SpokEasy

SpokEasy

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Distraction

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Distraction is the name of the game this morning. I don\’t mean that I have boisterous kids horsing around while I\’m trying to work. Hurricane Zeta is approaching! As I get this blog post started, before 9 am, things are quiet. I just peeked out the window, and it looked like it was windstill. The sky is overcast, which is a good thing. It will keep things from getting too hot before storm conditions actually set in. I know, I ought not to work on blogs when I\’m on the job. But I don\’t want to have the power go out before I can do any blogging! I don\’t want my trash can and recycling bin to go flying when those hurricane-force winds arrive. I got out my bicycle cable lock and attached the bins\’ handles to the fence. Of course there\’s the chance that the wind will line up precisely with the narrow space between my building and the house next door, and tear the handles off of the bins. But even if that does come about, at least I tried. Car owners who have to park on the street — the majority of car owners in this \’hood, I\’d say — will have their special worries. Flying debris can easily smash windows, and if the wind is strong enough it can even shove vehicles around. I\’ve been finishing this post during morning break. That\’s one less distraction! I\’m very glad that I\’m not frantically trying to buy canned goods and bottled water at this, the eleventh hour. All those excursions to the salvage store really pay off at times like this. Now I have to get back to the job again.

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Not in a Teapot

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Not in a teapot, the current tempest out there! It\’s much bigger than that. We\’re now under hurricane warning. Tropical storm conditions, and possibly hurricane conditions, are expected tomorrow; with T-storms all day long. No outdoor riding tomorrow, I guess. Not if the lightning will be cracking all around! Even without lightning, heavy rain wreaks havoc on visibility; and by early afternoon, the wind will be quite strong. Power outage, anyone? My employer says, work remotely tomorrow. Since I don\’t anticipate being able to get my usual morning ride, I can sleep a little later! My \”commute\” will be a few steps, instead of 2.75 miles. Before I go to bed, I can set up my not in a teapot green tea: one green tea bag per pint of water; steeped in the fridge overnight. I\’m trying, admittedly not very successfully, to drink more of that tea and less Diet Coke. The latter isn\’t good for my teeth, for one thing. Being at home all day will make it easier for me to get my diet back on track. Yesterday I broke loose with candy; this evening I got Chinese takeout for supper. For several days I\’ve felt tired and light-headed no matter what I ate, and decided that it might help if I stuffed myself for once. If I\’m to fix proper meals I\’d better get in there and clean up the kitchen. It\’s no fun trying to cook when the kitchen is a mess.

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Uh-Oh!

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Uh-oh. We\’ve got to keep an eye on the tropics yet again. Will this hurricane season never end? Zeta is out there in the Caribbean, and expected to get into the Gulf. It\’s now at hurricane strength, and at present is heading NW. It looks like it will curve more towards the NE as it crosses the Gulf. Locally, tropical storm and even hurricane conditions are possible by day after tomorrow. Indeed, we\’re already under hurricane watch. With Hallowe\’en only days away, you can call it an atmospheric witches\’ cauldron, I guess; not that it\’s anything to joke about. Today I rode to work so I could get in some pedaling. Riding on Wednesday is probably off the table; and even tomorrow isn\’t looking propitious. Looks like I\’ll have to ride in the trainer for at least one day. I don\’t know what\’s wrong with me today. I\’ve been unaccountably tired; and I don\’t feel quite on my legs; and it\’s been very hard to focus my mind on anything. Maybe part of it is my concern over what Zeta might do. Having a stuffy head isn\’t any help; and my hands are constantly fumbling. Have I got bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome? Today my eating patterns went into a major derailment. Maybe I was hungrier than I realized? At any rate, I chowed down the candy big-time; and uh-oh! I\’m also hankering after ice cream! Now I must rein myself in again. I have to keep pre-diabetes in mind!

