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SpokEasy

equipment

Fitbit Kids

BACK ISSUES, equipment /

Fitbit Kids 🧒🏽 👦 Fitbit Kids is an Android-operated smartwatch that allows messaging; tracking; and activity-based games. Its 16+ hours of battery life let you keep in touch all day. Resistant to water; bumps; and scratches. Has 32 GB memory. Available in Mild Strange Arcade (shown); or Spicy – Moovin. Speaking of kids, the Fitbit Kids would be great for the child who loves to go for long rides; especially as they get old enough to go solo. 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 I began this website primarily as a way to present the story of how I accomplished a century ride on an adult tricycle. Other riders of adult trikes might want to know whether it’s possible. It sure is! You can read all about it in My Story. I live in New Orleans; and  retired in January 2023. More time for cycling! Website designed by Cecile Levert © 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 No Layout Found TRANSLATOR

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Mountain Ride?

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Mountain Ride? 🚵🏽 Planning a mountain ride? Beace Cycling Gloves are full-fingered; yet allow you to answer your phone or use a touch screen while wearing them. Non-skid palm pads help absorb vibrations, resulting in less hand numbness. Made of silicone and Spandex. Sizes Small through X-Large; available in Blue (shown); Rose Red; Black; Purple; Red; and Green. While you’re up there at high altitude, don’t forget electrolytes and water. A Camel-Bak MULE MTB Pack holds up t0 three liters of water; and has a secure pocket to hold your phone. Available in Black (shown); and Kelp/Black. 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 I began this website primarily as a way to present the story of how I accomplished a century ride on an adult tricycle. Other riders of adult trikes might want to know whether it’s possible. It sure is! You can read all about it in My Story. I live in New Orleans; and  retired in January 2023. More time for cycling! Website designed by Cecile Levert © 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 No Layout Found TRANSLATOR

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Feeling Tentative?

BACK ISSUES, equipment, Outdoors /

Feeling Tentative? 🏕️ Are you feeling tentative about sleeping out in the open? A Night Cat Pop-Up Tent provides waterproof shelter for one person. The Night Cat weighs less than 3.5 pounds, so it’s great for backpacking. For bicycle touring, too! This tent is easy to set up/take down; and has room enough for you and your stuff. If you’ve feeling adventurous in the culinary way, The New Camp Cookbook presents recipes for various meals and snacks; as well as meal planning advice, and even how to build a fire! 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 I began this website primarily as a way to present the story of how I accomplished a century ride on an adult tricycle. Other riders of adult trikes might want to know whether it’s possible. It sure is! You can read all about it in My Story. I live in New Orleans; and  retired in January 2023. More time for cycling! Website designed by Cecile Levert © 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 No Layout Found TRANSLATOR

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Color Your Ride

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Color Your Ride 🌈  If you want to color your ride, the Colorbasket for Adults adds a touch of brightness. This woven polypropylene basket attaches to your handlebars with adjustable leather straps; and is water resistant. Unlike wood, it won’t splinter. Colorbasket for Adults is also suitable for use with walkers and wheelchairs. Size: L 14. 5″ x W 10. 75″x H 9. 75″; can hold up to 10 pounds. Available in White/Green (shown); White/Pink; Black/Red; and Pink. Another way to color your ride is with the Weimostar Men’s Cycling Jersey, in this multi-colored diamond version. The Weimostar Men’s Cycling Jersey is 100% polyester; machine washable; and has a zip closure. Silicone grip around the hem helps keep jersey from sliding upwards as you ride. Available in many other colors/patterns, too! 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 I began this website primarily as a way to present the story of how I accomplished a century ride on an adult tricycle. Other riders of adult trikes might want to know whether it’s possible. It sure is! You can read all about it in My Story. I live in New Orleans; and  retired in January 2023. More time for cycling! Website designed by Cecile Levert © 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 No Layout Found TRANSLATOR

