SpokEasy

SpokEasy

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Cheating

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Cheating doesn\’t always involve a broken heart. I\’ve been cheating on my diet — again. Planning my meals; and adding up the calories and carbs, somehow leaves me short. Trying not to overshoot the carb count can make it difficult to get in enough calories; and I suppose that\’s why I broke down today and got a pint of ice cream! The nutritionist and nurse practitioner both said to work at getting in more lean protein; but lean protein can be quite high in carbs if it means grains and legumes. I also need to watch the cholesterol; so I want to go easy on meat, poultry, cheese, and eggs. The kind of carbs I eat matters, of course. Complex carbs, the kind found in whole grains and legumes, are a different matter from the simple carbs of candy and other sweets; and if I keep cheating the way I have been, I fear that my A1c levels aren\’t going to go down! This week I\’ve been experimenting with having a protein drink in the morning; sometimes before my ride, and sometimes afterwards. I thought the \”protein jolt\” might help keep me from getting hungry so quickly; but it doesn\’t. Is my body fighting the weight loss of the past year? They say that, when you lose weight, the body wants to get back to its pre-loss weight. I must work to keep that from happening; and continuing to ride should be a good way to do it! Incidentally, I need to get in a good ride tomorrow morning. Yesterday I felt strangely lethargic; and today I managed only a short ride. I got started late; and on top of that, I wanted to go to the supermarket. Gee, I\’m cheating myself out of my rides!

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Mush Again!

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My legs felt like mush again this morning. Sometimes they just do, and I don’t always know why. It\’s part of being a cyclist, I suppose. I didn\’t do a long or tough workout yesterday morning. I felt unaccountably sleepy on the bike this morning, too; and my lethargy resulted in a ride less than eight miles long. It’s just one of those days, I guess. You know those rides when you seem to have a headwind both going out and coming back home? That was the case this morning; and I didn\’t seem to have the energy to work hard against it. I had a good tailwind only for the last mile before the end. At least it wasn\’t raining today; and the temperature was in the mid-40s. That\’s relatively bearable after the late-February cold snap. The wind chill during those miserable days was often well below freezing! I also had to keep a careful eye on the time, because I had a COVID test scheduled for 8 am. After that, I had to go to work. Tomorrow I work from home; and that means I\’ll have time to ride to the supermarket before I clock in. It will be another chilly morning, and I\’ll have to wear several layers. Maybe I\’ll skip the road bike. I can put the panniers and trunk on the hybrid; ride some laps around the park; and then head for the store. This one opens at 6 am, so I\’ll be able to get home in plenty of time. My legs continued to feel tired all day today, so I think I better take it easy tomorrow. I don\’t want my poor limbs to feel like mush again.

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Getting Cold Feet

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Getting Cold Feet   This morning the temperature was 58-59 degrees; and it was raining. Not a heavy downpour, but more than a light sprinkle. I decided to poncho up; and I rode some laps around the local park with the hybrid. Of course my feet eventually became pretty damp; and then they began to feel chilled. I didn’t use warming packs today; and my hands got pretty cold, too. Lobster gloves would have been useful! I might have done one more lap, but decided that hands getting cold meant I’d better head for home. During the last mile on the way home, I had a headwind; and there were some strong gusts that had me shifting down to my granny gear. All in all, this was the kind of ride that makes me feel like a sissy; especially when I see joggers out there in shorts and T-shirts! I decided to walk to work. It’s a nuisance trying to lock up a bike to a rack when it’s raining. When it’s cold as well, I’ll not only be getting cold feet; my hands will get too cold. Managing those locks and keys is awkward when I’m wearing heavy gloves. Before 8 am, the temp had dropped to 49. It continued to rain on and off all day; and when I left work it was still gloomy. I’m glad the rain was very light then, because the wind was rather strong; and there were some gusts that made my umbrella hard to control. It’s a relief to be at home and in front of the electric heater. Now I can dry out and put on dry socks. I don’t like getting cold feet.

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The Inevitable?

