Thursday, March 31, 2011

Impatient ABQ City Bus #321 Driver

I had barely left work this afternoon for the ride back to my car when City Bus 321 (His number is clearly visible in the video) tailgated me for about a minute and then impatiently roared to the right in  a turning lane and cut me off to pull sharply back in front of me, as you can see in the video:
I'm also uploading this video to the BikeABQ yahoo group.  Everyone complains about buses crowding them but this time one is live on camera....

"Sport-Cam" Woes

I found (last night) that my dead DV 005 sport-cam miniature toy dinkus sport camera would come to life and sync itself to the host PC if (and ONLY if) the 16 Gig SD Flash card was removed from its slot.  Earlier I had noticed, by viewing the SD contents on the Acer notebook with a SD slot adapter, that there were corrupted video files on the card.  I'd deleted the offending files, then all the video image files, but still the SD card would cause the sport-cam to die and not sync to its host laptop.  This is a fatal item since the cam itself has no viewfinder or internal software etc. with which to view or transfer files in its memory.  When I went to bed my funked out brain popped up a window message:  Try formatting the SD drive.  After all, other types of storage, such as USB thumb drives, get corrupted and occasionally need re-formatting, and I had nothing to lose.  So I copied the existing camera folders from the SD card to a backup folder on the Acer notebook and then hard formatted the SD drive.  Only took a few minutes, and after I re-created the DCIM and 100MEDIA folders on the now empty SD card, the cam now booted and worked as normal WITH the offending SD card locked in place.  So I used it again this morning to capture some useless footage.  I'm still loosely looking through the hours-worth of video to see if anything remotely usable is in the memory so I can put it up here on the blog.
As I rode this morning, the dippy-cam popped out of its mount and laid facing the sky until I got stopped and retrieved it, somehow undamaged and still recording:

My Garmin 350 GPS is also now officially flakey.  If the fold-out antenna is not perfectly aligned in the vertical position, it cannot find satellites and IF it ever locks on any, none of the data  seems to go out on the data line to the radio for transmission to the wide, awaiting world.  Better get busy shopping for another unit on Ebay before this one dies completely or I'll be back to the battery-saving but monochrome, boring Magellan Gold GPS.
Starting BG:  136       Post-Ride BG:   67
Morning Stats from the GPS:                       Total Miles:  7.45
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
08.8  Mph                          10.6 mph             20.0 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
50:46 mins                          42:15 mins            08:31 mins

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Wednesday - Where's My Global Warming??

The first 2 days of this week were getting warmer, seducing one's mindset to the idea that spring and warmer weather is finally here.  Of course, everything is relative, and a howling windy day like 2 Mondays ago makes other days seem mild and beneficent by comparison.  Today we woke up to 28 degrees at home and frost on the car windows and roof.  It was 40-something when I drove in to Albuquerque but it sure felt COLD on my hands and fingers, especially, while riding.
This morning was another knuckle- numbing ride.
At noon I rode 4.3 miles to Twisters at Journal Center to meet my daughter Susie for lunch.  I got there a few minutes early and Susie seemed to take forever to finally arrive, and when she did the wait was worth it... she had stopped to pick up SARAH JO to join us for lunch!  How fun, lots of cackling and giggling ... hopefully we didn't drive the other diners nuts.
My cheapie DV 005 "sport cam" died on me today.   When I pulled out the 16 Gigabyte SD card, it had some corrupted files on it.  The cam will not link to any PC now unless the SD card is removed.  BAH
Do NOT waste your money on these toy cameras.  I think I paid maybe 27 or 37 bucks for it via Ebay and it has truly not lasted a full week.  Guess for now I'll go back to fumbling with the cell phone for photos and videos.  BAH
Starting BG:  75       At-Home BG:  142 (before dinner)
Evening Stats from the GPS:                       Total Miles:  7.42
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
10.1  Mph                          11.5 mph             24.2 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
43:59 mins                          38:36 mins            05:23 mins 

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Heater in the Morning, Air Conditioner Afternoon

Evidently the weather-babe subbing for Steve Stucker got the forecast upside down and backwards this morning...... as noted already, it was very blustery this morning when it was forecast as a calm day.
Tonight, on the ride back from work, the wind was almost dead calm.
I think I have a decent mount figured out for my dinky-doo video cam.  Instead of the floppy hinged plastic articulated bracket that came with it, I just cut a small 1" wide and 4" long piece of aluminum .060 strap and bent it to the proper angle for mounting with the radios on the handlebars, and used some velcro to increase its gripping power.   On the 7 miles back to the car I must have passed 20 cyclists and a dozen or so walkers.  Warm weather REALLY brings out the cyclists... of course $3.50 gasoline has nothing to do with it.
I'll include some pictures of the new cam mount and an edited video of all the cyclists I passed (and who passed ME going the same way lickety-split) soon.

