BACK ISSUES Archives - Page 282 of 288

SLIDE SHOW!!

SpokEasy finally has a slide show! I\’ve had it in mind for quite some time; but didn\’t remember much about how I\’d built the landing page\’s slide. At the time, I had to have someone talk me through it. Thus I needed someone to talk me through building the \”Bikes on Brain\” slide, with the help of a screen-sharing function. Once that session was ended, I didn\’t dare do anything else until I had built the next three slides. The slides need some refining, I\’ll admit, but at least they\’re there!

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Upper Crust?

BACK ISSUES / CAL

The upper crust is what we would love to be, isn\’t it? We don\’t all have it in us to become elite cyclists, more\’s the pity. All the same, many or most of us would like to become better at cycling. And I\’m sure you don\’t have to be female to find some good advice here. Item #1: For my road bike, I usually run 100 psi in the tires. I actually find it physically difficult to pump in more than that! So far I haven\’t experimented with using lower pressure, but from what I\’ve read a slightly lower psi has better traction in the wet. Item #2: My road bike\’s saddle is a Selle Italia Gel-Flo. The stock saddle that came on the bicycle was flat and very hard, and not at all comfortable to ride on! I LOVE Item #3! It sums up why I ride — my legs enjoy it! Item #4: I practice on-bike eating when I\’m going to ride more than about 20 miles. I need to know what works best. For instance, it seems to me that Nature Valley XL Bars don\’t cut it. Yes, I think they\’re delicious, but on long rides they lack the \”stick to my ribs\” quality that I need. Item #5: I don\’t get many chances to practice group riding. Often I wish I did. I need to learn more about riding in close quarters when on my road bike and clipped in to my pedals. The same applies to Item #6, practicing \”the bump\”. I do, however, try to be predictable, especially when I must ride alongside of motor traffic. Item #7: If a thing has more than one use, go for it! Rubber gloves for rides on a cold and rainy day sound like a very good idea. I hope I remember it next time such a day rolls around. Re: Item #8: I don\’t like any shoe that doesn\’t let me wiggle my toes! I try to remember to lift with my quads part of the time instead of always pushing down on the pedals. Item #9: I\’m not into all that Strava stuff, and in fact strive to keep my \”stuff\” — whether it\’s for cycling or not — at bay. My apartment seems rather crowded at times, but I always maintain that it\’s not a space problem; it\’s a stuff problem! Now let\’s look at Item #10: Lights? Oh my, yes! There are too many light-less riders out there without my becoming one. Add a reflective vest — the more garish, the better — for added visibility. Item #11: I\’m not a racer, but if I were, I\’m sure it would be a good idea to look strong and alert while waiting for the starting gun. Psych out the competition! Like the color red? Maybe you\’d enjoy Item #12. Beets? OK as borscht; I\’m not crazy about plain beets. They taste too earthy to me. And if they really do lower blood pressure, I\’d probably do better not to eat too many of them! So this subject landed on Item #13? Unlucky 13? Or at any rate, not exactly pleasant. Last Winter I finally took to \”snot rockets\”, although it\’s embarrassing to admit it. But I was so tired of wiping my nose (which runs nonstop on a cold day) on my gloves! I\’ll lump Item #14 and Item #15 together: Sunblock? Of course! And Chamois Butt\’r, too. While we\’re on the subject it, I\’ll add SPF lip balm to the mix. It\’s only too easy for me to forget about lip balm when I\’m going on a long ride, but lips are skin and can get sunburned like the rest of me. As for Item #16, sometimes I have to prod myself rather than cheer myself on. There are days when I actually don\’t feel like riding, but after I\’ve done my ride I\’m glad I did. Oh, and do not, do NOT, forget about Item #17: Water! I think I\’d rather bonk than collapse from dehydration. Bring on the Camel-Bak! In addition to the water reservoir, there are pockets for stowing extra food, a cell phone, etc. Continued tomorrow.

