SpokEasy

SpokEasy

Author name: CAL

With Hoe and Spade?

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

With Hoe and Spade? Why with hoe and spade? New Jersey is the Garden State, that’s why! New Jersey, like so many states, has some beautiful countryside. Why not see it from the saddle of a bicycle? A variety of tours are available; among them Farm to Table tours. I think it would be interesting to visit a small-scale farm, and see how they do things; sort of how-does-your-garden-grow. How is the soil prepared for planting in the first place? How do they decide what crops to plant; and when? Do they practice crop rotation? What do they do to minimize use of toxic pest control agents? I might even get some good ideas in case I can one day have a garden of my own. For would-be gardeners out there, wouldn’t it be neat if you could hook up your bike to a rototiller? You could prepare the soil for planting without burning fossil fuel; and get some good exercise into the bargain! The catch is, how does one keep the rows straight? I bet I, for one, would have some difficulty riding in a straight line. I couldn’t do much with hoe and spade to correct those crooked rows. I guess the tomatoes and kale wouldn’t care, but it wouldn’t satisfy aesthetics. Anyway, let’s get ready to roll through New Jersey; and when we’re ready for a break, we can enjoy taking our ease in some country gardens. 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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Whole Enchilada

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The whole enchilada sounds like lunch at a Mexican restaurant; and yes, I like a cheese enchilada with mild salsa for dipping. This food item takes on an entirely different meaning in Utah. Read about it here. The Whole Enchilada ride is far, far  beyond my strength; endurance; skill; and sea-level lungs. I don’t even have a MTB to begin with! It makes me cringe to look at the maximum grade of that event: 37%! Ay, Chihuahua! Even the minimum grade, 5%, would probably seem quite steep to me. That’s the disadvantage to living where “grade” means a highway overpass. I get very little opportunity to develop climbing legs. The altitude alone would present a significant challenge for me. The lowest point is almost 4000 feet up, which is very different from sea level. Then the route tops out at over 11,000 feet! If I were to try Enchilada, I’d have to either find a way to go train at altitude; or train with a hypoxic mask. That would not be fun at all. How would I get a drink of water when I’ve got that thing over my face? OK, that’s my view of this challenge. It’s obviously not for me! If you’re up to it, see here for a more detailed description of the route. The author(s) make no bones about the difficulty involved in riding this trail. That’s only fair; riders who are interested need to know what they’re getting into.  As for me, I’ll stick with the kind of enchilada that I can eat!

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Somebody Missed Fire

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Somebody missed fire when it came to today\’s forecast. I checked it last night, and it predicted ESE winds of 9 mph at 8 am. Guess what. The wind was a good bit stronger than that! I rode out to a point about 10.6 miles from home, and had that wind against me on the way back (immer die alte Leier, as the Germans say). I was sure that the wind was stronger than 9 mph. Riding against it was very tiring, and I had to make a couple of extra stops. After I got back home, I looked up the 3-day weather history on the NOAA site. I had been right: the wind was 15 mph by 9 am; with gusts ups to 24 mph. By noon it was blowing at a steady 24 mph, with gusts up to 32 mph; and a wind advisory had been posted. That\’s why I walked to the drug store instead of using the hybrid; I had already had enough of fighting that breeze. It is now Carnival season, and I wouldn\’t be surprised if parades scheduled for this afternoon and this evening have been postponed or cancelled because of wind conditions. The \”floats\” used in parades are high-profile, and risky in high winds. I\’m glad I\’m not out there trying to ride now. I\’m even gladder that I\’m not responsible for making weather forecasts. When my predictions missed fire, I\’d have a lot of people mad at me.

