SpokEasy

SpokEasy

bicycling

First Fall

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First Fall I’ve had my first fall with the new hybrid already; and it wasn’t about autumn foliage, either. It happened on the way home from the salvage store. When it’s time to ride up the access road to the top of the levee, I shift to my granny gear. Unfortunately, I’m not used to my new bicycle’s shifting yet; and that’s how the problem came about. When I had twist-grip shifting, I had to turn the shifter towards me for lower gears. These new thumb-lever shifter work differently.  I  have two levers; and for lower gears, I have to push one of those levers away from me. I forgot that; and inadvertently put the bike on the biggest ring. Halfway up the access road, I finally noticed that on the gear indicator. The bike had become very hard to pedal; and I decided to dismount and walk. When I got off, the weight of the pannier pulled the bike over; and pushed me down with it. My left knee got a nasty scrape as a result. I guess every new bicycle comes with a learning curve; and all I can do is learn. But it was great to be able to ride to the salvage store again. Speaking of first fall, maybe we can expect some real Autumn weather in a few more weeks. Maybe. I remember once we got a cool front on October 6; but that was many years ago. However, a few mornings with temperatures in the mid-70s gives me hope. My knee feels sore from getting bashed this morning; so I might do a shorter ride tomorrow. I’ll see how things are in the morning. It looks like we’ll have good riding weather!

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Wouldn’t you know

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Wouldn’t You Know! Wouldn’t you know! I rode my new hybrid to work today; and by late morning it was pouring. The General sure got christened!   I’m not parking the General in the same place where I used to park my old hybrid. I found some bike racks that have a security camera right there! It’s a shame that I have to be so paranoid about my property; but obviously some people can’t be trusted. This morning I saw the hand specialist about that bone spur. The doctor gave me a cortisone injection at the site (after spraying on a generous amount of a numbing agent!). The injection site might feel sore a few days; and the real effects might not show up for a week. But after that, I should have relief from the pain for six months or so. I hope it isn’t raining tomorrow morning. I want to go to the salvage store; and my new hybrid doesn’t have fenders yet. The shop didn’t have the right size in stock. Ditto for tire liners. VERY handy if  you live where it rains a lot! I have quite a list for the salvage store; but I still need to be careful not to drag home too much canned stuff! But I need bread; I want hummus; and I’m low on yogurt. It’s also fun to browse through that store to see what I can find. I was working on a Page in my web site this evening; and it suddenly has a most peculiar quirk. The links in it go to the site’s landing page! I don’t know how that happened; and it’s too late to call my “help desk”. They aren’t there weekends; so it must wait until Monday evening. Wouldn’t you know, a big problem like that crops up when I can’t do anything about it.

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General Tso

bicycling, equipment, Uncategorized /

General Tso General Tso sounds like something you find in a Chinese restaurant. In fact, I got Chinese take-out for lunch today; and chose the General Tso’s Chicken combo plate. How did that come about? Today I went to the bike shop to get my new hybrid; and all morning I was cudgeling my brains for a name for those new wheels. After all, my other “rides” all had names; so why should this new bicycle get short-changed? I had a hankering after Chinese food. Ultimately I decided to get the General Tso’s Chicken; and name my new bicycle after it! It sure feels different from the old hybrid! For one thing, it’s not quite as heavy. It has disc brakes rather than rim brakes; and they definitely have a different “hand”. The new bike has thumb-operated shifting instead of twist-grip shifters. That, too, feels very different; and will take a little getting used to. I took my bicycle trunk and a pannier with me when I went to pick up the new bicycle. The pannier fits on the new rack; but the trunk is incompatible with it.  I had to borrow a bungee cord to attach the trunk to the rack for the ride home. Later, when I rode to the shop to return the bungee cord, it was starting to thunder. Somebody else seemed to get the storm; and I’m glad my new bike didn’t get rained on — yet. But that day will come; probably sooner rather than later in this climate!  Incidentally, the shop has to order both the fenders and tire liners in the size I need. I hope I don’t get a flat before then.

