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Fitness Tracker Smart Watch

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, equipment /

Fitness Tracker Smart Watch The Fitness Tracker Smart Watch is great for many activities! Cycling, of course; but also for running; mountain-climbing; and even yoga. Fitness Tracker Smart Watch has a large, easily read touchscreen; and is compatible with many cell phones. You can keep track of your heart rate; oxygen levels; and more! This tracker can be used by people of most ages. Battery charges fully in two hours; and lasts up to 14 days on standby. Assorted colors available. Made in China. $49.99  

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elite arion folding rollers

3 Comments / BACK ISSUES, bicycling, equipment /

Elite Arion Folding Rollers Elite Arion Folding Rollers let you ride indoors; and take up less space than a trainer. They also offer a different “riding” experience. Rollers demand attention to balance; smooth pedaling; and holding to a narrow line. I tried rollers; but never got really confident on them. Thus I prefer a trainer, despite the nuisance of getting the bicycle hooked into it. In retrospect, I think my problem with rollers was that I was too tentative. Rollers seemed very slick to me, especially with the road bike; and that was hard to deal with. Eventually I sold the rollers; and kept the trainer. At present I can’t use rollers anyway, because my hand is laid up. I wasn’t even sure that my splinted hand would let me climb aboard my road bike while it was set up in the trainer. Fortunately I’m able to use some WattBikes for the time being.  Elite Arion Folding Rollers, for me, would mean setting up in a doorway. I don’t have a sturdy table to help me get my balance before I begin pedaling; but being in that  doorway is rather a tight  fit. I think I’ll skip rollers for now; but I’ll leave the option open. $222.36

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Rabbitroom Rechargeable Gloves

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Rabbitroom Rechargeable Gloves Rabbitroom Rechargeable Gloves are what I wish I’d had last weekend. Below-freezing temperatures with chill factors in the teens are rare here; and I, for one, am unaccustomed to it. In fact, I didn’t even try to ride! I knew that, no matter how many clothes I put on, I’d still be cold. Rabbitroom Rechargeable Gloves have a built-in, rechargeable battery; are waterproof; and have handy touchscreen fingertips. Charge-up time is four hours. The warmth these gloves provide is useful for people with conditions such as rheumatism; and come in various sizes. I suspect that they’re more comfortable than regular gloves with warming packs stuffed inside! Unisex. $29.98 and up  

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Saris Fluid 2

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Saris Fluid 2 The Saris Fluid 2 trainer is useful when the weather makes outdoor riding difficult or impossible. Some parts of the country are presently buried under several feet of snow; and others have problems with icy surfaces. We just had a cold snap, with temperatures dropping well below freezing; and chill factors in the teens. For New Orleans, that’s phenomenal. It rarely gets that cold at all; much less stays that way for several days. As a result, I don’t have polar riding gear. If I want to ride outside during such a cold spell, I need to wear two pairs of pants over leg warmers and cycling shorts. That makes my legs feel too bound up; getting on and off the road bike is awkward. I need three or four layers on my chest; and with a wind, even that isn’t enough! Thanks to our humidity, a cold wind cuts through any number of layers. Keeping hands and feet warm? So far I haven’t found a way to do that when it gets so cold. Warming packs help keep my hands warm; but my poor fingers still freeze. Double socks — including thermal socks — don’t keep my feet warm. Even with a helmet liner, my head quickly gets too cold. So, going out on a bicycle in such conditions is risking hypothermia. I’ve got enough problems without that. It’s been so cold in here, anyway, that all I want to do is park in front of the electric heater. Getting “kitted up” to do a stint in the trainer took a lot of  willpower! So, tedious as it is, I did some stints in the trainer. I don’t actually have a Saris Fluid 2; but my old Cycle Ops is close enough. I didn’t worry about speed, cadence, and so on; I just pedaled half an hour to try to keep my leg muscles from atrophying! This trainer is Zwift compatible. $179.97 Fluid 2 trainer $239.95 Smart version Expert assembly $89 per unit

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Tricycle Adult Folding Bicycle

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This Week’s Feature The Tricycle Adult Folding Bicycle is a great solution if you want to take kids along; but balance difficulties forbid use of a bicycle with a child seat.  This single-speed “ride” has front suspension; 20-inch wheels; and a chromoly steel frame. The rear seat can hold two youngsters. The child seat is equipped with a seatbelt for safety. Baskets let you carry home groceries; the kids’ school needs; or your change of clothing for work. Fenders keep you and the trike cleaner on wet days. For riders up to to 6’1″/180 cm; maximum load 440 lb/200 kg. Trike weighs 77 lb/~35 kg. For both men and women. The Tricycle Adult Folding Bicycle carries a one-year warranty. $497.01  

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Fait Accompli

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FAIT ACCOMPLI!! Fait Accompli! Success! I made it! Today I rolled up to my Love to Ride 2022 mileage goal: 5000 miles by December 30. I thought I could do it, and I was right; although I didn’t expect to finish six weeks early! I’m not sure I want to set another goal for this year. There isn’t time to try training for a century ride next month; and I don’t relish the idea of riding 100 miles when it’s cold and windy. Tonight it’s going to get down to 39 degrees. It’ll be a chilly ride tomorrow morning. I need to get out some warming packs; and in fact, it’s time I ordered some more of them. I hope we don’t get subfreezing weather this season, like we did early this year; but we never can be sure what’s coming weather-wise. I first tried warming packs several years ago because I was so tired of my hands freezing during cold-weather rides. Now I wonder how I managed without them; and even wish I could fit them inside my shoes to keep my toes warm. All you need to do is remove the packs from their wrapping; shake them; and let them sit 15-20 minutes. They’ll warm up; and then you can put them inside your gloves. If they get cool, shake them to reactivate them. These warming packs are good for up to 18 hours from first use. At the moment I’m not thinking about riding; I’m simply enjoying the thrill of fait accompli.

