Monday, October 31, 2011

It's Now Officially Itchy Underwear Time

Today's cold but unchanging tracking-route
Well, this morning it was 31 degrees when I rousted my sleepy self out of bed.  So I dutifully donned my winter cycling wear.  I've never had to use leggings, although I do use Velcro straps to tie my pants legs shut at the ankles both to keep the pants out of the chain and to keep warmth in and cold air out.
For the upper torso I wear a turtleneck wicking shirt that's supposed to allow me to sweat  or (perspire, for my more gentle readers) while wicking such moisture away from the body to keep me from overheating and freezing all at the same time, or closely timed to each other.  This shirt helps keep me warm underneath but I don't notice it keeping my other undergarments dry at all.  But, as they say in first aid and survival courses:  Cotton Kills, at least in cold weather.  On top of that is a long sleeve shirt, then a bright yellow bike windbreaker, then a blazing yellow-green reflective vest which also blocks a bit of wind.  As usual for colder weather, I did not get overheated until about the last 2 miles of my 7+ mile commute, after which I was frantically unzipping things to let in some of that wonderful cold air.  I also wore my wooly polar fleece skull cap and my ski mask and my ski gloves which are so bulky I can barely work the shifters and brakes, and pretty much NOTHING so small as a radio knob, although I can still work the handlebar-mounted transmit switch for the radios.  I also wore my clunky winter leather high-top shoes since the tennie-runners have not been keeping the feet warm recently.  The only winter gear I didn't utilize today was chemical hand-warmers, and, Unless we have a dramatic warming spell I will henceforth be using them every day.
Pre-Ride BG: 229                          BG when arrived at Work:   147
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.7       Ending Voltage: 12.7   (Gel Cell battery pack,  charged last night)
Beginning Temperature:  48 F (in ABQ)        Ending Temperature:  55 F
Morning Stats from the GPS:        Total Miles:    7.45
Overall average speed         Moving Avg           Max Speed
9.5 Mph                            10.6 mph               19.5 mph
Total Trip time                    Moving Time          Stopped Time
46 mins 59 secs                  42 mins 04 secs     04 mins 55 secs

Friday, October 28, 2011

Free-Fire Friday, or the Smell of Cordite

Today's Frozen Fingered APRS/GPS Track
Unless it decides to warm up, and soon, I guess I'll be riding with full winter gear from here on until Springtime in the Rockies comes again.  My ride wasn't terribly bad this morning except for my face and fingers falling off as they froze..... Well, Not Really.  The face and fingers were quite uncomfortable, though.  Temps got down to freezing last night.  Even with mild sunshine fluttering over me, it was still too cold to be riding without warmer gloves and a facemask.
All the wooden bone-shaker ABQ bike bridges were coated with heavy frost this morning.

Yesterday I forgot to mention I lost my favorite day-glo yellow-green BikeABQ tee shirt.  Jacque had cut it open in the front for me and added velcro so I could open and close it easily with one hand, even in motion if needed.  I wasn't wearing it during the morning ride but carried it bungee'd to my front pack so I could wear it on the warmer afternoon ride back to the car.  Like so many other valuables I've lost somewhere along the bike path over the years, when I got to work the wonderful bright shirt was nowhere to be found.  I've kept my eyes peeled for it in case it appears lying along the path, but the path has lots of walkers and users and I have never found anything I've lost except one radio antenna I found by turning around immediately and riding back along the path.  It would probably help if I had my name taped, inked, or embroidered into any of these items but as usual, I seldom think of such things until I experience another loss.
Last night before I retired to bed I heard our area coyotes yipping not far away, but they sounded well away from our property.  I was rudely awakened about 3:00 AM to the sound of MORE yipping coyotes, and they sounded VERY close.  We are doing our best to make our property seem very inhospitable to such critters, especially since they attacked out Papillon lap-doggy a couple years ago right outside our home as we sat out on the deck only a few feet away.  They are too fleet-footed for me or I would have killed one or more of them by now and hung their hides on the fence next to our entry gate, as did ranchers from my youthful memories.  This time I leaped out of bed, grabbed the 12-gauge pump action, and in underwear and slippers crept out on the deck in the dark and listened to see how close they might actually be.  I could not see any without benefit of  moonlight, but they sounded like they were just on the other side of our storage shed not far from where they attacked our beloved Tinkerbell as before noted.  I was able to pump a round into the chamber but it took me several precious seconds to realize the gun's safety was still activated.  I disengaged that unwelcome feature and fired twice, quickly, in that general direction.  The ear-splitting blast of the gun and the brightness  of flame from the muzzle resulted in ...... TOTAL SILENCE.  The yelping and yipping and screeching stopped and all was peaceful again, except for the ringing of my ears and the soreness in my shoulder.  Mercy, that monster does kick.  I want the predators to stay away but every few weeks they test our resolve again, and unless they stop, I will eventually have one of their smelly hides hanging on the fence to warn their fellows.
There is an abundance of rabbits, rats, mice, squirrels, and all sorts of other bothersome vermin for them to feast upon without preying on our house pets. 
Pre-Ride BG: 138                          BG when arrived at Work:   121
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.4       Ending Voltage: 12.3   (Gel Cell battery pack, no charge last night)
Beginning Temperature:  41 F        Ending Temperature:  52 F
Morning Stats from the GPS:        Total Miles:    7.37
Overall average speed         Moving Avg           Max Speed
9.6. Mph                            10.8 mph               23.5 mph
Total Trip time                    Moving Time          Stopped Time
45 mins 59 secs                  41 mins 00 secs     04 mins 59 secs
Nothing much to report from the ride back tonight.  No frost, no weirdos, no missing TEE shirt...
 BG before ride home:  193   BG after getting home, before dinner:  129
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.8       Ending Voltage: 12.0   
Beginning Temperature:  66 F        Ending Temperature:  69.8 F
 Evening stats from the GPS:    Total Distance Miles:  7.44
Overall average speed     Moving Avg      Max Speed
09.5  Mph                             11.0 mph            22.9 mph
Total Trip time                Moving Time     Stopped Time
  46:59 mins                       40.37 mins          06:22 mins

