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Labeling Pics 3 canada philippines indonesia china puerto rico greece mexico austria germany ukraine taiwan maylasia croatia nigeria kosovo switz venezuela cambodia UAE kuwait senegal hong kong NL/Holland belgium russia india lithuania moldova egypt slovenia norway kenya myanmar/burma cycling tour algeria peru jamaica guatemala poland bangladesh vietnam thailand/siam australia ukraine chile albania spain ireland singapore italy czechia sweden aruba andorra marshall islands malta South Korea PA

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labeling pics

Labeling Pics boy doll yuk tongue mini pump phone talk yell shout clouds levee bridge belgium cook wok food grass book daisies blowers bike bicycle ride road fireworks celebration display thailand? siam? india? temple scotland cliff sea penguin bird antarctica south pole shop store door entrance book kindle? thailand taiwan laos Singapore maylasia cambodia greece ohio australia israel california franc japan pakistan mongolia austria switzerland matterhorn mexico firth of forth scotland texas fire mississippi

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Clouds to the Rescue

Clouds to the Rescue It’s clouds to the rescue this afternoon! The chances of rain/T-storms are only 20%; but there’s enough of a cloud cover that it’s noticeably cooler than usual in here. That’s a major relief! I went out around 11:00 am to get Chinese take-out for my lunch; and off in a northerly direction, I could see what looked like a huge cloud building up. I hoped it would come our way; give us a good T-storm; and cool things off. So far it hasn’t rained; and I haven’t heard any thunder. But does it feel good to NOT have the sun blazing down! Even so, at the moment it’s 97 degrees; and the heat index is 113. Day before yesterday, the temperature hit 100 degrees! So I’m continuing to ride early; and I try to be  home by 8:00 am. It’s already very hot by then; and there’s another excessive heat warning posted for tomorrow. This has gotten very tedious. Today I tried one-minute intervals of trying for 14-15 mph. I didn’t do all that well; but I’ll keep trying. I did less than 13 miles today; so I didn’t use the Camel-Bak. It was nice to not have that load on my back! At present, I have another big website project going on. I’m putting navigation bars all over the place, so visitors can more easily move from one part of the site to another.  It isn’t difficult; but it’s very time-consuming. And I still need to check that all the buttons work properly, e.g. that the “Intermediate” button does, in fact, have the link to the page by that name; and not, let’s say, “Riding for Diabetes“. But right now, my eyes need a break.

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Activ Life Wheel Lights

Activ Life Wheel Lights These Activ Life Wheel Lights would have come in handy yesterday! Ordinarily, stuff like this is too gaudy for my taste; but when it’s raining, visibility is extra-critical. These wheel-mounted lights have LED illumination that’s easily visible from any angle. Suitable for riders of any age; and they come in a pack of two. Manufacturer’s lifetime warranty. $26.99 I’ve seen bicycles equipped with such lights; and they certainly are eye-catching. Maybe I’d want some Activ Life Wheel Lights if I did a big ride, such as RAGBRAI; but then, as far as I can see, RAGBRAI riders don’t ride in the dark. I don’t ride in the dark much, now that I’m retired; except at full-moon time. This month I missed it, because yesterday morning it was overcast. Today was more than overcast — it rained like crazy for a while!

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Did I Forget

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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Keep Cool

Keep Cool Keep cool with the Arctic Zone Cooler! I have something similar to this; and it’s handy for taking lunch to work. In hot weather, I often take it to the salvage store with me. That means using the trailer, because the cooler takes up most of the space in a pannier. The Arctic Zone Cooler comes with four reusable freeze-packs for keeping your lunch or drinks cool. The cooler can fold for easier storage. Today I rode to the salvage store; but I left the trailer home. I had an appointment to get the latest Covid booster at 11:00; and didn’t want the extra weight dragging along to slow me down. Instead of a cooler, I brought along an insulated bubble envelope with a “blue ice” in it. As it turned out, I didn’t get much that I needed to keep cool. As the morning went on, the wind seemed to strengthen; and of course I had a headwind on the way home from the store. The clouds were gathering, too; and the forecast is for scattered T-storms by 4:00 pm. So I’m glad I got in my riding this morning. Another way to keep cool is to wear sun sleeves. My favorite thing about them is that I need to use less sunblock! Sun sleeves feel hot when you first put them on; but after you get moving and start to sweat a bit, your arms feel cooler. Convection? So far I haven’t tried leg sleeves; but they work the same way as arm sleeves. Maybe I’ll get some one of these days. In the meantime, I have to plan tomorrow’s long ride. I found some Gatorade Whey Protein bars at the salvage store; and got five of them. I won’t eat all of them during one ride; but the rest will keep for later rides. My pass through the store also yielded a can of Sport Shake that I can use as a recovery drink. It wasn’t a bad haul; and now I’m just trying to keep cool.