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Storms on My Mind

BACK ISSUES / CAL

I have storms on my mind. We all do this time of year. Hence, here I go again with this hurricane pic. There\’s a storm out there in the Gulf of Mexico now; and of course that makes me think more than usual about weather. I can easily look up forecasts online; and that\’s spoiled me. But suppose I didn\’t have that luxury? How did people know what the weather might do before modern forecasts; and before there was even The Old Farmer\’s Almanac? They observed. They learned from experience. Over time they came to know what to expect from what they saw; and they passed this wisdom down to successive generations. They weren\’t always right, I\’m sure. Even knowing what to expect might not always have done much good. For example, centuries ago inhabitants of small islands would have come to know when a hurricane was approaching; but they had no way to go to a safer place. We\’re lucky to not have to rely solely on watching clouds and smoke spirals, aren\’t we? Even so, I\’ve got storms on my mind.

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Please Pardon the Indelicacy

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Please pardon the indelicacy; but this is part of being a cyclist. If we\’re only tooling around the neighborhood at walking pace, we probably don\’t need this stuff. For long rides, it makes things far more comfortable. Exactly where to apply it is, I suspect, highly individual. For riding the road bike, I need it in the groin pockets. When I was doing long rides on the trike and the hybrid, I needed it over the glutes. Despite the application of Chamois Butt\’r, I seem rather prone to … well … jock itch. Or I think that\’s what it is; the skin feels like it\’s become rubbed raw. That\’s when it\’s time to turn to clotrimazole. Using it for a day or two clears up the problem. I also use it between my toes a couple of times per week. I never had problems with \”foot fungus\” (as my brother calls it) until long after I was grown; and I don\’t know why it cropped up then. When I\’m getting ready to do a long ride, I pack my own bathroom tissue. The place where I usually make a pit stop doesn\’t always have it; so I want to be prepared. It would be so nice if it were possible to pull out a handkerchief while riding; but I don\’t have enough hands to both do that and control the bicycle. That brings up another indelicate matter about cycling: the snot rocket. But what else can we do, aside from using gloves and sleeves to wipe our noses? Gosh. Aren\’t we cyclists a crude lot? Please pardon the indelicacy.

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RUSA

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RUSA isn\’t a foreign country: it\’s Randonneurs USA! For cyclists interested in long-distance riding, but not competition, randonneuring might be the answer. Participants in RUSA rides aren\’t racing each other. It is, however, a race against the clock. Rides of various distances must be completed within a certain time. I joined RUSA several years ago, but have been able to go on only one ride. There were only four of us; and I was still pretty slow. The others were gracious and didn\’t complain about my slowness; but we finished the 100K with little time to spare. I\’m still not fast enough for any more RUSA rides. I\’m better at going 15 mph, but can\’t yet do it for hours on end; especially not when I\’ve got a headwind! Why, then, is one of my big cycling dreams successful completion of Paris-Brest-Paris? PBP is THE randonnee of them all: twelve hundred kilometers/750 miles, to be completed within 90 hours. This must include any sleep breaks a rider needs. PBP has even been called \”a contest of sleep deprivation\”. PBP participants must be able to quickly take care of mechanical problems; and they must contend with anything that Mother Nature might throw at them. There could be rainstorms; headwinds; and I don\’t know what all else. If I were riding PBP, I\’d hope for nights with clear skies. PBP is scheduled for every fourth August, to coincide with the full moon. I\’d love to be able to ride through the moonlight if the route goes through stretches of no street lights. For some reason I fantasize about a group of cyclists riding PBP as a team, fortifying themselves with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches — and declaring that PBP stands for Peanut Butter Posse! Irreverent, aren\’t I?

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Not a Ball

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It\’s not a ball when I get lightheaded and dizzy. In fact, it\’s quite the opposite. I\’ve mentioned before now my proneness to orthostatic hypotension after a long ride. While I was standing washing my cycling clothes, I started to feel very lightheaded. That was definitely not a ball! If cycling diverts blood to the legs, why don\’t those darned legs give it back once I get off the bike? Apparently they need some persuasion. At around 5:30 pm, I finally decided Ito put my feet up for 15 minutes. I got my Swiss ball; and lay on the floor with my feet atop the ball. I won\’t be sure whether it\’s really helped until I start moving around more. If 50 miles or so has this kind of after-effect, what must it be like after racing all day in the mountains? I\’m gad I don\’t have to find out!

