bicycling Archives - Page 86 of 123

All in Vain

All in Vain Riding early was all in vain this morning! Or partly so, anyway. I wanted to see the full moon over the river. I got up at 5:00 am; and was out on the road bike by 5:30. Alas, the clouds were too dense for me to have any chance of seeing the moon. I hope I can see it tomorrow morning. I’m not sure I’ll want to try to see the moon this evening. There’s an excessive heat warning in effect until 7 pm; and besides, it’s mostly cloudy. Thus my efforts to see the moon might again be all in vain. Moonviewing wasn’t my only reason for going out before dawn. I knew the heat was going to get bad today; and I wanted to ride before it got too hot. I put in 18.1 miles?; and was home by 8:00 am. There’s something very satisfying about that! To be on the safe side regarding hydration, I used my Camel-Bak; and took along electrolyte drink. After a large supper yesterday, I ate only a small protein bar before my ride; but I took along another protein bar, just in case. It’s a good thing I did; I wound up eating about a quarter of it. Getting back to mileage — now that I have more time to ride, can I start dreaming of a century? But when shall I do it? It’s too hot to do it anytime soon; and can I train up sufficiently by, say, November? Next April might be a more realistic target date!

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Cycle Aruba

BACK ISSUES, bicycling / CAL

Cycle Aruba 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.” How would it be to cycle Aruba? This small island nation has relatively warm, sunny weather; a dry climate; and the topography is generally flat. That would suit me just fine! Aruba is touted as one of the best cycling destinations on the planet; and offers a number of bicycle tours. So let’s go cycle Aruba! West Punt to to Vista Chapel looks like a good choice for beginning bicycle tourists. It’s less than nine miles long; so you don’t need a touring bicycle. This route is also popular among hikers. For MTB aficionados, the Tribu Trail is waiting. This one can be physically challenging; so work your way up to it. If you like beaches, the Bushiribana to Malmok Beach might be the tour for you. It’s less than ten miles long; rather challenging, but enjoyable for the experienced rider. The Oranjestad to Conchi MTB is 34+ miles in length; with a considerable gain* in elevation. It starts in Oranjestad, the capital city; and includes a climb over the Sero Arikok. *The online article from which I get the info for this blog says, 1169 mile elevation gain. I suspect that they mean 1169 feet. From major hotels, you can climb aboard a Green Bike for a self-guided tour. A riding guide is available; and along way you can hit a beach or two. The San Nicholas to Seroe Colorado Lighthouse path covers the southern part of the island. Golf lovers, keep an eye peeled for Aruba’s oldest golf club! Lovers of long-distance rides may want to tackle the Rondje Aruba (Around the Island) tour. It’s 47.2 miles long; and “takes 4 hours and 45 minutes”. That’s certainly faster than I can ride that distance! The Downtown Aruba tour is great if you want to explore the downtown area by bike. You can download guides that show you where to go; and points of interest along the way. Finally, there’s the Manchebo Beach to California Lighthouse ride, at the northern end of the island. This route takes in several beaches; so cycle Aruba might involve swimming as well as cycling!

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spokes as web

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, equipment / CAL

Spokes as Web? Spokes as web? How do bicycle wheels turn into a spider’s web? When you put spider spoke lights on them, that’s when! These lights add a touch of creepy fun to your rides; and I suppose kids especially would enjoy them — most of all boys. How about a Hallowe’en ride with your spokes as web; including glowing red spiders? October 31 is still two months away; but advance planning never hurts! It’s hard to think of Fall and Hallowe’en just now, because it’s been so hot! At 7:15 pm, it’s still 91 degrees. Tomorrow morning it will already be in the 80s at 6 am, with a predicted high of 97! I hope I can get myself in the saddle and pedaling by six o’clock. Then I can be home by nine or sooner. This afternoon we got a good T-storm, with one very close lightning strike. Fortunately the forecast is for clear skies tomorrow morning. I’d be worried if there were a chance for bad weather. But I sure wouldn’t mind if it were ten degrees cooler! It’s too bad that spokes as web can’t help with that.

