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Not April Showers

Leave a Comment / BACK ISSUES, bicycling, equipment, Outdoors /

Not April Showers 💦 Today’s Featured Product! 🌟 ROCKBROS Cycling Shoe Covers New!! DARKBEAM Bike Tail Light For our full list of products, visit the SpokEasy Store! Rain at the tail end of October is not April showers; but rain at any season might need special gear: ponchos; raincoats; even shoe covers, such as these ROCkBROS Cycling Shoe Covers.  They sound nice and cozy; but I personally would be concerned about ripping the soles to shreds with my attempts to clip in. Riding in rain or fog presents problems if you wear glasses; but I like to keep ARCHXX Lens Wipes handy. They seem to work quite well; and are also good for a fogged-up rearview bike mirror, or a smudgy cell phone screen. Lens wipes are also easier to carry than a spray bottle of lens cleaner. In the Dark? ⚫️ Rain, even when it’s not April showers, is no fun in the dark; so I’m glad I don’t have to do it any more. I remember pre-dawn rides when I was battling wind that drove the rain into my face. That made it harder to see; and I was getting soaked, despite a poncho; and my hands and feet were turning to ice. I never had gloves like GripGrab Winter Cycling Gloves; but I wonder how much they’d really help in this climate. Rain here tends to be heavy and soaking; and clothing designed for light rain doesn’t stand up well to such showers. I hope the coming Winter isn’t too wet; I don’t want to miss rides for the weather! 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.” ABOUT ME © This website is the property of its author. DISCLAIMER I am not a cycling coach; nor a health professional. This site is based on my own experiences, opinions, etc. If you need help, please consult the appropriate professional.   FRESH FROM MY JOURNAL ✍🏻 Facebook Twitter Youtube INTERPRETER Leave a Reply Cancel Reply Logged in as Cecile Levert. Edit your profile. Log out? Required fields are marked * Message* Δ

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Keep Warm

Leave a Comment / BACK ISSUES, bicycling, equipment, Outdoors /

Keep Warm 🔥 Today’s Featured Product! 🙂 Sunny Mini Elliptical Trainer New!! CASTELLI Women’s Endurance Bibshort For our full list of products, visit the SpokEasy Store! Now that it’s almost November, I think about how to keep warm. So far our weather hasn’t been cold; but that will end some day! We can keep warm on the bike by layering; but suppose conditions are simply too nasty for outdoor activity? A Merach Walking Pad can let you get ample exercise! Its heavy-duty frame can support up to 400 lbs/181.43 kg; and its brushless motor lets you go up to 4 mph/6.4 kph. Quiet operation is great for indoor use; and the Merach Walking Pad can fit under a desk. Work out while working! Prepping the Wardrobe 🧤 Prepping the wardrobe for cold-weather rides means I need to wash the full-finger gloves that I never got around to washing last Spring. FanVince Winter Gloves sound great; but I don’t really need the touch-screen feature. Mornings now are cool enough for leg warmers; and even a jacket! Temperatures in the low 60s are fine with me; but I’m not anxious for those mornings when it’s in the 40s; and a strong wind is blasting away. I know one thing, I won’t want pickle ice then! 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.” ABOUT ME © This website is the property of its author. DISCLAIMER I am not a cycling coach; nor a health professional. This site is based on my own experiences, opinions, etc. If you need help, please consult the appropriate professional.   FRESH FROM MY JOURNAL ✍🏻 Facebook Twitter Youtube INTERPRETER Leave a Reply Cancel Reply Logged in as Cecile Levert. Edit your profile. Log out? Required fields are marked * Message* Δ

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Oh Dear!