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Pain Face

BACK ISSUES / CAL

Probably all of us cyclists have encountered the expressions \”pain cave\”, and \”pain face\”. It can easily happen under the stress of utmost effort, and seems to be quite reflexive. Usually I don\’t put out hard enough effort for long enough to look like the poor fellow here (yup, I\’m a wimp, all right). It\’s something we can see when looking at pics of a bicycle race when things are coming down to a hard climb, or the final sprint. Here I go again with \”what I\’ve read…\” Grimacing during hard efforts wastes energy, and can even cause the rest of the body to tense up, making things even harder. Sort of like sympathetic vibration, I guess. So however tough the ride is going, do your best to relax your face; the rest of your body should follow. Maybe we should save the \”pain face\” for Hallowe\’en?

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Getting Somewhere?

BACK ISSUES / CAL

Am I getting somewhere? Oh, to be a cat and be able to relax like this; especially after a long ride! And with a cup of hot chocolate, too. But after this morning\’s ride, I began to wonder whether I\’ve really been making progress. AM I getting somewhere? I pulled out the cycling journal that I began in July of last year; and looked for a ride that was roughly comparable to today\’s. On October 22, 2017, rode 45.10 miles; and had a headwind of about 10 mph on the way home. My overall average speed was 12.22 mph. Today I rode 51.20 miles; had a headwind of 12-14 mph coming home; and averaged 12.90 mph. So there\’s my answer. I haven\’t improved as much as I would have liked to, but it\’s still progress!

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More Experiments

BACK ISSUES / CAL

I did more experiments in the kitchen; and the sguschonka turned out fine! I used an 8 oz jar; and filled it only half-full, just to be on the safe side. I wasn\’t sure whether the condensed milk would expand or not. I also laid the jar on its side in the crock pot, to be sure it would stay covered with water. Next I must cook some rice to put the sguschonka in! For today\’s long ride, I did yet more experiments. Instead of only Clif Bars, I also took along Clif Shot Blocks. I alternated between a piece of Clif Bar and a Shot Block. It seems to work all right. Do I ever hope Tour de Cure day does not present us with wind like today\’s! The forecast predicted East wind at 7-11 mph. After I got back home I checked a weather site for its 3-day history; and it said the wind was NE, 12-14 mph from about 9 am — right when I was starting back home, with 25.6 miles to go! There was a gust of 22 mph; and nearly all the way I had that wind right in my face. I managed to average almost 13 mph, which will still be fast enough for TdC; but I\’m not sure I can manage it if I have a stiff wind to fight. Today I had to stop for breathers more often that I would have liked. I was spinning in a low gear with a rapid cadence; something I\’ve become unaccustomed to doing. Note to self: work on it the next few weeks. There\’s not much time left!

Final Four

BACK ISSUES / CAL

It\’s down to the final four! Four weeks to go until Tour de Cure; and it\’s time to get into final training for the big day! I just got my road bike back from the shop yesterday; I had taken it in for a tune-up; and they said everything\’s fine? How shall I go about these final four weeks? This past week I did short rides on the hybrid; but it\’s not as though I didn\’t ride at all. I\’ll probably be OK doing my usual long Sunday ride tomorrow. There\’s only a 20% chance of rain; or so the forecast says. During the ensuing week, I\’ll keep to my usual ride schedule; including force work on one day. Starting October 14, no more \”force\” exercises on the bike until after TdC. I\’m very glad that I began to do such exercises nearly a year in advance of TdC, because it took months for me to see an effect. The weekend before TdC, I\’ll do a long ride on Saturday instead of Sunday. An easy ride on Sunday; pace rides through Thursday, and an easy ride on Friday, November 2. And the next day is IT! As to tapering during that last week, I probably don\’t need much. It\’s not as though 63 miles is a huge jump up from my usual weekly long ride. Most things that I\’ve read about long rides say that you can do twice your usual weekly long distance in one day. I remember one article that even said you can do three times your usual long distance in a day! Does that mean I could actually go out there and ride 150 miles? This final four will fly past; and I can\’t let myself get lazy!

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