Thankfully Thursday

Not Much Changed, but Still Tracking with APRS 

Another wonderful day to ride the bike in the countryside..... or to work.  SIGH

Just before I reached the point in the bike trail where I found Lisa's pocketbook, I rattled across the inevitable wood-wobble-bridge, rattling my teeth and skull and everything else and giving me a slight idea why Lisa's pocketbook landed where it did..... just past this destructo bridge.  I have lost SO many things off my bike and body while cycling it's tough to list very many of them.  Almost nothing is ever seen again.   I lost a relatively new denim jacket out from under some Bungee cords a couple years ago and I must assume some baggy pants type has enjoyed it ever since.  I lost my company picture ID card several years ago and was in the process of getting it replaced when a nice attractive young lady called me up to say she'd found it alongside the road near her home where I used to ride a lot commuting.  There was no value in hanging on to the card for its pretty finder, but she was so nice I'm certain she would have returned even valuable stuff like a wallet had she found it and been able to track me down.  Which suggests maybe I should insert my name and number somewhere on "Stuff" I regularly carry on the bike.... after all, it's never a smooth ride for long.  Maybe had I done so I'd have my beloved denim jacket back.

Awakening BG:  114                           Post-Ride BG: 103 (even after eating a candy bar just before the ride)

Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.2         Ending Voltage: 12.6

Morning Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles:  7.44

Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
10.4  Mph                          12.5 mph             24.7 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
42:59 mins                          35:34 mins           07:25 mins

Afternoon R ide back:  Another head-banger head-windy ride.  The wind was very stiff but at least it was cooler than the last few days.
About half a mile after I turned east on the Hahn Arroyo Trail, I met a young Dad with his 2 very young kids riding on tiny bikes behind him.  The oldest was a cutie girl maybe 7 years old.  The youngest, the boy, was maybe 5 or so and very wobbly, and just as he was almost past me he wobbled sideways and his bike went down and he went flat on his face over the handlebars.  He was going very slow and had only a couple of feet to fall but he did a face-plant and started screaming his poor lungs out.  I stopped, the Dad stopped, and the poor guy seemed to be OK.  His helmet, thankfully, had enough overhang in the front that his face did not seem to have actually contacted the pavement.  He was crying and pointing to his knee, which was not bleeding but had a tiny bit of gravel in it, so his pride may well have been the worst injury.  I wanted to hug him and calm him down too but Dad seemed to have it well in hand.  Big Sister was full of commentary and information.  She was very matter-of-fact and seemed to have never met a stranger.
Beginning BG:  59 (!)                             Post-Ride BG:  84 
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.9 (With intermediate charging) Ending Voltage: 11.9
Evening Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles:  7.44
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
08.0  Mph                          09.4 mph             20.3  mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
55.59 mins                        47:24 mins            08:35 mins

More Dryness, your highness

See Jim's Boring Bread-Crumb Trail via Ham Radio / APRS

If you ever decide to look for deep meaning in my post titles, don't bother.

The big rain I was so excited about yesterday turned out to hardly settle the dust, and it soaked in / evaporated so fast there was little evidence of moisture by the time I got home.  

Today:  Clear and sunny and warm, noticeable smoke-haze in the air but eminently refreshing to breathe (Thank goodness I no longer suffer from Asthma)

We are really blessed out in the Southwest:  Well over 300 sunny days of the year, and more than that are altogether suitable for bicycle riding.  No need for special clothes or specialized equipment, just a bicycle with air in the tires.  If an old fart like me at age 64 can ride year round then anyone can.  I was going to say "Unless you have only one leg, arm, etc.", but I regularly see legless cyclists screaming along pumping their arm-powered bikes at speeds faster than I can attain, so incomplete limb-sets are no excuse either.  The cyclist world has seen several links to a hand-less olympic-style bicycle racer from Mexico who smokes along all over the world winning races and can truly say aloud:  "!Mira, Mama', Sin Manos!"

Awakening BG:  117                              Post-Ride BG: 88

Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.2         Ending Voltage: 11.1

Morning Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles:  7.44

Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
09.9  Mph                          11.6 mph             21.7 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
45:01 mins                          38:32 mins           06:29 mins

LOST & FOUND

On the way back to the car tonight the wind was HORRIBLE.  Maybe not the worst I've ever endured (I wasn't whammed up against the guard rail or off the trail this time) but it was bad.  Always glad to get out of the wide open trail to the in-town trails with lots of houses and trees blocking the WIND.  BAH
As I crossed the bone-shaker long bicycle bridge just south of Osuna, I spotted something right out in the middle of the paved bike path...... Sure enough, it was a pocketbook.  I had my cell phone, but no directory, so I figured I'd have no way to track down the owner without help from someone like the lovely Jacque.  So I stuck it in one of my cargo leg pockets and rode on to the carrito.  When I arrived at the car, I dug through the pocketbook looking for ID, phone number, address, you know the drill..... Of course, no phone numbers were in there, but MERCY.  The pretty young lady Lisa had maybe a dozen merchant and charge cards, one of them new and un-signed, several slips of paper with email address and PASSWORDS to various things -- SCARY.
Lisa's driver's license was there, along with an address, but no phone number.  I called Jacque and enlisted her help tracking down a phone number for her.  No luck on the internet, but believe it or not, she was in the old fashioned phone book, but she wasn't home.  I decided to drive to the address and see if anyone was home - and of course there wasn't.  I sat outside the home and read my current paperback novel for close to 40 minutes and finally gave up and came home.  Jacque had called her listed number, gotten the voice mail, and left a message that her stuff was safe and left my cell number so she could call me.  Of course she finally called..... just as I approached the outer gate to our property in the East Mountains 20+ miles away.  She's going to meet me tomorrow and retrieve her valuables.  I chewed her out royally for having all those passwords and usernames IN THE SAME PLACE with the associated debit and charge cards.  She took it in good grace and of course is thrilled her stuff is safe.  The reason she wasn't home, of course, was that she was out frantically searching for it all over the place.  Nice ending to a windy nasty afternoon.
We enjoyed a joyful encounter with her the next day when Jacque and I met her in a library parking lot and returned the treasures to her.
Beginning BG:  131                             Post-Ride BG:  58 (!)
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.8 (With intermediate charging) Ending Voltage: 11.9
Evening Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles:  7.54
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
07.8  Mph                          09.1 mph             22.8  mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
58:08 mins                        49:42 mins            08:26 mins

