SpokEasy

SpokEasy

Author name: CAL

Cycling enthusiast; classical music lover; experimenter in the kitchen!

more power to me

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

More Power to Me? Sometimes I wish I had a power meter. Does a power meter mean more power to me? Unfortunately, it doesn’t; but there are times when I wonder how much wattage I can generate while on the bike. Such a device can let you know how strong a lightbulb your efforts can light up! I suspect that my wattage is quite low. It’s been a while since I did much of anything by way of force development; and force is a component of power.  On top of that, I’ve been tired for the last few months; and when you’re low on energy isn’t the best time to push force work. Besides that, these devices are a bit beyond my budget. But if you can afford them, and wish to do serious training, the Favero is easily installed; and its rechargeable batteries last up to 50 hours. Speaking of tired, that’s how I felt on the bike this morning; and I’m on vacation! I didn’t have to get up at 4:30 am to ride; but that meant I missed seeing the full moon over the river.? I rode only 16 miles; and while I’m off work, I’d rather put in 18-20 miles per day. Well, we do what we can. I’m halfway to my Love to Ride mileage goal for 2022; so as far as that goes, more power to me!

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Fish Or Cut Bait

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

Fish Or Cut Bait We can’t cut bait forever! Sooner or later, we’ve got to fish. I’ve been in a fish or cut bait situation for over three months. I was working hard to convert my old  spokeasy dot org to this dot net site; and I must confess, there’s still a good bit of editing to be done on Products. I thought at first that perhaps I should complete all the editing before launching dot net. But I can’t stay in that fish or cut bait mode forever; and if I did wait to finish all that editing, this dot net site might never get out! Cycling shorts make the ride more comfortable! Speaking of products, Pearl Izumi® shorts are a favorite of mine. When I first had the tricycle, I rode for some months before I bought my first pair of cycling shorts. They took a bit of getting used to. At first cycling shorts made me feel like I had nothing on below the waist; and I kept checking to be sure I was dressed! Now, I can hardly imagine more than a very short ride without them. This morning I put in 39 miles on the road bike; wearing cycling shorts, of course. I’m glad I was home by 11:00 am; because about an hour later, a heat advisory was posted. It felt hot enough while I was out there riding; and it isn’t even officially Summer yet! I need to go to the drug store; but it’s thundery. I don’t want to get caught in a T-storm!

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Thumbs Up

BACK ISSUES /

Thumbs Up! Sometimes it’s thumbs up! I guess it’s thumbs up today. This morning I saw the hand specialist; and surgery is on the sidelines for now. In fact, I may not need it.? I do have a small bone spur; but I also have thumb CMC arthritis; and the doctor’s first recommendation was a splint to protect and immobilize the thumb for a while. I see him again in about six weeks; and we’ll take it from there. But I don’t give today’s weather the thumbs up. It was sprinkling on and off when I went out on the road bike; and it continued like that until late morning. That wasn’t bad; but then, around noon, it rained hard for a while. There was a flash flood warning in effect for several hours; and in fact, some areas had street flooding because it rained so hard. I’m very glad I’m not riding on the levee right now! The weather site I just checked said the wind is 25 mph; and wind like that makes the going very hard. More T-storms are possible overnight; so it’s a good thing I’m back home. It looks like conditions will be much better tomorrow morning; so I guess I can get to and from the store without getting wet. I plan to visit Whole Foods to look for sunblock; and I think I need to keep myself out of that salvage store for a week or two. I’ve got so much canned stuff it isn’t funny. One good thing about the current weather is that my place didn’t get too heated up. Most days it’s sweltering in here by the time I get home from work; and today it’s much more bearable. Thumbs up to that!  