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Wet and Wimped Out.

Well, the inaccuracy of the weather-guessers works both ways.  Today the forecast was "It's Stopped Raining here in Albuquerque, the storm has moved on to the east side of the state...."
So I drove in, thought snow and slush was caked all over the car and bike, assuming the warmer air down through Tijeras Canyon and Albuquerque would melt off and dry the bike.  That all happened as planned, but as I drove past Juan Tabo and Eubank I was a bit alarmed at how dark and drizzly the western skies looked.  I thought to myself that it would surely dry up by the time I got to my car/bike changeover point.  It was misting steadily  on my windshield as I turned into my secret hideaway parking lot and I bravely thought I'd saddle up and wouldn't mind a bit of mist because surely it would stop soon and I wouldn't get soaked.  As I stopped the car and started to get ready to pile out and unrack the bike, the mist got just a bit heavier.  My resolve and bravery faded....  Yeah, the weatherman said it was clearing up.  But it didn't LOOK like it was clearing up.  So I backed out of the parking lot and drove all the way to work.  BAH

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Okay. So I got Soaked..... Again

Another Winding Track to Work and Back

I had it all planned in advance, Very Unusual for me....Since I had a doctor's appointment this morning, and the doc's office is maybe 1/4 mile off my normal beaten bike-route, I'd park the carrito as normal, ride the recumbent down my normal bike route to Singer, then take Singer eastbound to the Dr's... After which I'd ride the last 3-something miles to work.  The skies, however, were not promising.  It was gloomy and dark, and what light DID shine through the couds had a distinct red hue.  As I drove into Albuquerque out of Tijeras Canyon I talked myself in and out of riding the bike several times.  In spite of the wise old saying "Red Sky at Morning, Biker  Take Warning", or something to that effect, I decided to ride the bike.  In spite of the gloom of the dark clouds overhead, it was actually quite balmy and I rode without benefit of skull cap or warm mittens with a nice degree of comfort.  I'm always a big hit when I arrive at the doctor office on the bike in full regalia.... Rolled up pants, bike helmet, flashing blinkies on the bike, big pack on the front and pannier on the rear, water bottles front and rear, baby-puke day-glo yellow-green outerwear.... Walking in amongst all my fellow diabetics with their oxygen tanks, wheelchairs, and such, whom I will no doubt look just alike in a few short years.... I'm surrounded by people looking at me like I just landed in a space-ship instead of  a bicycle.
Can't imagine what's wrong with all these people.  At least I'm not wearing spandex and lycra looking like Barbarella with every pimple on my butt showing through my skin-tight tighties.  On the other hand, if I dressed like that, perhaps folks wouldn't look at me so strange.  If I was less ugly it would probably help too...
I actually received a glowing report from my lovely doctor this morning in spite of my A1C being 7.4 as is almost always the case.  The ideal is for it to be BELOW 7.0, instead of halfway to 8.0 - but for me that has only happened once in the last several years at 6.8.  I am truly addicted to my carbs... which is one of the many reasons I love riding the bike so I can burn more of that stuff off.
Then, as I went outside to saddle up for the rest of the ride to work, it began to sprinkle.   As I rode further it began to RAIN.  I finally stopped and put on my wind-breaker which has the nice ability to make raindrops bead up and roll off instead of just soaking through.  That helped a lot, and actually helped the rain to STOP right before I arrived at work.  My legs got a little damp and my thorax got a bit soggy from sweating (perspiring, for my lovely cultured cousins in AZ and UT) but all in all I was just fine and dandy.
As I type this epistle late in the day it is again a bit threatening outside:  Nay, it is POURING outside.  I'm hoping for it to stop long enough for me to get back to the car again unscathed......
Pre-Ride BG: 178    Fasting BG when arrived at Doc's Office:  190  Post-Ride BG:  93
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.8       Ending Voltage: 12.7   (Gel Cell battery pack, fresh charge last night)
Beginning Temperature:  51 F        Ending Temperature:  66 F
Morning Stats from the GPS:        Total Miles:    8.80
Overall average speed         Moving Avg       Max Speed
8.5. Mph                            10.4 mph            21.9 mph
Total Trip time                 Moving Time          Stopped Time
61 mins 00 secs               50 mins  33 secs     11 mins 23 secs