BACK ISSUES, equipment, Outdoors /

Oh Dear! 😳 Today’s Featured Product! 👏🏻 Proofide Leather Dressing New!! Long Distance Cyclists’ Handbook For our full list of products, visit the SpokEasy Store!   Oh, dear, what shall I do? The forecast for the coming days is full of rain; and I don’t want to ride my new road bike in the rain quite yet. I also need to walk my new bike to the shop, so someone can help me with the app for my bike’s gears. I’ve watched some YouTubes on the topic; and oh, dear, I’m not at all sure I know what they’re talking about! I seem to be stuck in the wrong century. On the one hand, those electronic shifters are much easier on my hands than brifters. But on the other hand, now I have to worry about keeping those systems properly charged! I’ll have to write in my calendar when to check what thing for proper charge. What Day Is It? ☀️ I even want to ask, what day is it? A trip to the salvage store makes it seem like Saturday; and it isn’t. I went today, Friday, because the weekend forecast looked so unfavorable. Today I brought home a small load; but I found Sahale Berry Macaroon Almond snack packs; a box of nine 1.5-oz packs for $4.99! I guess some other store got overstocked; but that’s quite a bargain! After I got home from the salvage store, I might have given the road bike another try; but I needed to hike over to FedEx. It was past eleven o’clock when I got home; and getting more and more cloudy. I had even felt a light sprinkle or two. And of course it was hot! 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.” ABOUT ME © This website is the property of its author. DISCLAIMER I am not a cycling coach; nor a health professional. This site is based on my own experiences, opinions, etc. If you need help, please consult the appropriate professional.   FRESH FROM MY JOURNAL ✍🏻 Facebook Twitter Youtube INTERPRETER Leave a Reply Cancel Reply Logged in as Cecile Levert. Edit your profile. Log out? Required fields are marked * Message* Δ

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Battle Scars

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, equipment, Outdoors /

Battle Scars 🤺 Today’s Featured Product! 💫 Coconut Ropamo Men’s Short-Sleeve Jersey New!! Cycling Exercise for Seniors For our full list of products, visit the SpokEasy Store! My new road bike is already accumulating battle scars! And it’s only two days old. This morning I was starting up; and put a little too much energy into it. The bike swerved; and I had to step down in a hurry. The bike fell onto its right side; and the shifter got pushed out of line. I had to go to the bike shop to get it fixed. This isn’t a brifter that I can push back into place; and I suspect that I’ll miss that. Cowering? 😧 I also suspect that I might spend considerable time cowering indoors for the next few days. The forecast is full of rain! I don’t want to be working to get the hang of a new bike when it’s pouring. Naturally I don’t want my shiny new “wheels” to get mucked up too fast; and it’s also a matter of safety. “Battle scars” doesn’t have to mean a serious crash! I’m debating whether to ride to the salvage store tomorrow. There might be rain by 9:00 am; but if it’s not heavy, a poncho might do. Saturday morning, however, there’s a greater chance of adverse weather. I’d rather avoid that! 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.” ABOUT ME © This website is the property of its author. DISCLAIMER I am not a cycling coach; nor a health professional. This site is based on my own experiences, opinions, etc. If you need help, please consult the appropriate professional.   FRESH FROM MY JOURNAL ✍🏻 Facebook Twitter Youtube INTERPRETER Leave a Reply Cancel Reply Logged in as Cecile Levert. Edit your profile. Log out? Required fields are marked * Message* Δ

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Shakedown!

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, equipment, Training /

Shakedown 🫨 Today’s Featured Product! 🎊 KOOTU Carbon Road Bike New!! Loire à Vélo For our full list of products, visit the SpokEasy Store! Tomorrow begins the shakedown! This afternoon, I brought my new road bike home. It was hot, in the mid-80s; and I didn’t want to try riding a road bike next to traffic. After all, I’ve been off the road bike for a bit  over a year. So I wheeled the bicycle home. The prospect of this shakedown has me partly excited; and partly nervous. For my first ride, I think I’ll skip the clip-in shoes. Probably I shouldn’t try riding in the streets for the first few jaunts; but it’s half a mile to to the bike path; and that’s too far for walking in cycling shoes!    Blisters? 🩹 Cycling shoes fit more snugly than sneakers; and have much stiffer soles. That means they aren’t suitable for more than a very short walk. I don’t want blisters or corns! It will feel weird to be pedaling without toe clips; and without being clipped in. But I think it’s wise to get the feel of that new road bike before I ride clipped in. I don’t suppose it will take very long. Then I can start twenty-mile rides! 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.” ABOUT ME © This website is the property of its author. DISCLAIMER I am not a cycling coach; nor a health professional. This site is based on my own experiences, opinions, etc. If you need help, please consult the appropriate professional.   FRESH FROM MY JOURNAL ✍🏻 Facebook Twitter Youtube INTERPRETER Leave a Reply Cancel Reply Logged in as Cecile Levert. Edit your profile. Log out? Required fields are marked * Message* Δ