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Slow Cycling

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Slow Cycling Slow cycling apparently isn’t about velocity. It’s about “taking time to smell the roses”, as the saying goes. Not every ride needs to be about beating your own PR; or about pedaling as many miles as you can with as few breaks as possible. I that I’m guilty of the latter. My Sunday long rides are about building endurance, even if I don’t worry about my speed. Ergo I try to take as few breaks as possible. You don’t have to be as slow as this snail for slow cycling; but neither must you “smash” through your usual cycling routes. Take enough time to look around at the scenery; and stop here and there for a photo shoot; or to enjoy a snack. It’s rather hard for me to sight-see while I’m riding. I do a lot of riding in the dark; and as a result have long since developed the habit of focusing straight ahead of me. Maybe after I’m retired I can do a little more riding that will actually let me enjoy the scenery. I won’t have to ride before sunup to be sure I get to ride! Speaking of riding slowly, it’s much harder for me control the road bike while riding one-handed at a slow pace. I think it’s because in a low gear I tend to pedal at a higher cadence. The leg action then makes the bicycle wobble more because I don’t have the gyroscopic effect. I wonder, does an e-bike have the same problem?  Of my three “rides”, the one that was best suited to slow cycling was, of course, the trike. When you’re on three wheels, balance isn’t a problem; and you can pedal as slowly as you like. In a way I miss that; but honestly, I’d rather go faster than that.

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Entrained

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Entrained? Can you say that I got entrained today? I went for a ride on the levee; and as I approached the bridge, a West-bound freight train was crossing over. On the way home, I saw the Amtrak train heading the same direction. Many years ago, I rode Amtrack to Milwaukee, to visit a cousin. For at least 24 hours after I got off that train, my head felt like it was swaying back and forth inside. Is that being entrained? And the story goes that Dvorak got the inspiration for his Humoresque from hearing the clicking of train wheels. I kept today’s ride rather short. On Mondays I usually only ride to work; but for one thing, today is a holiday. Yesterday I did a long ride; and I don’t need to do long rides two days in a row. It was already near to 9:00 am when I set out; and heating up. I’m almost out of electrolyte tablets; and if I’m to ride much over an hour, I need electrolyte drink! That’s especially true in hot weather. I addition, a ride of over 80 minutes means I have to reapply sunblock. The sky was mostly overcast; and that helped to keep me from getting too terribly hot. In fact, it isn’t as hot as usual today.   I wish I had the hybrid, so I could ride to the store. Of course I can walk to the drug store; but they don’t have bananas. And I sure miss riding to work! I thought I just might squeak in enough rides to work to earn the Love to Ride Super Commuter Badge (ride to work 200 times in one calendar year).  But I don’t have a hybrid at present. Come to think of it, I need to use up some vacation time soon; but when I’m not on vacation, I want to ride to work!

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Rack My Brains

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Rack My Brains? I don’t have to rack my brains to figure out how useful this product is! Often I need to carry more on my hybrid than I can put into a backpack; so I need some other way to carry my stuff. This rack can carry a pair of panniers; plus a bicycle trunk. Bring home a week’s worth of groceries in a single trip! This rack would be useful if I went touring, and didn’t have a touring bicycle. Maybe not for a prolonged, self-supported tour; but for a short trip I think it should do. It certainly helps me to get my stuff to work with me. But not tomorrow. Tomorrow is a holiday; and I’m glad of it. MAYBE I can sleep late! And put in some miles on the road bike. I’m trying to do a little extra because I want to get in the miles; and for the time being I can’t ride to work. Last week, my hybrid got destroyed; and I suspect that somebody deliberately trashed it. I can’t go into details here; but I hope the culprit is caught. Today I went out on the road bike. The restrooms at my pit-stop place are still locked! This is the third Sunday in a row! I’m tired of having to come home to “use the facilities”; and once I was home, it was hard to get out there again. It sprinkled on and off; and that kept me a little bit cooler. But it’s grass-seed season; and I got home with grass seeds stuck in my sunblock. Today I used some baby sunblock that I found; and to me it seemed too stiff; too sticky; and it was hard to wash off. The reason I bought it is, it’s fragrance free. I just checked the forecast. There’s a 40% chance of T-storms tomorrow morning. To ride; or not to ride? That’s a question to rack my brains!

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It Doesn’t Feel Right

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It Doesn’t Feel Right It doesn’t feel right that I couldn’t ride to the salvage store today. With my poor hybrid a wreck, I didn’t have my usual transportation. Public transit would have taken much longer than riding to the salvage story by bicycle; and there’s no transit stop right outside the store. How can I bring home a decent load like that? There’s a small grocery store not quite a mile from here; but just try to carry bananas all that way without bruising them half to death! It’s very frustrating, because I wanted to get some cooking done. I keep catching myself thinking of riding over to that store with a pannier; then I remember that I don’t have the bike! No; it doesn’t feel right at all. I went for a ride with the road bike; then walked over to the bike shop. I test-rode a hybrid; and it’s very nice. Of course it’s stripped down; and I’ll have to buy fenders and a luggage rack. Fenders are a must in a wet climate, especially if you plan to ride to work. Who wants to arrive at the office with a dirty, wet stripe down their back; and wet back hair besides? Let’s hope the bags I have are compatible with the new rack; or I’ll have to buy new ones. The bicycle I plan to buy costs nearly $700; and that’s not pocket change! But I’m afraid I’ll need new panniers before too long, anyhow. The old ones are showing definite signs of wear. Too many heavy loads from the salvage store, maybe. I hope the weather is cooperative tomorrow. There’s  50% chance of rain and/or T-storms; and I don’t want to get caught in bad weather when I’m 20 miles from home! I guess I’ll have to take my chances. Cycle September is on; so I want to get in my miles!

