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Aye, Eye?

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Outdoors /

Aye Eye? Aye, eye? Is that really so? Yes, it is. Look where you want your bicycle to go. The bike wants to follow your eyes, they say. That can be tricky when you’re a beginning rider, and you very much want to NOT run into something or someone; it seems counterintuitive. The secret there is to glance at that thing or the person, but then look away and choose your clear path. Use your “third eye”: see Get Fast! I try to think of that when I’m turning corners or rounding curves. Whether I’m actually doing it, or only think I’m doing it, is unfortunately another matter. More important than the two points above is eye protection. There’s a vast range of sports eyewear out there. I’ve seen some that are crazy expensive (they must be ionosphere-high tech!) to the kind you can get for little more than pocket change. If you’ve spent much time outdoors, you’ve no doubt noticed that “sunglasses” don’t do under all conditions. That’s when lenses of different tints are handy. Something that drives me crazy is starting a long ride in overcast conditions, wearing vermilion lenses, and having the sun come out long before I get back home. Aye, eye; that sure can get miserable!

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Hope It\’s Better Tomorrow

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I hope it\’s better tomorrow! It looks something\’s rotten in the State of Denmark; and similarly, this morning\’s ride was rotten. The temperature was down to 42 degrees. For several days it had been about 59-60 in the morning, and gotten up to 80 degrees by afternoon; so that\’s a major (and sudden) change. It was mostly overcast. A gray sky makes a cold ride seem colder, and makes me feel lethargic. I think about how I\’d like to be home and sleeping, instead of focusing on riding. To top it all off, the wind was terrible! The weather site I checked this morning said the wind was 15 mph. When I got out there on the road bike, I thought it seemed stronger than that. I checked a different weather site when I had completed my ride. Sure enough, the wind was 20 mph. I had planned to put in at least 30 miles. Shameful to state, struggling against the wind was so tiring that I turned around at 7.3 miles. There\’s also something  demoralizing about seeing that you\’re going under 8 mph; never mind that you\’re actually working hard. My heavy, oversized gloves made it hard to get out a bite to eat; another reason why I turned back very early. To boot, I wasn\’t comfortable. Even with double socks, my feet were cold. I need thermal socks! My leg warmers weren\’t warm enough. I had on four \”top story\” layers, and still felt chilly. My head started to get cold, despite the skull cap I hope it\’s better tomorrow; but unfortunately, tonight is supposed to get colder than tonight. If I want to ride, I\’ll have to bundle up; grit my teeth; and go for it. And, perhaps, be glad that I\’m not in Denmark?

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AA?

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There\’s an AA for cyclists? Who hasn\’t heard, \”Don\’t drink and drive\”? And who hasn\’t heard of AA as in Alcoholics Anonymous? I have a lot of trouble controlling a bike one-handed in a strong wind; but I have to do it while trying to get a drink of water, and I swerve all over the path! It got me to thinking about a different AA: Aqua Anonymous! I\’m joking, of course. We need to keep hydrated while riding; and a cyclist who wants to put in the miles needs to learn how to handle a bicycle in all sorts of conditions, including a strong wind (I\’ll stop short of a tornado, though). That includes being able to get a water bottle in and out of its cage on the down tube, even with a sidewind pushing you around. Using the Camel-Bak would make hydration ever so much easier on a windy day. With the drinking tube I don\’t have to reach down for that water bottle; but doing so as a regular thing would be a cop-out. Even with the Camel-Bak, on a long ride I take along a bottle of electrolyte drink; and where do I put it? In the bottle cage on the down tube! Back to the point made above: I have to be able to manage it. If I can\’t manage it, it\’s either stop every time I need a sip of water, or don\’t drink and risk dehydration. I\’ll skip the dehydration, thank you. Do you think AA will take that into account?  

