, unfortunately, couldn\’t do all that much to help me. Night before last I somehow programmed a workout into the Garmin; and the usual data screen didn\’t show up for over six miles. That foiled my in-ride tracking! Last night I finally came to my senses, and hunted up an online video. I followed the steps presented for programming my Garmin, hitting the Pause button as needed; and I thought I had finally succeeded. Wrong. I think my problem now is that I\’ve somehow programmed several screens. During this morning\’s ride, all I saw were distance and time. You could say that I was foiled again. Now I\’ve got to figure out how to delete those unwanted programs! I certainly need to figure out how to get my heart rate zones into that Garmin. This morning\’s ride data showed 19+ minutes in my maximum zone; and I don\’t see how that can possibly be correct. I don\’t think spent more than a few minutes total in Zone 5. The \”calories burned\” figures that I get seem a bit too high; another possible wrinkle to iron out. Are we really better off for all this technology? As at least one source has commented, maybe athletes were better off when they relied on RPE. This kept them more in tune with what they were feeling; and how their bodies were doing. But I\’m spoiled! Adjusting to RPE alone would take some doing.

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Roller Coaster

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We\’ve got another temperature roller coaster coming up. Last night it fell almost to freezing; and the chill factor was 29 degrees. It was so cold that I didn\’t want to ride, except for a very short trip to a grocery store. This morning it was a few degrees warmer; and there was far less wind. Tomorrow I have to go back to work, so I rode a few extra miles while I still could. Despite double socks, my feet got cold; and my hands felt chilly although I wore my heavy \”wombat\” gloves, and used warming packs. Tonight\’s low is expected to be 50 degrees; then Thursday night, back down to 38 degrees! Honestly, it\’s easier when it\’s hot all the time. With these wild temperature swings, I need to keep multiple layers of clothing at the ready; and of course they take up valuable space. This weather roller coaster is most irksome! This morning I sure piled on the layers; and except for my hands and feet, I seemed to get it just right. My Garmin wasn\’t just right, though. Garmin Woes Last night I was tinkering with it, trying to figure out how to get my heart rate to display as I\’m riding. When I started my ride this morning, I got some kind of workout screen that I\’d never seen before. It was too cold for me to stop; take off my gloves; and try to adjust the Garmin. I had planned to work on my pace; and I can\’t do that any too well if I don\’t even know how fast I\’m riding! Eventually I got a \”Workout Complete\” message on the screen; and then the display screen that came up actually did have my heart rate on it! But this display screen also showed too many things, and such screen clutter isn\’t helpful. I need to find an online manual that can walk me through How To Adjust Your Garmin. Otherwise, as regards heart rate, I\’m stuck on this roller coaster of now-you-see-it, now-you-don\’t.

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Major Changes

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Major changes, they say, should not be made abruptly. Take it in stages; and don\’t expect big progress overnight. Somebody should tell that to our weather. We were getting high temperatures of 80 (or close to it) every day; and last night it plunged down to just above freezing! That\’s major changes, for sure. I\’m glad to see our weather get clear, even if it\’s very cold. I was tired of worrying about T-storms, and whether I\’d be able to ride. It\’s lucky, though, that Monday is off-bikes day. The chill factor now, at 10:00 am, is still below freezing; and that makes for rough riding. I did take a short ride to the closest grocery store; and even that got me plenty cold. Yesterday I got a hankering after cucumbers; and despite the low temperatures, I wanted a Diet Coke. That brings me to another point: don\’t make major changes to your diet all at once. It\’s over a year since I began to work at a prediabetes diet; and I still fall off the wagon often. My lifelong love of sweets is a major stumbling block; but then, if it weren\’t candy that\’s my downfall, it would be something else. I might have a similar love of steak; and as a result have big-time cholesterol problems! Also, it\’s unwise to make big, sudden changes in your cycling. Yesterday I made four 30-second hard pushes into a headwind; and maybe it was a bit much. In the evening, my lower back felt sore. My goal for this year is 5000 miles, but I can\’t do it all at once; and of course there will be times when I can\’t ride. Remember, \”How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.\” It\’s like that.

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Good Start?

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Did I make a good start to Cycling 2022? I guess that depends on how you look at it. I did ride yesterday, but only 11.50 miles; and that really isn\’t much. During December I rode every single day, even if only a mile or so; and that probably explains why my legs felt somewhat tired. There was quite a wind yesterday, too; and that didn\’t help. My goal for 2022 is to ride 5000 miles; and on Thursday I\’m scheduled to have some nerve ending tumors excised from my lower back. The dermatologist says I\’ll need to take it easy with the riding for a while, because I\’ll have sutures; so I want to get in some miles before then. I also want to ride while I can, before I have to return to work! Today, Sunday, is normally long-ride day; but given the forecast, I decided to do a regular, weekday-style ride. It\’s just as well I did! The wind was already 12 mph when I started; and by the time I got home, it was up to 24 mph! I\’m glad I had that wind behind me for the second half of my ride. Less than an hour after I got home, it began to rain on and off. There\’s a freeze warning in effect for tonight; and the wind will still be pretty strong. I bet the chill factor will be in the 20s tomorrow. Time to haul out the warming packs! Always Food! My diet is not off to a good start; that\’s for sure. Potato chips sure don\’t belong in any healthful eating regimen; but I\’m trying to get back on track. Yesterday afternoon I cooked chimifower; except I substituted curry powder for the chimichurri. That makes it cauliflower tikka masala! Constant carb-tracking is tiresome; and often it\’s hard to get myself to plan and prepare the kind of meals I need. Sometimes I plan my meals; and then eat something else, anyway! When I\’m at work, if I run out of the food I carried with me; and then get hungry; junk food is often my only option. When it\’s cold in here, all I want to do is stay parked in front of the electric heater. That, of course, doesn\’t help me to get any cooking done; and if I want to eat healthfully, I\’ve got to cook! It looks like the coming cold snap will be brief; so I won\’t need to sit in front of the heater as much. And I hope to get in a long ride before I must return to work. After all, I want to make a good start on this year\’s mileage goal!

