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Outdoors

Tired of Waiting

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Outdoors /

Tired of Waiting I’m tired of waiting for it to rain. The forecasts keep saying 40% chance; even 100% chance of T-storms; and it it’s going to storm, I wish it would do so. Last night, my phone rang with a severe T-storm warning around 10:00 pm; but this morning it didn’t look like it had rained. A neighbor said it did rain early this morning, though. Today there was yet another heat advisory, starting at 11:00m am. I didn’t get out on the bicycle until almost nine o’clock; and I decided to go ride in the park, where I could get some shade. I also wanted to be fairly close to home, in case the weather got bad. I could see that it had rained in the park. It’s a funny thing about rain — one location doesn’t get a drop; and a mile away it rains hard. There were a number of wet spots on the bike path in the park. After three laps, I decided to go back home. Even in the park, there was a sign about the heat advisory; and I needed to get some laundry done, anyway. On top of that, I was starting to feel hollow. So here it is, 2:00 pm; and the storm still hasn’t broken out. I’m tired of waiting.  

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BALEAF Jacket

BACK ISSUES, equipment, Outdoors /

Baleaf Jacket This BALEAF cycling jacket for women helps make chilly-day rides more comfy. It’s lightweight; waterproof; and is available in a variety of colors. Reflective highlights improve its visibility. The sleeves are removable, so the jacket can be converted into a vest. Sometimes it’s too cool to not have a jacket; but at the same time is too warm for a jacket! Or, use just the sleeves for sun protection on hot days. The pockets have zipper closures; no worries about your belongings falling out! Sleeves have velcro fasteners at the wrists. This is handy when you’re putting on this jacket when you’ve already got heavy gloves on your hands! I have a BALEAF as well as a jacket on another brand. The BALEAF is heavier; and I use it for colder days. Last night it got down to 71 degrees; our first taste of Fall. It wasn’t cool enough for a jacket; but I sure needed a long-sleeved blouse!

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we’re melting

BACK ISSUES, Outdoors, Uncategorized /

We’re Melting! We’re melting here! And there’s no beach nearby where we can cool off. The heat index was 103 F by 12:15 pm; and more is in store for tomorrow. After a lifetime here, I ought to expect this kind of thing. I know that such heat can set in as early as March! I don’t remember it ever getting so hot, so soon in the year, when I was a kid. In fact, back then the really hot/humid weather didn’t set in until early July. The heat doesn’t make cycling any easier; and in fact, it makes daily living quite tedious. When I walk places, I carry a piece of cardboard in my hand to use as a fan. Even indoors I need to keep that fan handy, despite the air conditioning. The window unit blows air upwards instead of outwards; and that’s no help! Who ever came up with such a design? Even when I ride before sunup, I get very hot and sweaty; and I’m lucky that I can ride then. Not everybody has that option. I checked the local start times for some Tour de France stages. The first two began at 14:30; or 2:30 pm. It seems pretty crazy to me that Tour de France stages don’t start until the middle of the day, when it’s the hottest. I suppose that’s for the spectators. Not many would want to be up to watch a 6:00 am start. While we’re melting outdoors, the air conditioning at work is often too cold! Then, when we come back outside, the contrast is a bit much. In Winter, the  opposite is true. It’s very hard to get it right. We finally got some rain; but I hope it’s over before morning. I want to ride!

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Weather Weary

BACK ISSUES, Outdoors /

Weather Weary I’m sure weather weary. Too many forecasts have predicted T-storms, with possibly torrential rain; and then nothing much happens! This morning I rode short and easy; and on the way to the park, I could see that someone in a southerly direction was getting a T-storm. It was far away, but here it was overcast; and I didn’t get to see the full moon. I’ve had a lot of bad luck with that this year. Either the weather conditions keep me from seeing the moon; or it’s full over the weekend, and I just don’t want to get up at 4:30 am! I need a few extra hours’ sleep on Saturdays and Sundays. Tomorrow I have an appointment in a location that means taking two buses; and rain chances are high, especially in the afternoon. The thought of it makes me more weather weary than ever. Who likes standing around in a downpour while waiting for a bus? I guess this is our “monsoon” season. I remember the July, forty years ago now, when there was that terrible Pan-Am crash. We had been getting a lot of T-storms with very heavy rain; and lots of lightning. I guess they didn’t know about micro-bursts then; but I hope those people didn’t die in vain. I’m tired of waiting for it to storm; but getting caught in the rain every ride would be even more irksome. If it’s raining heavily, I can hardly see where I’m riding; and if there’s a sidewind it’s hard to control the bike. Not to mention the concerns about lightning. As usual, I can only wait and see what happens — and keep umbrella and poncho handy!

