SpokEasy

SpokEasy

Author name: CAL

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

Blow It Off

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

Blow It Off Sometimes it’s fun to blow it off! Yesterday I decided to blow it off, and skip blogging. Sometimes it gets to be a bit too much! This morning I didn’t do much of a ride. It was drizzling; and I heard some thunder. It wasn’t close, but there’s no thunder without lightning; and stormy weather can move very fast. I didn’t want to get caught in a T-storm; so I set up the trainer with the hybrid, and pedaled for half an hour. This device can rescue a ride in inclement weather. As usual, that was a long half hour; and also as usual, I had to make a very rough guesstimate as to my mileage. But at least it was a little better than sitting around doing nothing! I’ve been working at product grids for the upcoming dot net version of this web site; and this evening I blew it off, too. My brain needs a rest from it; and I worked on Slides instead. I hope the weather won’t force me to skip riding tomorrow; but the forecast is for rain; and it could be heavy. It’s no fun to ride in pouring rain: even though it isn’t cold, I’ll still have visibility problems; and of course, concerns about lightning. I got spoiled by our long spell of little rain. It was great for the Love to Ride April Challenge; and so far May has been pretty dry. But now we’re getting a wet spell; and actually, I think we need it. Some parts of the country need it even more than we do. I wish I could send them some of our rain!

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Out of Stream

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

Out of Steam? I wish I had energy like this! Am I running out of steam? I feel so tired lately; and I don’t only mean low on energy. My legs don’t feel right; and that’s very aggravating. Last night I thought I’d have to skip riding today; and in fact the forecast this morning predicted a 100% chance of T-storms. At that moment, though, the sun was out; and the hourly forecast said the weather wouldn’t turn stormy until early afternoon. I finally decided to go for a short ride; and 19 miles is short for a Sunday ride! The sky became cloudier and cloudier; and since I got home at about 10:50 am, I’ve expected all fury to break loose at any time. But I checked the hour-by-hour forecast at 2:30 pm; and it showed it wasn’t expected to get stormy until 9:00 pm! And they say, La donna è mobile? Today I sure felt like I was running out of steam on the way home. The wind really wasn’t all that strong; but I felt like it was hard to make any headway. My legs were persistently tired; and I just wanted to stop. It’s time to haul out the sun sleeves now. If I wear them, I can save a bit of sunblock; and sun sleeves actually do keep my arms a bit cooler. Sun sleeves keep your arms cooler while protecting your skin from UV rays. Back to the weather. It looks like the next three days will be quite stormy; and of course that doesn’t bode well for cycling. The street where I live is still all torn up for construction; and that means a lot of mud when it rains. I wish they’d hurry up and finish that job!

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rescue

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

Rescue Rescue isn’t always this dramatic. This morning it was GU to the rescue. Keep some GU’s handy whenever and wherever you ride! I ate a Quest bar and some yogurt before I rode to the salvage store; and I was already getting hungry by the time I got to the store! You know what they always say about food shopping: don’t do it when you’re hungry. I was glad I could pull out that GU, so I wasn’t starving as I cruised the aisles. The grab-bag bins were a disappointment again: there was not much in them, and nothing at all that I wanted; so I didn’t make a grab bag today. But I found another flavor of Dang bars; dry-roasted peanuts; and I got a can of mackerel. I don’t believe I’ve even had mackerel before; and it might be interesting to try it. On the way home from the store, I had a stiff headwind the last two miles. I wished for a tailwind to come to the rescue! It seemed like I was never going to get home; and I when I did, I was worn out; hungry; and very thirsty. My original plan was to dump my loot from the salvage store at home; and head out for a short spin on the road bike. I decided it might be better to drop that idea. Yes, I have a mileage goal to work towards; but sometimes we have to forget goals for a day. Besides, I downed plenty of fluid I when I got home from the store; and I’ll need a restroom too often to make a road bike ride sensible. The wind is up to 20 mph, too; and I don’t feel like fighting it. Let’s be lazy!

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What Ails My Legs

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

What Ails My Legs? Cycling is for ALL legs! What ails my legs today? They feel stiff and tired; and I thought that there didn’t seem to be a ready explanation for it. Maybe my legs need a good dose of “Jensie”! Maybe “Jensie” has the right idea! My mileage is about as usual; and this week I’m not doing any “force” work. This morning I did about 90 seconds total of pushing the pace; and that shouldn’t wear me out so much. I rode to work; and that’s nothing unusual. While I was riding home I felt very tired; but not until about 7 pm did I figure out what ails my legs. I take medication for hypotension; and this morning I forgot to take it! No wonder I felt tired and limp at work; and now I know why I felt almost too tired to ride back home this afternoon. I also forgot my evening dose, because I plunged right into work on my web site. In fact, I was so tired this afternoon that I was considering skipping the trip to the salvage store tomorrow; and sleeping in. After a glance at the weather forecast, I’m reconsidering that plan. It looks like tomorrow morning will be OK; but Sunday’s outlook is a stormy one. I want to get in some riding tomorrow in case I can’t on Sunday; and if the weather does permit a Sunday ride, so much the better! Of course I’m chipping away at my Love to Ride goal; and every little ride helps!

