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Outdoors

Stick to Your List

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Outdoors /

Stick to your list when shopping, they say. I don’t always do it; and if I followed that rule to the letter, I might miss some good bargains. When I went to Whole Foods day before yesterday, sunblock wasn’t on my list; but I saw it on sale and got it. If I’m ever able to take my dream bicycle tour, my wish list would be extensive; and it might be hard for me to “stick to your list”. If neither my hybrid nor my road bike will do, Item Number One is a touring bike! The next question is: is this tour self-supported? If it is, I have to look into camping equipment; and this is where the list gets long! I’ll need a tent; and that’s barely the beginning! A waterproof tarp to put under the tent is a must. The List Goes On So, I have my touring bicycle; my “ground cloth”; and I have my tent. Don’t forget, though: on a bicycle tour you need to eat; and by all accounts, that’s a lot of food! It’s too expensive to buy ready-made food all the time; so self-supported bicycle touring means outdoor cooking! Cooking isn’t all that needs to be done. We’ve got to wash our clothes, too! Pack along some mesh laundry bags to protect your more delicate items of clothing. Incidentally, what clothes do I need for a tour? They say, if you’ve packed clothes for a few days, you’re good to go for weeks; just “recycle” things. All well and good; but I have to consider what weather conditions I can expect. Some kind of rain gear is a must; and keeping arm and leg warmers handy isn’t a bad idea, even in Summer. Don’t forget spare tubes; and a basic tool kit is also a must. So is a first aid kit. Omigosh, how can I “stick to your list?” For every item I think of, I extend it to several more!

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Foxy?

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, equipment, Outdoors /

Foxy? 🦊 How do “foxy” and cycling come together? I, for one, have never seen a fox while out riding; although I’ve seen coyotes. “Foxy”, however, is the word that comes to mind when I think of Raynaud’s; “renard” being the French word for the animal. I’ve certainly got symptoms of Raynaud’s. My right-hand ring finger is especially susceptible. It can go entirely bloodless; and it can take five minutes for it to return to normal. They say the best thing to do for Raynaud’s is keep your hands and feet warm. That’s not so easy! On a cold day, even the heaviest gloves I own don’t keep my hands warm. Maybe I should ask Santa_Claus to bring me a pair of lobster gloves for Christmas! Incidentally, double socks often aren’t sufficient to keep my feet warm.   Trying to Keep Warm ♨️ I hope my symptoms aren’t indicative of an underlying vascular disorder. I’ve got problems enough already! This also had better not mean I’ll be forced to restrict myself to indoor riding in cold weather. Or move to a place I really can’t afford so I can have central heating. Trying to keep warm applies to indoors as well as outdoors! I thought that wearing my lightweight full-fingered gloves under heavy gloves might help. This morning I decided to try it; and it was another idea that didn’t quite pan out. First I put on the lightweight gloves; then I tried to pull the heavy “wombat” gloves over them. I was able to get the wombat glove onto my right hand, but then said hand was too clumsy to pull the other wombat glove onto my left hand. So I had to give up on the idea. I didn’t make me feel very foxy.  Fortunately there wasn’t a wind this morning, although it was very humid. That helped me to stay a bit warmer — including my hands. 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; and I hope I can provide a bit of inspiration.   Along the way, I got into blogging; presenting my kitchen experiments; and even setting up a store. You can visit my Facebook page here; or check into my Twitter (aka X) page, Cyclo_Pathy. 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 ✍🏻 Facebook Twitter Youtube Take the Cake October 16, 2024 Easy 100? October 15, 2024 Fitness Freak? October 14, 2024 Smog? October 13, 2024 Load More TRANSLATOR

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Nice Change

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Outdoors /

It was a nice change to have a tailwind on the way home during my weekly long ride. I still wasn’t fast; I did very little of pushing the pace. But I did, however, hit a max speed of over 22 mph when passing another cyclist! For once, I didn’t get home exhausted. The general weather today is also a nice change. It was in the low 70s when I started out, and about 80 when I got back home. That’s a welcome relief from the conditions of just a few weeks ago. Then, it was usually at least 80 degrees at 5 am! This morning it was cool enough for arm warmers. Unfortunately they kept slipping down, leaving a gap between arm warmers and the edges of my sleeves. I fear I’ll have pink bands around my biceps! That will look weird, won’t it? Today I tried two new foods: the RXBar Banana Chocolate Walnut; and the RXBar Coconut Chocolate. The Coconut Chocolate is better, I think. I also took along a Clif Bar; but I’m going to phase them out. Now that I have pre-diabetes and must watch carbs, I’m paying more attention to ingredient lists and the carbohydrate content of what I eat. Several days ago, I checked the ingredient lists for several flavors of Clif Bar. Every one shows brown rice syrup first! Clif Bars are also low in protein. The nutritionist says, look for at least 12 grams of protein in any bar that I want to use as ride food; and she says that RXBars are a good choice. Oh, and I almost forgot: I saw three roseate spoonbills in flight! Such sights make even the most grueling ride worth the effort.

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Soggy Ride

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Outdoors /

Soggy Ride A soggy ride or no ride was the choice this morning. At 8:00 am it was gray and drizzly. According to the forecast, it was going to rain all day. The temperature was 53 degrees. To be honest, I really did not want to go riding in such conditions. But lately I simply have not been getting enough riding; so I prodded myself to get ready to go. I filled my Camel-Bak. I pulled on leg warmers; and put on four layers “up above”. With the rain, I figured I’d need them. I donned the skull cap. Once outdoors and riding, I quickly wished I had two layers on my legs; not one. Naturally there were puddles to ride through; and it wasn’t long before my feet were wet and cold. I doubt that double socks would have helped. Despite my having FOUR layers on my upper body, I was soon damp and cold. Pedaling at a higher intensity might have warmed me up a little. The question is whether I could have maintained that intensity for more than a short while. If not, I would soon have been just as cold again; and possibly colder. I had thought of going about 9.5 miles from home before returning. Thanks to my feeling chilled, I turned around at about 6.3 miles. I’m glad that at least the wind wasn’t bad today, or it would have felt even more frigid! I got home wet; but at least I did get in some miles. That’s something to feel good about, even though it was a soggy ride.

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Aye, Eye?

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Outdoors /

Aye Eye? Aye, eye? Is that really so? Yes, it is. Look where you want your bicycle to go. The bike wants to follow your eyes, they say. That can be tricky when you’re a beginning rider, and you very much want to NOT run into something or someone; it seems counterintuitive. The secret there is to glance at that thing or the person, but then look away and choose your clear path. Use your “third eye”: see Get Fast! I try to think of that when I’m turning corners or rounding curves. Whether I’m actually doing it, or only think I’m doing it, is unfortunately another matter. More important than the two points above is eye protection. There’s a vast range of sports eyewear out there. I’ve seen some that are crazy expensive (they must be ionosphere-high tech!) to the kind you can get for little more than pocket change. If you’ve spent much time outdoors, you’ve no doubt noticed that “sunglasses” don’t do under all conditions. That’s when lenses of different tints are handy. Something that drives me crazy is starting a long ride in overcast conditions, wearing vermilion lenses, and having the sun come out long before I get back home. Aye, eye; that sure can get miserable!

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