SpokEasy

Author name: CAL

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

Hydra?

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

Hydra Sometimes working on a web site feels like I’m fighting the Hydra; or some such monster.  When my material transferred from the old site to the new one, it skewed a lot of things. I have to edit almost everything to delete the old code that’s showing; and I have to re-insert pics all over the place. At least I can drag-and-drop pics from the old web site; and that’s much faster than having to hunt for them in my Photos app. I’m told I have this problem because my new site has a different theme from the old one; and I didn’t realize that the new site had gone live already! Please bear with the mess while I work to clean it up; and I’m afraid that might be a while. I have a day job; and can do only so much in the evenings. The weather sometimes seems like the Hydra. It doesn’t have seven heads; but it can be beastly, like the wind this morning. I tried to ride on the levee; but it felt like I was making no headway at all. After about half a mile, I turned tail and went to do laps around the park. Even that got cut short. During my second lap, I suddenly remembered something that I needed to take care of at home; and I was afraid I’d forget it if I kept riding. So I went home early. Strong wind is forecast for tomorrow, too. It’s blowing at 14 mph right now; and it looks like things won’t calm down much overnight. More Wind The weekend will be rather windy, too; but I want to get in my miles! I feel like I got cheated today; and I don’t want to lose more miles. I’m considering ride food for Sunday. Probably I’ll use those Gatorade Whey bars, since I have them; but I hope to find some good ride food at the salvage store. Incidentally, my hauls from that store are a bit of a Hydra, too. Every time I use up a few cans, I buy more!

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First Taste of Summer

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

First Taste I got my first taste of Summer this morning. Some afternoons have given us temperatures of 80 degrees; but this is the first morning that it’s been warm enough for me to ride without leg warmers. At 74 degrees, it was still cool enough for long sleeves and my vest; and I wore my lightweight skull cap. I decided to go ride in the park. There’s a wind sock near where I get on the bike path; and one look told me that the wind was pretty strong. When that sock extends from its pole at a 90-degree angle, the wind is  a good 15 mph! It isn’t fun riding against a breeze like that for 6 or 7 miles. There was also uncertainty about the weather in general. It wasn’t raining, but it was overcast; and who could say when it might begin to pour? I began my ride a little earlier than usual; and was home earlier. I checked the weather online; and guess what? Tornado watch until 11:00 am! Luckily nothing happened today aside from some pretty strong wind. While I was riding Sunday, I saw a ship named, Asphalt Sailor. I almost forgot about it; then this morning it suddenly popped into my mind. The flag flying from the ship’s stern wasn’t stretched out enough for me to see it clearly; but I thought it looked like Sweden. Today I googled the ship’s name; and it’s registered with the Marshall Islands. H’m. I never thought of doing a bicycle tour there; but it looks like there are possibilities! Before I think about that, I have to keep the local weather in mind. We’ve had our first taste of Summer; but Friday night it’s supposed to drop to 50 degrees!

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Simple Arithmetic?

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

It’s simple arithmetic to determine how much time you need to ride 100 miles — or is it? Yesterday I rode 50.7 miles; and my time in the saddle was 04:21:55. Theoretically, then, my roll time for 100 miles should be double that; but that’s supposing ideal conditions. A headwind at some point is all but certain; and that will slow me down, and tire me faster. Suddenly doubling mileage isn’t the best idea, anyhow. I can’t decide whether to push for that century ride this month; or put it off while I do more work that will (I hope!) improve my pace. If I opt for that route, I won’t be ready for about two months; and in June it can be very hot! I think I also need to get used to eating more on the bike than I’ve been doing. Yesterday’s on-bike menu was: two Gatorade Whey Protein bars; half an RXBar; and two GU-Gels. Simple arithmetic showed a calorie total of 985; but my bicycle computer’s ride data showed a calorie burn of 1545. That left me 560 calories “in debt”; and maybe it’s why I started to feel so tired towards the end. I might actually need to eat a little more before I begin a ride, too. I don’t want to eat a huge meal, though, because I don’t have several hours to let it “settle”. Now that the weather is getting warmer, I need to start my long ride early! There’s always the weather to consider. I don’t want to designate a day as Century Day; and then be forced to call off the ride for a T-storm.

