Uncategorized Archives - Page 6 of 7

in the swing

In the Swing The Street Strider really lets you get in the swing of it! When I see someone using one, the user typically sways back and forth a lot; and I’m not sure whether that’s normal operation; or an indication of a lack of core strength! It’s like a workout on the elliptical machine; but outdoors. So far I haven’t tried a Street Strider, and I certainly don’t have the space to store one; so I think I’ll skip buying one. I don’t have a loose $1400 lying around, anyhow. But they do look like fun. I’m getting in the swing of hurricane planning. There’s already a system out there that could attain tropical storm strength; and if it does, its name will be Alex. So far, we don’t have to worry about it here; but Florida could be in for some heavy rain. I need to email some friends in case I need to evacuate; and this is one of the few times when I wish I had a car. I can’t simply pick up and run; and besides, if I had to carry everything, I couldn’t take much with me. Several days’ worth of canned food is pretty heavy; and that’s before adding in a jug or two of drinking water. Add to that a change or two of clothing, bathroom tissue, etc. I might as well stay put! Plan for the worst, and hope for the best, as the old saying goes. I hope for the best — i.e. no rain — tomorrow morning. I had to come home at noon today for something; and about 1:30 pm it began to thunder. I was glad to be home!

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already

Uncategorized / CAL

Already! May is gone already; and it seems like 2022 just began! It’s the final day of Bike Month; and tomorrow begins hurricane season — already! Yesterday there were concerns that Agatha might get into the Gulf; but now it seems the storm is rapidly losing strength. I’m glad to hear it! But there’s an area of weather already in the Caribbean that they’re watching. It looks like it will stay away from us; but Florida might have heavy rain by the weekend. Our forecast looks like there won’t be too much rain through this coming weekend; and that’s good. I don’t enjoy riding in the rain, especially when there’s the risk of lightning! Today I decided to skip the road bike; and only rode to work. I know; Bike Month isn’t over just yet. But I take a medication once a week that must be taken on an empty stomach; and I’m not supposed to eat for at least half an hour afterwards; preferably a full hour. I could tell that I’d get too hungry if I tried to go for a ride; and no cyclist wants to bonk! Incidentally, that’s why I always carry some “goos” with me; and now and then I do need to stop and eat one. Even when I eat a pre-ride snack, it’s not unusual for me to get hungry before I’m back home. May, Bike Month, is over; but I still hope I can get my Love to Ride Super Commuter badge. It requires riding to work 200 days in the calendar year; and I’m only 36% there. I have to ride to work 128 more times this year; and that’s a lot of commuting!

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Free Monday

Uncategorized / CAL

Free Monday Memorial Day It’s so nice to have a free Monday! I didn’t have to get up at 4:30 am; and I had time to do a 19-mile ride. I hesitate to say, Happy Memorial Day; for Memorial Day is actually quite a solemn occasion. We remember those who gave their lives for our country. Of course I went for a ride; and since I didn’t have to get to work, I had time to put in 19 miles. Naturally I had a headwind on the way back; and I get SO tired of that! But what else can I do? If I’m going to ride, I have no choice but to deal with headwinds. It was 80 degrees at 8:00 am; but the humidity is a relatively low 55%. Getting some comparatively dry air is a big relief. Even so, there’s a 20% chance of T-storms this afternoon. At least I don’t have to go anywhere; and I just hope that hurricane doesn’t cross over into the Gulf of Mexico! If it does, we might be in trouble. I’ve started to gather some canned goods to take along if I have to evacuate. After my many trips to the salvage store, I have plenty; and I’m looking for things that have pop-top lids. After all, what’ll I do if I forget the can-opener? With a free Monday, I had some time for cooking. I made a Hoppin’ John variation, with canned pinto beans and canned black-eye peas. I discovered that the plain yogurt had gone bad; and had to throw it out. Luckily the yogurt isn’t critical. The original recipe uses a little sour cream as garnish; so I mix in a little plain yogurt. Back to work tomorrow. What a drag!