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A New Mix

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I tried a new mix today. The road bike is about due for a new chain, and yesterday I took it to the shop. They couldn\’t take care of it immediately, which meant I had to leave the bike there. This is why I kept the hybrid when I bought the road bike! As a rule, I devote Sundays to the weekly long ride. I would rather not have to run errands before that ride, especially not when it\’s broiling hot by 9 am. When I get back from the long ride, I\’m tired. Besides, there\’s a lot more traffic by that time of day. With the road bike temporarily out of commission, I decided to do a shorter ride with the hybrid today; and work in some errands as well. This new mix was rather a pain in the neck, but now I don\’t have to worry about those errands come Saturday. I headed for Winn Dixie first. I\’ll be running short of carrots by the weekend; and by then who knows what the weather conditions will be! We don\’t know yet what Zeta will do; but we are within the so-called \”cone of uncertainty\”. I got a few things at Winn Dixie besides the carrots; and after I got that stuff home, I got ready to head for Walmart. I needed to replace some ancient food-storage containers. After I left Walmart, I headed straight back to the levee bike path to put in some miles. It really wasn\’t very pleasant this morning; chilly, windy, and gray. The sun didn\’t start to come out until I got home just before noon. But now all those shopping trips are out of the way, and off my mind. I must say, that\’s a relief.

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Hunting I Will Go

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A-hunting I will go, chasing down bargains in the salvage store. This is where the hybrid, rigged with a rack, comes to the forefront. I hang the panniers on the sides; put the trunk on top; and off I go! The salvage store opens at 8:30 am on Saturday, and I like to be there for opening time. I beat the crowds; the pickings are likely to be better early in the day; and, in hot weather, I can be back home before the worst of the day\’s heat sets in. Heat wasn\’t a problem today, although it did look like it might rain. I\’m glad it didn\’t! I\’m also glad we don\’t need to worry about that system in the Caribbean just yet. When I get home from a trip to the salvage store, I like to go online and see how much the things I bought there would cost if I purchased them from other sources. As usual, the ride to the salvage store paid off. I found 8 oz bags of roasted, salted pistachios for $2.24 per bag. One online store (I don\’t want to name names) sells them for $4.46 per bag. I found grain-free granola, less than a dollar for an 8 oz bag. There was hummus, a 10 oz box for 99¢! Naturally I hit the grab-bag bins, and made up a small bag. I looked for things that might be good ride food, but of course got a few candy bars. Butterfinger® Peanut Butter Cups were too much for my curiosity about new sweets! Hunting I will go next Saturday? I keep saying I\’ve got to use up the stuff I already have before I get more; then I go out and get more! That reminds me, I\’d better check to be sure my bargain-hunting license hasn\’t expired!

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On a Diet?

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  On a Diet? On a diet? NOT! That’s not what I’m calling it, at any rate. Last February, my weight had climbed to the high 120s. I knew that was too much, and I wasn’t easy about it. For one thing, I could barely get into my cycling shorts. I was at the point where my cycling jacket could hardly fit over my hips. Then came the pre-diabetes diagnosis; and I can’t say that I was surprised. For a year or more I had been going hammer and tongs at the products in my web site’s shop. I had realized that said shop was the equivalent of a show window crammed with merchandise, with no way for prospective customers to get in. So I was determined to fix it as quickly as I could; and I went at it so hard that I wasn’t taking time to prepare proper meals. That meant grabbing whatever was quick and easy; and that, alas, meant a lot of junk. No wonder the pounds piled on! And on and on. After the pre-diabetes diagnosis, I immediately cut way back on the candy bars and other snacks. Five or six pounds fell right off. I’ve continued to lose weight, and I don’t even feel like I’m trying very hard. But I don’t call it being “on a diet”. I’ve merely changed the way I eat. I remember when dieting implied restricted caloric intake; enduring hunger much of the time; and agonizing efforts to avoid anything “fattening”. I’m thankful that I don’t have to do that. In fact, I actually feel a tinge of guilt over the fact that, when I set my mind to it, I find losing weight rather easy!  

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Leg Candy?

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“Leg candy” is what I call “sweet spot” training. Sweet spot training means a lot of riding at 95-98 percent of one’s threshold heart rate. I don’t know what my THR is, but I do have heart-rate zones calculated from a VO2 max test. What it boils down to is, which of my HR zones is my sweet spot? Where do I find that leg candy? Is it the upper reaches of Zone 4? This morning my ride data showed the better part of an hour spent in Zone 4, but I suspect the reading’s accuracy. Most of the ride I didn’t feel like I was working all that hard. At the same time, it didn’t feel easy, either. My Garmin showed an average HR of 131 bmp; that’s in Zone 3. My max HR was 144 bpm; and that’s about mid-Zone 4. I’ll check the settings again. Maybe I need to re-do something online, and then re-sync the device. I hope I remember to recharge that Garmin after I ride tomorrow; last weekend I forgot! While I’m talking about satiating my legs’ appetite for goodies — how about goodies for me? Goodies as in hitting Whole Foods tomorrow before work. And hunting for bargains at the salvage store on Saturday! Cooking projects are on hold. I can think of plenty of good stuff to fix, but the freezer is still too full!  