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Heat Exhaustion

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

Heat Exhaustion Heat exhaustion is an appropriate topic at present. Anyone engaged in outdoor activity needs to be mindful of it; and that, of course, includes cyclists. Ride early in the day if possible; and avoid going out in the noonday sun. I get off work at 4:30 pm; and the heat index this afternoon was 107! Fortunately I have only 2.5 miles to ride; and when it’s hot and sunny, that’s quite far enough. Before I went to feed my friends’ cat, I added some ice cubes to my water bottle. They didn’t stay frozen for long. Summer isn’t officially here yet; but it’s quite light by 6:15 am. Soon I’ll need to begin my Sunday long rides at 5:30 am; and even when I do, it’s very hot by the time I get home several hours later. I wish I could stop at several points to put both water and ice into my Camel-Bak; but that would mean going well out of my way. I already have some sun sleeves; Protect your arms from UV rays while keeping them cooler. and maybe I’ll get some leg sleeves, too. Another problem with heat is the effect it has on my ride food. Most ride foods that I use get very messy when it’s hot; and I end up smearing bar coatings on my shorts in an effort to get my fingers halfway clean. That’s another form of heat exhaustion: I’m tired of the heat making things more difficult!

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Brain Dead

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Brain Dead I wish ideas were this easy to come by! I feel so terribly brain dead. Yesterday I couldn’t think of a blog topic; and today, all I can think of to write about is being — brain dead! I think it’s partly the heat. At 5:00 am, it was already about 80 degrees; and when I got off work, it was close to 90 degrees! Even with a bottle of water at hand, I got very heated up on the way home; and I was wearing shorts and a short sleeved blouse! I don’t leave the window units running when I’m away all day at work; and on a blazing sunny day, this place really heats up! Of course it takes a while for those units to really cool off the place; and until they do, I have to keep a piece of cardboard within reach, so I can fan myself. I’m getting very tired, too. The cat-sitting will continue for about 11 more days; and while it’s not difficult work, it takes time. That’s hard when I have so many other things I must do. It makes me feel especially frazzled in the morning, when I have to get to work. Tomorrow will be another scorcher; and this is only June! July and August are likely to be even worse; and September is hot, too. It has me dreaming of cooling cloths. I’m tempted to get some of these; but I fear I’d get spoiled for riding in the heat! I wonder whether Grand Tour riders use anything of the sort. The pics I’ve seen don’t look like it; and those riders surely need a bit of relief from the heat. I don’t want them to go brain dead from overheating!

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Super Commuter

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

Super Commuter? I ride to work when I can; but some days I just have to skip it! I fear I’ll not become a super commuter. The Super Commuter badge is one of many that you can earn by participating in Love to Ride. To get it, you must ride to work 200 times in the year — I suppose that means the current calendar year. I’ve been slogging away at it; and I am now 38% there. That means I rode to work 76 times so far in 2022; and I have to ride to work 124 more times by the time the Christmas break comes. As well as I could count, there are 131 working days left. I did my best not to count days when I won’t be going to work: vacation; tomorrow’s ophthalmology appointment; and so on. That leaves little leeway for days when I can’t ride to work; and there are bound to be some such days. Sometimes the rain is simply too heavy; and/or there’s too much lightning overhead. The disruption of a hurricane is always possible; and if I need surgery on that bone spur, I’m likely to lose at least a few days. Thus I guess any dreams of earning the Super Commuter badge are as much fantasy as dreams of riding a unicycle. I’m not sure I could manage one of  these! I suppose that riding a unicycle is vastly different from riding a bicycle; but I bet it’s fun once you get the hang of it. After all, it took some doing for me to get going on two wheels; and now, I can’t imagine being unable to ride!