Thankfully the rain stopped just before I left work and the ride back to the car was almost totally dry and non-frigid.  It was so uneventful that I detoured off the bike path at Montgomery to stop in at REI, where the Pedouins.org family, the Harrisons, were holding forth and selling their self published books as fund raisers.
It was good to see them again.  The girls seemed much more mature and well behaved this time around.  Of course, it's been almost 2 years since I saw them last when they came through NM during the coldest winter we'd had in years.  The book detailing their lifestyle of close to 2 years riding across America on a 5-seat quint bicycle is quite interesting, I recommend it for some unusual reading.  Visit  http://www.pedouins.org/ and order a copy.
BG before ride home:  89   BG after getting home, before dinner:  91
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.7       Ending Voltage: 12.6   
Beginning Temperature:  66 F        Ending Temperature:  73 F
 Evening stats from the GPS:    Total Distance Miles:  6.65
Overall average speed     Moving Avg      Max Speed
11.4  Mph                             11.6 mph            23.6 mph
Total Trip time                Moving Time     Stopped Time
  34:58 mins                       34:20 mins          38:00 mins

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Nice Side-Trip for Shopping Today

today's divergent APRS/GPS track

I did the normal park-the-car and ride-the-7-miles-to-work thing today, but as the noon hour approached I considered riding up to Bikes Plus (to buy another spare shifter cable) on Holly parallel to Paseo Del Norte - about 3 miles slightly uphill and a fairly easy slightly-downhill ride back.  The biggest problems are getting through the busy intersection at Alameda and the I-25 Frontage Road, and crossing Wyoming and Wilshire.  It's quite the aerobic exercise going east on almost any street in Albuquerque east of the Rio Grande, since the city sits in a gentle valley that slopes from both directions E-W toward the River.
No problems encountered.  The traffic light at Alameda and Frontage Road actually help me since it slows the traffic down, and I rarely get any grief from motorists when I come out of the CarMax auto dealership lot onto Alameda and ride between cars to the light and wait my turn.  Years ago I would ride the sidewalk there and wait for the "Walk" light but that is EXTREMELY dangerous since cars are never looking for a bike to come out into the intersection from the sidewalk.  When I ride in the ROAD, with the cars, they very definitely SEE me and thankfully, rarely get huffy about it.  Today, as is usual, when the light turned red I was able to match the autos' speed as we approached the intersection, so I wasn't slowing anyone down.
The weather was forecast to be nasty today, and of course it turned out to be a beautiful balmy day.
The early morning forecasters disappointedly stated that "It will get COLD and likely WET this afternoon" - I plotted to ride anyway and take my chances.  There are only a few days a year where the weather actually gets ugly enough to worry about, and I've had to call Jacque to come rescue me only a few times a year out of hundreds of days riding year in and year out.  As I type currently the weather is still just cool enough to be enjoyable and the online weather maps don't show anything threatening in  the vicinity.  I'll let ya know if I get soaked but it's not very likely.
Noon Ride Stats from GPS:  Total Distance Miles:  6.55
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.       Ending Voltage: 12.5   (Gel Cell battery pack, no charge for 3 days now)
Beginning Temperature:  80.6 F        Ending Temperature:  80 F
Overall average speed     Moving Avg      Max Speed
9.6  Mph                             10.9 mph            22.5 mph
Total Trip time                Moving Time     Stopped Time
  41:00 mins                       36:13 mins          04:47 mins

Later:  I got soaked.  Actually, only mildly.  It was sprinkling by the time I left work.  I started north to go my normal route but the rain was harder and the sky darker that direction, so I turned tail and rode south on Jefferson to Paseo to shorten the ride back.  The rain at first started to slack off but then started in earnest.  About 3 miles south the rain stopped, and though the path was wet, the rest of the ride was dry and uneventful, but I really regretted forgetting my toy video-cam:  Just before I got back to the car I passed the CUTEST little redheaded girlie-girl riding on her Momma's shoulders, strolling along.  "Hiya", says I, and the wee cutie says "Look, Mom!  A BICYCLE!!!"
BG before ride home:  224   BG after getting home, before dinner:  115
Evening stats from the GPS:    Total Distance Miles:  6.51
Overall average speed     Moving Avg      Max Speed
9.4  Mph                             11.1 mph            22.5 mph
Total Trip time                Moving Time     Stopped Time
  47:00 mins                       43:23 mins          03:37 mins

Monday, October 24, 2011

Popped Another One

Monday APRS Tracking Route
There I was... cruising along minding my own business, about halfway to work from my secret parking place where I park the car and saddle up the bike for the last 7.4323434555 miles.  I forget why I pulled over and stopped, but I did, downshifting automatically as I braked.  I think it was my cell phone ringing and I don't remember who it was, but when I started to roll again, I couldn't get it into low gear.  I seemed to remember I'd already downshifted but it didn't hit me full in the face until I tried to downshift to cross an Albuquerque bone-shaker wooden rattle-bridge.... there WAS no downshifting.  I was stuck in high gear.  When I twisted the handlebar-grip shifter ring, it spun too easily and whizzed through the stops but no control of the rear derailleur occurred.  I realized my long shifter cable had broken.... for the third time since I bought the recumbent.
Thankfully I had a new cable safely tucked in the rear pannier.... but needing for now to get to work, I just chugged huffily along using only the front chain-rings for up and down shifting.  But, since the rear gear was stuck on the tallest gear, the chain  had trouble staying true at such an odd pull angle so it continually jumped a tooth, making it highly impossible to keep up a tempo or pull the slightest of grades without having to hop off and walk the bike..... definitely not a fun ride.  I spent my noon hour replacing the cable instead of the usual enjoyable 2-mile walk through Wildflower Park.  The gears worked fine for the ride back to the carrito tonight except for not being adjusted exactly as they used to be.  Now I must make a pass by the local bike shop to pick up another cable to keep with me for the next breakage.
BG before ride home:  167   BG after getting home, before dinner:  138
Evening stats from the GPS:    Total Distance Miles:  7.43
Overall average speed     Moving Avg      Max Speed
9.5  Mph                             10.3 mph            21.4 mph
Total Trip time                Moving Time     Stopped Time
  47:00 mins                       43:23 mins          03:37 mins