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I Miss These

I Miss These! I miss these Breakfast Ovals! I found them at the salvage store a few times; but that was long ago. Breakfast Ovals became an instant  addition to my Shop once I tried them. I like berries; and as I remember, there’s some cinnamon in these, too. Thankfully, I don’t have any food allergies; but for those who do, these ovals contain no tree nuts or gluten.  Breakfast Ovals are easy to carry along for a healthful snack; or they make a quick pre-ride meal. Oh, how I miss these things! I hope the salvage store has them again sometime. By the way, it looks like the weather will probably be OK for this coming Saturday’s ride to the salvage store. This time though, I think I’ll leave the trailer home. Sunday’s forecast is a bit more uncertain. I certainly hope I get to ride; but if I can’t, I must remember that it’s not a disaster. Sure, I want to keep working towards my Love to Ride goal; but after all I hit the 4000 mile mark yesterday. After today’s miles, I have about 988 to go. All I need to do is keep riding as usual; and I’m going to make it!

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Clipped

Clipped! It sounds funny to talk about clipped when speaking of toe clips. They aren’t the same thing as riding clipped in. I’ve used two different styles of toe clips: the kind with straps; and the strapless variety. The type with straps were OK when I was still on the trike. I didn’t have to worry about my balance while I reached down to snug the straps. On a two-wheeler, that would have been a different story; so I got strapless clips. The clips with straps had a problem, anyhow. I never could get the one on my left pedal properly fastened. I guess that’s what comes of being right-handed! I like being able to simply put my toes into those strapless clips. It’s easy to pull my feet out; either to the side, or towards the back. Riding without toe clips (or being clipped in) sure feels weird now. It makes me feel like my feet aren’t securely on the pedals; and might slip off at any moment. In wet weather, this is worse.   The MTB cleats shown above are what I use on the road bike. Wait a second. MTB stuff with a road bike? Sure, why not? I’m not planning to race; and trying to walk in roadie shoes is very awkward. I have to almost walk on my heels; and that is most contrary to my usual gait. Maybe I’ll move up to roadie shoes one of these days; but there’s no  hurry. So there it is: riding clipped is more efficient than using platform (i.e. plain) pedals. Once you’re used to it, you don’t want to leave it.

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General Tso

General Tso General Tso sounds like something you find in a Chinese restaurant. In fact, I got Chinese take-out for lunch today; and chose the General Tso’s Chicken combo plate. How did that come about? Today I went to the bike shop to get my new hybrid; and all morning I was cudgeling my brains for a name for those new wheels. After all, my other “rides” all had names; so why should this new bicycle get short-changed? I had a hankering after Chinese food. Ultimately I decided to get the General Tso’s Chicken; and name my new bicycle after it! It sure feels different from the old hybrid! For one thing, it’s not quite as heavy. It has disc brakes rather than rim brakes; and they definitely have a different “hand”. The new bike has thumb-operated shifting instead of twist-grip shifters. That, too, feels very different; and will take a little getting used to. I took my bicycle trunk and a pannier with me when I went to pick up the new bicycle. The pannier fits on the new rack; but the trunk is incompatible with it.  I had to borrow a bungee cord to attach the trunk to the rack for the ride home. Later, when I rode to the shop to return the bungee cord, it was starting to thunder. Somebody else seemed to get the storm; and I’m glad my new bike didn’t get rained on — yet. But that day will come; probably sooner rather than later in this climate!  Incidentally, the shop has to order both the fenders and tire liners in the size I need. I hope I don’t get a flat before then.

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