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Getting Creative

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Getting creative is what I do when I seem to be running low on meal options. This Mexican plate here looks great; but what do I do when I don\’t have what I need to prepare something like that? Last night, for example. I had several servings\’ worth of Hot Dogs Hoisin in the fridge. I wanted to eat some of it for supper, but needed something to go with it. Brown rice takes a half-hour to cook, and I was too hungry to wait that long; and I wasn\’t in the mood for bread. I got out a box of mac n cheese; goodness know I have more than enough on hand right now. This time I didn\’t bother with putting in tuna and peas; I just cooked and drained the macaroni; stirred in a little olive oil; added the cheese packet; and stirred in the hot dog mix. The result was pretty good. Sometimes you have to get creative when you need to use up something. Months ago I bought a jar of some kind of cranberry dressing, solely because I wanted to see what it tasted like. Now I need to do something with it, because it\’s taking up space in the fridge. Cranberry Hot Dogs, anyone? There\’s also being creative when it comes to ride food. Feed Zone Portables is a great starting point, but why limit yourself to following the recipes to the letter? Dream up your own rice cake fillings: hazelnut spread; hacked-up Clif Bars; and if you want Hot Dogs Hoisin in your rice cakes, why not? So let your imagination run wild. Who knows? You might come up with a new favorite!    

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Strategy

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Strategy is an important aspect of cycling. There\’s training strategy: when should training for an event begin? How soon should I begin interval work, and how intensely should I ride? And how often should I perform intervals? Once a week? What does any athlete need to do to prevent burnout? Racing has been called \”chess on wheels\”. It\’s about more than sheer speed; a rider must be able to \”read the race\”. I\’ll be the first to admit my illiteracy in this area. Whenever I see a brief video clip of a bicycle race, all I see is a lot of people in lycra outfits, riding fast. There are tactics besides the physical training aspect. There\’s proper nutrition and fueling. And getting enough sleep. And don\’t forget the mental side of things, such as developing confidence, and not berating yourself on those inevitable days when nothing seems to go right. Strategy isn\’t limited to competition. It applies to events such as century rides. Allow enough time before big-ride day to work up to the distance. Experiment with on-bike food, and learn what works for you. If you\’ve got a ride such as Tour de Cure on your calendar, and group training rides are offered, get to as many of those training rides as you can. That\’s especially important if you aren\’t used to group riding. I find starting scary when I\’m surrounded my other riders. No two people will use exactly the same strategy; but the important thing is to have that plan, and to implement it.    

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At Bay?

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At Bay? “At bay” sounds like a hunter’s quarry that’s been cornered by the dogs. We can twist the meaning to say, “on a body of water”. How about a self-guided bicycle tour of Connecticut’s coastal villages? You’ll be at the water’s edge; that is to say, “at bay”. The web site cyclenewengland dot com (alas, not secure) offers tours lasting from three to 10 days. There’s the six-day one described below. I think I’d enjoy the maritime exhibits at Mystic Seaport. Stonington village has a lighthouse museum; I bet I’d enjoy seeing that, too. Bluff Point State Park is another highlight. This nature preserve has abundant opportunities for recreation. An optional loop allows you to visit Groton, where the Submarine Force museum is located. A shuttle ride takes you to visit Conanicut Island and Jamestown, where you can ride alongside the rocky coastline. At day’s end, the shuttle takes  you to Providence. Next day you can take a ride to Colt State Park, enjoying several views of Narragansett Bay along the way. The final day’s loop will let you visit Slater Mill, where the American Industrial Revolution was born. Sounds good for the history buff. Daily routes vary from 13-53 miles. Most of the routes are easy to moderate. Bringing your own bike is recommended; preferably one that allows a comfortable riding position. Weather is always changing, so bring clothing that will allow layering. New England is one part of the USA that I haven’t visited. I think this would be a great way to do it — but it would be a VERY long ride to get up there! 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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Puttees