Friday, October 21, 2011

Destroying a Piano

Today's very late noon ride to work
I really did destroy a piano today.  My employer encouraged us to volunteer our services at a local low-income pre-school.  It's located in downtown Albuquerque and they had an upstairs floor full of stored junk.  The center hoped to clean the upstairs enough to be able to hold staff meetings up there.  One of the listed projects was "disassembling a piano" that was too large and heavy to safely be taken down the very narrow stairs to the ground floor.  That sounded like a job that could be actually completed within a few hours, so a couple co-workers and I signed up for that portion of the project.
What a mess.
Not only was the work dirty and difficult, it was downright DANGEROUS.  Anyone who may have dealt with the innards of a piano will recognize what I'm talking about.  Not only was it built heavy, it was very solidly assembled.... and difficult to take apart.  We finally got the front portions of the piano removed, exposing the strings and sound-board.  A few dozen VERY heavy duty screws later, we thought the cast metal stringboard should come loose.  Not even a wiggle.  We found and dislodged a few more screws but still no sign of anything loosening.  We finally realized the hundreds of piano wires strung very tightly were actually holding the sounding board very firmly in place.  We started cutting piano wires.... very dangerous.  I almost ruined my Gerber multi-tool cutting several dozen of the smaller wires.  I went back to my car looking for stronger wire cutters but no dice.  So we began BREAKING the wires rather than cutting them, by gripping with heavy pliers and vise-grips and twist/yanking.  POW!  CLANG!  Horrible dying-piano noises as we crashed and ripped piano wires large and small.  Many of them sparked as we popped them apart.  We joked, only half-heartedly, that someone should have been taking video of the grisly process.  We got pinged by the sharp wires:  I have at least 3 healing punctures in hands and fingers from the procedures.  Only one set of safety glasses was available between the 3 of us piano-destructers, and it's a wonder none of us suffered any eye damage.  In retrospect we realize we should have just gotten several of us strong backs and weak minds to manhandle it down the stairs and out to the dumpster receptacle.  Even though we finally got all the strings removed and the sound board separated and the legs in separate piles, the monster back-board was still heavy and awkward to manage down the stairs.
Now, I LIKE pianos and piano music.  I can play at least 3 songs from memory and enjoy it, and really enjoy listening to or singing along with someone who really CAN play the instrument.  But this repeated-every-few-years thing of MOVING them, and now actually DESTROYING one......  I think I'll stay home next time.
Still got to ride the bicycle to work, though...... even if it WAS noon by the time I saddled up and got rolling.
Pre-Ride BG: 178 (after a sticky-bun reward at the child center)    Post-Ride BG:  125
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.5       Ending Voltage: 12.3   (Gel Cell battery pack, no charge for 2 days now)
Beginning Temperature:  69 F        Ending Temperature:  77 F
Morning Stats from the GPS:        Total Miles:    7.40
Overall average speed         Moving Avg       Max Speed
12.7. Mph                          13.1 mph            28.7 mph
Total Trip time                 Moving Time          Stopped Time
35 mins 00 secs               33 mins 50 secs     1 mins 10 secs

Thursday, October 20, 2011

For some reason I was a little low on energy for this  morning's 2-wheel 7-mile commute.  My blood glucose was on the high side of normal when I woke up;  I made my usual 1/2 sandwich for breakfast and pumped the normal amount of insulin to deal with it, and blahhhh.... I was poking along with no zip.  When I got to work the Blood Glucose (BG) was 55, not a good level for cycling exertions. 
Pre-Ride BG: 126            Post-Ride BG:  55
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.5       Ending Voltage: 12.5   (Gel Cell battery pack, no charge since yesterday's ride)
Beginning Temperature:  55 F        Ending Temperature:  59 F
Morning Stats from the GPS:        Total Miles:    7.42
Overall average speed         Moving Avg       Max Speed
09.5. Mph                          10.7 mph            20.7 mph
Total Trip time                 Moving Time          Stopped Time
46 mins 59 secs               41 mins 44 secs     5 mins 15 secs

