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Hong Kong

Hong Kong Do you want to try pedaling around Hong Kong? This island has something for everyone. Hong Kong’s various cycling routes can take you to temples and cafés; fish ponds and coastlines. For a family-friendly tour, try the Tung Chung to Sunny Bay route. Roads are quiet, and you have beautiful views of the coast. In contrast, the Peak to Shek O trail offers rugged MTB riding. You’ll want to take a Camel-Bak for this one! The Chi Ma Wan tour offers many views of the sea; and on the Cheung Chau route, you can explore Hong Kong’s back streets. The climate is subtropical. Winters are very mild; and Summers are hot; muggy; and rainy. October through early December is when the weather is apt to be the most pleasant. It does get cool enough for long sleeves and long pants; take a jacket, too. Once again, I come to the Thou Shalt Not aspect of visiting any foreign country. Here are a few: Do not be a “snail”. No problem. I’ve always been in a hurry! Don’t bring only casual wear. If you want to try some upscale restaurants, or visit temples, this makes sense. Don’t stay on Hong Kong the whole time. It would be interesting to see other islands, too. Don’t go outside if a typhoon hits. Sort of like with hurricanes. Don’t overdo sun exposure. Use that sunblock! Don’t break any laws. That should go without saying. Be sure you inform yourself about local laws. What might get you a mere warning in the USA might get you thrown into prison in another country. I’d guess that last one includes cycling rules; so brush up on those, too. Then choose your route and enjoy the ride. 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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Lingo

BACK ISSUES / CAL

Yes, we have our lingo, including [GASP!!] four-letter words. But that isn\’t the extent of it. As with any field, cycling has its own lingo that might leave non-cyclists scratching their heads. It might even sound like a foreign language. Half-wheeling, for instance. It sounds sort of like somebody trying to ride with half a wheel. Puzzling, right? How can anybody ride a bicycle with only half wheels? Aero sounds like air travel. Bonking sounds like literally running into a wall. \”Big dog\” is a new one to me. What the largest chain ring has to do with canines, I don\’t know. Maybe it means madly pushing that big gear when some snarling mutt is chasing you? I\’d have to be frantically hungry to start chewing the handlebars. My appetite isn\’t that weird! 😉 Besides, I don\’t think it\’s wise to focus too hard on your Garmin, and forget to watch where you\’re going. I sure was grupetto when I rode the 2018 Tour de Cure. I was the last rider in, and made it with just two minutes to spare. Well — at least I did make it. Hubbard sounds like the old nursery rhyme. I hope I don\’t look like one. Noodle arms are what I had when I first graduated from the adult trike to the hybrid. I soon came to my senses and started doing off-bike exercises to improve my upper body/arm and core strength. Pile up is something I hope I never experience. Especially I wouldn\’t want to be on the bottom of the heap. Stomping sounds to me like a rider who is pedaling awkwardly, and mashing hard on the pedals. Looks like I\’m wrong there. Zig Zagging would be me on a steep climb! And lots more. Welcome to the conversation of cyclists!

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Fast Tuesday

BACK ISSUES / CAL

Fast Tuesday isn\’t quite the same as Fat Tuesday, right? Today is Mardi Gras, for sure, but I\’m keeping away from all the parade craziness. It\’s not the most pleasant kind of weather to be standing around outdoors, anyhow; it isn\’t raining, but it\’s overcast and on the chilly side. So I went out on the road bike this morning, with the idea of doing 18-20 miles. What I wound up doing was a much shorter ride, but I incorporated some 30-second intervals of pushing the pace hard. I touched a peak speed of well over 19 mph. For me, that\’s really good. My legs didn\’t like it very much, but that just goes to show how weak they are! It wasn\’t the easiest thing on my CV system, either; but I need to work at pushing my heart rate into the max sometimes. Thus I need to include that kind of workout once or twice a week, especially if I\’ve got long rides in mind. Tour de Cure, for example. This year\’s local version is scheduled for the third week of November. That\’s nine months away, but we all know how time flies! Last year I skipped TdC, largely because it\’s so hard for me to find enough donors. Now, with a recent diagnosis of pre-diabetes, I\’m considering riding this year. Let\’s hope I haven\’t actually reached Red Rider status by then. Day before yesterday I extended my Sunday ride by a couple of miles. If I want to do TdC, I need to add an additional mile or two every two weeks. The longest TdC route on offer is 62 miles, or a metric century. I\’m quite confident of being able to work up to the distance; being fast enough to make the time cut is something else again. Getting back to today\’s ride, I\’m lucky today was a holiday; and that I didn\’t need to go out at 5:15 am if I were to ride. There were some patches of pretty dense fog out there. Add darkness to fog, and I hardly dare push the pace — even if fast Tuesday is the name of the game.