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Mother Nature

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Dear Mother Nature, if you\’re going to storm, please DO IT; and get it over with! Don\’t delay, and then start kicking up just when I\’m setting out tomorrow morning! I probably could have done my weekly long ride today, as usual; but I skipped it because of the weather threat. It drives me crazy when I miscalculate like that. It is now 1:30 pm. The wind has been strengthening for several hours, and is now up to 29 mph; and it\’s mostly overcast. But those T-storms that were predicted still haven\’t materialized. Not here, anyhow. Who knows what it might be like 20 miles away. That\’s the catch with wanting to go for a long ride when there\’s the possibility of severe weather. It might not be threatening to storm at home; but I might get caught in a nasty T-storm when I\’m miles away from here. That\’s happened before, and it was most emphatically not fun. So I\’ve been \”riding\” my sewing machine instead, working on my \”harlequin\” blouse (made from assorted fabric remnants). I made the pockets and put them on. I made the collar and sewed it on. Next come front facings, then the side seams. After that, sleeves and hem. Then buttonholes and buttons; and it\’s done? I might leave those next steps for tomorrow. Whether I do or not, I\’d better be able to go for a RIDE tomorrow. I just hope Mother Nature cooperates.

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Wise Or Lazy?

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Was I wise or lazy? For a fact, I feel rather like this kitty today: thoroughly lazy. The forecast was for T-storms, possibly severe; but tomorrow is predicted to be clear. So, I decided to skip doing a long ride today and do it tomorrow instead. As of this moment, at 10:40 am, the sun is shining! Maybe I could have gone riding, after all! The sky towards the West, however, has a big black cloud in it; so maybe it\’s going to start pouring soon. And the wind is 22 mph! On second thought, I\’m glad I\’m not out there battling it; but I still feel lazy about staying home. The temptation to go for a ride anyway is growing. I get restless sitting around so much. Besides, we hear more and more about the \”active couch potato\”; and I don\’t want to turn into one! So I still wonder, was I wise or lazy today? BTW, why a couch potato? Why not a pumpkin? Or a turnip? Or carrot, rutabaga, broccoli, etc?

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Always Thinking of Food!

BACK ISSUES, bicycling /

Always Thinking of Food! Cyclists are always hungry! Why would we be always thinking of food? A true cyclist, it’s been said, is a bottomless pit. (See “The Cyclist Hunger and Eating Style”). Riding for hours certainly can work up an appetite, even if it isn’t apparent immediately after the ride ends. When I finished my tricycle century, I wasn’t hungry at all. The next day, it was another story. But that was AFTER the ride. What about DURING the ride? Many a web site discusses how much a pro tour rider must eat during a stage race, both on bike and off, to keep the “engine” going. I’ll bet they’re always thinking of food! Most of us don’t need nearly that much, but we do have to keep fueled during a long ride. The next question is what to eat. There are the questions: How long will you be riding? At what intensity? Do certain foods/drinks cause you gastric distress? What are your food preferences? Do you have any dietary restrictions? For the weekly long ride I mostly use Gatorade Whey Protein Bars, cut in pieces for easier handling. I always have a couple of GU-Gels with me, even on the shortest rides. Those gels are my emergency rations for riding to and from work; and running errands. I find that I’m getting a bit weary of Gatorade Bars, though. If you, too, are tired of commercially-produced ride food, I suggest these books: The Feed Zone Cookbook Feed Zone Portables There are many recipes in the above books that I haven’t been able to try because I don’t have the necessary equipment. But I hope that someday I can. As the song in Oliver! goes, “Food, glorious food!”

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Big Haul

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Today was big haul day! I hitched up the trailer and rode to the salvage store. This trip I brought along the cooler so that I could bring home frozen veggies.  I got a big bag of cut green beans, and a big bag of broccoli florets; but the cooler wasn\’t large enough for both. The broccoli seemed to be the more solidly frozen of the two; so I put it in a regular plastic grocery bag for the trip home. That rectangular thing lying near the cooler is a make-your-own-grab-bag. The salvage store has several bins full of things such as 8-packs of cookies; small snack packs of nuts; and candy bars. Bags are provided; and you can fill your bag with whichever items from the bins that you like. I look for things that will make good on-bike food. A grab bag the size shown here is $3.00. I fit eighteen items in that bag.? In a regular store, each one of those items would cost over a dollar; so I saved at least $15 right there. If you want even more, a large bag is $5.00. The only stipulation is that the bag must be able to zip shut. This pic doesn\’t show as much detail as I\’d like; and I\’ve got things stacked up, so this big haul might look like less than it is. I also forgot to include the loaf of bread that I bought in this pic. Here\’s the catch: I still need to get to a regular supermarket for apples! Grand total at the salvage store: not quite $30.  I\’m so glad I found that place. Now if only they\’d have GU-Gels at, let\’s say, $15 for a box of 24.

