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What Does It Mean?

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What does it mean when you dream certain things? It is often said that dreams are trying to tell you something. Of late I\’ve been dreaming more often about riding a bicycle. At least twice I\’ve dreamed that I was suddenly able, with no effort, to bunny-hop my bike! In actuality, I think I\’d need a powerful lucky charm to help me with that little trick. After ten and a half years and more than 49,000 miles, it should come as no surprise that I sometimes dream about cycling. But dreaming about bunny-hopping? Is my subconscious telling me to get to work and learn how to do it? I really don\’t know. I personally have never attached much, if any, meaning to my dreams. Some believe that dreams are the subconscious trying to send a message, or even that dreams are prophecy. That could be true. The story goes that the mother of a prospective passenger on the Titanic dreamed three nights in a row that the ship would sink in the middle of the ocean. She told her son about it, and convinced him to cancel his booking. As it turned out, Mom was right. Then there have been times when I woke up from a dream and wondered, \”What made me dream THAT?!\” So what does it mean when I dream really weird stuff?    

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Don’t Waste It

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Don’t Waste It! “Don’t waste it” is what it’s all about. I don’t want food to go bad, forcing me to throw it out. As a rule, I try to avoid getting drawn into cooking projects on weeknights. A week ago last Monday, I felt that I had no choice. The previous Saturday I had bought some potatoes at the salvage store, and needed to use them up. For one thing, the bag that they were stored in was on the floor, where I kept stumbling over it. The potatoes didn’t seem to be the best quality, either; and I didn’t want them to rot before I could eat them. I made Potato-Spinach-Jack; a variation on Cauliflower Potato Cheddar mash. This recipe is on page 87 of The American Diabetes Association Vegetarian Cookbook. This is quite a simple dish; yet it takes up a surprising amount to time to prepare. I have to scrub, peel, and chop the potatoes. After putting them to cook, I have to grate the cheese and the nutmeg; drain the spinach (a messy job!); and chop the onion and bell pepper. I like freshly ground white pepper; I have to prepare that as well. When the potatoes are cooked, I use a large, slotted spoon to remove them from the cooking water. I put them in my 5-quart pot, and mash them using the back of the spoon; easy enough if I do it immediately. Then the rest of the ingredients go in; cheese first so it can melt. And I forgot to add salt! You may wonder why I’m so concerned with “use it up”. My mother, who was a youngster during the Great Depression, repeated this quote many a time: “Use it up! Wear it out! Make it do! Or do without!” So don’t waste it. Use it up instead.

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Post-Op

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Here I am, post-op; and still feeling a bit groggy. Sedation takes some time to fully wear off. The surgeon\’s assistant got me settled in. The overhead \”surgical floodlight\” was still off, and it made a good reflector. I saw three syringes being emptied into my arm. The next thing I remember, the oral surgeon was finishing things up! Back home, I downed a  recovery drink; I made two last night, using almond milk and chocolate whey protein powder. I took a tablet of my pain medication; went back to bed; and slept a few hours. When I got up again, I started in on some \”comfort foods\”:  a butterscotch snack pudding; some Talenti Gelato Layers®; and a cup of chicken bouillon. And a small Diet Coke, naturally. Incredibly, I had forgotten to ask the oral surgeon THE big question: when may I ride again? Is tomorrow morning too soon? I had to call the office to find out. They say that, if I do ride, take it easy for a few days. Don\’t go out there and sweat up a storm by riding hard. In this heat and humidity, I\’ll sweat no matter how easily I ride. If it\’s raining tomorrow morning, I\’d better use the trainer. Being post-op requires a few adjustments. One of them is how I eat. Now, about six hours post-op, my tongue and lower lip still feel somewhat numb. I\’m sure that explains the dictum that I follow a liquid diet for 24 hours after surgery. Besides that, the surgical site itself doesn\’t need to be aggravated by chewing. It would be MEGA-ouch if I tried to eat cashews now!      