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Labor Day

bicycling, Uncategorized /

Labor Day It’ll be Labor Day, all right. Here I go re-working my web site.  AGAIN. I hadn’t realized that a Slider is part of a page! With help from a service called WordPress Live (expensive, but well worth it!), I got my home page redone; but I’m not sure how to take it from there. One thing I’m sure of: I don’t want to clutter up that home page image with lots of buttons! That won’t be attractive; and might even turn away prospective visitors. I’m glad I have a three-day weekend to mull things over! I hope to get in some good riding; but the weather forecast isn’t the most favorable. Some extra miles on the road bike will be welcome, though, because my hybrid is out of commission. Day before yesterday, it got vandalized! The bike shop says it might be a total loss; so I hope to get there tomorrow to test-ride a few new ones. But they don’t allow test-rides when it’s wet. I can’t go to the salvage store now, so maybe I can get a few extra hours’ sleep for once. I plan to meet some friends for lunch tomorrow; and of course I have to do laundry and some cooking. Labor Day is a holiday for most people; so I won’t be able to get more help with my site work until Tuesday. I’ll see what I can do for myself over the next two days. It’s getting rather late to do any more tonight; and I have to wash the dishes anyway. That’s one labor that never goes away!  

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Swagcycle

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Swagcycle The Swagcycle EB5 is an alternative for folks who are unable to use a regular bicycle. A very handy feature of this bike is that it can fold! That makes it much easier to fit it in the trunk of a car (no bicycle rack needed); or to store in a small apartment. Swagcycle EB5 uses a 36V lithium ion battery (included) to power a 250W hub motor. Charge-up time is four to five hours. This bike can be adjusted for riders from teenagers to adults; and can carry up to 264 lbs. The fully charged battery can carry this bike up to 15.5 miles.  Swagcycle is best suited to flat terrain; so where I live it ought to do just fine. It comes pre-assembled, too! The frame is aluminum; and as to color, remember what Henry Ford said! For that matter, I didn’t pay much attention to what color my hybrid was when I bought it; nor my road bike. I looked to see what the bike shop had; and went from there. Lately I see more and more about e-bikes in social media; and cargo e-bikes seem especially popular. Among other things, parents use them to get young children to school. I’m still quite entrenched in the muscle-power camp; but it’s good to know there are options like the Swagcycle out there.

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Athlete’s Guide to Diabetes

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Athlete’s Guide to Diabetes The Athlete’s Guide to Diabetes is much in my mind again. A few days ago, my A1c levels were re-checked; and they’re still 6.1. That’s in the pre-diabetes range; so I have to keep  watching my diet. I suspect that that will be the case for the rest of my life. This, in fact, is one reason I’m so anxious to retire. I can manage my eating habits better when I’m at home. I’m glad I don’t have Type-I diabetes. From what this book says, managing Type-I with heavy physical activity is quite the juggling act; and it would wear me out! “The Athlete’s Guide to Diabetes” discusses many aspects of diabetes management. It’s a good source of advice for people practicing a wide variety of physical activities: cycling; skiing; golf; and many others. I’ve been way off proper eating for some months; and am trying to get back on track. My wayward eating habits aren’t helping my A1c levels! And after a Sunday long ride, I can easily go berserk with food. Good grief, do I need to eat even more during my rides? The catch there is gut discomfort; especially if I’m working hard against a headwind.  Today, in fact, I did have something of a headwind on the way home. It wasn’t really that strong; but for some reason I felt tired today. My legs simply didn’t have it. And the restrooms at my pit-stop were locked again! I don’t know what’s going on with that; but I had to come home to “do my business”. Then I rode to the park to do a few laps. I planned to ride 40 miles or so; and had gotten in little over 29. It really wan’t much fun riding in the park. By the time I got there, it was rather crowded; and that makes me nervous. I never know when a small child will suddenly make a turn right across my path.  Of the planned five laps, I did only three. But I got in 37.3 miles; and that’s a lot better than 29 miles. I always have my Love to Ride goal in mind; and I still have 1220.5 miles to go! The sky was mostly clear when I set out just before 7:00 am; but the clouds built up quickly over the next two hours. I’m glad I was home when it began to rain at around 1:00 pm.  

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