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That Monkey

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, equipment /

That Monkey! Monkeys can be a nuisance! Darn that monkey! It looks like it might throw its wrench into my Love to Ride mileage goal. Yesterday I saw my rheumatologist; and we discussed the problems I’m having because of my left thumb. The doctor is referring me to a hand specialist; and it looks like surgery is likely. The hand has lost strength since my first visit with that particular doctor; and it looks like things are likely to continue down the same path. Recovery from such surgery might take several months; and that’s bad news for everything, including cycling. I might be allowed to ride as long as I don’t use the front shifters; but that will drive me crazy. What a hassle that monkey is liable to cause! Triple cranksets give a greater range of gears. I’ll probably have to reduce mileage; and be more careful not to get caught in the rain because of whatever splint is on the hand. So, what can I do? Set up the trainer and “ride” indoors? I’m glad I don’t need to ride inside much. It drives me crazy. How do I keep the tires properly inflated when the bike is hooked into the trainer? It won’t be good for those tires to have the bike just sit there for weeks. Of course a splinted hand means everything else will be a hassle: washing my hair; cooking; and all sorts of things that I do daily; and normally take for granted. All I can do is to wait and see what comes of my visit to the hand specialist; and if we’re going to do surgery, it must wait until after June 20. I’m cat-sitting for some friends; and “scooping the box” won’t be good for a surgical site!

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modern history

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

Modern History Not all history is ancient! The trike, as I said, is ancient history; but I have my modern history, too. Let’s take a look at the past few years, since the pandemic began. Last year’s Hurricane Ida, and its impact on my riding, immediately comes to mind; and I certainly hope there isn’t a repeat performance this year. My Love to Ride goal for 2022 is 5000 miles; and I’m not to 2200 yet! If I’m spared hurricane downtime this season, though, I believe I can make it to 5000. After all, I came close last year. To back up a bit, Tour de Cure 2020 was virtual, because of the pandemic. I did my TdC mostly on the MRT; and had my usual problems with the wind. Part of me wants to do more fund-raiser rides; but I’ve always had trouble finding enough donors to meet my quota. My employer doesn’t make matching contributions; and that doesn’t help. I’m at the point in my working life when I need to start serious planning for retirement, anyway. Pretty ironic; as after I’m out of the workforce, I’ll have more time to ride and to train up for big events! Maybe I can finally do another century ride of my own. The last one isn’t exactly modern history, and something in me wants to go for another one; but it’s getting too hot now for me to try a 100-miler. If I average 12 mph, it will take 8.5 hours’ riding time to complete the ride; and time taken for rest breaks will extend the time an hour or so. Even if I started at 4:00 am, it would be at least 1:00 pm by the time I finished. Near Present For some much more modern history, this past Sunday I rode 43.5 miles; and I need to work up to 60-70 miles if I have any idea of doing a century ride. If I want to get through it faster, I need to take the advice in this book more seriously: Helpful advice for improving your pace; but I’m too lazy! The trouble is, I’m really not awake enough when I go out on my weekday morning rides. But it’s that, or don’t ride at all; and then my modern history wouldn’t have much to tell!

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Hindsight

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Outdoors /

Hindsight IS hindsight 20/20? Hindsight may or may not be 20/20, but we can use a little of it while cycling; and especially if we have to ride alongside traffic. It helps if we can see what’s coming up from behind! I have a MTB rearview mirror for the hybrid. I hope objects in the mirror are NOT as close as they appear! It’s very useful; but I admit that sometimes I forget to watch that mirror. Riding alongside moving cars means traffic on my left, and parked cars on my right; so I also have to worry about the possibility of getting “doored“. It’s hard to watch on both sides at the same time. The road bike has a handlebar-end mirror. Not as useful as I had hoped, unfortunately. It may be different for you. The catch with this mirror is that it’s tricky to position it correctly; and every time I reach down for the water bottle, I bump it out of line! Another problem is that, if the sun is low in the sky, it shines right into the mirror; and both I and riders approaching from the rear can get blinded. In hindsight, I should have started yesterday’s ride somewhat earlier. It was 82 degrees by the time I finished; and today it reached 90! I must remember to drink more while riding; and I hope I sweat it out instead of needing frequent pit stops. Yesterday I strained something near my left knee; a tendon, maybe. The joint itself seems to be all right; and all I can do is to be careful for a while; and maybe ride in the park so I don’t have to ride up that access ramp to the top of the levee!

