BACK ISSUES Archives - Page 218 of 297

Alla Polacca

Alla Polacca Alla polacca? Why not? Let’s get off those bikes for a little while and dance! Then, let’s start pedaling through Poland. Which route would I choose? There are many factors to consider when planning any bicycle trip: how much time you have; how far your money can go (of course!); your fitness level; whether you enjoy climbing or want to stick to less challenging terrain. The Baltic coast route looks like a good choice for me; it’s one of the flatter routes. I’m always harping on my lack of climbing prowess. The Central Europe Route would be a good choice for those interested in European history. It’s 5000+ kilometers of diversity! The Iron Curtain Trail, as its name indicates, follows the path of the former Iron Curtain. You’ll ride through 20 countries; and enjoy mountains; vinyards; and seaports. The Capitals Route sounds good: “attractive landscapes” and national parks. The East Europe Route gets hilly towards the end. How well I could handle that depends on how long and steep the hills are; and how frequently they appear! Finally, the Baltic Sea Cycle Route follows Poland’s northern coast, and in fact overlaps the Iron Curtain Trail. I think the old cities would be interesting to visit. So there you are: alla polacca. Six possible bicycle trips through Poland; fueled, perhaps, by pierogi! 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 ABOUT ME I began this website primarily as a way to present the story of how I accomplished a century ride on an adult tricycle. Other riders of adult trikes might want to know whether it’s possible. It sure is! You can read all about it in My Story. I live in New Orleans; and retired in January 2023. More time for cycling! Website designed by Cecile Levert © 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 Tire Saver July 16, 2026 Marvelous Twenty July 15, 2026 Back to Square One July 14, 2026 In Order July 13, 2026 Load More TRANSLATOR

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Eye Spy?

BACK ISSUES / CAL

Eye or Aye? 🕶️ Aye, or eye? Aye, we need our eyes to spy. What else are eyes for? We sure need our eyes when we’re cycling, but we need to remember to protect them. There are many different colors of lenses. Which color is best for which conditions? For me, when the weather is clear and bright, dark sunglasses are a must. It isn’t comfortable — and is surprisingly exhausting — to have to squint against the sun. Not to mention that I also need to see where I’m riding. On a day when it’s overcast, but the light is still fairly bright, vermilion lenses are a great help. The sun doesn’t have to be in my eyes for me to suffer eyestrain. Clear lenses for riding in the dark are another good idea. There won’t be blazing light and glare at night; but night riding has its own set of eye risks. In warmer weather, there are insects to contend with. Who wants a bug in the eye; and possibly a scratched cornea as a result? I had a corneal abrasion many years ago, and I can tell you — it HURT! Even if it’s cool enough that there are few or no insects out, a wind brings the hazard of flying dust and other debris. Lenses, I suspect, also help reduce the chances of dry-eye. Artificial tears can help help relieve dried eyes, but I’d rather prevent the condition in the first place — while I’ve got my eye on the next ride. If you ride with a group, maybe you could have a rolling game of Eye Spy! This blog/page may contain affiliate links. “We are a participant in the Amazon Services LL ABOUT ME I began this website primarily as a way to present the story of how I accomplished a century ride on an adult tricycle. Other riders of adult trikes might want to know whether it’s possible. It sure is! You can read all about it in My Story. I live in New Orleans; and retired in January 2023. More time for cycling! Website designed by Cecile Levert © 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 Lamb? March 1, 2026 A Pizza the Action? February 28, 2026 Solar Panel? February 27, 2026 Wind Again! February 26, 2026 Load More TRANSLATOR

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Hot Dogs Abroad

BACK ISSUES / CAL

Hot Dogs Abroad We travel; so why shouldn’t our hot dogs travel too? 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.” Hot dogs abroad?! What’s that all about? It’s about the variations on chicken tikka masala, from The Feed Zone Cookbook. I took to using “franks” instead of chicken sausages; and began to substitute other things for the tomato sauce. These various sauces put a “hot dogs abroad” twist on things. I’ve taken hot dogs to Korea, with gochujang sauce. There have been two trips to China, with different brands of sweet and sour sauce. There was one “staycation”, when I used buffalo sauce. That’s about as American as you can get. Apple pie had better look to its laurels. Last Sunday I dusted off the passport, so to speak, and took hot dogs to Thailand! I found an 8 oz jar of pad thai sauce in the salvage store. I got a one-pound package of chicken franks. There were plain yogurt and half a red onion in the fridge at home, so I didn’t need to buy those. It didn’t take long to prepare the mixture; then I only had to let it marinate. I put that time to good use by washing the dishes; working on blogging; and listening to a YouTube of Mozart’s Great g-minor Symphony. And then I had to keep reminding myself that it was Sunday. It feels like Saturday when I go to the salvage store. If I really could go to Thailand, it would feel like vacation!