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It\’s the inevitable. The National Hurricane Center is considering extending official hurricane season. I\’m not surprised. Hurricane season has long begun officially on June 1, but tropical storms before that date are no longer unusual; and many a hurricane season in recent years has seemed like hurricane season on steroids. The possibility of tropical storms is one of the reasons why I keep hitting the salvage store to stock up on non-perishables, even when I already have plenty. The time to get ready for hurricane season is before the official season even begins. Semper paratus, as the Coast Guard says. Early storms again this year won\’t surprise me. It\’s gotten too warm for the season again; and that\’s not so good. I complain about being cold; but come on, March has barely begun! I checked the weather just before I left work this afternoon, and it said 77 degrees. A few steps outside the building, and I knew it was cooler than that! The wind was pretty strong, and it\’s cooling off fast. Things don\’t look so favorable for tomorrow morning\’s ride. Low of 55 degrees tonight, which is more seasonable; but 30% chance of rain tomorrow. And I just lubed the road bike\’s chain! I\’ll see how things are; and if it\’s raining I can wear the poncho and ride the hybrid. Then I must be sure to lube the hybrid\’s chain; it needs it, anyway. And if I get wet? Well, it\’s the inevitable.

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Proverbial?

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I got proverbial yesterday, you could say; the proverbial first time. To explain: there\’s a vehicular access road to a mini-industry behind the levee, about half a mile from the salvage store; and I use it to get up and down from the levee bike path. I don\’t try to ride down. There\’s a stop sign at the bottom; and if I ride down that ramp without braking, I might not be able to stop. But if I ride down and brake frequently, guess what? I wear out the brake pads! Thus I walk my bicycle down; especially if I\’m using the trailer, as I did today. For several years, I\’ve always walked that loaded trailer up the access road. I didn\’t feel strong enough to ride up; but today I decided to try it. And I made it! To be sure, as I got towards the top of the ramp I could no longer hold to a straight line; but there wasn\’t a car coming, so I was OK. It helped that I didn\’t have the load that I had thought I\’d get; the pickings at the store were on the slim side. Sometimes they are; but sometimes I hit the jackpot. To my disappointment, I didn\’t see any refried beans; and although I found tuna and canned chicken, neither had a price sticker. I\’ve learned that it\’s better to leave unmarked products alone; sometimes they turn out to be expensive. As a rule, I don\’t go out on the road bike Saturdays; but yesterday morning I did a special ride so I could see the full moon. At first the moon was dodging in and out of the clouds, and there was fog again; but eventually there was enough of a clear spot for me to get a good view. Sunday Ride Foggy again! I sound like the proverbial broken record with all my griping about fog. Today I put in 30.2 miles; and for ride food I tried one of the Clif Builders Protein Bars I got at the salvage store yesterday. Box of 12 bars, $8.99! I also ate an RXBar and a GU-Gel. One bar isn\’t enough to sustain me when I\’m pedaling for well over two hours; and let it be confessed; I just plain love sweets. A long bicycle ride gives me an excuse for eating \”goo\”. It\’s quite warm today; 77 degrees by 11 am. The wind is from the South; and at times on the way home, it was dead on my nose. The forecast had predicted winds of 11 mph by 10 am, but I wondered how strong that wind had really been. I checked NOAA; and it had been blowing at 13 mph before I got back home. Less than an hour later, the wind was 17 mph; and gusts up to 28 mph. For my post-ride recovery drink, I used skim milk (I\’m out of almond milk) and Vega Caramel Toffee protein powder. I like it; but chocolate is even better!

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Keep Those Feet Warm!

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Keep those feet warm with these thermal socks. I tried these out for the first time last Sunday. By then we had gotten through our deep-freeze spell; but I certainly noticed how warm my feet felt! It might not get down to freezing again this season; and then again, it might. March can be very cold here. On the other hand, overnight lows of 80 degrees can set in as early as March. I\’ll keep these socks handy; on a frigid day it\’s important to keep those feet warm! Try them for cycling; skiing; or any other outdoor activity.

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Repeat

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This morning I got a repeat of yesterday morning\’s fog. Last night I saw the dense fog advisory, and decided to ride in the park this morning. There seem to be fewer hard-to-see people in the park; and I also used the hybrid, which has fenders. It\’s ironic that I did only a short ride. I work from home Fridays; and I could have taken the time for a longer ride than usual! But my legs objected to getting a long or vigorous workout this morning; they\’re still rather tired from yesterday\’s efforts. Incidentally, \”repeat\” sounds like interval training! Another reason I did a shorter ride was that I began to feel hungry; and I didn\’t have a GU-Gel with me. On top of that, my mind was distracted by the thought of the leftover Chinese food waiting in my fridge! Parts of the country are seeing a repeat of horrible weather: severe T-storms; heavy rain/flooding, and so on. Thunderstorms aren\’t in our forecast for the next few days; but I won\’t be surprised if they develop. After all, it reached 80 degrees this afternoon. This is a weather-breeder! I took a quick ride to the drug store at lunch time. It was nice to not have to bundle up before I went out! I don\’t need sodas, but that little bit of midday physical activity makes it a little easier to get through the afternoon. Forecast for tomorrow morning: dense fog. Again. I want to get up early to go for a moon ride, but it might be vain effort. I think I\’ll try, though. Then I\’ll have plenty of time to eat breakfast, and get ready for the trek to the salvage store. I love that place.