It's Wednesday and Cold Weather is Coming Back

Typical 7.4-mile L-pattern breadcrumb trail
I'm not one to let cold weather slow me down:  For the last 2 winters I've missed only a couple of weeks total riding year round.  But I'm not CRAZY about cold weather.  For one thing, I have to wear heavy mittens instead of nice flex-finger bike gloves.  Which makes it nigh impossible to push any buttons on the ham radio on the handlebars, though I can still activate the transmit switch velcro'ed next to the right handlebar grip.  Nor can I access any GPS functions with the furry-fat fingers.
The other irritant is that no matter how cold, I always start out frosty and cold and somewhere within a mile or 2 of my destination, I get overheated and sweaty.... which of course makes me VERY uncomfortable because part of me (usually the upper arms and armpits) are overheated and sloshing in perspiration (Sweat to those of us West of the Mississippi) while other parts are getting nasty-cold because the moisture has soaked through the layers and is now drastically conducting heat AWAY from my core, thus making me too hot and too cold all at the same time.  If I was riding leisurely instead of always hustling along trying to get to work, I COULD stop and peel off layers BEFORE they get stinky-water-logged and maintain better temperature/comfort control.  But this is the REAL world.  That would require some thoughtful ANTICIPATION on my part, and I'm very much a last-minute Johnny.
Pre-Ride BG: 157            Post-Ride BG:  82
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.5       Ending Voltage: 12.5   (Clunker Heavy Gel Cell battery pack, fresh charge)
Beginning Temperature:  41 F        Ending Temperature:  55 F
Morning Stats from the GPS:        Total Miles:    7.34
Overall average speed         Moving Avg       Max Speed
09.8. Mph                          11.5 mph            20.1 mph
Total Trip time                 Moving Time          Stopped Time
44 mins 59 secs               38 mins 25 secs     6 mins 34 secs

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Terrifically Cold Tuesday, 39 miles?

39-mile track link
The auto shop finally thinks they have Jacque's Exploder  roadworthy again.Since she has to come to town this evening anyway, our strategy was laid out:
-She drives my Taurus to her work this morning.
-I ride my bike all the way to ABQ to work this morning.
-Jacque comes to town this evening in the Taurus, since it has the quasi permanent bike rack on the back
-She picks me up at quitting time to rescue me from the all-night effort of riding back home on the bike (which I have NOT done yet, even for bragging rights)
-We drop her off at the auto shop so she can drive her beloved Exploder home and have HER ride back.
It was COLD this morning.  I got overheated so when I got almost to the Albuquerque city limits I removed my wooly skull cap and my mittens... and about FROZE the rest of the way to work.It felt sunny and balmy when sitting still ripping off the winter stuff but MERCY, the wind got real cold again real quick as soon as I got rolling again.
I'm not understanding some weirdnesses I've experienced lately:  My last 2 full rides into Albuquerque from home, including today's, have logged on the GPS with an unexpected extra hour.  Last week I thought I'd just been extra slow, but an HOUR?  Then today it showed me taking 3 hours and 24 minutes for a trip that normally takes me TWO hours and 20-30 minutes.  I looked at the leaving and arrival times from home to work and it was 2 hours and change..... the stoopid GPS is confusing itself somehow.  Which is not all that unusual, though this is the first time I've noticed it getting elapsed times wrong.  I think it must be related to daylight savings time plus the fact that I start riding before the sun comes up and halfway through the ride the sun comes out and the GPS changes the display screen from dark to daylight, and must be doing some cat-hair calculation that results in an extra hour being claimed as trip time.  I went through all the settings and turned off the automatic Daylight Savings Time setting, since Congress has changed that so much the last several years none of the automated devices can keep up with it.  Hopefully next time it will report correctly.
Also, the GPS mileage  is always noticeably different, even though I ride the same old path every time... this long ride usually reports in as 31.8 miles and today it was over 39... whassup with that?  It must vary because of the number of satellite positions the GPS calculates.  Weird.  Don't stake your life or bet your savings on GPS accuracy... and we won't even TALK about the GPS map inaccuracies everyone deals with.
Stupid knows no limits.  The other day I rode off with only my lemon-lime drink  bottle on the bike; no water.
I was glad to have the slightly sweet lemon-lime drink for moisture.... TODAY I rode off with NOTHING to drink.  Made it OK, but of course would have much more enjoyed some water to drink along the way.
Pre-Ride BG: 143            Post-Ride BG:  102
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.5       Ending Voltage: 12.5   (Clunker Heavy Gel Cell battery pack, AA-Pak won't last 3 hours at my loads)
Beginning Temperature:  44 F        Ending Temperature:  62 F
Morning Stats from the GPS:        Total Miles:   39.29
Overall average speed         Moving Avg       Max Speed
11.5. Mph                          12.2 mph            35.6 mph
Total Trip time                 Moving Time          Stopped Time
2 hours 24 mins               2 Hours 12 mins    11 mins 38 secs
(corrected from 3 hours 24 mins)

Monday, October 17, 2011

Monday. Warm Welcome To Work

Aprs/GPS bread crumb track link
Boy, was it balmy this morning.  I stopped by the local medical lab to get some blood drained so my doctor can come up with a laundry list of things I'm doing wrong in the next few days.  I shouldn't be so negative:  My doctor rarely is.
So I called in to warn I would be late for work.  Jacque's Exploder is still in repair, now seemingly needing a horribly expensive fuel pump.... Wait, I'm being needlessly redundant here.  "Fuel Pump" and "Expensive" are almost synonyms.  I shouldn't mention I'm old enough to remember when a fuel pump cost maybe 20 bucks and a couple hours' work to replace it..... Now, of course, they're all submerged in the fuel tank, which costs lots of labor to access, and the pumps themselves rarely cost less than a couple hundred dollars.  MINE, of course, will be in range of 400 to 700 bucks.  Parts, mind you.  Not including Labor.
Awakening BG: 216            Post-Ride BG:  113
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.5       Ending Voltage: 12.0   (NiCad AA battery pack, left the heavy Gel Cell behind)
Morning Stats from the GPS:        Total Miles:   07.90
Overall average speed         Moving Avg       Max Speed
7.8. Mph                            10.5 mph            24.7 mph
Total Trip time                 Moving Time          Stopped Time
1 hours 01 mins               45 mins 59 secs       16 mins 31 secs