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Pre-Op

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Pre-op is a strange way to describe an evening bicycle ride, don\’t you think? I have oral surgery scheduled for 8 am tomorrow. I know I won\’t be able to ride beforehand. I mustn\’t have any solid food for at least six hours prior to the procedure. If I try to go out there for a ride of an hour or more on an empty stomach, I\’ll be a miserable case of the bonk! In addition, no liquids for two hours before surgery. I may have a small amount of water to swallow four capsules of antibiotic one hour before the surgery; but that\’s it. Trying to go for a ride without water is asking for major trouble. Dehydration is not fun. After I\’m back home post-procedure, trying to ride would be foolish. The sedation might not be sufficiently worn off, and I probably will be taking pain medication besides. Hence my decision to go for an evening ride on the road bike. Today I\’ve been feeding myself up, so I won\’t be too hungry pre-op. I got Chinese take-out for lunch. That was almost two meals right there! I\’m having a few extra snacks this evening. I can go to bed a little later than usual, because I don\’t need to get up tomorrow at 4:30 am if I want to get my ride in. Am I feeling nervous about this oral surgery? No, not really. I\’ve been through it before. The hardest part will be keeping myself from absent-mindedly eating tomorrow morning!

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Grasping at Straws

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Ever feel like you\’re grasping at straws? Sometimes there doesn\’t seem to be anything else to do. When working to improve power; or form; or any other aspect of cycling, we\’re apt to reach a point where progress seems to stall. It can even seem like we\’re regressing. It\’s a discouraging place to be, but it might be better not to fight it too hard. That can lead to burnout, or worse. If Rome wasn\’t built in a day, a good cyclist isn\’t made overnight. Ride easy for a couple of days, or even take a day off from the bike. Do some alternate form of exercise. Think about any on-bike gains you\’ve made, however small; and rejoice in them. I can easily feel a bit down when I see that my weekly long ride\’s overall average speed doesn\’t seem to be improving. That\’s when I must remind myself that it\’s become easier for me to average 15 mph for longer stretches; and that, at one time, 15 mph for just a few seconds, even with a good tailwind, was hard work. And that it\’s easier for me to ride up the access ramp to the MRT! Grasping at straws? Perhaps; but I\’m not getting graded on my prowess (if you can call it that) on a bicycle. I ride because my legs love to ride. It lets me get places, such as the salvage store. If you love getting groceries on the cheap, and don\’t mind unpredictable merchandise, look for one in your area. I\’d like to know something, though. We talk of grasping at straws when we\’re trying to find hope in a bad situation; yet there\’s always the one that breaks the camel\’s back. Let\’s hope we don\’t get ahold of that one!

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Early to Bed

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Early to bed would have served me well last night. I was so tired that I didn\’t get up this morning until 6:45. Six forty-five might sound early to some folks; but not for me on a Sunday, when I plan to take a long ride. Especially when the overnight low temperature is 80 degrees or so. It was 7:48 by the time I got going; nearly two hours later than I like to start. Had I gotten up earlier, I may well have been spared the problems I had with the wind on the way back home. My legs felt rather sore, yet I had a lot of trouble slowing my cadence. I had to stop for a breather about four extra times. That always makes me feel like a wimp. After my ride, I checked NOAA for today\’s wind history. Earlier this morning, it was only 6-7 mph. By the time I was on the return leg of today\’s ride, it was 12-14 mph! That\’s a major difference. On the way home, I averaged less than 9 mph. Wind wasn\’t my only concern. As I pedaled back home, I was keeping a wary eye on the sky. To the South and East, more and more clouds were gathering. The sky looked darker and darker. At one of my stops, I looked behind me and saw clouds all around. Naturally the possibility of lightning was a worry. I\’m glad I got home when I did. An hour later it was starting to drizzle, and the wind had risen to 21 mph. When Saturday night rolls around again, I\’d better remember early to bed. Ben Franklin did well to give us that bit of advice.  

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Salvage Store Saturday

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Salvage store Saturday is a frequent occurrence. I went there again this morning. Part of the reason I do it so often is because I enjoy the ride. Today I got a rather small load, although still more than I had planned to buy. We all know about that aspect of grocery shopping, don’t we? A while back I had gotten a small can of salsa  made from green tomatillos, and liked it. I saw it again today, and got two cans. They hadn’t been on my list. Almond milk hadn’t been on the list, either, but I got some anyway. See where I’m headed here? The large grab bag, at least, was on my list. Forty-two snacks for five bucks! Some will make good ride food. Others, sad to say, are total junk food. I had planned to buy bread, but decided not to when I saw how my cart was filling up. I had brought only one pannier and the trunk; and I knew that the grab bag would take up a lot of space in the pannier. On top of that, I saw only whole wheat and white breads, and didn’t quite feel in the mood for either. I was wishing for sourdough bread, but finding that at the salvage store is very rare. I had considered going for a short spin on the road bike. Shortly after getting home from the store, I checked the weather. T-storms were possible from about 11:15 am, and it was already 10:15. Before long it began to rain, so I decided to stay in. Maybe I’ll ride to the regular supermarket tomorrow morning. I’m almost out of apples and bananas. That’s the catch about salvage store Saturday. Their produce admittedly isn’t all that good. But what about the Sunday long ride? 1) I can start it late and make it shorter than usual. 2) I can do the long ride and go to the supermarket before work on Monday. 3) I can skip the long ride. Decisions, decisions!