Starting BG:  176       Beddy Time BG:  142 (after Jacque's delicious meal)
Evening Stats from the GPS:                       Total Miles:  7.51
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
09.7  Mph                          11.9 mph             21.8 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
46:32 mins                          37:51 mins            08:41 mins  

Our big rescued racer Greyhound named Radar woke us up about 3:00 AM this morning.  He's a big wuss with all kinds of personality issues though he's a great friendly bugger who wishes he was a fuzzy lap dog who could get up in your lap but his physique kinda works against that.  The last couple of weeks he has taken to going outside in the wee hours thru his doggy door and then, when he wants back inside, he stands outside the door and 'woofs' until Jacque wakes up and comes out to coach him back through the doggy door.  He's old and tender and achey and he evidently doesn't like pushing the doggy door flap with his long nose, but if you wake up and go out to the door and tell him "OK, come on inside", he'll push the doggy door open and come on in.  He obviously wants some attention and hopes we will open the door royally for him.... I think he's watched the cat too much.  Calamity the Cat much prefers someone to open the door for her, and will wait extended periods of time sitting by the door waiting for someone to open it so she can scoot inside (or out).  She will eventually go through the doggy door herself if no human servant comes along for her royal highness.  Thankfully she doesn't meow or screech to beg us, her royal slaves, to come let her in or out, but that attitude seems to have been adopted by Radar, and then only in the middle of the night when we're deeply asleep.  I tend to ignore him, knowing if he gets cold or lonely enough, he'll eventually give up and come on inside (I've actually lubricated the bottom flap of the door with graphite and realigned it so it will open easier, to little avail).  Jacque, being of the tender heart variety, will usually awaken with a start after he woofs (He will eventually BARK! if no one responds to the first few "woofs"), and go out to the door and encourage him to come on inside.  This morning he woke her up, she talked him inside, and after she came back to bed, he went right back OUTside and within 5 or 10 minutes was "woofing" for more motherly attention.  This got Jacque's goat this time, and she chewed him out royally and gave him a right smart smack across his head and told him this was not acceptable behavior.  My alarm goes off at 4:30, and we had another hour to snooze by this time, but neither of us could get back to sleep.  We decided to give up and get outa bed:  Jacque decided to use the early morning wake-up to attend the Seminary classes she's assigned to supervise, and I got to work - after riding the bike in the dark and watching the sun come up just as I arrived at work - by 7:30 AM, which means I can get off at a decent hour this afternoon.  How SWEET.
The weather guesser, as usual, was a bit lacking in accuracy this morning.  "Warmest day of the Week today, and NO WIND!"  ....  WRONG.  As I drove through Tijeras Canyon the wind was whipping the car back and forth quite vigorously, and as I got on the bike and rode my last 7.43 miles to work, the breeze turned into a bit of a stiff head wind.  Not terribly so, but certainly blowing the "NO WIND TODAY!" forecast to blithereens.  And, unlike yesterday, I found my mittens and 2 layers of light jacket and windbreaker and fleece skull-cap under the helmet to be quite comfy.  I guess the earlier hour and the sun not being up yet to keep me warm had something to do with it.
Starting BG:  199      Post-Ride BG:   78
Morning Stats from the GPS:                       Total Miles:  7.45
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
08.8  Mph                          10.8 mph             20.0 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
50:40 mins                          41:28 mins            09:12 mins

Monday, March 28, 2011

Dropsy and Dressing Too Hot

Mercy, what a warm wonderful afternoon.  I went for a jacket-less walk during the noon hour and the ride back to the car tonight was a bit windy but still very pleasant.
I've been running the toy video camera with various mountings and just running the camera continually during the rides and deleting most of it when I get to the download /video editor computer.  It appears the best way to ensure nothing interesting happens during a bike ride is to keep a video camera running during said ride.
I normally encounter odd situations and funny sights almost every time I ride.  BAH