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Give Yourself a Hand

BACK ISSUES / CAL

Why not give yourself a hand? You\’re a cyclist, after all! Let\’s applaud that. You hands, however, need some care. When you think about it, those paws of yours work hard: they\’re the ones that hold your bicycle on course; let you hydrate and fuel yourself while riding; and let you apply sunblock. Here are some tips for hand care: Gloves for cycling seem quite the no-brainer. Certainly I wear them; I\’m not about to skip them! There are short-finger and long-finger gloves for rides in different temperatures. First, the short-finger type. No matter how hot the day might be, no matter how short the ride might be, I want my gloves! Short-finger gloves have the great advantage of allowing normal finger dexterity. You can easily grab a bite to eat while rolling during long rides. I always miss that during long rides on cold days. When it gets cold, though, I have to wear long-finger gloves simply to keep my hands from freezing. That makes on-bike eating awkward. Some long-finger gloves now have finger tips especially designed for touchscreen use; but does that help when you\’re trying to dig a piece of Clif Bar out of your top-tube pouch? Maybe some day I\’ll get to try it! Chapped hands are a big problem for me as soon as the weather starts to get cool. The skin dries up, and the corners of my nails start to get painful splits. So, when the mercury starts to drop below about 70 degrees, I haul out the materials for making my hand cream. It feels better on my skin than any commercially available hand lotion that I\’ve ever tried. And smells better, too. On top of that, it\’s probably cheaper. I suspect that we forget to appreciate just what our hands can do. Could we ride without them? While giving yourself a hand for riding, let\’s not forget to give those hands some TLC.

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Bated Breath

BACK ISSUES / CAL

Bated breath is what I get when the weather forecast isn\’t so favorable. By Tuesday or Wednesday of last week they were already talking about the possibility of severe weather later in the week. Thursday night a wind advisory had been posted for Friday evening through Saturday afternoon. The worst weather was predicted for Saturday morning. Great. I had wanted to hitch up the trailer and ride to the salvage store on Saturday. But the forecast was for showers and T-storms; some possibly severe. Add to that winds of 20-25 mph. Not optimal conditions for big-load day! Friday morning it was overcast, but at least it didn\’t rain while I was riding. I had to make it short, because I got started late. I decided not to ride to work. If it was going to be storming at quitting time, I didn\’t want to have to ride home through it. As it turned out, I could have used the bicycle, after all! Although there was some light rain while I was walking to work, there wasn\’t a drop as I walked back home. Saturday morning, at about 9:25 am, I thought I heard thunder; and soon the rain began. If I had ridden to the store, I would have gotten caught in it on the way home! It rained pretty hard for a while, and the wind was really strong. The NOAA site still showed the wind advisory; and a tornado watch until noon. In the end, things never got as dire as the forecast seemed to indicate. Often enough, my bated breath turns out to have been wasted worry. I suppose I should be glad of that. I hope next weekend goes better.

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Skinflint

BACK ISSUES / CAL

A skinflint sure pinches the pennies, and hates spending money. We all know Ebeneezer Scrooge, I think? But it doesn\’t pay a cyclist to be too much of a skinflint when it comes to skin care. We might be out there for hours in sun and wind. A good sunblock is a necessity. Some are creams; others can be sprayed on. If you\’re riding with a child, don\’t forget that the children need sunblock, too. Expensive though sunblock may seem, it\’s a little cheaper than treatment for melanoma. If you dislike having sunblock on your arms, try some sun sleeves. They feel can hot when you first put them on; but after your ride gets underway, they start to feel cooler. Your legs don\’t have to get left out; there are leg sleeves, too! Skin care isn\’t limited to preventing sunburn and avoiding chapped lips. It\’s also about wound care. We\’ve all seen those Tour de France pics showing the aftermath of a crash. Those guys\’ skin looks like raw meat! Road rash should not be neglected. It\’s better than broken bones, no doubt; but you don\’t want it to get infected. Clean and dress it as soon as possible. Day-to-day follow-up care is also important. You may need a tetanus shot; check with your health-care provider to be sure you\’re up to date on this. Crashes can also result in cuts and/or puncture wounds; the same kind of precautions pertaining to road rash also apply here. So slather on the sunblock — or pull on the sun sleeves — and enjoy your ride, knowing that you aren\’t a skinflint!