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Another Friday, Another 32 Mile Ride to Work

Friday trip all the way from home to work
This time I WALKED the bike most of the way down our nasty rutted washed-out rocky road to the pavement of Frost Road.  No falls and no breakages this time.
Awakening BG: 96            Post-Ride BG:  102
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.5       Ending Voltage: 12.3   (battery still weird but held up for this 3-hour ride)
Morning Stats from the GPS:        Total Miles:   38.94
Overall average speed         Moving Avg       Max Speed
11.0. Mph                          12.2 mph            35.7 mph
Total Trip time                 Moving Time          Stopped Time
3 hours 32 mins             3 hours 11 mins        21 mins 28 secs

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Thank Goodness the Bicycle Still Runs Smooth

APRS/GPS breadcrumb track
As far as I can tell, nothing broke or fell off the bike today.  Which is a wunnerful thing.
Had a couple of interesting conversations with hams while bicycle-commuting this morning:  One with KB3DOR who was also running APRS from his 18-wheeler ( KB3DOR-14) and another who was visiting from out of state and just got interested in talking to someone nutty enough to be riding a bike and yakking on the radio.
There's a big trial currently on the docket locally for a crazy-girl driver who skidded off the main road, crossed several yards of dirt and concrete, and banged and killed a cyclist who was ON THE BIKE PATH, thinking he was safe from cars.  What is unusual is that this woman is even being prosecuted for killing a cyclist.  Usually the worst that ever happens to a car driver who hurts or kills a cyclist is a minor traffic citation.  Hitting a cyclist is considered not much more serious than hitting a rabbit  or skunk in the road.  It's the same all over the USA  BAH
It would be wonderful if this woman or SOMEONE guilty of similar offenses  could actually be convicted and spend some jail time for it.  It might help other motorists realize there just might be  consequences associated with killing pedestrians and cyclists.  Motorcycle drivers have similar problems and complaints.  "I didn't SEE him" is considered a valid defense for the accidental (or otherwise) killing of someone on 2 wheels.
Jacque talked to the auto shop holding her Exploder hostage today.  They think they may have it ready by tomorrow.  That would be wunnerful too.  Filling a 30 gallon RV tank with gasoline over 3 bucks a gallon is not for the faint of heart..... or pocketbook.  Plus I'm just beating the poor monster to pieces bouncing up and down our terrible last mile and driveway every day.  This is another time I really regret not living closer to work... loss of one gas guzzler would not be a big thing if I could just ride the bike to work and back BOTH WAYS every day.
Awakening BG: 96            Post-Ride BG:  92 
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.5       Ending Voltage: 12.6   (fresh charge again last night, battery getting weird)
Morning Stats from the GPS:        Total Miles:   7.31
Overall average speed         Moving Avg       Max Speed
09.8. Mph                          12.0 mph            21.2 mph
Total Trip time                 Moving Time          Stopped Time
44 mins  59  secs             36 mins 26 secs       8 mins 33 secs

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

32-Mile Ride: ABORTED

very short nooner ride only today
Since Jacque had an in-town meeting tonight, we decided I'd ride the bike all the way to work and she'd pick me up after work.  This was especially attractive since I've been lumbering to town and back the last 2 days with the gas-hawg RV since Jacque's Exploder is still at the auto shop.
I left the house in the early morning dark, just after 6 AM.  The ride out of the property and down our nasty rocky rutted road almost a mile to the pavement of Frost Road is always an agony, especially on the bike with low light so it's nigh impossible to avoid rocks and bumps. I had gotten only a hundred yards or so up the road when I hit an unseen rock, and in my frantic attempts to remain upright and struggle (in Grandma Gear) to the top of the hill, I pulled too hard on my left handlebar grip and separated it from the gearshift rotator collar.  I stopped and fiddled with it for maybe 15 minutes, trying to get it to snap back in place.  I could not ignore it and just ride since the spring in the large front ring gear selectorwould not lock in any gear at all, it just pulled the chain to the lowest gear and off center from even that.  I finally decided I wasn't going to be able to fix it without more light and better tools than my Leatherman, so I trudged it back to the house.  By then the sun was starting to peek over the horizon so I could see a little better.  I finally saw the little spring ratchet clip that was not in the right place and used a surgical hemastat to grip it and put it in the little hole where it belonged, and PRESTO... it went back together the way it was supposed to.  By then it was much too late to ride to work so I loaded the bike up on the RV bike rack and DROVE all the way to work.  Yuck.
I was, however, able to get in a several-mile noon ride to make sure the gears were working again.  YAY
Noon Ride Datum:
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.5       Ending Voltage: Wobbling from 12.2 to 12.5 (gel cell getting very soft)  
Stats from the GPS:        Total Miles:   5.02
Overall average speed         Moving Avg       Max Speed
10.4. Mph                           12.2 mph            23.6 mph
Total Trip time                 Moving Time          Stopped Time
29 mins 0  secs              24 mins 47 secs       4 mins 13 secs

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Honey, Did I Leave the Lights On Again.....?