A Little Rain..... Thank You, Heavenly Father

New Bike Tracker Settings Seem to Work Better


Today was a bit Cloudy, but not too much cooler.  In spite of the less than favorable weather and slightly smelly gray air, it is still a joy to cruise along in the out-of-doors, enjoying the too-short interlude of going 15-20 MPH under my own power....
Jacque called me just before quitting time and it was POURING rain and small hailstones.  I could barely hear her voice on the phone for the wonderful racket made by the rain.  Unfortunately it didn't last long enough to really soak the ground.  Everything was so dry, including the air, that the moisture immediately evaporated.
But it settled the dust a bit and cooled things off.  Hopefully Los Alamos and Easter Arizona will get some rain soon.
On the way home in the car on Eastbound I-40, a cool car passed me:

(If anyone does NOT recognize the year and model of the car email me and I'll tell you-)
Beginning BG:  225 (!)                             Post-Ride BG:  63 (!!)
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.1 (No intermediate charging) Ending Voltage: 12.2
Evening Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles:  7.36
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
09.4  Mph                          10.5 mph             22.8  mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
47:00 mins                        41:52 mins            05:08 mins

Where There's Smoke.......

Track Jim with his Latest Work-In-Progress Tracker
Another fire started somehow up in the Jemez Mountains near Los Alamos.  All day yesterday, Sunday, the air got browner and browner and stank clearly of wood smoke.  It appears that while the rest of the world suffers from earthquakes, tsunamis, and floods, we appear to be doomed from winds and wildfires.  In the last 2 months I'm not sure we've had a week of clear air without "benefit" of forest-fire wood smoke in our eyes and breathing passages.  We still have some trees (juniper and pinon, 2 of the most flammable of the earth) too close to our house.  They provide some limited isolation from the neighbors across the upper fence, but they just are not safe to have so close to the house in these drought conditions, with the unlimited capacity of brain-challenged humans to smoke, start campfires, and set off fireworks (all illegal but prevalent activities).  So out comes the chainsaw.... gotta cut those bad boys down and hopefully burn them in the wood stove this winter or next instead of them burning US when wildfire again rips through our neighborhood.
If you ever click on my radio/GPS tracker link above, you may notice I now have a slightly newer system in place:  My position reports also contain my current battery voltage, temperature in Centigrade, GPS satellite quality (HDO stands for Horizontal Dispersion Of Precision), number of satellites in view, etc.  More useless info that I find interesting, especially the battery voltage readings.... I can more fully analyze and understand what my battery pack(s) are doing during a trip.  The vendor of this upgraded system is Argent Data Systems. 
This morning's bike commute was quite pleasant.  The air was relatively clear and flavor free, and it was a bit warmer than we're all used to.  Riding the bike, the resulting breeze-in-the-face feels good, helping to keep me cooled down in spite of the exertion involved.  Stopping for even a few minutes results in rapid realization that it's TOO HOT.  BAH

Awakening BG:  93                              Post-Ride BG:  64

Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.1         Ending Voltage: 12.2

Morning Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles:  7.45

Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
10.1  Mph                          11.9 mph             24.5 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
44:04 mins                          37:27 mins           06:37 mins

The ride back to the car was uneventful , with the usual afternoon headwind.  Very hot breeze so it wasn't as cooling as it has been recently. 
The new fire up in Los Alamos County has again forced mass evacuations, with my son Jimmy and his family having to spend last night in a motel and now they're migrating to Las Cruces to stay with Joan, Jimmy's Mom.  The Los Alamos Lab is closed for now, hopefully they are able to keep paying the employees who cannot come to work through no fault of their own.
Beginning BG:  254 (!!)                             Post-Ride BG:  244 (!!)
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.1 (No intermediate charging) Ending Voltage: 11.9
Evening Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles:  7.42
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
08.6  Mph                          10.1 mph             20.8  mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
51:50 mins                        44:11 mins            07:39 mins

Is it Friday Yet???

Jim's BreadCrumb GPS/Radio Track

Awakening BG:  75                              Post-Ride BG:  118

Morning Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles:  7.46

Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
11.6  Mph                          12.3 mph             22.7 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
38:33 mins                          36:17 mins           02:16 mins

More Fresh Air and Blue Sky

See Where he is, How Slow he Goes, ETC


Last night after I got back to the car, I was horrified to find the coax antenna connection was separated:  I must not have properly tightened the BNC connectors.  When I checked the aprs.fi tracking link I saw the track only appeared for the first 2/3 of my commute.  I worried that I might have damaged the transmitter in the tracker, an old 2 Meter IC-2AT Icom ham walkie-talkie.  Thankfully, this morning everything seemed to work fine so evidently I did NOT destroy the transmitter on the little APRS pouch.  YAY
We went so many weeks with darkened skies and bitter tainted air smelling like wood smoke from the AZ fire that we all comment on how clear the air is now, etc.  The fires supposedly are still out of control but the winds must have shifted, because life has been MUCH nicer these last several days.