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Floundering

BACK ISSUES / CAL

Floundering is what I generally feel that I\’m doing when it comes to my cyclist training. I\’m like a fish that\’s been hauled onto dry land and is flapping helplessly. It might help if I actually wrote down a training plan, and then stuck to it. As it is, I\’ve long had a habit of constantly changing my mind about what I want to work on. I can\’t seem to determine what will truly be helpful. My \”force intervals\” did seem to help me to get stronger. Then, at the beginning of last October, I pulled a hamstring. It took three weeks of very short and very easy rides before it stopped bothering me. Even then I kept rides short and easy for at least a few more weeks while I worked to get my left ankle to behave better. Maybe I don\’t increase the length of my intense efforts as quickly as I should. I ride in the morning before I go to work, so I don\’t want to get too tired. Or am I overly concerned about that? Would it help if I had a big ride scheduled? Possibly. There\’s a difference, though, in working up to doing a 100 mile ride as a solo rider, and doing it as an organized ride. Organized centuries are apt to have cut-off times. If I tackle an organized century ride and run into headwinds or hills for which my self-training hasn\’t prepared me, I\’d have a very tough ride at best. At worst, I\’d miss the cut-off time. Then again, I mustn\’t forget why I ride. My legs love it! It might be better just to ride — and quit floundering.

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What did Tennessee?

BACK ISSUES, bicycling / CAL

What Did Tennesee? What did Tennessee? She saw what Arkan-saw. So went part of a song that my mother used to sing. But how would it be to see Tennessee from the saddle of a bicycle? Quite fun, I should think. The state has some beautiful scenery. How about Shelby Farms Greenline? As a Rails to Trails route, it should be easy as far as gradient goes. That would suit lazy old me, who doesn’t much enjoy climbing. At less than 11 miles long, it might serve as a good introduction to trail riding; or a warm-up to a longer adventure on two wheels. I have vague memories of visiting Cade’s Cove when I was a kid. I was running along a dirt path, but don’t really remember anything else. If your interests lean towards nineteenth-century log architecture, you might enjoy the Cade’s Cove Loop. Want something more challenging? Go for the Percy Warner Park Loop. It’s difficulty level is rated 4 out of 5! Lots of climbing! Then there’s BRAT. It might sound like a rambunctious child; but it’s a ride across the state of Tennessee; a cousin to RAGBRAI, I take it. Maybe even a ride to Lookout Mountain? We could be like the bear in the kids’ song, and go over the mountain to see what we can — what did Tennessee, again? 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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I Need Ideas

BACK ISSUES / CAL

I need ideas again. That\’s the problem with blogging. You get \”dry\” spells that make the Sahara seem like a swamp. Which reminds me, if it\’s your idea that bicycling through a desert would be a great adventure, you\’ve got some options. There\’s the Hotter n Hell Hundred in Wichita Falls, Texas. At present, I\’d be crazy to succumb to the notion of tackling that ride. The course is hilly, and temperatures can exceed 100 degrees. Incidentally, the Camel-Bak had its origins in the HHH. There used to be an event called the Furnace Creek 508. That one took the riders through Death Valley! I hope they got to do that segment at night. We visited Death Valley when I was a kid. It was in June, and during the day it got HOT. The Furnace Creek event took place in October, so maybe it was cooler then. I hope so! Moab is another semi-arid/arid race locale. It\’s also at high altitude. The course goes as high as 10,500 feet. Merely thinking about that elevation makes me feel like I\’m gasping my lungs out. A ride along the rim of the Grand Canyon could be added to the list of desert rides. I\’ve been to the Grand Canyon, and the scenery is beyond description. OK, that\’s enough ideas to get things started. Can you think of any more?

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Obstacle Course?

BACK ISSUES / CAL

An obstacle course is to be expected if you take up cyclocross. But in a road race? I chanced across that article only a few days ago. This is yet another thing to make me glad that I\’m not a pro cyclist! A \”sketchy\” surface; an unlit tunnel; unpredictable people. That sounds like it was one tough day. Cyclocross can get tough, I\’m sure. Would I like to try it? I don\’t know. I don\’t have a \’cross bike, and my road bike might not be sturdy enough. My hybrid is probably too heavy. I\’d need scads of training, that\’s certain. Can I make the time for it? Could I grit my teeth and plow through those power-developing exercises? I tend to be a wimp when it comes to that, so maybe I\’ve answered my own question. I\’d have to push upper-body strengthening exercises big time! I can pick up either one of my bicycles to carry it up the three steps to my front door; but lifting a bicycle over my head for \”portage\” would be something else again. That\’s especially true of the hybrid, which weighs 35 pounds or so. Hey, that\’s an idea. Practice the obstacle course doing portage with the hybrid, and portaging a road or \’cross bike during the race would seem easy. That\’s one obstacle take care of! As to cyclocross being rough — what would Teddy Roosevelt have thought of it?

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