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Litany of Woes

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My litany of woes today doesn\’t include a train wreck. I do, however, feel somewhat wrecked. This morning I couldn\’t get up in time to go for a pre-work ride. I\’m still tired and sleepy from four consecutive nights of insomnia; and yesterday evening\’s ride put me behind schedule. I didn\’t get to bed until 11 pm! I rode to and from work today, but finally decided not to go for a ride after work. Listen to your body\’s warning signals! Right now my body says: Don\’t push me, I\’m worn out! Ergo I stayed home. To continue the litany of woes, it\’s hard to eat right today. I feel hungry, and the real problem is that I\’m tired. On top of that, when I\’m tired I crave sweets. I hope I can ride tomorrow morning. If I\’m still tired, I can do an easy ride; I don\’t have to work on intervals if I don\’t feel like it. A pro cyclist\’s job is to ride, train, and race; but I\’m not tied to that. The weather still doesn\’t feel much like Fall. The upside: I can leave the leg warmers home. The downside: no leg warmers means I still need sunblock on those legs for any ride longer than 20-30 minutes. I\’ll see how things are tomorrow morning. I hope the situation won\’t include a train blocking the crossing!

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Sunset Limited

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Sunset Limited sounds like a passenger rail service. Today, it meant an evening ride for me. Yesterday my prescription refill finally came in. With my med I could sleep again; but I\’m not surprised that I was too tired and sleepy today to try a morning ride. I decided to ride after work. During the day the wind strengthened. At 5 am it was 5-6 mph. By 4:30 pm it was blowing at 12-13 mph; and of course it was a headwind on the way home! While I had the tailwind, I made one effort to see just how fast I could get. I hit a max speed of 23.92 mph! One day maybe I\’ll finally get up to 25 mph for a moment. And do you know what? I\’ll still feel slow! \”It never gets easier…\” I used my lights, as usual for any ride; day or night. I even wore my wrist blinkie, in case my game of Sunset Limited ran past sunset. I got home before dark, but it never hurts to be prepared. This morning I had another session with the nutritionist. She says I\’m doing well as far as meal planning goes; but we need to adjust my calorie intake — can you believe, UPwards? I\’ve lost weight, and I needed to; but I don\’t need to lose any more. Incidentally, I\’m glad I\’m not a pro cyclist who has to worry about making weight. That reminds me: last night I cooked up a new creation. It\’s good cold or warm. Oh, now I\’ve made myself hungry. Time for hummus and raw carrot!

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D.C.

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D.C.   Love monuments? And do you prefer to get to look at them, instead of watching where you’re pedaling? Monuments by Moonlight might fit the bill. Many, many years ago, just before I entered high school, we visited Washington, D.C. We had heard how bad the smog could be there; but during our visit there wasn’t much of it. The Capitol Building was beautiful at night, when all the electrical illumination made it glow. If you still want to ride a bicycle for your tour, try the D.C. Sites at Night tour. It’s only four miles long, and graded as Easy. The entire family can join this four-mile long guided tour to the National Mall and other major points. Don’t like being rushed through things on a “schedule”? D.C. also has self-guided tours. I like that idea. If I want to give one stop on the tour merely perfunctory attention, that’s fine. I can move on to something else. If I want to linger for hours, that’s fine, too. When is the best time to visit Washington, D.C.? For cherry-blossom lovers, Spring is a good time; and in Fall, leaf peepers can enjoy the changing foliage. Summers in D.C. are typically hot and humid. I don’t need to travel to find that; I get plenty of it at home! But whatever season you go there, remember to bring sunblock! A hat is a good idea, too. So head off for the United States capital — and have a capital time!   This blog/page may contain affiliate links. “We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.” ABOUT ME © This website is the property of its author. DISCLAIMER I am not a cycling coach; nor a health professional. This site is based on my own experiences, opinions, etc. If you need help, please consult the appropriate professional. FRESH FROM MY JOURNAL ✍🏻 Facebook Twitter Youtube INTERPRETER

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