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MultiMasking?

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Is the new multitasking called multimasking? It certainly seems to be getting that way. We\’ve had it drummed into us for months: wash your hands. Sanitize surfaces. Practice social distancing; and Wear. A. Mask! Do I wear a mask? I\’ve worn filter masks for years because of my sensitivities. I\’m tired of wearing the things, and tired of the constant expense. Working from home has given me a much-welcomed break from masks for hours a day. Of course I wear one when I go into a store, or other public place, or walk somewhere. But on the bike? It would be one thing if I plodded along at 6-7 mph for a few miles. It\’s quite another when I\’m pushing 15-16 mph for much farther. I\’ve seen cyclists who are wearing masks; and some who aren\’t masked. OK, here\’s my excuse: I\’m generally riding solo, with not many other riders/joggers around. Masks are too smothery for real riding, and make keeping hydrated much harder. When I push the mask away from my mouth, the risk of its covering my eyes is quite high. Who needs that while cycling? It isn\’t always easy to get that mask back into place when I have one hand too busy to help. I\’m not sure that having a bite valve to drink through would make much difference. All these COVID-19 prevention measures seem like a lot to juggle at once. We have to become adept at multimasking.  

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Blame Game

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The Blame game. Who nowadays isn\’t familiar with it? It\’s so convenient to have a scapegoat at the ready. We all know the one from the kid who forgets homework: \”My dog ate it.\” Oh, sure, it\’s the poor dog\’s fault; not the fault of the child who left that homework where the dog could get it. I blame my upbringing for my propensity for indulging in pun and parody. We learn what we live, right? After a slow ride: \”I had a bad headwind.\” Or, \”The hills got me.\” OK, those two do have some validity. Of late, the double helix is being targeted in the blame game. Now they\’re saying that DNA determines whether you need a low or moderate intake of carbs in your diet. The same goes for dietary fat. Maybe it does; so it\’s not exactly blaming. It must be a relief to people who learn how they can adjust their diets so that their bodies can get better nutrition; especially if such adjustments improve weight control and other health issues. DNA supposedly even has a rôle in how quickly road rash heals. We hear of \”fast healers\”; people whose cuts and scrapes heal easily. Not everybody is so lucky. Can we do a test to determine this before road rash occurs? Sort of like 23and Me. Meanwhile, if I go down and get some nasty scrapes, it\’s not my fault if they take forever to heal — right?    

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Stormy Weather — Not!

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Stormy weather — not! That\’s what the Fourth of July weekend turned out to be. The forecast looked dire enough, predicting a good chance of showers and T-storms. Doesn\’t it drive you crazy when you postpone or even cancel your planned ride; hang around at home for hours, waiting for it to storm; and at most you get a few sprinkles of rain and a few grumbles of thunder? On the morning of the Fourth, I went out very early. Overcast skies had been predicted, but I hoped for enough of a break in the clouds to see the full moon. Lady Luck had other plans. I thought that parts of the sky looked clear, but they were just patches where the overcast was thinner. The next day, showers and T-storms were again predicted. I decided to skip the Sunday long ride. In my own \’hood, we got little rain. About 20 miles from here, there was a deluge that resulted in street flooding; and several homes got water inside. If I had gone on my long ride, I might have gotten caught in it. I finally did go out for a 15-mile ride that day at around 5 pm. I just had to get moving! On the evening of the Fourth, I found myself viewing some YouTubes about horrific tornado disasters. At least I can be thankful that we haven\’t had any EF-5 twisters here, knock on wood. It\’s absolutely mind-boggling to think of a tornado a mile wide! I know how far I need to ride from home to cover a mile, which gives me a gauge to go by. As last week progressed, a lot of the cloudiness vanished. And then it became very hot! Stormy weather? Not.

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