Awakening BG:  UNK                              Post-Ride BG:  98

Morning Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles:  7.45

Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
10.9  Mph                          12.4 mph             22.9 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
41:00 mins                          36:06 mins           04:54 mins

The Ride Home?  The seemingly ever-present afternoon headwind was a bit stronger today.
 NO BIGGIE
Also no video - I loaned my cheapie DV005 video cam to a co worker friend, Mark K5LXP.  He's wanting to get some fun videos of and from his dogs.  I do wish him luck.  Good results from this cam are hard to come by.
Ran into ANOTHER loonie running ham radio on his bike:  Tim K5DEZ, who lives up near Raven Road on South-14 here in the East Mountains.  Here's HIS Track via APRS
Beginning BG:  124                              Post-Ride BG:  67
Evening Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles:  7.42
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
09.6  Mph                          11.1 mph             24.1  mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
46:30 mins                        40:08 mins            06:22 mins

Wow, 3 Bike-Riding hams at one time in the same city

Follow Jim's boringly predictable commute-route on Google

Well, I was just riding my bike to work.... and checked into the local morning net on the Kenwood F6 handlebar mounted radio.  After that was over I pushed the "Scan" button and began talking with Mark, W5MHG, who also turned out to be on HIS bicycle up on Tramway.  After we chatted for several minutes Phil, W5PWB, chimed in on the conversation from HIS bicycle:  Phil was also on his way to work and we had a 3-way radio conversation going on between 3 bicycles separated miles apart.  Too Cool.  It's seldom enough I ever catch another ham cyclist on the air and bike at the same time as I'm riding, but TWO other hams on 2-wheels?  Far Out, as they used to say maybe 40 years ago or so.
BTW, I've had several queries about the helmet-microphone-earphone setup I use.
Click here for the Ebay link to the vendor~
You'll have to poke around for other links if you use radios other than Kenwood... I'm sure this same vendor markets similar kits wired for Icoms and Yaesus as well.

Awakening BG:  163                              Post-Ride BG:  87

Morning Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles:  7.47

Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
09.6  Mph                          11.0 mph             21.1 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
46:49 mins                          40:42 mins           06:07 mins

I  started to try to do a short video of all the other cyclists I met or was passed by on the way back to the car tonight, but I didn't have time to glotch it up.  My ride was a bit quicker than usual because (1) Jacque called on the radio and wanted to meet me at my parking spot so I could retrieve our puppy-lap dog from her and take Tinkerbell home, and she didn't want to have to sit and wait for me 30 minutes or more for my slow butt to show up.  So I cranked as fast as my old legs would take me, and (2) I passed a female cyclist who was a tad slower than I was, but human nature beiing what it is, she sped up as I passed her and kept me chugging to stay ahead of her.  A little old-man motivation like that works pretty well to get me cranking faster than I normally do.  Unless they're just too fast for me to stay ahead of (normally, anyone over the age of 5 and under 95 and not crippled or repairing a flat tire).
Beginning BG:  196                              Post-Ride BG:  184
Evening Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles:  7.43
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
11.2  Mph                          12.3 mph             22.2  mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
39:42 mins                        36:07 mins            03:35 mins     

What a Miserable Windy Sunday for Father's Day

Track Dusty Dad vi Ham Radio, Internet, and Other Wizardry

Yesterday started out as a beautiful sunny day fit for any Father, with a bit of blue haze from the AZ forest fires way off to the West.  By the time we got out of Church at 1:00 PM, the wind was howling and the dust was so thick you could hardly see any AZ forest fire smoke.  There's a Baptist Church along NM 344 just north of Edgewood that has an annual Father's Day Car Show so we ventured over there to look at the cars, old and new, hotrods and stocks.  There was a huge crowd there, with TWO NM State Police officers directing traffic in and out of the dirt parking lots.  Hundreds of people and hundreds of cars of all shapes and sizes.  It would have been wonderful but (1) I had no hat to protect my thick skull from baking and (2) after a few minutes of eating the blowing dirt, my eyes plugged up so bad I could hardly see, and the billowing dust and wind made it absolutely miserable.  So we made only a quick round trip walking through the first row of cars encircling the building and fought the wind back across the paved road and left.  I still feel like I have dust in my orifices, 24 hours and a couple showers later.  Then the wind howled and rattled the house unmercifully all afternoon and late into the night.  All my kids called or emailed or txted or facebooked me wishing me a Happy Father's Day, and Jake and Stacey came out later in the afternoon just before dark and spent a few noisy fun hours with us.
This morning I was shocked how COLD it was:  58 degrees outside at home, and it felt downright chilly inside the house.  About midnight or so it was howling up a raging blow when suddenly it began to rain.... splattered for maybe 5 minutes and then the weather calmed down.  Grateful for the wind stopping but not the rain, we are dogin to die if we don't get more and soon.  But the momentary rain must have cooled things down even though it didn't exactly wet things down.
So, here in late June, I had to wear a windbreaker to ride the bike because the breeze was COLD.  Of course by the time I got to the last mile of the commute I had to stop and peel it off because I was overheating, but it was great to have on the outerwear until then.  By Golly