Starting BG:  168       Post-Ride BG:  108 (after large restaurant meal)
Evening Stats from the GPS:                       Total Miles:  7.45
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
09.7  Mph                          10.8 mph             22.0 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
46:07 mins                          41:27 mins            04:41 mins 

No, I didn't succumb to a sudden urge to wear Orange Spandex.  I dressed just as I did 3 days ago on Friday's bicycle commute and I was surprised at how WARM it was this morning.  About halfway through the commute I was forced to stop.  I saw a flash of yellow drop off the front cargo rack onto the pavement, realized it was my reflective light duty (for warm days, should have worn it TODAY) visibility vest, and with unkind words to myself screeched to a halt in the bike path and walked back to pick it up.  While I was re-fastening it with the bungee clips and cords I decided to peel off my outer layer, unzip the light jacket underneath, and take OFF the mittens that last Friday were frostbite-cold and today were much too warm.  Reme, a co-worker who also rides his very speedy carbon-fiber bike to work, had passed me a few minutes earlier and I'd been keeping up with him, maybe a hundred or so feet behind, when I lost the vest.  So that little delay put him so far ahead I never saw him again until I got to work.
Starting BG:  154      Post-Ride BG:   114
Morning Stats from the GPS:                       Total Miles:  7.42
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
08.7  Mph                          11.6 mph             23.4 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
50:59 mins                          38:22 mins            12:36 mins

Friday, March 25, 2011

Frosty Fingers Friday

The ride back to the car tonight was great.  The weather-guessers were right in that there was a bit of blustery wind but it was not bad at all, at least compared to last Monday, the absolute worst wind day I ever rode.
I again encountered the 4-wheeler Off-Road driver on the bike trail tonight, which is clearly signed "No motorized vehicles allowed".  Which is routinely ignored by several thoughtless folks, and I tried again to get this guy on video, but even if it comes out, his 4-wheeler had no tags or ID on it, so it likely will do him little harm if I publish his picture.

Starting BG:  168       Post-Ride BG:  108 (after large restaurant meal)
Evening Stats from the GPS:                       Total Miles:  7.42
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
09.4  Mph                          10.5 mph             22.3 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
47:34 mins                          42:50 mins            04:44 mins

MERCY, it was COLD this morning, in spite of the beautiful clear sunny sky.  There were at least 2 hot air balloons up above the West Side, and they not only lift better when it's cold, but my daughter Susie (the only one I know who has ridden in a hot air balloon) says it's warm and toasty in the basket under the balloon, so close to the burner which comes on every few minutes to provide more hot air for the balloon to remain aloft with.
But down where I was, 2 feet off the pavement on my recumbent bicycle, my fingers were FREEZING.  I still wear the cold weather ski mittens but haven't used chemical hand warmers inside them for the last couple weeks.  I paid for that big time this morning;  my fingers and thumbs just got bitterly cold and I worried about frostbite.  I think the temperature in Albuq. was a bit below 40F, which doesn't sound that cold, but it sure felt like cold.
Of course, the last mile of my normal 7.4 mile commute is always overheated, but the first 6 miles can be mighty uncomfortable.  Not to worry.  In another couple weeks it will be so warm I'll be wishing for cool mornings again.
Starting BG:  141      Post-Ride BG:   77
Morning Stats from the GPS:                       Total Miles:  7.45
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
09.7  Mph                          11.4 mph             20.7 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
45:55 mins                          39:08 mins            06:47 mins

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Glad I have a Ski Mask

On the way back to the car I passed a guy sitting off the side of the bike path on a 4-wheeler off-road vehicle.  I stopped about 50 feet past him and turned around to watch him and sure enough, he started up and drove down the bike path after letting 2 or 3 cyclists go by.  I tried to film him but of course my dinky camera was not working when I needed it.