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Light in the Saddle

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Light in the Saddle   The fog was heavy this morning. I didn’t expect it; but I noticed it as soon as I stepped out my front door. I was surprised that the moon — now almost full — was visible through it. But the river was totally obscured. In fact, I was surprised that the moon was still up; then I remembered that I began my ride earlier than usual. I wanted to put in some miles on the road bike; and then ride the hybrid to the supermarket. Today I rode 12.7 miles in exactly one hour. That’s still quite slow; but I hit a max speed well over 17 mph. That light in the saddle work sure tired my legs, though! Once again, there was almost no wind. When I got home, I chowed down a Chocolate Chip RXBar; then hooked the panniers to the hybrid’s rack and rode to the supermarket. I was hungry by the time I got back home. I had to fix “real” breakfast; and then clock in to work. After work I rode over to the drug store to pick up a prescription refill; and I got Chinese take-out for my supper. Every two or three weeks my cravings for Chinese food get to be too much for me! But I must be careful not to eat too much of it (or, indeed, of anything) if I want to stay light in the saddle!  

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Giving It a Shot

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I’m giving it a shot when it comes to avoiding COVID-19. Of course I wore masks from the start of the pandemic. In fact, I\’ve worn them for many years because of my sensitivities to \”fragrances\”. I avoid crowds if at all possible. When I shop at a brick-and-mortar store, I go early; and get in and out as quickly as I can. But today I was finally able to get my first dose of the COVID vaccine. It was a bit weird. I didn\’t really feel the needle; but it did feel like somebody punched me in the arm! For a while my arm felt a bit sore here and there; but so far nothing bad. Maybe I was giving it a shot when I rode this morning; but I didn’t know it. I really wasn’t looking for the water bottle that I dropped yesterday; and that I thought I’d never see again. But, incredibly, I spotted it! Apparently I had dropped it a bit closer to home than I thought; and even at a rather low speed, a dropped water bottle can roll a long way. Today I rode at a rather leisurely pace; and I made it short. I had to catch a shuttle bus to get to the appointment for my COVID shot; and of course I didn’t want to miss it. I wish I could have done a longer ride, because this was another non-windy morning. It looks like tomorrow morning won\’t be bad, though; and I can try some more \”light in the saddle\” work. If I really want to get faster, it\’s worth giving this a shot.

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Dropsy?

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“Dropsy” is what I call it when I’m trying to get a water bottle back into its cage and miss. This morning I dropped a water bottle; and it seemed to vanish entirely. That\’s a drawback to riding in the dark. Or is there a black hole for bidons out there? Not that dropsy is anything to joke about. It can be the result of a serious medical condition; and it isn\’t something to ignore. Getting back to the problem of handling that water bottle: sometimes I don\’t have any trouble with it. Other times, I just can\’t seem to manage it. This morning I began to pull the bottle out of its holder; and for some reason let go of it before it was all the way out. My heavy gloves, with Hotnwarmers inside, no doubt contributed to my case of \”dropsy\”! Unfortunately the bottle was too far out of the cage to keep it from falling out. I stopped as quickly as I could, but several minutes of searching yielded no result; and I finally decided I had to go on. After all, I got very little riding last week; and I didn\’t want to miss any more! Aside from losing my water bottle, this morning\’s ride was great. The weather was clear; and while it was chilly, it wasn\’t frigid. There was almost no wind! I could have used an additional layer on my legs; but even so, it was nice to climb aboard without the binding effect of slacks over leg warmers. Next Step? And today, I began something new! My next step in improving my pace, I hope. Sometime last year, out of the blue, I found that I was pulling up on the handlebars and easing my weight on the saddle when “climbing”; that is, while riding over a hump or up an access ramp. I noticed that this let me push harder on the pedals. It\’s harder on my legs; but I seem to be able to climb more effectively when I do it. A few weeks back, I began to think: how about taking the next step; and using the same technique when I want to ride faster?  This morning, almost without conscious thought, I started to work on it. I can’t keep it up for long. My arms and upper body need a lot more strengthening; and my legs sure felt it, too. But it makes it easier to push 15 mph or more; and during long rides, short spurts of this \”half-stand\” pedaling will help when I need a bit of relief from saddle contact. By the way, \”dropsy\” is sure to happen again; and after work I rode to the bike shop and bought two water bottles. I want to have a spare on hand!

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