Jim-Toad's Wild Ride Tracker
Jacque's Exploder was still not repaired as of last night so we got to do the odd-car-commute thing again today:
Jacque drove the Taurus and I drove the RV, which I left plugged into the AC charging plug last night to ensure the battery would have enough oomph to start the engine again today.  On my way out the door I spotted Jacque's celll phone lying innocently on her nightstand.... she had forgotten it, and relies on it heavily - not for the least of reasons being waiting for a call from the auto shop telling her the Exploder is finally ready.  So I took a mild 25 mile detour in the wrong direction to deliver it to her and get a kiss and an indecent squeeze for my heroic effort.  Then I lumbered on into town, parked the RV and took off on the bike again, arriving "only" 15 minutes late for work.  Stayed an extra half hour late to make up for it, though.
Jacque recently bought me a 2-wheel bike trailer from a garage sale.  The tires are dry rotted, so I ordered tubes and tires from Amazon.com and the tubes came in today.  I was mildly chagrined to find they were light duty standard thickness tubes.... I have learned to ONLY use thick walled "thorn resistant" tubes or else I'm patching flats every 3 or 4 days at minimum.  Instead of ordering more from the internet, I decided to support a local bike shop and go pay whatever they wanted for their version of thorn proof tubes - And wouldn't ya know it, they cost the same or less than online prices AND I didn't have to pay any shipping.   Maybe the local stores are starting to be more competitive due to the sagging economy.  Anyway, since I was on the bike and knew the bike store would be long closed by the time I got off work, I decided to ride up there (Less than 4 miles but through some unpleasantly heavy traffic and tiringly  uphill all the way).  When I got back I was again surprised at how pumped up I felt after I cooled down from the ride.  The "bragging rights" are OK, but the physical benefits of lots of bike riding are really great, mentally and physically.
Awakening BG: 202            Post-Ride BG:  48 (a bit dizzy I was)
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.8       Ending Voltage: 12.7   (fresh charge from last night)
Morning Stats from the GPS:        Total Miles:   7.42
Overall average speed         Moving Avg       Max Speed
10.4. Mph                          11.9 mph            21.5 mph
Total Trip time                 Moving Time          Stopped Time
42 mins  59  secs             37 mins 31 secs       5 mins 28 secs

Noon Ride for Bike Trailer Tire Tubes (To Bicycles Plus on Paseo in the Trader Jack's center):
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.8       Ending Voltage: 12.7  
Stats from the GPS:        Total Miles:   6.58
Overall average speed         Moving Avg       Max Speed
08.2. Mph                           9.8 mph            25.9 mph
Total Trip time                 Moving Time          Stopped Time
47 mins 59  secs             40 mins 14 secs       7 mins 45 secs

Monday, October 10, 2011

Balloons Are Gone; Now the Weather is Great Again

The Usual Monday APRS/GPS breadcrumb track
I was not able to ride the recumbent bike (or any other kind) the last few days last week due to (1) ongoing rain - which also caused the International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta to cancel all balloon inflations and flights from Tuesday through Friday.  Saturday and Sunday were cold and wet but the Fiesta was able to start launching balloons again much to the delight of the hundreds of thousands of soggy visitors.
Thursday I decided not to ride because of the winds and the lowering skies, and a funny feeling I had that I shouldn't ride that day.  Later that very morning Jacque called:  Her Ford Exploder refused to start; she was feeling terrible and had hoped to go home early from work.  So I took the day off and drove out to Edgewood to rescue her.  I fiddled with the vehicle for half an hour or so, setting and resetting the fuel pump reset switch - it sounded for all the world like it was getting no fuel.  Spark it had, in prodigious amounts.  Bill, K8TE, an irascible but good friend, had volunteered the use of his Ford Pickup and Race-Car trailer should I need it, so I called him on the ham radio and told him I needed it.  So Off I went to the Albuquerque West Side, Rio Rancho, and drove his truck and trailer those many miles back to Edgewood to retrieve Jacque's Exploder.  When I got there I decided to try starting it just once more, and of course it STARTED immediately, making me feel foolish as I drove it up on the trailer under its own power and towed it back to the casa.  Then I drove Bill's rig back to his house just as it was getting dark to retrieve MY car.  Of course, after I got home I realized I had left my towing chain and 2 hand-operated  ratchet-winches in the back of his truck.  So we have another appointment to get together to get our equipment separated and sorted out, which is what we have to do every time we share vehicles or ride together for any reason.  SIGH
So, it was great to get back on the 2-wheeler this morning and deep-breathe some nippy air on the way to work.  I let Jacque drive my ancient Taurus  (Since her Exploder was still at the repair shoppe) and I drove the RV to my bicycle dropping point whereupon I normally unrack the bike and ride.
Awakening BG: 101             Post-Ride BG:  148
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.7       Ending Voltage: 12.7  
Morning Stats from the GPS:        Total Miles:   7.39
Overall average speed         Moving Avg       Max Speed
10.6. Mph                          12.3 mph            23.8 mph
Total Trip time                 Moving Time          Stopped Time
45 mins  0  secs             35 mins 57 secs       6 mins 03 secs
Then, I had a great - slightly chilly - ride back to the RV.  When I turned the ket in the ignition I was dismayed to hear NO click, no dash gauges lighting up, NO signs of life.  How did the battery, with solar panel on the roof, go so dead?  Then, of course, I saw it... the headlight switch was still on, thus totally killing the battery.  The backup battery was dead in the back too,. so I couldn't even start the Onan generator to recharge the main battery.  I was trying to think how to avoid having Jacque drive all the 30 miles to town to rescue me when I realized Justin, my new son-in-law married to Sarah only recently, was only a few blocks away.  He usually works an evening shift, but luckily he was home and, better yet, willing and able to whiz over and be Johnny, er, Justin on-the-spot and come jump start me.  Thanks again, Justin and Sarah.....
Pre-Home Ride BG: 112            Post-Ride BG:  Unk
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.7       Ending Voltage: 12.6 (SLAgel cell battery) 
Evening Stats from the GPS:        Total Miles:   7.22
Overall average speed         Moving Avg       Max Speed
11.1. Mph                            11.5 mph            25.7 mph
Total Trip time                 Moving Time          Stopped Time
38:59 mins                       37:36 mins             01 mins 23 secs