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Hit and Run

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

Hit and Run? I hope I never end up in a wreck like this! Am I guilty of hit and run? Today I dropped my bottle of electrolyte drink; and my rear wheel ran right over it! Not that I ran; I was still about six or seven miles from home, and needed that drink. I had to stop; turn around; and ride back to pick it up. Weather certainly pulls a terrible hit and run sometimes, as in the case of tornadoes. I don’t know why I’m attracted to such videos; and I also have a thing about violent volcanic eruptions! Shipwrecks, too. Maybe it’s morbid curiosity; or maybe I like to breath a sigh of relief and think, thank goodness I wasn’t there! This morning I needed to go to Winn Dixie; and they recently changed their hours. They now don’t open until 7:00 am; and I didn’t get out on the road bike until around 8:45! I decided to make it short today — 29 miles — and it got quite hot before I got back home. The clouds towards the South and East were building up; and around 12:30 pm I began to hear the grumble of thunder. By 1:15 pm, it was right on top of me! The lights flickered; and both my window units kicked themselves from Low Cool to Fan. But the storm was moving fast; and in 15-20 minutes it seemed to have passed. Give Me a Hand! This coming Friday I see a hand specialist about that bone spur; and I hope we can take care of it soon. But if surgery is required, it’s better to wait until after June 20th. Until then I’m still caring for my friends’ cat; and a fresh surgical site on the hand doesn’t go well with scooping the litter box! I also hope any surgery will require minimal time off the bike. I guess I can set up the hybrid in the trainer prior to surgery. If I have to have hand surgery, maybe this will let me get a bit of exercise while I recuperate. After the “hit and run” on my hand, I might not be able to do much for at least a few days; and I lifting bicycles around is bound to be on the thou-shalt-not-do list!

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Steady Does It

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, equipment /

Steady Does It! Helpful for adult riders who need an assist with balance. Steady does it; especially when you’re on two wheels! If you’re an older beginning rider; and balance is a problem; the Stabilizer Wheel Kit can help. Unlike the adult trike that I once had, this assembly can fit through standard-width doorways. I have three steps up to my front door; and one time I struggled to wrestle that trike up the steps and to the door. Only then did I learn that the rear wheel assembly was a bit too wide to get in through the doorway! If you’d rather skip this stabilizer kit; but aren’t sure how to get going on a bicycle; this video might help. Whichever route you take as a beginner, don’t rush things. Steady does it! Remember the tortoise and the hare. At the time I began on two wheels, I was only vaguely aware of training wheels for grown-ups; and never used anything like it. Speaking of stability on the bicycle, my friend who gave me the trailer says she felt more unsteady while trying to pull it. If anything, I feel more stable when I’ve got the trailer. How’s that for weird? Steady does it, too, when I’m out for my long Sunday ride. I frequently voice my frustration that my pace doesn’t seem to be improving; but if I’m shooting for 40 miles and more, a slower, steady pace is better than taking off like a rocket; and then fizzling before I’m halfway through. Pulling back the effort might be better in this heat, anyway. It got into the high 80s today; and tomorrow will get hot, too. No matter what the calendar says, Summer is already here.

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Frazzled Friday

BACK ISSUES, Outdoors /

Frazzled Friday Some days it all seems like too much! It sure was Frazzled Friday today! First, I started my ride a little late. Normally that doesn’t matter, but I’m still looking after my friends’ cat; and I needed to allow myself time for that. After I got home from my ride; changed my clothes; packed everything for work; and went to feed the kitty, I was already rather worn out. When I got back home from taking care of the cat, I rode to work; and didn’t notice that I was wearing my reflective vest inside-out! It isn’t any too reflective that way; and it shows how frazzled I was. Let yourself be seen! It was hard to keep my mind focused today. Mental concentration takes a lot of physical energy; and by Friday I only want the weekend to begin, anyway. Part of my mind is now always busy with plans for retirement; and naturally I’m eager for R-Day! But I’m also a little scared, because I’m heading into the great unknown. Towards quitting time, I looked out the window; and the sky was quite black. When I finally got outside, it was thundering; and I decided to take the short route home, in case it began to rain. The short route means I have to ride alongside traffic; and that was frazzled Friday all over again! I felt a few raindrops; but apparently the storm was moving away from here. As of 5:50 pm, it hadn’t rained yet. Too Late When I finally got the chance to check my email, I found two messages with Special Weather Statements regarding strong T-storms. It was too late. By then the notices had expired; but even when I have my laptop up and running, such messages usually arrive a good half-hour after they were posted. That wouldn’t do me much good if there were a tornado warning! I think the thunder scared the poor kitty. When I went to feed him, he was nowhere to be seen; and normally he’s right at the door. I guess it’s frazzled Friday for him, too. After a minute or two he appeared; and incidentally, I think he’s getting very, very lonesome. This seemed like a very long week. Today especially felt endless; and I hope the time doesn’t continue to drag like this for the rest of the year!

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