with kid gloves
I don’t want to ride with kid gloves; but I do want to wear cycling gloves on the bike!
bicycling
Fish Or Cut Bait
Fish Or Cut Bait We can’t cut bait forever! Sooner or later, we’ve got to fish. I’ve been in a fish or cut bait situation for over three months. I was working hard to convert my old spokeasy dot org to this dot net site; and I must confess, there’s still a good bit of editing to be done on Products. I thought at first that perhaps I should complete all the editing before launching dot net. But I can’t stay in that fish or cut bait mode forever; and if I did wait to finish all that editing, this dot net site might never get out! Cycling shorts make the ride more comfortable! Speaking of products, Pearl Izumi® shorts are a favorite of mine. When I first had the tricycle, I rode for some months before I bought my first pair of cycling shorts. They took a bit of getting used to. At first cycling shorts made me feel like I had nothing on below the waist; and I kept checking to be sure I was dressed! Now, I can hardly imagine more than a very short ride without them. This morning I put in 39 miles on the road bike; wearing cycling shorts, of course. I’m glad I was home by 11:00 am; because about an hour later, a heat advisory was posted. It felt hot enough while I was out there riding; and it isn’t even officially Summer yet! I need to go to the drug store; but it’s thundery. I don’t want to get caught in a T-storm!
Heat Exhaustion
Heat Exhaustion Heat exhaustion is an appropriate topic at present. Anyone engaged in outdoor activity needs to be mindful of it; and that, of course, includes cyclists. Ride early in the day if possible; and avoid going out in the noonday sun. I get off work at 4:30 pm; and the heat index this afternoon was 107! Fortunately I have only 2.5 miles to ride; and when it’s hot and sunny, that’s quite far enough. Before I went to feed my friends’ cat, I added some ice cubes to my water bottle. They didn’t stay frozen for long. Summer isn’t officially here yet; but it’s quite light by 6:15 am. Soon I’ll need to begin my Sunday long rides at 5:30 am; and even when I do, it’s very hot by the time I get home several hours later. I wish I could stop at several points to put both water and ice into my Camel-Bak; but that would mean going well out of my way. I already have some sun sleeves; Protect your arms from UV rays while keeping them cooler. and maybe I’ll get some leg sleeves, too. Another problem with heat is the effect it has on my ride food. Most ride foods that I use get very messy when it’s hot; and I end up smearing bar coatings on my shorts in an effort to get my fingers halfway clean. That’s another form of heat exhaustion: I’m tired of the heat making things more difficult!
Super Commuter
Super Commuter? I ride to work when I can; but some days I just have to skip it! I fear I’ll not become a super commuter. The Super Commuter badge is one of many that you can earn by participating in Love to Ride. To get it, you must ride to work 200 times in the year — I suppose that means the current calendar year. I’ve been slogging away at it; and I am now 38% there. That means I rode to work 76 times so far in 2022; and I have to ride to work 124 more times by the time the Christmas break comes. As well as I could count, there are 131 working days left. I did my best not to count days when I won’t be going to work: vacation; tomorrow’s ophthalmology appointment; and so on. That leaves little leeway for days when I can’t ride to work; and there are bound to be some such days. Sometimes the rain is simply too heavy; and/or there’s too much lightning overhead. The disruption of a hurricane is always possible; and if I need surgery on that bone spur, I’m likely to lose at least a few days. Thus I guess any dreams of earning the Super Commuter badge are as much fantasy as dreams of riding a unicycle. I’m not sure I could manage one of these! I suppose that riding a unicycle is vastly different from riding a bicycle; but I bet it’s fun once you get the hang of it. After all, it took some doing for me to get going on two wheels; and now, I can’t imagine being unable to ride!