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LMNT Sampler

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, equipment, Food /

LMNT Sampler 🧂 LMNT Sampler lets you try a variety of LMNT (pronounced “element”) flavors. Each stick of powder supplies 1000 mg of sodium; plus magnesium and potassium. Just mix contents of one packet with 16-32 ounces of liquid. LMNT Sampler contains one stick each of eight flavors. I’ve tried them with the idea that this product might be a good choice if this year’s RAGBRAI turns out to be as hot as the 2023 event. I suppose I’d need to use the stuff regularly for a few weeks before I can be sure it works better than, say, Biosteel. I can’t say I’m crazy about the taste of this product. I love salt; but somehow salty electrolyte drinks don’t appeal to me. But LMNT is sugar-free; and contains no gluten or fillers. It isn’t, of course, recommended to folks who have hypertension; but supposedly many people actually need more salt. So fill up your bottle with your choice of LMNT, and take off! Beating the Heat ♨️ Beating the heat might be the name of the game during RAGBRAI; and a South Sport Cool Rag sure will help! I’ve been doing without it this past week, because I washed it; and wanted it to get thoroughly dry before packing it into a duffle bag. If it’s coo in the morning, I can stuff the cool rag into a  Camel-Bak pocket until I need it. I’m constantly mullig over what all I need to keep handy; the big ride begins day after tomorrow!   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 I began this website primarily as a way to present the story of how I accomplished a century ride on an adult tricycle. Other riders of adult trikes might want to know whether it’s possible. It sure is! You can read all about it in My Story. I live in New Orleans; and  retired in January 2023. More time for cycling! Website designed by Cecile Levert © 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 No Layout Found TRANSLATOR

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Packing Woes

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, equipment /

Packing Woes 🛄  Packing woes are only too familiar to those of us who travel; whether with a bicycle or not. What do I need to take? What can I do without? Can an item serve more than one purpose? Both of my duffle bags for RAGBRAI are stuffed. In fact, I might do well to review their contents, and see whether I can take out one or two things. It’s amazing how much space your day-to-day items, such as bath needs, take up! I’m glad I’m not going to be using a touring bike, and carrying all my stuff. The weight adds up fast; and when I’m ready to roll, I’d rather not be weighed down. Ready to Roll 🚲 I’m about ready to roll for RAGBRAI; but first I’ve got to fly. I hope weather conditions don’t ruin my travel plans! So far it doesn’t look like that tropical system in the Gulf will give us much; and I sure hope it stays that way! I’ve been tapering my cycling mileage. Don’t get to RAGBRAI tired, they say! But I don’t want to get there out of condition, either! The forecast for tomorrow says, rain and T-storms. I might not get to ride, so I’ve been riding every day so far this week. Thank goodness I have today and tomorrow to get ready to roll: easing my packing woes; checking my reservations, etcetera. 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 I began this website primarily as a way to present the story of how I accomplished a century ride on an adult tricycle. Other riders of adult trikes might want to know whether it’s possible. It sure is! You can read all about it in My Story. I live in New Orleans; and  retired in January 2023. More time for cycling! Website designed by Cecile Levert © 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 Packing Woes July 16, 2025 Team Up July 15, 2025 Always Electrolytes! July 14, 2025 Final Week July 13, 2025 Load More TRANSLATOR

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Humpty-Back?

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, equipment, Training /

Humpty-Back? 🐪 Wearing a Camel-Bak makes me feel like a humpty-back, as the song says. But being a humpty-back is a good way to bring along enough water for several hours of riding. For me, that’s a necessity. I’d need to ride out of my way to get water if I weren’t carrying it; and I’m not keen on spending money for water if I can bring it from home. Using the Camel-Bak also means I can spare a bottle for electrolyte drink. It’s surprising how much I need that stuff, too. This morning I found myself wishing I had some Propel (or other electrolyte drink); and I wasn’t riding hard; and I was in the park (where it was actually pretty shady); and I rode for barely over an hour. It wasn’t terribly hot, either! Maybe I’m spoiled by having used it almost daily for months.   Spoiled? 😷 I guess you could say I’m spoiled; but not like a rotten apple, I hope! You’d certainly want a mask if you were anywhere in my vicinity. But retirement has me spoiled! I can ride pretty much anytime I want; I don’t have to get up at 4:30 am to get that ride; and lots more! With RAGBRAI in mind, I’ve been riding humpty-back for months. I need to be used to that load, because I’ll want plenty of water during RAGBRAI. I don’t want to be spoiled by riding without a load; and then suffer during the big ride because of it. Today, though, I did take a break from it. I’m tapering for RAGBRAI; and I need a rest from the load once in a while. Just don’t let me get spoiled so that the big event seems too hard! 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 I began this website primarily as a way to present the story of how I accomplished a century ride on an adult tricycle. Other riders of adult trikes might want to know whether it’s possible. It sure is! You can read all about it in My Story. I live in New Orleans; and  retired in January 2023. More time for cycling! Website designed by Cecile Levert © 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 No Layout Found TRANSLATOR