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Anticipating Future Rides

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, equipment /

Anticipating Future Rides🚲 Today’s Featured Product! 👏🏻 Gatorlyte Rapid Rehydration New!! Bike Safety Flag For our full list of products, visit the SpokEasy Store! I’m anticipating future rides; although not without a degree of nervousness. Today I ordered a new road bike; and after a long time — a whole year! — of being off the road bike, I hope my body hasn’t forgotten what to do! Thank goodness I’ve had the hybrid to ride, to keep my leg muscles from becoming totally atrophied. But a road bike, as I found out in 2013, is very different from a hybrid! Just Go for It ➡️ When my new bicycle is here, I’ll just go for it. In anticipating future rides, I think my biggest worry is pushing off while in the street. I don’t want to apply so much force that I veer all out of control! I hope we don’t get a rainy spell right when I’ll  be breaking in my new “steed”.  Of course I don’t want my bike to get all mucked up right away; and naturally I don’t want the weather to keep me from riding. Oh, well. One day at a time, they say!   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.” ABOUT ME © This website is the property of its author. DISCLAIMER I am not a cycling coach; nor a health professional. This site is based on my own experiences, opinions, etc. If you need help, please consult the appropriate professional.   FRESH FROM MY JOURNAL ✍🏻 Facebook Twitter Youtube INTERPRETER Leave a Reply Cancel Reply Logged in as Cecile Levert. Edit your profile. Log out? Required fields are marked * Message* Δ

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GPS

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, equipment, Outdoors /

GPS ➡️  Today’s Featured Product! ☄️ COOLSTEELANDBEYOND Bike Chain Bracelet New!! Danish Endurance Cycling Socks For our full list of products, visit the SpokEasy Store! GPS is quite popular nowadays; but so far I’ve never gotten interested in it. In fact, I’m not sure I can trust it! Once, while biking on the levee (where I usually ride), there was someone driving a car up there! They said their GPS had directed them there; and that tells me not to rely solely on any such “positioning” system. I think I”d rather have a printed cue sheet! Familar Territory 🏞️ Of course, it helps that I’m nearly always in familiar territory. If I really did plan to go for a bicycle tour of, say, the Loire Valley, GPS might be warranted. I suppose there was a time when paper maps were distrusted — just as I have reservations about global positioning systems. Before print, people found their way by other means, including the  stars. Somewhere in Kon-Tiki, the author mentions that it was “incredibly easy” to steer by the stars. Alas, between light pollution and air pollution, it’s getting hard to see the stars at all. But if I’m able to spot a familiar constellation, there’s a chance that I’ll have my GPS! 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.” ABOUT ME © This website is the property of its author. DISCLAIMER I am not a cycling coach; nor a health professional. This site is based on my own experiences, opinions, etc. If you need help, please consult the appropriate professional.   FRESH FROM MY JOURNAL ✍🏻 Facebook Twitter Youtube INTERPRETER Leave a Reply Cancel Reply Logged in as Cecile Levert. Edit your profile. Log out? Required fields are marked * Message* Δ

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Can I See?