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Lundi Gras

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Lundi Gras?? Isn\’t it MARDI Gras? Lundi Gras is the day before Mardi Gras, and boy, does it feel good to have these two extra days off! It\’s wonderful to be able to sleep until 7 am, or even later. I wouldn\’t have gotten up quite so early as that if I hadn\’t needed to go get a few things from the store. Traffic wasn\’t nearly as heavy as I thought it might be. Either everybody was at work already, or they have today off, too. I rode the hybrid to do some errands; maybe a short a spin on the road bike later? It\’s becoming increasingly cloudy, with a chance of showers after noon; and it\’s already past 11:00. There might even be T-storms tonight. Wind gusts could reach 20 mph. That\’s not good news for the parades that roll this evening. Maybe tomorrow would be a better day for a ride. The forecast is for cloudy, but not rain. At any rate, I\’ll be glad to keep my distance from the Carnival madness. I don\’t enjoy being in a big crowd like that to begin with. There are always people wearing \”scented stuff\”; people smoking; if the weather is cold, I\’ll be miserably chilly; it it\’s hot (which it can be this time of year), I\’m too hot; and on and on. Perhaps the greatest misery: if I have to \”go\”, it can be very hard to find a restroom.

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Extension

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Extension of more than the 10 feet shown here, I hope! I\’m now working to lengthen my Sunday rides. Today I was aiming for 25 miles. I fell a little short at 24.9 miles, but at least I was close. It was pretty good weather for riding: sunny, and not too cool. The wind was 8-9 mph; stronger than the 3-5 mph that had been predicted. Let\’s be glad it wasn\’t blowing at 15 mph! My plan for today had been to ride the hybrid to Whole Foods; get the groceries home; and then go out on the road bike. I decided to skip the grocery run when I kept falling back asleep, and didn\’t even get up until past eight o\’clock. It was past 9:00 by the time I began my ride. I got pretty tired before the end. This past week, one thing and another meant that I didn\’t ride much. My roll time today was not quite two hours, so I\’m still quite pokey! It makes me feel out of shape. The path I use changes direction quite often, and I kept pressing my Garmin\’s lap button. I wanted to see what my average/max speeds were according to whether I had a headwind or a tailwind. My highest average lap speed was 14.97 mph, but over a very short distance of less than 2 miles. Overall average speed was 12.55 mph. I\’ve been faster, but I\’ve also been slower. I\’ve got a long way to go if I\’m to get speedier, but the Sunday ride really isn\’t supposed to be about speed. It\’s about a steady pace. And of course, extension of my mileage.

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Finish Line

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I crossed the finish line today! At last!! The Products in my site Shop needed to be worked into an SEO program. There are many items in the Shop; hundreds, in fact. The work for each one could easily take 20-30 minutes. Of course I wanted to complete the work as quickly as possible. Evenings, weekends, holidays, vacation — pegging away at that Shop. At the same time, I was keeping blogs going. It was hard to get around to social media, or cooking, or my off-bike exercises. I got to bed too late too many nights as well, making it hard to get up in good time for my morning ride. As a result, I was eating far too much junk food (it\’s easy to grab when I\’m tired and/or rushed); I\’ve gained weight; my fitness has suffered. Not the prettiest picture. Today I\’m finally able to start working at proper meal planning again. Nothing fancy; for supper I cooked brown rice and had some canned black-eyed peas. But it was great to have real food! Plan for tomorrow: ride to Whole Foods to get a few things that the salvage store doesn\’t have; then go out on the road bike. Aim for 25 miles. It\’s time to start extending my Sunday-ride distance. Just don\’t push too hard tomorrow, because over the past week I haven\’t done much riding. At least it\’s not going to be a race, so I won\’t have to be eyeing that finish line.

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Oh, Quit Whining!

