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
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