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Fumble Fingers

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

Fumble Fingers was me this morning. I set out, intending to ride 50 miles or so; and at 14.5 miles, I managed to press Save Ride. That wasn’t what I wanted; and I had no choice but to start a “new ” ride. Then I had to run constant mental arithmetic, always adding 14.5 to the mileage I saw on my Garmin’s screen. Today I didn’t start by doing laps around the park, as I did last Sunday; and I also started about an hour later. That wasn’t a good idea. Next Sunday, I’d better go back to last Sunday’s plan. I was a bit over-warm before I could complete my 50 miles; and the wind was a nuisance. It was up to 10 mph before the end, and that’s strong enough for me to feel it; especially when I’m getting tired. The latter part of today’s jaunt had me thinking that I’m not nearly ready for a century; yet part of my mind is saying, Just Go For It! Otherwise I might never do it. This won’t be my first century; but my last 100-mile ride was so long ago that it might as well be my first! Of course I know about keeping fueled and hydrated; and I know it’s better to take along ride-food that I’m used to. I do think I ought to delay trying a century until early mornings are warm enough for half-finger gloves. Fumble Fingers are worse when encased in full-finger gloves; and I don’t want to be dropping my much-needed food! Alternatives After this month it might be too hot for an all-day ride; and then I’d have to set my sights on an October century. That’s what I was shooting for last year; then Ida threw my plans into disarray. Post-Ida I thought, maybe I can do the Big Ride in December; but we got some very cold weather; and that discourages prolonged rides as far as I’m concerned. I’ll see how things go for the next few weeks. Love to Ride is in full swing; and I want to get in my miles! I hope for a non-windy day soon, when putting in mega-miles will be easier; and warmer weather helps prevent Fumble Fingers!

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Hello Bicycle?

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

Hello Bicycle! This doormat livens the entrance to your home; and lets you show your love for cycling at the same time. Made of sturdy, natural coir; and weathers well. Dimensions: 30 x 17 in/76.2 x 43.18 cm. I got one of these last year; and on the whole, I’m pleased with it. The drawback is that it isn’t as non-skid as I would like; and when a strong wind is expected, I have to bring it indoors so it won’t blow away. Another problem: it’s almost too pretty for me to be wiping my wet, muddy shoes on it!

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Homework

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

I feel like the kid in third grade who got loads of homework to do over the weekend. Somehow this dot net site is active; and it still has kinks that I need to work out! But that might have to wait for next week, because it involves know-how that I don’t have. Why do Pages appear with code showing? How did some products in the Shop get transferred in duplicate; and even in triplicate? I know this much; last night I got too tired to wrestle with it any more; and, as usual, there were dishes to wash! This morning I let homework go; and rode to the salvage store, even though I had some misgivings about the weather. The forecast predicted showers; and possible T-storms. At 7:30 am it was overcast; but not raining. I decided to risk it and head for the salvage store; and I packed along the poncho. I knew I might need it. As it turned out, I was right. So It Went As I rode, the sky got darker; but I got to the store without anything worse than a few brief sprinkles; and once I saw a bolt of lightning (far away, luckily). While I was waiting for the store to open, it began to rain harder. It’s a good thing the building’s entrance is sheltered; so I could stay dry. While I was in the store, I heard it pouring. There was more thunder, too; but the storm was moving pretty fast. When I got out of the store, the rain had almost stopped. Even so, I donned the poncho for the ride home; including putting the hood up. Halfway home, I had to stop and put that hood back down because I was getting too hot. I was glad not to be hauling the trailer, because I didn’t like what I saw in my rearview mirror. I saw a black sky; and now and then I heard rumbles of thunder. If it was going to storm, I wanted to beat it back home; and pulling that trailer slows me down. Weathering the Storm I still had over a mile to go when I saw a big bolt of lightning off to the right; and it wasn’t more than two miles away. Then I caught up to the rain that had passed over the salvage store! By then I had only a quarter-mile to go before I reached home; and I decided it wasn’t worth stopping to put the poncho’s hood back up. I could get home in the time it would take to do that; and I just kept going. Since I got home, there hasn’t been much more rain; and maybe I’ll ride to the closest grocery store later for bananas and grapes. As of 11:45 am, it was still overcast and drizzly; and I didn’t feel like getting wet again. Besides, there’s more homework for me: I want to cook something to use up the cauliflower in the fridge; of course there are dishes to be washed; I have to do laundry; and I have to plan tomorrow’s long ride. I get so tired of homework!

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Desertification?

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

Are we undergoing desertification? The humidity is only 30%; and for us, that’s very dry. Night before last, we had some heavy rain; and such a low humidity reading surprises me. But I suppose it won’t be long before “the muggies” (as a local meteorologist used to say) return; and the Summer heat along with them! Mornings are still cool enough for leg warmers; jacket; and skull cap. And gloves, of course; but now I don’t need hand warmers. Those warming packs feel good on a frigid day; but I admit they make holding the handlebars more awkward. Since the onset of Daylight time, it’s still dark when I get back home from a morning ride; but soon I’ll need to wear sunblock on my face — for rides that begin in the dark! This morning I was out for a ride, and saw what I thought were alligator’s eyes reflected in my headlight. Then I noticed that there were two pairs of those amber-colored eyes; and they seemed to be bouncing around. I thought that was weird; and then I looked again and realized that it was a pair of raccoons. But back to desertification. I wouldn’t mind if our climate were a little less humid; but I sure don’t want it to turn into anything approximating Death Valley. If it were as hot and dry as that; and I wanted to do 50-mile rides; I’d need to be assured of plenty of “watering holes” where I could refill my Camel-Bak! There’s a 40% chance of rain tomorrow; so I guess I don’t have to worry about desertification just yet. Sunday looks to be clear; and not too warm; so my long ride ought to go OK.