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Treading Lightly?

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We often hear about \”treading lightly on the Earth\”. We hear about recycling; and about using as few resources as possible. Then there\’s minimalism; and even working to get your possessions down to 100 things. People who tackle the challenge have quite a bit of latitude. Some folks want to count each book that they own as an item; others consider their entire home library as one thing. What about cyclists who want to get into the minimalist lifestyle? That could be tricky, especially if you want to reduce the number of your belongings to 100 (or fewer). I, for one, would probably count each of my bicycles as a single item. I have only two! But a cyclist who has a road bike, a hybrid, MTB, cross bike, etc. might well consider the entire pedal-powered fleet as one item. The bicycles are only the beginning. What about the trainer, the floor pump, rollers, and so on? Count each one as an item? Include them with the bicycles-as-one-item? You see where we\’re going here with the latitude bit, right? How about the cyclist\’s wardrobe? Is having four pairs of shorts a sin against minimalism? If the climate where I live were less humid, shorts would dry faster; and I might need fewer pairs. Well, one less pair, anyway. Add in tools, jerseys, arm and leg warmers, jackets, skull caps, gloves, helmets, etcetera, the bicycles + related items can come to 100 things before we even get to the rest of the stuff we have at home! I\’m not against weeding out stuff I don\’t need. Getting down to 100 items? Treading lightly isn\’t so easy!

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Not My Day

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Today was not my day. It started off with fog, in some places very heavy. I decided to ride in the park. That, at least, proved to be a good move. Before I had made one full circuit of the park, my headlight went dim; and I KNOW I charged it. But is the problem the electrical outlet; the charging block; the charging cord; or the battery connection within the light? I got new batteries recently, so I don\’t suppose the battery is bad. Do I need a new headlight? I had another, lower-powered headlight with me as a spare; but unfortunately the fastener didn\’t fit around the road bike\’s handlebars. I thought of securing the light to the left side of the front fork; but it looked like the light would snag on the wheel\’s spokes. No cyclists needs to have something snagging spokes, especially in front! It was a slow (but fortunately rather short) ride back home. Among the safety rules of cycling is, Don\’t outrun your headlight. I rode the hybrid to work, and I almost wish I hadn\’t. By the time I got off work, it was raining, with occasional lightning. I decided to take the short route home, which meant riding alongside traffic. That can be nerve-wracking even if it isn\’t raining; and it was another reason why today was not my day. According to the forecast, more rain is on the way in the next three days. I hope it holds off Saturday until I can make my grocery run! As to tomorrow, we\’ll see soon enough whether March will come in like a lamb, or like a lion.

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Use It How?

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Use it how? Use it or lose it, they say; but how do I do that? I\’ve got lots of ride data. Years of it, in fact. Now, how can I use it to tweak my training, and to become a better cyclist? I\’ve always logged my ride data in notebooks. All very fine and well, but the notebooks just sit there. So far I haven\’t done much to determine whether I\’ve truly been making progress. I\’m not sure whether my average speed has improved; or whether I can now ride at a specific speed at a lower heart rate than previously. Over the last year I FEEL like I\’ve gotten stronger, but perception isn\’t necessarily reality. Even though I seldom look through my notebooks full of ride data; and they take up quite a lot of room; I can\’t quite bring myself to throw them out. Here\’s where a spreadsheet might come in handy. Unfortunately I\’m not the most analytical person in the world; and trying to fill out spreadsheets with years\’ worth of numbers would make me cross-eyed! Besides, as indicated in the post linked above, speed (to give one item of ride data) can be affected by many factors. Fierce headwind? That would slow down most folks. Hills? I seldom get to try my mettle in hilly terrain; and when I do have to deal with hills, my pace really suffers. Visibility problems in fog or rain? Slowing down is only common sense. One of these days I must pore over all those ride records and try to determine whether things have changed for the better. I did the work to get all that data. But use it how? That eludes me.

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