Hit and Run
Hit and Run? I hope I never end up in a wreck like this! Am I guilty of hit and run? Today I dropped my bottle of electrolyte drink; and my rear wheel ran right over it! Not that I ran; I was still about six or seven miles from home, and needed that drink. I had to stop; turn around; and ride back to pick it up. Weather certainly pulls a terrible hit and run sometimes, as in the case of tornadoes. I don’t know why I’m attracted to such videos; and I also have a thing about violent volcanic eruptions! Shipwrecks, too. Maybe it’s morbid curiosity; or maybe I like to breath a sigh of relief and think, thank goodness I wasn’t there! This morning I needed to go to Winn Dixie; and they recently changed their hours. They now don’t open until 7:00 am; and I didn’t get out on the road bike until around 8:45! I decided to make it short today — 29 miles — and it got quite hot before I got back home. The clouds towards the South and East were building up; and around 12:30 pm I began to hear the grumble of thunder. By 1:15 pm, it was right on top of me! The lights flickered; and both my window units kicked themselves from Low Cool to Fan. But the storm was moving fast; and in 15-20 minutes it seemed to have passed. Give Me a Hand! This coming Friday I see a hand specialist about that bone spur; and I hope we can take care of it soon. But if surgery is required, it’s better to wait until after June 20th. Until then I’m still caring for my friends’ cat; and a fresh surgical site on the hand doesn’t go well with scooping the litter box! I also hope any surgery will require minimal time off the bike. I guess I can set up the hybrid in the trainer prior to surgery. If I have to have hand surgery, maybe this will let me get a bit of exercise while I recuperate. After the “hit and run” on my hand, I might not be able to do much for at least a few days; and I lifting bicycles around is bound to be on the thou-shalt-not-do list!
Steady Does It
Steady Does It! Helpful for adult riders who need an assist with balance. Steady does it; especially when you’re on two wheels! If you’re an older beginning rider; and balance is a problem; the Stabilizer Wheel Kit can help. Unlike the adult trike that I once had, this assembly can fit through standard-width doorways. I have three steps up to my front door; and one time I struggled to wrestle that trike up the steps and to the door. Only then did I learn that the rear wheel assembly was a bit too wide to get in through the doorway! If you’d rather skip this stabilizer kit; but aren’t sure how to get going on a bicycle; this video might help. Whichever route you take as a beginner, don’t rush things. Steady does it! Remember the tortoise and the hare. At the time I began on two wheels, I was only vaguely aware of training wheels for grown-ups; and never used anything like it. Speaking of stability on the bicycle, my friend who gave me the trailer says she felt more unsteady while trying to pull it. If anything, I feel more stable when I’ve got the trailer. How’s that for weird? Steady does it, too, when I’m out for my long Sunday ride. I frequently voice my frustration that my pace doesn’t seem to be improving; but if I’m shooting for 40 miles and more, a slower, steady pace is better than taking off like a rocket; and then fizzling before I’m halfway through. Pulling back the effort might be better in this heat, anyway. It got into the high 80s today; and tomorrow will get hot, too. No matter what the calendar says, Summer is already here.
Bananas
Bananas! Bananas are a popular food with cyclists! Today I finally got to the supermarket; and picked up some bananas. A favorite pre-ride snack of mine is a banana with peanut butter; and I was without bananas for something like two weeks! I didn’t have grapes, either; and grapes are another pre-ride favorite. They’re good with peanut butter; and also with — can you believe it? — hummus! This morning I discovered that there will be no more pre-work runs to the supermarket. I thought about going there first; then feeding the cat; and then heading out on the road bike. I decided to go take care of the kitty first; and when I got home from that, I changed into cycling shorts for the ride to the store. When I got there, I saw a sign posted at the entrance announcing new hours; and that new schedule began several days ago. They now open at 7:00 am; not 6:00 am. It’s a good thing I didn’t go to the store first thing! When I got home from the store, I put the groceries away; and got ready to go out on the road bike. The bananas I got aren’t as ripe as I like; but it was great to have one again. Then I filled the Camel-Bak; cut up a protein bar; and changed my blouse for a cycling jersey. It felt weird to start a ride so late: it was at least 8:30 by the time I got rolling. Maybe that’s why it seemed so hot; and that, in turn, was why the Propel tasted weird. I made this short for a Sunday ride; largely because I started so late; and because it was already getting hot. Besides, tomorrow is a holiday; and I can put in some more miles!
