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Fait Accompli

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, equipment /

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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Find My Way

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Find My Way I have to find my way sometimes. Don’t we all? This Sun Company Clip-on Compass will at least help me to get oriented. I ride in the dark a lot; and in these days of overwhelming light pollution, how can I find my way by the stars? Even though I know how to find Polaris, the knowledge isn’t much use here. At about 30 degrees North, Polaris is too low in the sky; and trees, buildings, etc. hide it. Air pollution also helps to dim the stars; and here, we have salt haze from the Gulf. And sometimes it’s overcast; or foggy; or flat-out pouring rain. Thus a compass is useful. If nothing else, I want to know where North is when I’m out for a ride. When I’m doing a long ride on a cold day; and there’s a northerly headwind; I can see when the hard work is coming up! I can also see when the wind will be off my nose, so I can ease up a little. My concern about this product is: can it fit over my road bike’s handlebars? I’ve discovered that the Incredibell won’t fit there; and I sure wish it did! But don’t use this compass with iron or steel handlebars. Such materials will only “confuse” said compass; and that’s not what we want when pathfinding!

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Not Only Wheels

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Not Only Wheels It’s not only wheels that roll in cycling. If you have sore, tired muscles after hard riding, a foam roller can help. Not that I should talk. I haven’t used my foam roller in months; and I really need to get back to it.  The 321 Strong Foam Roller mimics the hands of a massage artist; and you don’t have to leave home to do it. That saves both time and money; and besides, I still don’t think we should let our guard down re: Covid. A good massage might be even better if you follow it up with an epsom salt bath. The plug in my bathtub doesn’t fit right; so I’ll have to skip such soaking. I tried a body scrub made of epsom salt; sea salt; baking soda; and vegetable glycerin instead. It was OK; but it took a lot of rinsing! Getting around to cycling equipment, it’s not only wheels and tires! We need so many things to keep that bicycle rolling: a pump; chain lube; and more. That’s even before we get around to caring for the “engine” — namely, proper nutrition; getting enough sleep; and so on. Getting enough sleep is easier said than done when I want to get up early to ride. Usually I don’t do that on Sundays; but today did it so I could go see the moonlight on the river. It was worth the trouble!

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Elephants

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Elephants? Speaking of trunks makes me think of elephants. “Elephants are useful friends/Equipped with handles at both ends”, as Ogden Nash put it. I don’t think I can manage such an animal; so it’s lucky that a bicycle trunk is much smaller; doesn’t need housing; and is easy to carry! MTX Trunkbag DX I just added this MTX Trunkbag DX to my Shop. I would have saved my money; but the rack on my new hybrid is incompatible with my old trunk. It’s tricky to get this trunk onto the rack over the panniers that I have; so I might have to replace them, too. My panniers are at least nine years old, and showing signs of wear, anyway. anyway Thule Shield Bike Panniers Panniers can hold a surprising amount; so I don’t need elephants to carry my stuff for me. I use panniers regularly to bring home the groceries; and to carry my lunch cooler to work. If I ever do a bicycle tour, panniers front and rear will be a must. But I’ll leave the elephants in case I ever go on safari.

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Sock It to Me

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Sock It to Me Sock it to me! Or have I blogged about “sox” before now? We’re still getting afternoon temperatures in the low 80s; but it won’t last forever. When we start to have cold fronts, I’ll want warm socks. I have a pair of the Socks Daze shown here; but as of this writing, they’re unavailable. Maybe Bymore Thermal Socks would do instead? Maybe it’s our humid climate; but my feet get cold no matter what I put on them. Even thermal socks over regular “sox” don’t keep my feet warm. Compression socks are another story. I tried them after long Sunday rides; but finally gave up on them. They’re very hard to get on in the first place; and they hurt! I have to pull them off after only 15-20 minutes.  It’s all enough to make me wish I lived where it never goes below 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Even 70 degrees is cool enough to set my nose off; and the constant sniffling drives me crazy. It’s been like that every morning this week; and I’ve got several months of it coming. Maybe that nose is trying to sock it to me — it thinks it’s the boss!  

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Don’t Get Unhinged

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Don’t Get Unhinged Don’t get unhinged! Keep those hinges warm with Louis Garneau Knee Warmers! Sometimes it’s a bit chilly; but not really cold enough for full-length leg warmers. Some of us have knees that are sensitive to cold; and that’s where knee warmers come in handy. I have a bit of arthritis in my knees; but oddly, they don’t seem to be bothered by the cold. It’s my hands and feet that get so cold; and warming packs are a godsend. For my hands, anyway; but I wish I could fit them inside my shoes!  It’s easy to say, don’t get unhinged by bad weather, be it T-storms or a stiff cold front. After all, they say that there’s no such thing as bad weather; only bad clothing choices. I wish it were so simple. On cold days, socks plus thermal socks don’t keep my feet warm; and slacks over leg warmers don’t keep my legs warm enough. In this humid climate, the cold seeps through any amount of clothing. I’m thankful for those warming packs; at least I can keep my hands halfway warm! Our cold weather will be here only too soon; and when it arrives, dressing for a ride will take at least twice as long! It isn’t only the extra layers. I often forget that I need put my keys in the pocket of an outer jacket. Then I have to pull off my gloves so I can get the keys out of a blouse pocket. The same thing applies to my cell phone. It’s a lot of extra work; and many a day it seems like I’ll never get out the door. It’e enough to get anybody unhinged.

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