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Pare It Down

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, equipment, Training /

Pare it Down 🍎 Now it’s time to pare it down; and I don’t mean peeling apples. It’s that taper that I keep talking about. I’m reducing the mileage considerably, but today I threw in some intensity work; perhaps five minutes total. I want to keep up a little bit of hard riding, so my legs stay sharp for RAGBRAI. Not that I’m too worried any more about the hills. The maximum grade I’m likely to encounter is about 4%; and as it’s the maximum grade, I probably won’t  be climbing all day. True, there are some grades of 7%+ on the final day, but mostly in the second half of the day. I’ve opted to hop on the halfway shuttle to be sure I get to the finish town on time for the shuttle bus to Omaha. When I look at all the stuff I have to pack, I wish I could pare it down! I won’t be taking seven kits; but there’s still lots of stuff! Lots of Stuff! 🧳 Yes, there’s lots of stuff. It seems that, every time I think I’ve collected everything, I remember something else I’ll need! “Lots of stuff” includes a sleeping bag. And a sheet to use in case it’s too hot inside the sleeping bag; but not so hot that I don’t need some kind of cover. I’m taking three or four pairs of cycling shorts; clean socks for every day; and some merino wool tees. I plan to wash the shorts in the shower each evening; then I won’t need to take seven pairs! I don’t know how easy it might be to buy sugar-free electrolyte drink mixes along the route; so I’m packing Propel Powder Packets; and Nuun tablets as well. The tablets are in a pop-top tube; and that’s easier to manage when my hands are slippery with sweat and sunblock. The list goes on and on. I wish I could pare it down! 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 I began this website primarily as a way to present the story of how I accomplished a century ride on an adult tricycle. Other riders of adult trikes might want to know whether it’s possible. It sure is! You can read all about it in My Story. I live in New Orleans; and  retired in January 2023. More time for cycling! Website designed by Cecile Levert © 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 No Layout Found TRANSLATOR

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Send-Off

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Send-Off ⏩ My road bike got the send-off today. It will probably get to Iowa before I do; but I don’t want (or need) the hassle of trying to travel by air with a bicycle to haul along! If I end up doing repeat RAGBRAIs, I might want to invest in a bicycle travel case. It would probably save me considerable money if I do RAGBRAI many times. The usual catch is, where can I keep it? I might soon want to give it the send-off, so I can free up some space! And now I’m working to take care of all those things we have to do before we travel: double-checking reservations and so on. Double-Checking ✅ Double-checking is a bit of a headache; but it can save bigger headaches on travel day! Who wants to arrive at the airport, only to discover they’ve forgotten something vital? That might mean no send-off at all; and who wants that? Double-checking travel arrangements is only one item on my to-do list. I keep experimenting with how I’m going to pack my duffle bags. I’m amazed at how much stuff I need to take along; and many items are the ones that I use daily without a thought. They’re always there; so I take them for granted. I have to make a special effort to remember that I need to pack them! But the effort is worth it for a smooth trip, and an easy send-off. 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 I began this website primarily as a way to present the story of how I accomplished a century ride on an adult tricycle. Other riders of adult trikes might want to know whether it’s possible. It sure is! You can read all about it in My Story. I live in New Orleans; and  retired in January 2023. More time for cycling! Website designed by Cecile Levert © 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 No Layout Found TRANSLATOR

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Reining In

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, equipment, Training /

Reining In 🐴 It’s time for me to be reining in the training. Although it’s tempting to keep going at a full gallop, I need to do shorter rides now; and not too much intensity. Today I rode 31.1 miles; and I’m thinking of doing 20 tomorrow. That’s so I can take Tuesday off while I get my road bike shipped off to RAGBRAI. Reining in the training means using the hybrid; and keeping the  distance between 15 and 20 miles per day. Maybe even taking an extra “off” day! Meanwhile, I’ve got packing the bike on my mind. After tomorrow’s ride, I’ll have to lube the chain; and give the bike at least some cleaning — something I’ve never been good at doing! Packing 📦 Oh, packing! Probably the worst part of any travel plans. What do I need to take? What do I have room for? Will I really need this or that? Can an item do more than one thing? I decided to use a bike shipping service rather than buy a bicycle travel case. I’m not comfortable with disassembling my bicycle; and that’s what using a bike travel case would mean. I’ve purchased a bike assembly service in addition to the shipping, so I shouldn’t have to worry that I’ll put my bike together the wrong way. Besides, where will I keep a bicycle travel case at home? If I get much more stuff, I’ll crowd myself right out of here! Reining in isn’t only about tapering my training; it’s about keeping the acquisition of stuff in check! 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 I began this website primarily as a way to present the story of how I accomplished a century ride on an adult tricycle. Other riders of adult trikes might want to know whether it’s possible. It sure is! You can read all about it in My Story. I live in New Orleans; and  retired in January 2023. More time for cycling! Website designed by Cecile Levert © 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 No Layout Found TRANSLATOR

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