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, equipment, Outdoors /

Can I See? 😳 Today’s Featured Product! 💥 Kryptonite Kryptoflex 1018 New!! LARABAR Variety Pack For our full list of products, visit the SpokEasy Store! Can I see; or can’t I? I’m trying to get used to wearing my glasses while using the computer, but  it’s a bit of a headache. Lately I can’t seem to see text on the screen very well without visiual correction; but the glasses make things look weird, too! I guess it’s the astigmatism correction. No matter how I tilt my head, I have a hard time getting a clear view. Whatever the cause of these visual “kinks”, it makes wonder, can I see? Line of Sight 👀 Thank goodnes my line of sight is OK when I’m on the bike. The trouble there is that my spectacles have a most annoying way of sliding down my nose! Then there’s the problem if having the sun in my eyes as I’m riding back home. I’m not sure even a Tontron would help; because at that hour, the sun is still rather low in the sky. I have reservations about such a brim for another reason: I suspect that it catches a LOT of wind! So I wouldn’t wear one in a hurricane! 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.” ABOUT ME © This website is the property of its author. DISCLAIMER I am not a cycling coach; nor a health professional. This site is based on my own experiences, opinions, etc. If you need help, please consult the appropriate professional.   FRESH FROM MY JOURNAL ✍🏻 Facebook Twitter Youtube INTERPRETER Leave a Reply Cancel Reply Logged in as Cecile Levert. Edit your profile. Log out? Required fields are marked * Message* Δ

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Linus?

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Linus? 🤓 Today’s Featured Product! 🌍 Planet Bike Seat Leash New!! F Prolon Fasting Bars For our full list of products, visit the SpokEasy Store! I’m often reminded of the Peanuts character Linus these days. In some of the comics, Linus wears glasses. In one such strip, he complains — understandably — that the wost part of glasses is keeping them clean. He says that he’s seen factory windows that were cleaner. So he holds his glasses out towards Snoopy, who licks the lenses. When Linus puts his glasses back on, he comments that now things are even worse. Snoopy is gagging, and thinking, “They didn’t taste very good, either!” My glasses frequetly get smudged with sunblock; so I”m always cleaning them. Smudges make it hard to see my computer screen! In Between ↔️ I’m in a maddening in-between phase with my glasses. I got a new prescription fairly recently, and I guess I’m still adjusting. In fact, I hadn’t been using glasses while working on my laptop; but lately I noticed that it’s gotten hard to see the text without them. But it’s also hard to see WITH my glasses. What a tug-of-war! Bifocal problems, I suppose. I’m glad I don’t have that problem on the bike, or I’d be in big trouble! 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.” ABOUT ME © This website is the property of its author. DISCLAIMER I am not a cycling coach; nor a health professional. This site is based on my own experiences, opinions, etc. If you need help, please consult the appropriate professional.   FRESH FROM MY JOURNAL ✍🏻 Facebook Twitter Youtube INTERPRETER Leave a Reply Cancel Reply Logged in as Cecile Levert. Edit your profile. Log out? Required fields are marked * Message* Δ

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Multi-Purpose

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Multi-Purpose 🛠️ Today’s Featured Product! 🚀 LARABAR Cashew Cookie New!! Milkadamia For our full list of products, visit the SpokEasy Store! I like multi-purpose things. It’s better to have one tool that can do two or three jobs; than to have three tools! For instance, if a 2-quart pot can serve as a mixing bowl; why get the bowl? Space is precious, after all; and I like to have some elbow room. Despite that, things keep piling up! Today I went into multi-purpose mode while sewing. After an error, I needed to take out some stitches. The lighting in here isn’t the best; and my eyes are like the old gray mare: they ain’t what they used to be. Ergo I was having a hard time seeing the stitches. Digging for Treasure? 🪎 So I went digging for treasure in my box of RAGBRAI equipment. I knew I had a headlamp in there somewhere; so I fished it out and put it on. It worked pretty well for the purpose; and now I know I don’t need to buy a standing lamp. It would be just another thing that needs space; and it would be much too hot under such a light, anyow. It would be interesting if I could make my bicycle multi-purpose; but so far I haven’t come up with any ideas. 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.” ABOUT ME © This website is the property of its author. DISCLAIMER I am not a cycling coach; nor a health professional. This site is based on my own experiences, opinions, etc. If you need help, please consult the appropriate professional.   FRESH FROM MY JOURNAL ✍🏻 Facebook Twitter Youtube INTERPRETER Leave a Reply Cancel Reply Logged in as Cecile Levert. Edit your profile. Log out? Required fields are marked * Message* Δ

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