Awakening BG:  118                              Post-Ride BG:  94

Morning Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles:  7.45

Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
10.2  Mph                          11.5 mph             20.7 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
44:00 mins                          38:54 mins           05:06 mins

The ride back to the carrito was again marred by fairly stiff wind..... that actually turned into a bit of a cross-tail-wind once I turned south coming out of Balloon Fiesta Park. YAY
Beginning BG:  102                              Post-Ride BG:  135
Evening Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles:  7.44
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
10.3  Mph                          12.0 mph             24.4  mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
43:14 mins                        37:06 mins            06:08 mins    

j

Beep-Beep!! Two Roadrunners Today

Track the birdbrain via ham radio. GPS, and the Internet

Fan-Tabuloous ride to work this morning.  I saw two separate Roadrunners today, and the best video is of this guy just before I exited Balloon Fiesta Park.  Watch for the little blur scurrying across in front of me:

We had a fire scare of our own yesterday:  Eight homes burned in the Sherwood Forest subdivision near Tajique, south of Tijeras.  Evidently the firefighters were able to put it down quickly because there were no alarms about it this morning.  Ruidoso also lost several homes to a blaze that seems to have been started intentionally.  BAH

Awakening BG:  110                              Post-Ride BG:  136 

Morning Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles:  7.44

Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
10.9  Mph                          13.4 mph             27.0 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time

40:48 mins                          33:14 mins           07:34 mins

It's a wonderful thing the mornings are such pleasant riding.... 'cuz the afternoons tend to be a bit less enjoyable with the afternoon winds that blow in.

Beginning BG:  64                              Post-Ride BG:  86
Evening Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles:  7.43
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
10.8  Mph                          11.1 mph             21.4  mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
41:22 mins                        40:13 mins            01:09 mins    

De-Railed Derrailleur

track me on the ham radio / GPS / APRS tracker

I got my replacement DV005 cheapie-cam in the mail last night when I got home.  Charged it all night, inserted my 16 gig SD card from the older cam, and took off with video enabled this morning.  It shut itself off prematurely, so I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong with it or how to make ti work better for me.  I spared no expense with this thing:  24 bucks including shipping (via banana boat from China, apparently, since it took a month to get here).
About 2 miles into my commute, I hit a small bump crossing a bike-bridge across the diversion channel and suddenly there was a funny grinding noise in the rear, the bike slowed dramatically, and the pedals wouldn't work.  I was part way across the bridge and at first wanted to force the bike to the other side so I'd be more out of the way, but I'm glad I resisted that urge.  When I dismounted to look at it, the derailleur bracket had loosened under the rear spindle nut and just POPPED out and sprung sideways.  It's a wonder it didn't break anything or strip the fiber derailleur gears, which I feared at first.

As you may see from the jittery video, the spindle nut was entirely loose and the derailleur just hanging sideways.  I dug my trusty wrench set out of the rear pannier and re-wound the chain around the gears, held the bracket in place with one hand, adjusted the alignment of the wheel so it cleared both sides of the front  of the rear wheel fork, and re-tightened the offending loose nut.  Extra Carefully.  I was pleasantly surprised that everything worked, with only the one try, and all shifting etc. seemed normal all the rest of the way to work.
Which made me also -again- appreciate the "Pleitscher Double Kickstand" I bought some time ago.  I had to lengthen its legs to adapt to the extra height of the mount on  this recumbent, but when I engage this kickstand, the REAR WHEEL is elevated an inch or two OFF the GROUND, allowing easy access for repair or adjustment or even testing.  With the bike parked, on its own kickstand, the pedals can be cranked and the rear wheel spun, allowing adjustment for brakes, gears, etc, almost as though I had a repair stand right along with me.
Awakening BG:  191                              Post-Ride BG:  46 (!) (Not enough  Breakfast today!)
Morning Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles:  7.43
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
09.7  Mph                          12.6 mph             24.0 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
45:59 mins                          35:22 mins           10:37 mins

Evening Ride Back to Da Carrito:  A fair head-wind but that's getting to be de riguer so no biggie.
During my noon walk as I approached the intersection at San Mateo and Alameda, a motorcycle went through the intersection eastbound on Alameda with a HUGE rack of elk or some kind of antlers mounted on the back rack, standing vertical behind the driver.  What a sight.  I got video of him but it was too far away:  The ridiculous looking rack doesn't show up in the video.
Beginning BG:  106                              Post-Ride BG:  71
Evening Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles:  7.45
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
10.2  Mph                          11.1 mph             22.6  mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
44:02 mins                        40:14 mins            03:49 mins   

Mystery - Why Don't Most People Ride Bikes?