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Yes, that\’s \”puttees\” — not \”putty\”. Many a day I wish had had those leg wraps when riding to and from work. I need something that I can rely on to keep my slacks\’ cuffs out of the way. I have a pair of reflective ankle bands, and use them to secure those pants cuffs. Unfortunately it\’s hard to get them fastened tightly enough, and the cuffs all too often come loose. Then I have to stop and fix them again. Wearing cycling clothing to ride to work seems like an obvious solution. But if I do that, I\’ll have to hole up in a restroom to change. When I\’m in there for that long, the fumes of the air UN-freshener in the place has permeated all my clothes by the time I\’m finished. Then I had to suffocate in the reek for HOURS! I absolutely loathe that. I\’ve tried using knee-high socks, and tucking the lower legs of my slacks in them. That\’s not any too good for the socks, which get overly stretched. Then they won\’t stay up! Last week I finally thought of puttees. They\’d make me look like something out of WWI, and might take a few minutes to arrange. But if they keep my slacks out of the way, who cares how they look?

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What a Drag!

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Yes, it\’s really a drag. Yet again, things are looking uncertain for tomorrow morning\’s ride and, in fact, for Thursday\’s as well. The forecast is for rain and even T-storms. That really isn\’t surprising, considering that it\’s unseasonably warm for February. As I type this, it\’s 72 degrees! No wonder people used to use the term \”weather breeder\”. Today I didn\’t ride to work. I needed to pick up something at the drug store this evening; and if I ride straight there from work, I\’ll have that heavily-loaded bike trunk to deal with. That, like iffy weather forecasts, is a drag. If I go home first, I\’m too liable to want to stay there. So, after work I hiked over to the store. A block or two before I could get there, it began misting a bit. By the time I got out of the store, there was a light drizzle. I donned the poncho and walked home. Since I got here, it\’s gradually raining harder. I\’ve wished often enough that I could \”read\” the weather. It would be handy if I\’m out on a long ride, and forgot to check the forecast beforehand. We\’ll see what happens, but it doesn\’t sound so good. Just before I left work, someone was telling that schools were cancelling classes. It would be nice if I didn\’t have to go to work — because it can be a real drag.

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Get on the Ball

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Get on the ball for some core-strengthening work! I must admit, however, that I\’ve never given much thought to how to care for this piece of equipment. Sure, there\’s keeping it properly inflated, but do I even do that right? I wonder why the advice is to inflate the thing only 80% at first, then wait a day to pump it up to its full size. Maybe to be sure it will take the pressure? To measure the diameter of my \”Swiss\”, I stand a  yardstick on end, touching the ball. Then I lay a shorter ruler atop the ball, and see whether it intersects the yardstick at the correct centimeter mark. I need to make more use of my \”Swiss ball\”. In fact, I\’ve been far too slack about my off-bike exercises for months. One neat exercise is from Get Fast!, on page 88: \”Ovation Pushup\”. To do it, get into a pushup position, arms straight, with the ball under your shins. Bend your elbows to lower yourself towards the floor. Then, push upwards hard with your arms. The aim is to clap your hands together before returning to the starting position. This exercise is actually in the plyometrics section of the book, but it takes core strength, too. The catch is getting myself on the ball, and doing it.  

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Forwards and Backwards

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Forwards and backwards aren\’t always the opposite. Take a look at today\’s date! As we write dates in the USA — day-month-year — today is 02022020. It reads the same both forwards and backwards, that is, a palindrome. And, of course, today is also Groundhog Day. Our local rodent\’s hair is standing on end! It\’s bright and clear, and almost calm; wonderful for a bicycle ride. If you want a bicycle that can be ridden both forward and in reverse, the fixed-gear bicycle comes to the fore. The\”fixie\” is often used for track riding, but I bet it would be great for the two-wheeled equivalent of the floor exercise in gymnastics. If there is any such thing; sometimes my imagination gets a bit over-lively. I\’m not ambitious enough to seek out a fixie; I\’ll gladly stick to the bicycles that I have. This morning I went out on the road bike, and put in 21.10 miles. There was little wind, for a change; and for an even bigger change it was a tailwind on the way back home. It was an out-and-back route, as usual. But not exactly forwards and backwards. My road bike persists in only being able to go forwards. I came home and had my recovery drink, then went to work on this blog. How often do we get a palindrome date like this? It\’s something quite special!  

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