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Ancient History

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Food /

Ancient History Ancient history isn’t limited to Rome. The tricycle is ancient history, you might say. It seems like an eternity since the day I ordered it from the bike shop; and I didn’t expect to get into cycling as much as I did. I hope I never have to give up riding; and there are ways to keep riding even if you have trouble pedaling! Something to keep in mind in case my legs give out. The trike rode off into the sunset almost nine years ago; and I did my best to give it a second life. It was about worn out by then; but I figured somebody could use it for something. Some ride foods are ancient history, too. I’m always watching for new things to try; and sometimes I don’t find a certain product again. That’s a drawback to shopping at the salvage store. They have what they have; and the merchandise is unpredictable. I love chocolate; and I love cherries! I remember my early days with the hybrid. At first it seemed like I’d never get going; and that, too, seems like an eon ago. If I might say so, I wish I had had something like this to help me through that frustrating beginning on two wheels. History repeats itself; and I had to adjust all over again when I got the road bike. At first the road bike felt very twitchy. It’s much lighter than the hybrid; and even the riding posture is very different. But it wasn’t long before the hybrid began to feel slow and heavy; and I realized that the road bike had spoiled me for the hybrid! All that is ancient history now; and I can’t imagine not being able to ride a bicycle!

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Bijoux

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

Bijoux Fancy stuff, mais non? Bijoux isn’t my thing. It costs way too much; and I have nowhere to keep it. As for the Hope Diamond, I’m only too happy to let it alone. Let it stay in the Smithsonian. Some people enjoy jewelry, though; and bicycle-themed jewelry isn’t lacking. This necklace serves as inspiration; and every purchase helps worthy causes. Encourage yourself and others. Some folks like to make jewelry; both for themselves and as gifts. Here’s a kit to help you get started. Create your own jewelry; or make gifts. Come to think of it, it’s not too soon to start making Christmas gifts! Let your imagination run wild: bracelets, necklaces, and so on. Incidentally, for fans of bracelets, there’s the Alex and Ani Bracelet. It can be adjusted to fit the wearer; and each purchase benefits the Pan-Mass Challenge. For the bicycle history lover, this not-quite-bijoux watch might fit the bill. Keep an eye on both history and time! I like the analog face. Somehow I remember the time better when I’ve seen it on a dial; and I hope analog never dies out. Maybe it’s because digital devices weren’t around when I was growing up; and analog got thoroughly burned into my brain! When analog clock faces were new, did older folks used to sundials feel at a loss? Today Fortunately, I don’t need bijoux to ride; and today I put in 41.5 miles on the road bike. On the way out, the wind was calm for once. But coming back home, the wind got up to 7-8 mph — stronger than predicted — and for the last five miles, pedaling was quite a chore. Today I tried a new ride food: Honey Stinger Energy Chews. Tangy fruit flavors! I alternated these chews with bites of sweet energy bars. I was worried that chews might be tough, and too hard on my dental work; but they aren’t as tough as I though they might be. Maybe I’ll use them more often in the future!

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Good Intentions Again

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

Good Intentions Again Always so much to get done! I’ve got my good intentions again. But they don’t always bring about the desired results. I typically plan for some off-bike exercises five days a week. They aren’t long sessions; and I certainly don’t go for HIIT-style workouts! But I need my off-bike exercises to keep my core and upper body more or less toned. For the past few months, though, I’ve been too busy with web work to do them regularly; and when I do them, I can tell that I’ve lost conditioning. I use small hand weights for some of the exercises; and some moves are body-weight style. An alternative to having lots of equipment taking up space. Maybe one of these days I’ll get some resistance bands. They need little storage space. Versatile bands for use in many exercise programs It’s back to good intentions for my diet; but such plans don’t always get proper eating very far. When I’m embroiled in web site work, meal preparation is usually the first thing to fall by the wayside; and that’s very unfortunate. It can’t be doing my A1c levels any good. Soups, salads, and more! I try to cook ahead on weekends. But for the time being, I have too few food storage containers and too little freezer space to prepare any more stuff. I hope good intentions keep me from bring home a big load from the salvage store tomorrow. I plan to leave the trailer at home; and that should help. My look-for list is very short this time; but no matter how short the list, I usually see something that I can get to store away until later. That stock-up-while-you-can mentality can be quite a burden!

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