errant bicycle tracker via ham radio, gps, and other nefarious methodologies
More cyclists turn up each warm wonderful day, but cars (with one person inside) still outnumber cyclists by the zillions.  Riding the bike is just SO much enjoyment:  The pleasure of traveling under your own power, at relatively fast speeds (compared to walking, or trapped in one of the I-40 / I-25 "parking lot" traffic snarl-ups), the breeze in the face, the fresh air, seeing the rabbits, lizards, occasional coyote, roadrunners, birds, enjoying both the sunshine and the occasional shade of an overhanging tree (God's best form of Air Conditioning).  It's Easy, it's Fun..... Why, I ask, don't MOST of us ride bikes instead of just a few?
AH.  DANGEROUS, you say....?  I don't know how many people I encounter who say "I've got a new or good bike out in the garage, but I never ride it... I wish it was safer, maybe then I would ride more."
Well, there is the danger.  BUT, compared to WHAT?  Life itself is inherently dangerous... We were safest when still inside our Mother's Womb,  warm and suspended and fed and nourished.... but unable to ride the BIKE.  As well as many other activities we've all enjoyed since leaving Mommy's Tummy, ALL of which have associated DANGERS.  The death rate from DRIVING or riding in CARS is actually unreasonably high, but we feel safe inside a big steel motorized cage.  It really only feels that way.  Take a look at highway fatality rates sometime.  ANYWAY. HUMBUG
I still drive my car, truck, and occasionally even the RV (not so much with a tank of gas costing more than a hundred bucks a pop).  I still like to drive, though not as much as I used to back when I-40 didn't exist, Route 66 was a two-lane highway that my Dad would let me drive on while sitting in his lap, steering but too short to reach the pedals...... /Old Farte Mode OFF.  When it's too far away and you have to be there in a certain time, it makes sense to drive a motorized vehicle.  But me, if I lived within 20 miles of work instead of 35, I'd get rid of all our cars except one and RIDE the great majority of the time.  I just can't figure out why everyone in the world doesn't feel the same way.  There are studies showing that you actually will statistically live LONGER if you put a lot of miles on your bike instead of your car.  Sure, it makes headlines on the evening news when some inattentive drone kills a cyclist by texting, drunking, or otherwise not paying attention to their driving.  But there are still a lot more fatalities of people getting killed inside CARS than those being whacked on bicycles.  I'll look up some of the statistics from actual, unretouched, infallible Internet sources and list them sometime.
Awakening BG:  131                              Post-Ride BG:  93(!) (The Pizza Slice I had for Breakfast worked OK today!)
Morning Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles:  7.37
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
10.1  Mph                          12.6 mph             24.7 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
43:59 mins                          35:04 mins           08:55 mins

Beginning BG:  100                              Post-Ride BG:  41 (!)
(Had to stuff down (1) an apple, (2), an oatmeal-choc-chip bar, and after driving a couple miles and feeling really nasty, pulled over and stopped and ate a Nutrageous candy bar.  After about 10 minutes waiting I finally felt human again and proceeded home --
Evening Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles:  7.46
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
09.8  Mph                          11.0 mph             25.2  mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
45:03 mins                        40:51 mins            05:28 mins   

After a Day Off, Back to Work

Track the loonie via the ham radio/gps tracker
I took yesterday, Monday, off, so I could try to catch up on my yard-work:  In spite of the horrible drought we're in, our "Wild Bird-Seed Weeds" are taking over the yard again.  We've paid professionals to spray and cut the weeds, supposedly eradicating them, but they're back, with a vengeance.  My current strategy is to soak the roots immediately under each horrific weed cluster and pull the shock of weeds out incuding the muddy root-mass, which is substantial.   I only got about a third done with the immediate weed challenge, so it's back to a few clusters each morning and evening.. but that third of the yard I got done sure looks nice.  For now.
No wild incident noticed on the bike as of late... the Arizona Smoke is pretty thin and breathable the last couple of days.   We'll see how it is this afternoon, when it's always worse.  I have paint-mask face breathers in my pannier if needed.
I tried a different radio setup this morning... I worked on it yesterday in between weed-pulling excursions to the front yard.  I could never find a good mount to use my Kenwood TH-F6A triband handheld radio on the bike, but I noticed yesterday that the existing RAM mount I use for the TH-D7AG dual band / TNC radio ALMOST fit the F6 perfectly as to width, but too large in length.  So by trimming the lower lip of the mount (to clear the tiny control buttons on the lower end of the F6) and drilling the plastic mount for a 3" 6/32 screw to hold the radio in place from the top, it works quite well, and by removing the screw the mount can hold the original D7 radio if desired.  I emailed RAM, the manufacturer, to see if they are interested in this simple mod to make their D7 mount marketable to more people.  If they don't respond soon, and they probably won't, I'll publish the mod on one of the ham radio internet sites.
Awakening BG:  125                              Post-Ride BG:  203(!) (The Pizza Slice I had for Breakfast must have had more than the 25 Carbs I pumped for)
Morning Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles:  7.61
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
10.2  Mph                          12.7 mph             23.1 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
46:47 mins                          36:16 mins            10:48 mins

The ride back to the car was surprising in that (1) I had a fair tail-wind and (2) the air was surprisingly clear.  It has been regularly worse in the afternoons, and little progress has been made in containing the fires... the wind pattern must have shifted.
Just when I arrived at the carrito and was unpacking the bike, another recumbent rider rode up to talk and compare rides.  He was a new 'bent rider and - like me - loved it.  His was a nice like-new factory built recumbent he bought used for $450 - a smoking bargain in the world of recumbents.
Beginning BG:  unk                              Post-Ride BG:  55
Evening Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles:  7.47
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
09.0  Mph                          11.5 mph             23.2  mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
50:03 mins                        39:03 mins            11:00 mins  