BACK ISSUES, bicycling / CAL

Oh Quit Whining! Quit whining? Who’s whining during a bicycle ride? Okay, I get grumpy when I’m riding and it’s cold; and it starts to pour; and I’m buffeted by fierce gusts of wind. There’s also wining, for those so inclined. Yes, the California Wine Country Bike Tour. Over seven days, ride past vineyards and sample wines in Napa and Sonoma. Ride through eucalyptus groves. View Bodega Bay, and ride along the Russian River. Along the way, enjoy delicious meals and relax in spas. Stand in awe before the redwoods in Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve. On a side note, we visited Sequoia National Park when I was a kid. My memories of it are pretty vague, but I do remember how tall those trees are. The branches don’t begin until so far up, that I had to tip my head way back to see them! Wouldn’t it be wonderful to ride a bicycle through such a forest? These daily route options are interesting. Mileage-wise, I think “Active” would best suit me. The elevation gains, however, might not. It depends on how steep those elevation gains are. The California Wine Country Bike Tour is fully supported, including use of some bicycles; some models require an extra rental fee. If you want to bring your own bike, that’s OK, too. I think I’d want to bring my own, despite the hassle and the cost of a bicycle flight case. In my opinion, it’s wise to do a long tour on a bicycle that you’re well accustomed to using. I wouldn’t want to have somebody tell me to quit whining, when I’m griping because the bike doesn’t feel right. 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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Bluegrass

BACK ISSUES, bicycling / CAL

Bluegrass BLUEgrass? I always thought grass was green! Kentucky is known for bluegrass; and for racehorses. But horses aren’t the only things there with saddles! The Commonwealth is supposed to be great for cycling tours; or for cycling in general. Cycling advocacy groups and clubs are abundant. Six hundred miles of the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail run through the state, with plenty to see and do. How about Mammoth Cave? Visit the cave, the longest known cave system in the world. Try out some of the park’s biking trails. Roadies may ride paved roads that are open to the public. Unpaved administrative roads are open to MTB riders. If distilleries are you cup of, er, tea, follow the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. You’ll get to tour a horse racetrack; spend a night in Shaker Village; visit some of the country’s best whiskey-makers; and even try a sample or two. The fifth and final day includes a visit to the horse farm that produced more than one Triple Crown winner! For horse lovers, there’s the Horsey Hundred ride. This scenic and challenging century rolls through the beautiful Bluegrass region. In Kentucky, there’s terrain varying from the swampy lowlands of the southeastern part of the state; to rolling hills; to the Appalachian Mountains. It sounds wonderful. Maybe I should consider living there? And, of course, cycling there! 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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Who Is at Fault?

BACK ISSUES / CAL

Who is at fault? Who ran into whom? It doesn\’t sound pleasant, but do you want to REALLY be at fault? For once, it can be fun. Check out this ride from Midwest Cycletouring! Ride the Fault Line is a week-long, four-state tour, visiting Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, and Tennessee. As the tour\’s name indicates, the path follows the notorious New Madrid Fault. Along the route, birdwatchers can try to spot eagles at the Reelfoot Lake Wildlife Refuge. You\’ll have the chance to go kayaking through cypress groves. If history is your thing, you can visit important sites from the early days of the Civil War. Here\’s the catch for someone like me: you\’ll need drive between some towns. I\’d have to team up with another rider who has a car, with enough spare room for me and my bicycle. Daily cycling mileage ranges from 29 miles to 65 miles, with a long-option 74-mile route on Day 4. Some days even have alternate gravel routes. The terrain is mostly flat, and follows low-traffic roads. There\’s plenty to see and do along the way. This year\’s RTFL begins in mid-June; I hope it won\’t already be too hot and humid by then! So, who is at fault? I wish I could be, in this case. RTFL is another of the rides that I think I would love to do. It would be much more fun, I think, if I could blog about it from personal experience; especially if I enjoyed myself — well — to a fault.

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Taiwan

BACK ISSUES, bicycling / CAL

Taiwan Taiwan, aka Formosa, offers a lot for cyclists. The “Huan dao” route circles the entire island; and takes 9-12 days. Road signs and road markings help you stay on track. If you love lakes, the Sun Moon Lake Full Cycle Loop. This route takes about seven hours to complete; and there are temples and other things to explore along the way. For a bigger adventure, there’s the Bicycle Adventures tour of the island. Over eleven days, ride alongside the eastern coast; and test your mettle pedaling through Taroko Gorge. (Or get a boost from an e-bike if necessary!) See rice paddies and aboriginal villages; visit temples and meet some of the local folk. Along the way, enjoy the local cuisine. This tour is well-supported; all you have to do is ride. When planning a bicycle tour, don’t forget to check its difficulty. You don’t want your longed-for trip to turn into The Bicycle Ride from H*** if it turns out to be too hard for you. Naturally, choose the right bike. If I were going on such a tour, and didn’t have the luxury of a support vehicle, I’d probably want a touring bike, complete with rack, panniers, etc. If there were such a SAG wagon to back up the group, I could use my road bike. Taiwan might not be on everybody’s radar; but that could be a good reason to do a cycling tour there. You know, go now and beat the crowd. 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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