SpokEasy

SpokEasy

Outdoors

Nice Change

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

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?

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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