... Out of a Blue, Clear, Sky

Track this Lunatick on the Web
With due credit to George Strait for writing a song with that phrase in it.
In spite of the lack of rain, the smoke and ash and gray/brown air from the Arizona fires seems to dissipated quite a bit.  We still have "official air quality alerts" in force, which don't seem to have much linkage to the reality ooutside.  A bit of head-wind this morning and a little wee bit cooler than necessary (about 62 in Albuq this morning), so I was a tad chilled riding eith only my Iridescent yellow-green  Bike ABQ tee shirt to cover my torso.  Great riding nonetheless.
I was amazed to meet an oncoming, eastbound, gaggle of cyclists coming past me,  there must have been 20 of them.  A club or group ride, I suppose. 
New cam should be here any day now, to provide real world unretouched unimpeachable photos and videos of such incidents.
Awakening BG:  190 (!)                              Post-Ride BG:  60
Morning Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles:  7.43
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
09.9  Mph                          11.5 mph             25.0 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
44:59 mins                          38:51 mins            06:08 mins

The ride back to the car from work??  I was blessed with a fairly strong headwind most of the southbound ride but I've learned to just gear down a bit and not fight it and keep chugging.  NO PROBLEM.
Jacque tells me I better say HI to Jessica out in Tennessee, who she claims reads this blog at least occasionally.  I'm happy to add Jess to the list of good looking women who read this (HINT: All these  women consist of, let's see..... Wife, Sister, and Daughters, of which group Jess belongs to.
Beginning BG:  85                              Post-Ride BG: UNK (obviously I snacked before riding)
Evening Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles:  7.41
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
09.7  Mph                          11.1 mph             23.5  mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
45:58 mins                        40:09 mins            05:49 mins  

If it's Thursday, I must be at work.... soon

This morning was one of those mornings that just make you feel great to be alive.  In spite of the ongoing weather-person hysteria, the air was quite clear this morning, with no smokey aftertaste, and I could smell the General Foods Cereal Plant a long way away... yum.  No wind to speak of, allowing me to really honk getting to work...... I left the house 20 minutes later than usual but with the whizzy bike ride I arrived at work only 5 minutes later than usual.
Awakening BG:  203(!)                              Post-Ride BG:  197? (changed pump infusion set this morning)
Morning Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles:  7.41
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
11.5  Mph                          13.0 mph             25.3 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
38:34 mins                          34:13 mins            04:20 mins

I'm Normally Not a Smoker

Tonight, again, was a lovely evening marred only by a fairly stiff headwind and a tiny taste of Arizona Smoke.
I took a cell phone photo of our sunset yesterday evening with fairly thick smoke:

You can hardly even see the sun in this photo:  To my eye it appeared very dim and red.  The old saying "Red Sky at Night, Sailor's Delight", hardly seems to apply here.
Beginning BG:  240                              Post-Ride BG: 97
Evening Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles:  7.43
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
09.4  Mph                          10.3 mph             22.5  mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
47:11 mins                        43:06 mins            04:05 mins  

Yesterday was - as usual - nowhere nearly as bad as the weather hawkers were proclaiming.  Yesterday we were warned to "Stay Indoors, don't go Outside if You Don't Have To, Don't Exercise Outdoors, this is the WORST smoke day ever...." When even as they made such announcements the skies were clearer than the day before.  I wore my paint mask riding both to and from work yesterday mainly to see if I could endure the thing for an entire 7-mile ride, including climbing hills, dealing with the heat, etc.  Everything was fine.
This morning, still shrill, we were warned it was going to be even worse than ever before, etc, etc, and the aiwr as almost CLEAR today with at least 10-mile or more visibility.  I brought a new paint mask just in case, but it remains in my rear pannier unused.  It was a great ride this morning, and many more warm-weather cyclists and walkers out and about.  If we all obeyed the government and media's dire warnings we would probably seldom venture forth from our caves to find sustenance.
During my morning rides I normally check in via ham radio to a popular local radio net:  The SCAT (Senior Citizens And Travelers) net.  Net Control this morning announced one of our regular check-ins was in the hospital, with a broken leg suffered during a biking accident.  Turns out he wasn't even MOVING when he broke his leg..... He was stopped and standing next to his parked bicycle when it suddenly fell over on him, knocking him sideways, and somehow as he fell he broke his leg.  Ya really can't blame THAT on the bicycle mode of travel.... A piece of wind-blown debris like a shingle or a self propelled shopping cart could have just as easily nailed him.  It sounds like the "Broke the leg stepping off the curb" syndrome.

Awakening BG:  260(!)                              Post-Ride BG:  60
Morning Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles:  7.41
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
11.4  Mph                          12.1 mph             22.2 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
39:00 mins                          36:39 mins            02:21 mins

Don't Exercise Outside.....

This was the headline on the morning news channels this morning.  A good example of how the media is disconnected from what actually is going on... I'm certain they over react with their dire warnings, to err on the side of caution.  I took a face mask with me today to wear while riding the bike, but when I got to Albuquerque the air was almost clear;   it was no worse than yesterday and likely better.  Since there was still a bit of haze in the air I  opted to wear the mask anyway just to see if I could wear one while gasping for air on the bike ride.