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Resolution

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Here it is, resolution day again already. It seems like 2021 is barely begun; and it\’s 2022! A common New Year\’s resolution is to lose weight. I don\’t need to lose more than a pound or two; but I do need to work harder to keep my diet on a more even keel. Even when I keep a day\’s carb allowance within bounds, I eat too much candy and other sweets! I wonder whether I should rethink my on-bike food. For a long time, I\’ve been using FitCrunch and other commercially available bars; but can I do better? Day before yesterday I was browsing through Feed Zone Portables. I\’ve tried some of the rice cake recipes in the past; but looking at them now, they might be too high in carbs for someone who\’s concerned about A1c levels. For example, there are Swiss Rice Cakes, on page 83. The recipe makes 15 cakes; each measuring 0.6 x 0.8 inches. One cake has 177 calories; and 28 grams of carbs. How many of those rice cakes would I need over a 40-mile ride? Just two of those cakes is nearly the calorie equivalent of one FitCrunch bar; and with far more carbs. I also had problems getting those rice cakes the right consistency. They tended to fall apart when I picked them up; and I disliked the way they stuck all over my teeth. Maybe I\’d better stick with FitCrunch bars. 2022 As I said, I can\’t believe it\’s already 2022 already. Is riding a century this year a good resolution? If I really am going to put in a 100-mile day, when will I do it? Maybe in April? By then our weather might be in a good temperature range. I don\’t want to do a major event when it\’s freezing; but not when it\’s broiling hot, either! If there were an organized century right here, I might spring for that. If I had a definite event to aim for, I might do better at working to improve my pace. As it is, I keep falling short. Is my training off? A resolution to do a big ride on a certain day can fall flat if the weather isn\’t cooperative when that day comes. I had been aiming to do a century this past October; but Ida put paid to that. I lost several weeks of real riding; and only now do I feel like I\’m back to my pre-Ida level. How fast do I want to do that century? If I want to ride 100 miles in seven hours, I need to average over 14 mph; and that doesn\’t include rest breaks. I need to work at riding 15-16 mph; maybe even faster! For short periods — say up to five minutes — I can do 15 mph; that is, as long as I\’m not battling a stiff headwind. And there\’s a big concern of mine for century day. Wind. How well I remember my first century, when I battled the wind all day long on an adult tricycle! Oh, and another resolution: ride 5000 miles this year!

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Final Thoughts

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Now for some final thoughts as 2021 drifts into the past. In July, I began trying to work up to a century; and aimed to do it on October 9. Along came Hurricane Ida in late August; and as a result, I lost several weeks\’ riding. While I was staying with my sister I used her exercise bike; but that was a long way from real cycling. So I never got around to trying that century. I was too out of condition when I first got back home; and my Sunday long rides are only now back up to 40-45 miles. I will always have to keep my A1c in mind; and I need to work more vegetables back into my diet. Tomorrow or the next day, I think I\’ll make chimiflower. Sunday might be a better day to devote to cooking, because the weather will be better for riding tomorrow than on Sunday. Goals. Always goals, and New Year\’s resolutions! I\’m aiming to ride 5000 miles during 2022; and am toying with the idea of doing that century ride in April. If I\’m serious about that goal, I need to start working towards it tomorrow; and if I really want to increase my pace, I need to begin working at intervals of 17-18 mph. My final thoughts include this one: it\’s New Year\’s Eve, and I\’m running the air conditioner! It\’s been warm enough for long enough that I really need it. Sometimes I wish I had one of these: When I begin a ride of several hours, and it\’s already 80 degrees when I start; I get VERY hot before I\’m done! It\’s 6:40 pm; and I expect the fireworks will soon start in earnest. That\’s what drives me crazy about New Year\’s Eve: all the racket!

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Riding with the Kiwi

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Riding with the Kiwi 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.” On flat ground, that is. Parts of New Zealand are mountainous; and I might have a very tough time in those regions! Let’s see what New Zealand has to offer us two-wheelers. The A2O trail is the country’s longest; and is ranked Easy to Intermediate on the difficulty scale. You can enjoy beautiful views of lakes; mountains; and plains. Off-the-bike activities, such as wine-tasting, are also available along the way. The trail is divided into nine segments, so you can ride just part of it; or take five to seven days to tackle the whole route. Is mountain biking more to your liking? Choose from MTB trails ranging from easy to blue square. Ride through stunning scenery; watch for local wildlife; and enjoy the outdoors! As always, don’t forget about safety. In New Zealand, cars are right-hand drives; and are driven on the left-hand side of the road. I, for one, would have a hard time remembering that; but cycling on motorways is a no-no in New Zealand. So it’s possible that we won’t have to worry about it. Let’s get back to the trails. It is said that some people live to eat; so how about riding to eat? There are several routes for the cycling foodie, including the Tasman Great Taste Trail. This easy-to-intermediate trail follows the coastline; and along the way are wineries; art galleries; fish & chip shops; and boutiques. But with COVID  apparently  making a reappearance, I’m not holding my breath about going anywhere; whether to go riding with the kiwi or to another country.  

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