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Why Tired

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Why Tired? Why tired? I mean, why are we tired? Check out this video for possible reasons. Is it a hidden health issue? Or getting too little sleep? Or even overtraining? Going all hard, all the time does more harm than good. It’s the fast track to overtraining; exhaustion; and burnout — even loss of interest in something you used to enjoy. Why risk that? We want to keep on enjoying cycling, don’t we? When I’m tired all the time, it’s now often because I consistently get to bed too late; and then of course I’m tired and sleepy. But I have a sleep disorder that went undiagnosed for nearly 14 years (you read that right: YEARS!); and of course I was miserable then. It was like having a permanent anesthetic hangover! It’s been quite a while since I did any real force-development work; and it’s because I can’t seem to get up the energy. I’m trying to get my diet back on track; and I need to lose the 8 pounds that I regained since March. That’s another thing: when I’m always tired, I’ll feel like I’m hungry when I’m not. But why tired? Maybe because today I at last got my Sunday long ride up to 40 miles. My Love to Ride goal is well within sight.🙂 It looks like we’ll have good weather most of the time this week; and that will be a big help. Speaking of Sunday, it’s time for This Week’s Featured Product! Check it out for riding equipment for young ‘uns!

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Did I Forget

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Did I Forget? Did I forget to post this week’s featured product on Sunday? If so, here it is:  This week’s featured product is the TSLA Women’s Cycling Jacket. It’s good for cycling, of course; and for other outdoor activities such as hiking. Waterproof yet breathable; and it can roll up small for easy storage. This garment is sweat-wicking; and you can stash it in a jersey pocket if you start to get too warm! The TSLA comes in sizes X-Small through Large; and you can choose from colors red; navy; blue; neon yellow; black; and neon orange. Hood has a drawstring; the roomy back pocket holds your cell phone and other needs; and reflective tape adds to visibility. Fabric is 100% polyester. Now that we’ve had some cold nights — down into the 40s! — I’m naturally thinking of jackets. and other cold-weather gear: leg warmers; warming packs; and so on. It’s time to bring out the hot chocolate, too! But after a cool spell, it’s turned warm again. How typical! When it does get cold again, I suppose it will happen all of a sudden. I’d prefer it to be more gradual. Then it’s easier to get used to lower temperatures. All I can do is keep that jacket and some warming packs handy!

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Latest Feature

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Latest Feature The latest feature on this web site is: This Week’s Featured Product! I plan to post these on Sundays; so publishing a product yesterday was jumping the gun. I just wanted to get started; and this one will be up for a few extra days. The latest feature on my month-old hybrid is a set of fenders. Or it will be soon. After work today, I rode to the bike shop; but I had to leave the bicycle there. Estimated installation time is at least one hour; and the shop was due to close in less than an hour. So I won’t be riding to the salvage store tomorrow. Maybe I can sleep late for once! Then I can go out on the road bike; and later I’m meeting some friends for lunch.  I’m very lucky we’ve had so little rain lately. In wet weather, no fenders means a wet stripe up the back with every ride; and of course that stripe carries dirt and grit with it. In addition to a wet and dirty back, I get grit in my back hair! We might get some rain as soon as Sunday night; so those fenders aren’t coming a bit too early. Fenders don’t only keep the rider cleaner and a bit drier; they keep panniers and trunks a bit cleaner as well. That’s good news for me, because I’m lazy and hate cleaning.

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Telepathy

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Telepathy I don’t have the gift of telepathy; but sometimes I wish I did. When I have to ride around traffic, I can’t be sure what drivers might do. Telepathy would be useful then; especially as so many vehicles have tinted windows. Those windows make it hard for me to see the driver; and even less can I be sure I’m making eye contact. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could have telepathy with the weather? Is it going to storm; or not? If so, how soon? Today, for example, I didn’t ride to work because I had an occupational therapy appointment at 8:30 am; and I used public transit to get there. I knew the forecast was for possible T-storms by late afternoon. About 10:30 am there was a brief sprinkle; and by 3:30 pm, I saw that it was darkening outdoors. As I walked home an hour later, I heard distant but continuous thunder. I had my rain gear with me; but of course didn’t want it to rain. I got home dry; and about half an hour later began to hear thunder. But as of 5:40 pm, it still isn’t raining. If it’s going to storm, let’s get it over with. I want to ride tomorrow morning! Telepathy naturally makes me think of telephones and, in these days, cell phones. If you want to keep yours handy during a ride, try this  Rock Bros Phone Bag. I’m not qualified to give any reviews of this product. That spot on my road bike’s top tube is reserved for my top-tube pouch. I slip my cell phone into the Camel-Bak’s smallest pocket during long rides; and for weekday morning rides, the phone goes into a jersey or blouse pocket. The phone bag sounds useful, though. It has room for a wallet and keys; and even some gels. If I used one of these bags, I’d have to either move the phone to grab a bite to eat; or bury the phone under my bag of “bites”. That means, be sure the phone is carefully wrapped, so it doesn’t get full of crumbs.

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