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Frazzled Friday

BACK ISSUES, Outdoors /

Frazzled Friday Some days it all seems like too much! It sure was Frazzled Friday today! First, I started my ride a little late. Normally that doesn’t matter, but I’m still looking after my friends’ cat; and I needed to allow myself time for that. After I got home from my ride; changed my clothes; packed everything for work; and went to feed the kitty, I was already rather worn out. When I got back home from taking care of the cat, I rode to work; and didn’t notice that I was wearing my reflective vest inside-out! It isn’t any too reflective that way; and it shows how frazzled I was. Let yourself be seen! It was hard to keep my mind focused today. Mental concentration takes a lot of physical energy; and by Friday I only want the weekend to begin, anyway. Part of my mind is now always busy with plans for retirement; and naturally I’m eager for R-Day! But I’m also a little scared, because I’m heading into the great unknown. Towards quitting time, I looked out the window; and the sky was quite black. When I finally got outside, it was thundering; and I decided to take the short route home, in case it began to rain. The short route means I have to ride alongside traffic; and that was frazzled Friday all over again! I felt a few raindrops; but apparently the storm was moving away from here. As of 5:50 pm, it hadn’t rained yet. Too Late When I finally got the chance to check my email, I found two messages with Special Weather Statements regarding strong T-storms. It was too late. By then the notices had expired; but even when I have my laptop up and running, such messages usually arrive a good half-hour after they were posted. That wouldn’t do me much good if there were a tornado warning! I think the thunder scared the poor kitty. When I went to feed him, he was nowhere to be seen; and normally he’s right at the door. I guess it’s frazzled Friday for him, too. After a minute or two he appeared; and incidentally, I think he’s getting very, very lonesome. This seemed like a very long week. Today especially felt endless; and I hope the time doesn’t continue to drag like this for the rest of the year!

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Hindsight

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Outdoors /

Hindsight IS hindsight 20/20? Hindsight may or may not be 20/20, but we can use a little of it while cycling; and especially if we have to ride alongside traffic. It helps if we can see what’s coming up from behind! I have a MTB rearview mirror for the hybrid. I hope objects in the mirror are NOT as close as they appear! It’s very useful; but I admit that sometimes I forget to watch that mirror. Riding alongside moving cars means traffic on my left, and parked cars on my right; so I also have to worry about the possibility of getting “doored“. It’s hard to watch on both sides at the same time. The road bike has a handlebar-end mirror. Not as useful as I had hoped, unfortunately. It may be different for you. The catch with this mirror is that it’s tricky to position it correctly; and every time I reach down for the water bottle, I bump it out of line! Another problem is that, if the sun is low in the sky, it shines right into the mirror; and both I and riders approaching from the rear can get blinded. In hindsight, I should have started yesterday’s ride somewhat earlier. It was 82 degrees by the time I finished; and today it reached 90! I must remember to drink more while riding; and I hope I sweat it out instead of needing frequent pit stops. Yesterday I strained something near my left knee; a tendon, maybe. The joint itself seems to be all right; and all I can do is to be careful for a while; and maybe ride in the park so I don’t have to ride up that access ramp to the top of the levee!

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Bare Skin Time

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Outdoors /

Bare Skin Time We’ve got to take care of that “top layer”! It’s warm again; and that means it’s bare skin time. That, in turn, means it’s time for lots of sunblock! I can’t have too much of this on hand. I almost have to take a bath in it; and it’s rather annoying. When I get home from my Sunday long ride, I have three or four layers of sunblock to wash off; and I really don’t like washing all that stuff down my drains. That’s the price I pay for not needing leg warmers and long sleeves! I’m getting back into riding after a week of low mileage. Mondays I usually only ride to work; and Tuesday was prep day for a medical procedure. Who can ride long and/or strong on Jello® and Mountain Dew®? I didn’t even do five miles that day! The next day, of course, I couldn’t ride; and Thursday I made a supermarket run before work. Friday I finally got to do a real ride; and yesterday I rode to the salvage store. Today I put in 42.1 miles; and according to my Love to Ride statistics, that gets me to 1996 miles so far this year. I need to bump it up to 2500 by the end of this month; and that will take some doing. I’m lagging on my progress towards my 2022 mileage goal; and if I have to have surgery for that bone spur in my hand, I’ll lose several more days! Bare skin time at least makes it easier to get out on the bike. When it’s cold and windy, I have to prod myself into riding; and it takes longer to get dressed! Now I probably don’t need to worry about that until October.

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Weak as Water?

