SpokEasy

SpokEasy

Author name: CAL

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

Short Circuit

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I’ve got quite a short circuit going! It’s important to always wear clean cycling shorts for a ride; and I have five pairs that I use in rotation. They aren’t enough for me to “save” them up to wash once a week; and I wash a pair nearly every day, by hand. Even though I now have an automatic washing machine, I intend to stick with that routine. Speaking of short circuit: if I had an ebike, I’d worry about such an occurrence every time I got caught in the rain. I’m sure that ebikes are designed to minimize this risk; but I think I’d still be concerned about it! I’m a bit of a worrywart, you see. This morning I rode to the salvage store; and I was glad that I didn’t haul that trailer this time. Before I got back home around 10:00 am, the wind had increased to 13 mph; and within the next hour, it got stronger! I still haven’t rid myself of the get-it-while-I-can mentality that I developed when COVID-related stay-at-home mandates were possible; and I got some more canned goods. The grab-bag bins had little in them; but I found some other things that I can use for ride food. I hope the weather doesn’t short circuit my ride tomorrow! The greatest chance for rain is in the afternoon; so maybe I’ll start my ride earlier than usual. It’s nearly 80 degrees right now; and for March, that’s too warm. I want to push for 40-43 miles tomorrow. Twice within three weeks the weather has thwarted my efforts; and I’m getting fed up with it.

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Rarebit?

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Rarebit, aka Welsh Rabbit, is great for cheese lovers; but yesterday I got a rarebit — er, a rare bit — of great cycling weather. It was in the mid-50s, which is a bit cooler than I like; and I needed a jacket and leg warmers; but ALMOST NO WIND! It was overcast; but it didn’t rain. I was very glad of that, because last Sunday I got enough rain to last me for quite a while. During yesterday’s ride I did some work at pushing the pace to 15 mph; and even a little bit of 16-18 mph. It’s ever so much easier to work on my pace when there’s no wind. That headwind business is why I sometimes wish I had a power meter. As so many articles about cyclist training say, speed isn’t the best indicator of your progress. Many factors (terrain, wind, etc.) influence speed; but X amount of power is X amount of power. If X increases to X + Y, and stays there; then you’ve gotten stronger! I’m trying to extend the weekday morning rides by a mile or so, for two reasons. One: the idea of building up to a century ; and two: my posted Love to Ride 2022 goal of 5000 miles by December 30. I’m up to about 876 miles now; and if I keep going this way, I should be able to reach that goal. Let’s hope I’m not thwarted by a hurricane again, the way I was last year! This morning I skipped the jaunt on the road bike, so I could ride to the supermarket. Rarebit isn’t on the menu this week, so I didn’t buy cheese; but I got fruit and carrots and yogurt. If only the bananas weren’t grass-green!

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