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More Heat

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, equipment, Outdoors / CAL

More Heat! We’ve got more heat coming; in fact, it looks like our heat machine is about to crank up a notch or two. It makes me wish that anything with “ColdStone” written on it can cool me off. I’ve been using my sun sleeves when I ride, so I don’t have to use up my sunblock so fast. Those sleeves keep my arms a little cooler; but I haven’t used my leg sleeves yet. I’m keeping them for when my Sunday long rides get back up to 40 miles. Once I’ve got both arms and legs sun-protected, I’ll have less sunblock to wash off post-ride! Here I am, complaining about “more heat” before July is over. August and September tend to be our hottest months; and the heat can into persist into November or later. It makes rides harder when I don’t get going until at least 7:30 am. I started using a hydration system for water, so I can put an electrolyte drink in my water bottle. That’s important, as I’m starting to extend at least one weekday ride to 20 miles or so. I have no idea whether I’ll really get to do RAGBRAI next year; but if I do, I must be able to ride more than 12-15 miles per day! In fact, RAGBRAI averages something like 40 miles per day; and there’s also climbing to contend with. RAGBRAI also means riding through the day; and Iowa can get as hot as New Orleans. So if I can do that ride, I’d better bring along several pairs each those arm and leg sun-protection sleeves. And I hope it’s not as humid there as it is here! I’ve been enjoying not having to rise at 4:30 am to ride; but maybe I should resume my pre-dawn rides until Fall? It would spare me so much riding in the heat! Incidentally, I’ve noticed that it doesn’t get light so early in the morning; which means that the days are already getting shorter. But they sure aren’t getting any cooler!

Dog Days

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, equipment / CAL

Dog Days Here come the dog days; typically the hottest part of the year. As if it weren’t hot enough already! Do you want to take your canine friend along when you ride? The Bike Tow Leash is a wise idea, I think. To me it seems safer than trying to hold onto a standard leash while riding one-handed. The Bike Tow Leash is designed to prevent tangles and tripping; and can be used for dogs up to 185 pounds. Meant for left-side usage; and suitable for most bicycles and tadpole-style tricycles. I can’t speak with authority, of course. I’ve never had a dog; and in fact, I’m a cat person. How do you take a cat along on a bicycle ride? I guess you put the cat in a carrier; and put the carrier in a trailer. Cats are terrific escape artists; and might be able to worm their way out of a harness and leash. Riding during these dog days will make me very thankful for the cooling band I have. It’s only about two inches wide; but it still helps during hot rides. I saw it in the salvage store some months ago; and it didn’t cost much over one dollar! I bought it to keep for hot weather; and now I’m glad I have it. The heat index this afternoon is a “chilly” 94 degrees — much cooler than many recent readings. I hope this respite from the extreme heat continues; and we aren’t as hot as some parts of the country! I’m starting to use my Camel-Bak on weekday rides because of the heat. I don’t ride as early as I did before retirement; and when it’s so hot, I want to take electrolyte drink as well as water. All we can do is hang on until cooler weather arrives; and hope we’re spared the hurricanes!

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Cross Bike

BACK ISSUES, bicycling / CAL

Cross Bike? I think I’ve got a cross bike; namely, my road bike is getting sulky because I haven’t ridden it since Thursday. Friday I rode to Whole Foods, using the hybrid. By the time I got back home about 9:00 am, the heat index was already 100 degrees; so I decided not to go out on the road bike. Yesterday was salvage-store-trip day; and that, again, meant using the hybrid. But not the trailer; I’ve still got lots of canned stuff! Once again, it was so hot by the time I got home that I didn’t want to go out on the road bike. About 7 pm yesterday evening, we got a T-storm; and it rained pretty hard for a while. After such weather, I expected road surfaces (and the the levee bike path!) to be wet and mucky this morning. I didn’t feel like getting my road bike all mucked up, so I used the hybrid; it has fenders. It was about 8:30 am when time I got going. To my surprise, surfaces were almost dry! I could have used the road bike and not gotten a wet stripe up my back. I went up on the levee; and less than two miles from home, I saw the sky towards the West. The looks of it were rather unsettling. I saw the kind of black, low, wide band that often means bad weather. Heading back home seemed like the wise thing to do; and sure enough, before I got off the levee I began to hear thunder. I was home shortly before 9:00 am; and within five or ten minutes the wind had risen to the “storm coming” level. A few minutes after that, it began to rain. As of 10:00 am the rain has stopped; but I can’t be sure there isn’t more coming. Maybe I’ll appease that cross bike of mind by hooking it into the trainer and “riding” for a while. That will let me get some exercise without the nuisance of cleaning gritty mud off of my bicycl