The mask turned out to be not that bad.  It got hot and sweaty inside it but it seemed to keep the stink and burning smell at bay, AND it did not overly hinder me while I rode, up hill and down dale.  The smoke is supposed to again get worse this afternoon, and if  so, I'll be happy I have my blue nurse-mask again.
I might have to stock up on a few of these beauties.  The fires in AZ are totally out of control and the wind continues to blow the fires and smoke our way, with no immediate relief in sight.  We are all praying for good rains which likely will be the only thing that can wash this smoke out of the air AND get the fires cooled down enough to finally conquer them.
Awakening BG:  253(!)                              Post-Ride BG:  68
Morning Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles:  7.40
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
10.3  Mph                          12.5 mph             23.2 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
43:00 mins                          35:23 mins            07:37 mins

BAM (Brown Air Monday)

I was worried about the forecasts for increased Arizona Smoke today, but as usual, it did not live up to the forecasters' extreme predictions.  The air was hard to see through, Mount Taylor 60 miles West of Albuquerque was not visible this morning, just a wall of brown haze to the west.  I brought along a nurse's face mask in case my throat started burning but it wasn't needed.  I could just barely taste the faint smoke bitterness in the air as I rode.
Saturday, we had a fun fam get-together in Albuquerque at Rotary Park.  All my kids except Sherry showed up,. and all my grandkids except for Eric showed up.  We had a great time stuffing ourselves with barbecued hot dogs and hamburgers and chips and soda and all the great holiday pig-food.  Jacque did most of the cooking but little of the eating, what with her spit-it-out-if-it-tastes-good diet.  She did cheat and sample one of the Peanut Butter Chocolate Bon-Bons Sarah brought me.  Mercy.  Yum.  A couple of Jake and Stacy's kids brought their bikes which made Grampaw jealous since I had left mine home.  We need to do another Saturday Family ride sometime soon....
This morning, As I was  unloading the recumbent and loading up my junk to ride the last 7.46 miles to work,  I heard a faint voice saying something like "Dad!" behind me, and it turned out to be Sarah.  She regularly does this to me, since her bus drops her off at almost the exact spot where I park my car and load up the bike, and often we arrive so close to each other she has time to walk over and say "HI" and exchange quick hugs and back-scritches before she hurries off to catch her city bus.  But invariably I don't see her coming and it usually startles me when she appears..... but what a treat.
No funny incidents to report on the bike trail this morning.  School is now "Out" so some of the clots of kids that wander the streets during my morning commute no longer appear.  In the afternoon some of the rich ones will undoubtedly make it a habit to ride their illegal gas-powered 4-wheelers and small motorcycles up and down the trail.  I have passed and noticed (repeatedly) a young girl, a bit on the pudgy side, who is always walking by herself, with ear-buds in place, to and fro on the trail.  Last week I passed her at least a mile past where I park my car, after I'd passed her earlier while on my bike, and realized she must be walking at least a few MILES almost every day, probably to spend time with a friend.  I'm impressed with her mileage but wonder why all that walking isn't doing a better job of helping her slim & trim.  Maybe she's like me.... exercises a lot but eats a lot too.  I get good reports when medical folks take my pulse, blood pressure, etc, but I haven't lost any weight.  People accuse me of being skinny but they don't get to see my spare tire I see every day when I step out of the shower.... lucky them.
Awakening BG:  109                              Post-Ride BG:  97
Morning Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles:  7.39
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
10.1  Mph                          12.4 mph             22.2 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
43:59 mins                          35:49 mins            08:10 mins

HOWEVER, for the AFTERNOON ride..... the gray air wasn't too bad until I got back to my car.  About then the air got so smokey and dark and full of ash and smell it felt like we were already consigned to Hell.  We couldn't see any flames, but the darkness, the sun weakly glowing red when it could even be seen, the sulphurous smell, and the already hot summer air, contributed to the sensation of being doomed.  Mercy.
We kept the swamp cooler off all the rest of the evening, thank goodness we live at 6800 feet elevation so it was much cooler than in Albuquerque.  Nasty Stuff.

Friday Night Follies

Lots of wind and smoke for the ride back tonight, but the wind was not as bad as the last couple of evenings, thankfully.
The wind was blowing almost due north as I headed due south along the North Diversion Trail, and I could smell for the first mile or so a strong pleasant odor seemingly like fresh pancakes and syrup, overriding the Arizona Smoke Smell.  I realized, as I got closer, that it was the General Mills cereal plant just off Paseo, which usually has pleasant baking aromas emanating from it.  Once past there it was stale Arizona Forest Fire Smoke Smell.... now, 20 miles with Tijeras Canyon separating us from Albuquerque, the smell is still strong in the air.
Beginning BG:  103                              Post-Ride BG: 70 (ate another a power bar)
Evening Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles:  7.39
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
08.7  Mph                          10.0 mph             22.8  mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
51:01 mins                        44:27 mins            06:33 mins  

Fun in the Park with Susie

Susie, my #2 of 3 lovely daughters, took me to WildFlower Park next to Honeywell off San Mateo for a pick-a-nick lunch today.  What a nice experience, what a sweetheart to claim for my own flesh and blood.  Does her Daddy proud, I tell you......
Just as we were preparing to leave for to get back to work, a young Dad & Mom (about Susie's age) with 2 little cutie girls, arrived and set up a blanket under  a tree next to us.  As Susie and I stood up and started to walk past them back to Susie's car, I asked the Daddy "How much for the Oldest Girl, there?"
He replied "Oh, about 15 Dollars....."
I started to make a smart reply when the daughter in question chimed in, VERY loudly:  "THIRTY-FIVE DOLLARS!"  She had to be all of about 6 years old.  We all had a belly laugh from that and could think of no appropriate rejoinders.  I told "Miss 35 Dollars" that Susie was MY little girl and that just seemingly a few months ago (like thirty years, actually) she was YOUR age..  WHAT would I GIVE to have had a working VIDEO CAM to capture such an exchange.....  What cuties, and what a nice family.   There is hope for the world yet.