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Bananas

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Food, Uncategorized / CAL

Bananas! Bananas are a popular food with cyclists! Today I finally got to the supermarket; and picked up some bananas. A favorite pre-ride snack of mine is a banana with peanut butter; and I was without bananas for something like two weeks! I didn’t have grapes, either; and grapes are another pre-ride favorite. They’re good with peanut butter; and also with — can you believe it? — hummus! This morning I discovered that there will be no more pre-work runs to the supermarket. I thought about going there first; then feeding the cat; and then heading out on the road bike. I decided to go take care of the kitty first; and when I got home from that, I changed into cycling shorts for the ride to the store. When I got there, I saw a sign posted at the entrance announcing new hours; and that new schedule began several days ago. They now open at 7:00 am; not 6:00 am. It’s a good thing I didn’t go to the store first thing! When I got home from the store, I put the groceries away; and got ready to go out on the road bike. The bananas I got aren’t as ripe as I like; but it was great to have one again. Then I filled the Camel-Bak; cut up a protein bar; and changed my blouse for a cycling jersey. It felt weird to start a ride so late: it was at least 8:30 by the time I got rolling. Maybe that’s why it seemed so hot; and that, in turn, was why the Propel tasted weird. I made this short for a Sunday ride; largely because I started so late; and because it was already getting hot. Besides, tomorrow is a holiday; and I can put in some more miles!

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Obliging

Uncategorized / CAL

Obliging What do sunflowers do when it rains? Today the weather was surprisingly obliging to me, considering the forecast. Showers and T-storms were predicted; and last night a flood watch was posted. When I went out on the road bike, the sky was overcast; but it didn’t rain. I also got to work dry; but about 11:30 am it started to come down hard! I was disappointed, because I wanted to eat lunch outdoors; but when it’s pouring, alfresco activities are out of the question. In fact, we had a flood warning for a while! The weather was obliging again while I rode to the drug store after work; and then home. All the same, I wore my poncho. Helps keep you — well, less wet — on rainy rides. I didn’t know when it might start pouring again; and it’s a big nuisance to have to stop riding to put on the poncho. I have to remove my helmet and reflective vest; put on the poncho; replace the helmet; and put the reflective vest on over the poncho. That last is important, because otherwise the poncho flares out to the sides too much. When I try to look behind me, all I see is that yellow plastic! Around 6:30 pm it began to drizzle again. Heavy rain is in the forecast for tonight and tomorrow morning; and the flood watch is in effect until noon tomorrow. Itsy Bitsy Spider would have a hard time of it! After tomorrow, we’ll have a few sunny days; and I hope it’s enough to dry up all the mud. The weekend looks sunny; and it’s a three-day weekend, too! I can ride a little extra!

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Forgetful Friday

Uncategorized / CAL

Forgetful Friday Sometimes we just go totally blank! Today was Forgetful Friday, all right! First, I forgot to put on my chest strap. Maybe that’s normal, because the last time I used the road bike was Sunday. I didn’t notice until I turned on my Garmin, and saw there was no heart rate reading. I wanted to get out there and ride; so I decided not to bother with my heart rate today. Tracking your heart rate can help with your training Then, after I had carried my road bike down the steps, I noticed that I had forgotten my cell phone. Back in I went to get it; and I turned off the bike’s tail light while I was fetching the phone. Then I forgot to turn the light back on! What next; will I forget how to ride a bicycle? I hope Forgetful Friday never gets that far! How Friday Went I was pessimistic about this morning’s weather. The forecast looked like it might be too stormy to ride; and in fact we got a huge downpour around 1:00 am. I heard it raining; and there was lightning and thunder as well. At 5:00 am, the sky was partly clear; and it wasn’t raining! I was both surprised and relieved; and went for a ride. Even so, it felt like taking chances, because the weather can change very quickly. It began to drizzle a bit shortly before I got to work; and I’m glad it didn’t really rain again until a little later. I felt sorry for the Tour de Rouge riders. I figured they were pedaling through the rain; and I hope they didn’t have such conditions all the way from Houston! I hope Forgetful Friday doesn’t extend past today. I must remember to get some cooking done this weekend; and I don’t need to forget my appointment with the rheumatologist on the 18th. For one thing, I want to discuss what I can do about that bone spur in my left hand. When I’m on the road bike, it makes shifting from the small ring to the big ring painful; I hope this doesn’t make me cranky! and it affects other aspects of my daily life as well. I’m not in a hurry for surgery; but I can’t think of any other way to get rid of that spur. If only Forgetful Friday could make it go away! Share via:

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Confusion

Uncategorized / CAL

Sorry for the confusion: I hadn’t planned for the new dot net version of this site to be live so soon; and I didn’t even realize for some time that it was live. Now the dot net is in Coming Soon mode. Please see the old site (www.spokeasy.org). Dot net has tons of editing to be done; and since I don’t have eight hours a day to work on it, this is going to take a long time.