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Rain and NO Balloons - Beautiful Cycling Weather

Wet Streets APRS/GPS Track
It's always a jaw-dropper to me:  Weather forecasts and actual weather - Rarely Related.
It rained all day yesterday, Tuesday, after a successful balloon launch just before the weather socked in and soaked everything.  Then, just before Jacque was to come pick me up and rescue me with a car ride back to MY car with the bike rack, the weather cleared up about 630 PM as the sun was setting and I was able to ride my ownself back to the car, thus avoiding making her late for her Eastern Star meeting.  Then it commenced raining again, stopping but for a few short breaks all night long.
The Balloon Fiesta Weather Experts cancelled all flights this morning due to continuing rain which was forecast to last all day.  Of course within 30 minutes of the cancellation most had left the fiesta site, including shocking numbers of RV-fulls of tourists who had come long distances to witness the balloons.  The skies cleared and all rain ceased for the rest of the morning.  I had planned to skip riding the bike today due to wet roads and drizzly skies but when I got to the city limits and saw the sun shining I decided to ride today.  And how wonderful it was, even though the streets and roadways were still wet from the all-night rains.
The entire day, and especially morning, was beautiful.  I think the experts really fouled up on this call.  Had they merely waited an extra half hour and let the balloons go it would have been fine.
Pre-Home Ride BG: 116            Post-Ride BG:  70
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.6       Ending Voltage: 12.5 (NiCad AA pack) 
Evening Stats from the GPS:        Total Miles:   7.74
Overall average speed         Moving Avg       Max Speed
09.9. Mph                            10.6 mph            21.6 mph
Total Trip time                 Moving Time          Stopped Time
46:59 mins                       43:38 mins             03 mins 21 secs 

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Balloons, Balloons, RAIN: Tuesday

The Usual APRS/GPS track...
Today was another fun filled ride in the morning through a sky full of balloons and this evening was..... late.... riding during a lull in the all-day rainshowers.
Just a couple vids here:
This pink balloon was blocking the roadway that allows me to exit the fiesta area and get along to work, so I rode carefully past the throat of the inflating balloon:

Which, after turning out of the parking lot onto the northbound entrance to the Fiesta, such a view to behold:

Pre-Home Ride BG: 140            Post-Ride BG:  49
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.5       Ending Voltage: 12.5 (Gel Cell Good) 
Evening Stats from the GPS:        Total Miles:   7.12
Overall average speed         Moving Avg       Max Speed
10.6. Mph                            10.9 mph            21.2 mph
Total Trip time                 Moving Time          Stopped Time
47:12 mins                       43:11 mins             04 mins 2 secs



Monday, October 3, 2011

Balloons, Balloons, Balloons: Monday

Same Old Track, but Cruising Amongst Balloons Today
What a Spectacular way to start a Monday!  Hot Air Balloons all over from the time I got on the bike until I got to work.  I'll try to edit the many videos down to a few short clips.
The Albuquerque International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta is something that makes it worth living in the Albuquerque area.  Albuquerque is so popular with balloonists that there are only a few days YEAR ROUND that there are not at least a few balloons in the air.  But during Fiesta they are just Everywhere, with the sky full of them.  I've seen this spectacle for over 20 years now and it still is breath-taking to behold.



Then the roundabout trip through the balloon fiesta parking lot, AKA RV World, is a kicker too.

Awakening BG: 142             Post-Ride BG:  124 
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.7       Ending Voltage: 12.7  
Morning Stats from the GPS:        Total Miles:   7.74
Overall average speed         Moving Avg       Max Speed
10.1. Mph                          11.0 mph            20.2 mph
Total Trip time                 Moving Time          Stopped Time
45 mins  58  secs             42 mins 14 secs       3 mins 45 secs
For the ride back I at first planned to fight road traffic on Jefferson soouth to Paseo and up on the bike trail just south of Paseo.  However, I decided to try going through the Balloon Park area just to see how crowded and difficult evening passage might be.  I went through right before 6 PM so it likely got worse as the sun set later on, but the traffic was almost nothing and I had no difficulty at all.
Pre-Home Ride BG: 140            Post-Ride BG:  71
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.7       Ending Voltage: 12.7 (Gel Cell Good) 
Evening Stats from the GPS:        Total Miles:   7.77
Overall average speed         Moving Avg       Max Speed
09.9. Mph                            10.8 mph            19.9 mph
Total Trip time                 Moving Time          Stopped Time
47:12 mins                       43:11 mins             04 mins 2 secs