Holy Smokes, BikeMan

Woke up to news of haze everywhere this morning.  Public officials are begging for citizenry  to NOT  call 911 or 311 to report smoke;  their lines have been tied up all night with such.  Call 911 ONLY if you see actual flames somewhere, indicating a fire nearby,  not a hundred miles away in Eastern Arizona.  Looked out the window and it wasn't all that bad, but when I saddled up on the bike and rode for  a few minutes the taste and smell of smoke started to get to me.  It's not as bad as my 2 visits to the Los Angeles basin, where your eyes burn and you choke and cough while trying to breathe the brown air, but......
Great bike ride to work this morning, except for the stinky air.  An hour later I still smell it in my nose as I breathe.  Mercy.
Awakening BG:  124                              Post-Ride BG:  76
Morning Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles:  8:21? (This is weird.  Same route I always take)
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
8.6  Mph                          11.1 mph             21.6 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
53:59 mins                          44:57 mins            06:54 mins

Just another Warm Thursday

Believe it or not, I miss my little cheapie DV005 video cam.  It still works for a few moments;  the battery seems too far gone to hold a charge and keep the cam running much longer than about 5 minutes.  Hopefully the new one I just ordered will arrive soon.
I had a doctor appointment this morning that prevented me from arriving at work until the slovenly hour of 10 AM.  She (cardiologist) gave me a clean bill of health and seemed to think all this bicycling was doing great things for my blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, etc.   I hope all that turns out to be true.  My first wife's Daddy died about a week after getting a similar blessing from his doctor after a physical.
By 10:00 it was very warm, with no cool morning air left at all.
Awakening BG:  159                              Post-Ride BG:  85
Morning Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles:  7:43
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
11.2  Mph                          14.0 mph             27.5 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
39:59 mins                          31:55 mins            08:04 mins

Another stiff headwind tonight on the ride back to the car.   Getting tired of wind, but as they say,
it IS exercise, after all, right?
Beginning BG:  132                              Post-Ride BG: 82 (after getting dizzy and eating a power bar)
Evening Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles:  7.34
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
08.0  Mph                          09.6 mph             21.4  mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
55:36 mins                        46:16 mins            09:20 mins  

Windy Wednesday, For Real

The ride back to the car this evening was hot, muggy, and blessed with surely the baddest headwind I've yet dealt with.  Every time I have a day like this I think that by comparison the future days will seem easier.
Usually it does, at least for a while.  Then another extreme day like this occurs and here I go again.
Beginning BG:  Unk                              Post-Ride BG: 66
Evening Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles:  7.34
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
08.6  Mph                          09.3 mph             23.0  mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
50:59 mins                        47:06 mins            03:53 mins 

We're All Doomed, with Fellow Motorists Like This

Believe it or not, an actual arrest has occurred as a result of a motorist killing a  cyclist recently.
Had this offender been younger and cuter the story may well have been different.  But this young lady is hard to feel sympathy for:  How many of such loonies are there out there on any given day?
From http://www.kob.com/ :
"The woman accused of running a red light and fatally hitting an Albuquerque bicyclist was arrested and charged with vehicular homicide Tuesday.
Memori Hardwick, 20, is accused of running a red light at Washington Street and Indian School Road on May 12 slamming into Matt Trujillo, 36, who was riding his bicycle to work.
Trujillo died two weeks after the accident, succumbing to the massive injuries he sustained during the crash.
Hardwick, a self admitted methamphetamine user, told police she had been in a rush that morning because she needed to return a car she had borrowed from her friend.
According to the criminal complaint Hardwick had borrowed the car to drive to the South Valley to buy crystal methamphetamine but was unable to find any so she and a friend were on their way back to the Northeast Heights where they were to return the car.
Hardwick went on to tell police that she had dropped a lit cigarette inside the car and had looked down to find it.  She said when she looked up she ran the red light, hitting Trujillo.
Hardwick then fled the scene explaining that she had panicked, thinking she killed Trujillo, and her and her friend took off scared they would go to jail for murder.
Police were able to catch up to Hardwick shortly after she fled near Constitution Avenue and La Veta Drive.
On Tuesday Hardwick was arrested and charged with vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of an accident."
It's very doubtful anything will come of this, but at least she was arrested.  It would appear the best way to get away with murder is to put your intended victim on a bicycle and run over him.  Almost no one is ever tried, much less convicted, of killing a cyclist.

Windy Wednesday?

Actually, the title is deliberately misleading. It was actually a very lovely morning.  Since the wind blows almost every day nowadays, it could fit the circumstance this afternoon on the ride back.
The battery seems to have died in my Cheap Chinese DV005 "sport cam".  I googled the removable battery, found a vendor, and what seemed to be a reasonable price:  $10.00 and free shipping.
....Wait just a cotton-pickin' minute..... a WHOLE NEW camera, WITH new battery, etc, only costs $17 INCLUDING shipping.  Since my camera has already been bounced off the pavement more times than I care to count, I ordered the new camera.  I bent my homebrew cam bracket so it clips into the back of my handlebar glove now.... it faces forward normally and can easily be checked , aimed at different targets, etc, as easily as wiping my nose.  Which happens a lot on the bike.... What does TMI stand for again?
Awakening BG:  221                              Post-Ride BG:  137
Morning Stats from the GPS:                 Total Miles:  7:42
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
10.1  Mph                          12.0 mph             22.8 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
43:59 mins                          37:05 mins            06:54 mins