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Outdoors /

Weak as Water? Weak as water? Think again! “Weak as water” is an odd expression. Often it’s used to mean just plain “weak”; and that’s how I felt this morning after — ahem — colonoscopy prep. I’m glad it’s over for another five years! We don’t want to be weak as water while riding; and that’s why proper fueling is so important. But don’t forget to stay hydrated. Water is necessary for life itself, after all. Keep hydrated! Water is the “force of life”. And over time, water can wear away rocks. The moral: persistence pays off! On the other hand, water can wreak utter havoc. A mere six inches of moving water is strong enough to knock over an adult; and one foot of swift water can sweep a car away. Hurricane Katrina is branded into our minds as an example of what water can do; and the possibility of a repeat performance is always in the back of our minds. Of course we know the power of water — namely, rain — to ruin a ride. In hot weather it keeps us cooler; but even so I, for one, don’t like riding in the rain. When the rain begins while I’m out riding, I’m always concerned that lightning is about to break out! It’s much harder to see in a heavy rain; and wearing a poncho doesn’t work at all well when I’m on the road bike. Unfortunately, road bikes and ponchos don’t mix. It looks like we aren’t expecting rain before tomorrow night; so maybe I can make a pre-work run to the supermarket. Rain chances are greater on Friday; so I can’t be sure whether I’ll be able to ride and stay dry. I suppose we cyclists are all gamblers: we’re always gambling on suitable riding weather!

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Rack Your Brains?

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Outdoors /

Rack Your Brains? Don’t rack your brains for ways to transport your bicycles! A bicycle rack on the rear of your car seems like a great way to carry your “wheels” to a trailhead. However, this article caught my eye today. We sometimes need to take bicycles somewhere by car; but be sure your license plate is not obscured. I don’t know whether the authorities in the USA are as particular about this as they are in Canada; but why risk big fines? You don’t need to rack your brains to know that you’d rather keep your money! Anyway, if I could drive somewhere else to ride, where would I go? That depends in part on how much time I have at my disposal; and also how much ready cash I have! If I wanted to ride, say, the Natchez Trace ; I have to get to the trail first. Natchez is a bit over 168 miles from home; and even supposing I could drive, several hours behind a steering wheel leaves me exhausted. Feeling Adventuresome It isn’t a good idea to start a long ride when you’re already worn out; so I would want to go up there the day before hitting the bike trail. Here is where the money comes in!  If I don’t want to camp, I need a motel; and accommodations/meals get expensive. That’s on top of the cost of the gasoline required to reach Natchez. If I do camp, I have to pack along a tent, cooking equipment, and so on. Merely thinking about it makes me tired! The Tammany Trace is much closer to home; but it still takes at least an hour’s driving to reach the trailhead. I’ve ridden part of the Trace while participating in Tour de Cure; but the TdC route includes only about six miles of the trail. So far I never had the chance to ride the entire Trace. Of course the MRT is right out there; and I ride that all the time. It sometimes gets monotonous, though; and every time notions of relocating poke at my mind, I always think I want to be close to a variety of bicycling trails. I’ll have to rack my brains for some good ideas! Wait, didn’t I just say, Don’t rack your brains? Maybe I should listen to my own advice.

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Earth Day 2022

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Outdoors /

It’s Earth Day 2022! Today was the local Love to Ride Ride to Work event. I decided not to participate, for several reasons. One, getting to work afterwards would have meant riding alongside heavy traffic; and I’m uncomfortable with that. Two, and ironically, the official Bike to Work event goes far away from my workplace! I wasn’t even sure of the best route to take to work after leaving the official Bike to Work event. Three, I wasn’t sure how long it might take to do the event; and then get to work. I had an appointment scheduled at 10:15 am; and wanted to be sure I didn’t miss it. The Love to Ride April Challenge has a week and a day remaining; and I’ll keep on riding the way I have been. I’ll probably rack up another 100 miles or so by the end of the month; and I’ll keep chipping away at my 2022 goal of 5000 miles. For Earth Day 2022 I put in 13.2 miles on the road bike; and yes, I did ride to work! But it was just my usual route. Tomorrow’s ride to the salvage store will let me get in nearly 10 more miles; and every little bit helps. Appropriately enough, it was a beautiful day, although the wind had become quite stiff by late morning; and some clouds were gathering. As a bonus, we got off work at 3 pm – something to do with Commencement activities. Working on a university campus does have a perk or two! Outlook for the Weekend It doesn’t have to be Earth Day 2022 (or any year’s Earth Day) for riding; but it looks like I’ll have yet another windy Sunday ride. The forecast predicts gusts up to 25 mph; and that isn’t fun! At least is won’t be cold. I can’t speak for anyone else, of course; but cold weather saps my energy; and wind makes it worse. I’m so glad I found warming packs!

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