End of the World
End of the World Some people have completed a bicycle trip around the world! It feels like the end of the world. This morning I went to the salvage store; and they don’t have the grab-bag bins any more! I’ll sure miss them. Today I took the trailer; but it might have been better if I had left it home. Good for big loads; but I admit it’s quite heavy to drag along. There was a train blocking my usual crossing; and I had to make a detour. It’s lucky I allowed myself extra time to get to that store! I hoped the train would be gone by the time I came back home; but the dratted thing was still sitting there! There was no locomotive on either end; and who knows how long it might be before those cars get moved. Of course I had to make another detour to get home; and the trip that’s normally under 10 miles came to 12.66 miles! I planned to go out for a spin on the road bike after I got my loot from the salvage store home; but if that train is still there, it will mean yet more detours. I’m not in the mood for that; and I got a bit too hot on the way home from the store. (Next time take an extra bottle of water!) In addition, there’s an air quality alert in effect; and maybe I’d better wait a few hours to ride. Oh, well. It’s not the end of the world if I can’t ride. Meanwhile, I enjoyed Schumann’s Third Symphony; and of course I need to get the laundry done!
Blow It Off
Blow It Off Sometimes it’s fun to blow it off! Yesterday I decided to blow it off, and skip blogging. Sometimes it gets to be a bit too much! This morning I didn’t do much of a ride. It was drizzling; and I heard some thunder. It wasn’t close, but there’s no thunder without lightning; and stormy weather can move very fast. I didn’t want to get caught in a T-storm; so I set up the trainer with the hybrid, and pedaled for half an hour. This device can rescue a ride in inclement weather. As usual, that was a long half hour; and also as usual, I had to make a very rough guesstimate as to my mileage. But at least it was a little better than sitting around doing nothing! I’ve been working at product grids for the upcoming dot net version of this web site; and this evening I blew it off, too. My brain needs a rest from it; and I worked on Slides instead. I hope the weather won’t force me to skip riding tomorrow; but the forecast is for rain; and it could be heavy. It’s no fun to ride in pouring rain: even though it isn’t cold, I’ll still have visibility problems; and of course, concerns about lightning. I got spoiled by our long spell of little rain. It was great for the Love to Ride April Challenge; and so far May has been pretty dry. But now we’re getting a wet spell; and actually, I think we need it. Some parts of the country need it even more than we do. I wish I could send them some of our rain!
Out of Stream
Out of Steam? I wish I had energy like this! Am I running out of steam? I feel so tired lately; and I don’t only mean low on energy. My legs don’t feel right; and that’s very aggravating. Last night I thought I’d have to skip riding today; and in fact the forecast this morning predicted a 100% chance of T-storms. At that moment, though, the sun was out; and the hourly forecast said the weather wouldn’t turn stormy until early afternoon. I finally decided to go for a short ride; and 19 miles is short for a Sunday ride! The sky became cloudier and cloudier; and since I got home at about 10:50 am, I’ve expected all fury to break loose at any time. But I checked the hour-by-hour forecast at 2:30 pm; and it showed it wasn’t expected to get stormy until 9:00 pm! And they say, La donna è mobile? Today I sure felt like I was running out of steam on the way home. The wind really wasn’t all that strong; but I felt like it was hard to make any headway. My legs were persistently tired; and I just wanted to stop. It’s time to haul out the sun sleeves now. If I wear them, I can save a bit of sunblock; and sun sleeves actually do keep my arms a bit cooler. Sun sleeves keep your arms cooler while protecting your skin from UV rays. Back to the weather. It looks like the next three days will be quite stormy; and of course that doesn’t bode well for cycling. The street where I live is still all torn up for construction; and that means a lot of mud when it rains. I wish they’d hurry up and finish that job!