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Atmospheric Intervals?

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Uncategorized / CAL

It seems like atmospheric intervals around here. Most cyclists are familiar with the concept of interval training. You go hard for a set amount of time; ease up the effort for a set time; and repeat. Our weather is doing something like that. But what is it about Wednesday? For the fourth consecutive week, we’re facing the possibility of severe weather; and most of the time this storminess has come on Wednesday! We’re all storm-weary; and here in my neighborhood we’ve been much luckier than some folks. No tornadoes so far, knock on wood; and I hope our luck continues to hold. If atmospheric intervals seem bad with T-storms, they’ll be much worse if this season’s tropical storms take up the craze. As usual, it isn’t a bit too soon to start preparing for hurricane season; and from that point of view, even bringing home more canned goods from the salvage store isn’t going too far. The forecast for the next few days looks wet and stormy; and I hope it doesn’t curtail my riding. Why did the weather have to turn bad just in time for a Love to Ride challenge? I won’t be any too happy if this trend continues all month long! I say it’s already gone on long enough. There’s a 40% chance for showers and T-storms Saturday; and they had better wait for afternoon to move in. It will be full moon time; and this one is the Paschal moon. As a rule, I don’t get up at 4:30 am on Saturdays; but if the full moon is on the calendar, I do. So those atmospheric intervals need to take a break Saturday morning!

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Clear at Last!

Uncategorized / CAL

Clear at last this morning; and I don\’t mean only that we\’ve had no rain for a few days, although of course I’m not complaining about that! But for at least three days, there was a freight train blocking my usual access to the levee bike path. That train sat and sat; and it was very frustrating to have to take a half-mile detour over rough streets, especially given the road-construction messes all over the place. This morning the train was finally gone; the crossing was clear at last; and there was a pile of ties next to the crossing. I had wondered whether there was work being done on the tracks. Several years ago, trains would sit in one place for days on end; and it was infuriating. Then when a pile of ties appeared, I finally knew what was going on. When I was coming home from this evening, work was in full swing; and the crossing was a mess. I had to walk my bicycle over the tracks and loose rocks. I\’m lucky I didn\’t have a big load of groceries; and I\’m glad I was able to cross where I did. Otherwise I would have had to ride against a pretty stiff headwind to the other crossing! I hope that railroad work doesn’t last long. It’s not fun riding over bad surfaces; and I’m not quite sure whether it’s worse on the road bike, or when I’m hauling that trailer Tomorrow is full-moon time. The forecast is for mostly clear weather, so I should get my \”fix\”. I have some concerns about the condition of the bike path, though. I chatted briefly with my next-door neighbor when I got home; and she said something about a big hole in the levee. I\’m crossing my fingers!

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StreetStrider

Uncategorized / CAL

StreetStrider is a word I hadn\’t heard. At a recent visit to the dentist, his assistant was talking about it, although she couldn\’t remember its name. (Image from www.amazon.com) It amounts to a mobile elliptical trainer. I\’ve seen people using these, and making considerable speed. It must take a while to figure out how to coordinate working those \”ski poles\” with \”running\”. This machine gives a full-body workout, yet is easy on the joints. If I had one, it might be an acceptable alternative to my usual off-bike work; exercises that I do to improve my core and arms/upper body. As usual, however: WHERE would I keep it? Despite the name of this machine, I\’m not at all sure I\’d want to use it in the street. From what I\’ve seen, riding the StreetStrider involves considerable swaying back and forth; not what you\’d want if there were motor traffic at your elbow. I suspect that maintaining a straight line on the StreetStrider requires a lot of core strength. I\’d probably need to develop a lot more of that. Do not, of course, forget your helmet. This machine looks quite stable with its three wheels, but I\’d still want head protection, just in case.

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