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Carbon Fiber

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, equipment / CAL

Carbon Fiber A carbon fiber bicycle Carbon fiber is very much in the public consciousness at present. Who hasn’t heard of the recent submersible catastrophe? I don’t mean to be insensitive by blogging about the material; but I can’t help thinking about it. After all, it’s what my road bike is made of! Carbon fiber is one of four materials commonly used for bicycle frames. And yes, I’m aware that such frames can fail suddenly and drastically. That worries me sometimes. I guess that a crash is the most likely cause of frame failure. As a non-racer, my risk of crashing is probably low. At the same time, my road bike is 10+ years old. Maybe ordinary wear and tear has taken its toll on the frame. But how do I tell? I want to keep on using my road bike for as long as I can. After all this time, I’ve become very adjusted to it. On top of that, I don’t feel like shelling out several thousand dollars for a new one. There are cheaper models out there; but I need good quality for all the miles that I put in. When the time comes that I must bid my current road bike adieu, and choose a new one, what type of frame material shall I look for? Steel is susceptible to rust, so I don’t want a steel frame. Not in this humid climate! I wouldn’t be surprised if steel is also affected by salt in the atmosphere; and here we get ample salt haze from the Gulf. Titanium has a reputation for being almost impossible to destroy; but it’s too expensive for my budget. Aluminum is lightweight; but would an aluminum road bike be lighter than my current one? Who knows, I might come right back to carbon fiber!

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Haul Away

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, equipment / CAL

Haul Away You can haul away with the Instep Quick-N-EZ trailer; whether you’re transporting children or a load of groceries. Quick-N-EZ can carry up to 80 pounds; and can be converted to a stroller or a jogger. There’s a canopy to protect your young passengers from weather or flying bugs. Five-point harness secure the child/ren for greater safety. The frame can fold; and the wheels can be easily removed for easier storage. Color: Teal; Orange; or Green. Cost varies according to color; but all are under $340.00. I got to haul away yesterday. For the first time since before my hand surgery in January, I took my trailer to the salvage store. I could really feel the added weight; and it sure made me feel out of shape! To my great disappointment, the grab-bag bins were as bare as Mother Hubbard‘s cupboard. I hope it’s different next week! Otherwise, I found all that I wanted: almond milk; medium-sharp cheddar cheese, and so on. I was glad to be home from the salvage store before 10:00 am, when a heat advisory went into effect. Even so, I walked to the drug store (just a few blocks) for something; and discovered their store-brand chocolate whey protein powder on sale; four dollars off the usual price. I got some to keep; I know I’ll use it for recovery drinks! It’ll be a hot ride tomorrow; mid-80s by 8:00 am! All I can do during such a ride is to haul away.

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Cloud Cover

BACK ISSUES, bicycling / CAL

Cloud Cover I was thankful for the cloud cover this morning. Yes, it looked like it might rain any minute; but a good cloud cover keeps things a tad cooler. Today I cut my mileage a little, because I did some force efforts. I hit a max speed of 19.83 mph! I’m rather lazy, though; and do such work only once a week. I still limit these efforts to 30 seconds at a time; but maybe I should start pushing for 40 seconds. I do know, however, that really intense work should be limited to once weekly; and skip it every fourth week (if you’re under 40); or every third week (if you’re over 40). I’m eyeing the forecast for tomorrow. It looks like it probably won’t rain early in the day; so maybe I’ll take an early-morning ride to the supermarket. We’re still wilting under heat advisories; and I try to be home and indoors by 10:00 am. Cloud cover keeps things a little bit cooler indoors, too; so I’m happy when the sun isn’t blazing down all day long! We finally got a good rain yesterday afternoon; and we really needed it. Speaking of heat, I have a cooling device that does help. It’s only about two inches wide; but I can put it around my neck and tuck the loose ends inside my jersey. It’s one of my salvage store finds! Of course I’m planning to ride to that store come Saturday — and am hoping for some cloud cover to keep me from broiling.

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What’s Afoot Now

BACK ISSUES, bicycling / CAL

What’s Afoot Now? What’s afoot now? Seems like something’s always going wrong! Today I saw a podiatrist. Maybe I waited too long for it! For some years, my left big toe’s base joint has become more and more rigid; and now it has almost no flex. I finally asked my primary care physician about it last week; and he gave me a referral to a podiatrist. Well, my right big toe has a bunion; and the left one has arthritis plus a bone spur. I could have surgery for it; but I’m not in a hurry for more surgery. The CMC arthroplasty six months ago was enough for this year. It would mean several weeks off the bike; and what a drag that would be! Could I be recovered and riding again with enough time to train up for potential participation in RAGBRAI 2024? I think I’ll try some athletic shoes first; and after that, orthotics. If it is going to come to surgery, I hope it can wait until the weather is cooler again. I suppose that hopping around on crutches is very hot work; but then again, I might not need crutches. I think the doctor said I’d be in a boot. Walking is more likely to bother my foot than cycling, which is all to the good; but walking over a mile can cause a flare-up. My smaller toes feel like there’s something sharp under them. The weather is driving me crazy. Despite the forecasts, my neighborhood hasn’t had much rain. So what’s afoot now? And, is it better to have all these heat advisories

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