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Tabitha?

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“Tabata” sounds rather like “Tabitha” to me; and that makes me think of a cat. When I was little, I had a book, “Bobby the Dog”; and his neighbor was Tabitha Pussycat. One day Bobby was chasing Tabitha on his bicycle; and he crashed. In retrospect, I catch myself thinking that it served Bobby right. But back to Tabata intervals. I experimented with them this morning. I knew that I didn’t have to start by doing eight sets of the intervals; and doing just two or three of them is a beginning. I did a little more that that, though. For a start, I did about four of them; then rode at a more leisurely pace until my heart rate settled down; and then I did a few more. Tabata intervals are tough on the legs, that’s for sure. Twenty seconds “on” and ten “off”; repeated three or four times, seems like plenty for now. I don’t want to wear myself out too much, because I want to keep up the miles. Tomorrow begins the Love to Ride April Challenge! That reminds me: should I go for an easy ride on the road bike tomorrow morning; or ride the hybrid to the supermarket? I use a rack and panniers; but if you can’t manage a two-wheeler, and adult tricycle with a big basket works as well for “bringing home the bacon”. And do I remember my own tricycle! Even with that big rig, I did some interval work. It’s true that you shouldn’t try intervals before you’re reasonably fit; but you don’t have to be elite level. Let’s say your average speed is 12 mph; and you want to get faster. Working to push yourself to 15 mph for 30 seconds is, technically, an interval!

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Power Plant

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Yes, you can fuel your “power plant” with plant power! I’m not vegan myself; and don’t plan to become vegan. I have, however, experimented with vegetarianism of the lacto-ovo variety for much of my adult life. My main reason for this is that I never enjoyed handling raw meat or poultry. They felt weird; they smelled funny; and it drove me crazy that I couldn’t seem to wash that smell off of my hands. Legumes and whole grains are good alternate sources of protein; and they cost less than meat. From what I’ve read, an elite cyclist is constantly watching his or her diet; and we even read of some riders who weigh every single morsel that they eat. I’m glad I don’t have to go to that extreme to fuel my own power plant; but I need to get my diet back on track — again! I try to save the FitCrunch and Gatorade Whey Protein bars for long rides; but lately I’ve too often been eating them off the bike. I need to get back to carrots and hummus! Incidentally, I sometimes wish for more variety when it comes to fueling my power plant during long rides; but I don’t know what to use. Sandwiches are too bulky; and foods like Combos don’t have any “oomph” to them. Jerked meats are rather tough to chew; and they also make me too thirsty. That’s bad news in hot weather! For me, nuts aren’t a very good choice for on-bike eating; they’re too likely to stick in my throat. Looks like I’m stuck with those bars.

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Fill the Tank

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We fill the tank before we drive a car somewhere, don’t we? Well, or ride a motorcycle. We also have to “fill the tank” before beginning a long bicycle ride; and that’s not always as easy as it sounds. What do I need to eat before I even start the ride? Which foods should I take with me for on-bike fueling; and how much of them? I found this on a web site a day or two ago: “A good way to estimate your additional calorie need is to multiply the distance travelled in miles by 40-50 calories. Therefore, if you’ve been out for a 30-mile ride you can estimate an extra calorie need of between 1,200-1,500 calories erring towards the bottom end of this if you’re a slower or lighter rider and toward the top end if you’re faster or heavier.” (Unfortunately I don’t remember which web site contained this info; so I can’t give it proper credit😞) If I followed that advice, I’d eat far too much! Last Sunday I rode 52 miles; and per the above calculations, I should have eaten 2080-2600 calories. However, my bicycle computer’s data showed that I burned only 1445 calories. I think I’ll forget about that formula; and keep doing what I’ve been doing. During my Sunday ride I took in 865 calories, which seems a lot more sensible to me. Over the years I’ve tried many different on-bike foods; and before I begin a long ride I fill the “tank” with my choice of energy/protein bars, cut in pieces for easier handling. It’s not fun when it rains, though; and my food gets soggy. I’m lucky that wet fuel doesn’t foul my “engine”! More Déjà Vu This afternoon we’re getting more déjà vu in the form of possible severe weather. Wasn’t last Wednesday enough? Is “hump day” jinxed? All day we’ve been under a wind advisory; and even a high wind warning! A tornado watch went into effect early this afternoon; and I’m glad we had the option to leave work early. By the time I got home around 3:30 pm, the wind was over 30 mph; and I’m glad I didn’t wait to come home until my usual time. Overnight the wind is supposed to die down a lot; and the bad weather should be past. I guess I won’t have to “fill the tank” too much before I ride in the morning!

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