 Starting BG:  46 (ate a ton of carbs)      Post-Ride BG:  124
Evening Stats from the GPS:                       Total Miles:  7.42
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
09.9  Mph                          11.0 mph             21.7 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
45:26 mins                          40:32 mins            05:08 mins



Today's weather guesser forecast calls for "renewed high winds, especially in the afternoon."
When my alarm went off at 4:30 AM this morning, I was so strongly attached to my pillow that I promptly dozed off "for a few extra winks" and awoke an HOUR later, at 5:30, which put me at work by 8:40 AM.  Good thing I have some compensatory time in the bank, so I don't have to work overtime to make my hours this week.
We had rapidly warming weather the last week or so, but this week has been cold and blustery, especially in the mornings.  I had stopped using my ski face mask because of the nice warming trend as well as my leather high-top shoes which have been necessary all winter to keep the footies from freezing.  I'm still using tennie-runners now, but my face has suffered recently every time I try to ride in the morning without the ski mask velcro'd to my face.
I tried my silly little cheap "sport-cam" again today, this time attached  to the radio mount on my handlebars.  The resulting video is much too bouncy to be useful, but someday I'll find a decent way to get usable video from it.
Here's  a sample of wobbly handlebar - mounted video footage:
(Warning - This could give you a head-ache watching.....)
Again, kindly ignore the 2008 timestamp - this cheapo resets to 2008 each time the cam is turned off and then on again.
Starting BG:  139      Post-Ride BG:  190(!)
Morning Stats from the GPS:                       Total Miles:  7.45
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
09.7  Mph                          11.5 mph             22.5 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
45:59 mins                          38:54 mins            07:05 mins

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Beautiful Mid-Week Day

The ride back to the carrito tonight was great.  This stayed a very lovely day and this evening's ride was just cool enough to be enjoyable.
Evening stats from the GPS:    Total Distance Miles:  7.42
Overall average speed     Moving Avg      Max Speed
09.1  Mph                       11.2  mph            21.6 mph
Total Trip time               Moving Time        Stopped Time
48:59 mins                      39:56 mins             09:03 mins


The Weather-Guessers forecast a calm sunny day today with renewed winds for the rest of the week.
So far they seem uncharacteristically accurate.  As I look out the window here at work, our US Flag is hanging straight down..... not enough breeze to make it flop in any direction.
As I came out from the Alameda underpass this morning I was surprised to see a paraglider up over my head, 'way in front of me:
Kindly ignore the false dare flag of 2008:  With a cheap camera like this, I get what I pay for ($25 mas o menos) - the time stamp resets itself each time the camera is turned off.

Starting BG:  110      Post-Ride BG:  93
Morning Stats from the GPS:                       Total Miles:  7.45
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
09.4  Mph                          11.8 mph             22.0 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
47:33 mins                          37:44 mins            09:49 mins

Monday, March 21, 2011

Another Lovely Monday

The ride back to the  car tonight was likely the worst wind I've so far endured - maybe ever in my LIFE.
Still, I can't complain too muchly:  I never fell over, though the 50+ mph gusts certainly wobbled me all over the paved path.  Thankfully there were few other riders encountered, so collision danger was minimal.
My nose and face were SO dry when I finally staggered back to the carrito... I actually snorted water from my water bottle into my nostrils to moisten them.  Of course it made me cough and gag, but it was also almost immediate relief from the burning dusty dryness.  Then I promptly drank both 16 oz. water bottles on the 25-mile car trip the rest of the way home.
Evening stats from the GPS:    Total Distance Miles:  7.44
Overall average speed     Moving Avg      Max Speed
07.8  Mph                       08.6  mph            18.9 mph
Total Trip time               Moving Time    Stopped Time
57:02 mins                      51:15 mins             05:35 mins 

This morning's Steve Stucker Weather Alarm was for high winds for much of the state.  The ride early this morning was fine with little to no wind, but when I went for my noon walk it was all I could do to avoid losing my hat.  Had to scrinch it down so hard on my skull that my head hurt, but at least I didn't have to chase the hat out across the street and into traffic.  Very dusty and brown air -- it will doubtless be a hard slog home since the wind is blowing north and of course I must go south 5 of the 7 miles back to the carrito.
My little cheapie "sport-cam" DV005 is quite useless... it takes very flaky pictures while in motion, and if I'm sitting still the cell phone does a better job with less twiddling.  We'll see if I can get my 25 bucks' worth out of it before I throw it away..... the online reviews are not encouraging (should have referenced those BEFORE I ordered the dern thing) and the plastic clip almost fell completely apart when I pulled it out of my pocket  to ride the bike this morning.  The total lack of any viewfiinder or picture viewer makes it very hard to point it in a good direction to actually capture what I'm wanting to record.   BAH
Starting BG:  144      Post-Ride BG:  84
Morning Stats from the GPS:                       Total Miles:  7.43
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
10.2  Mph                          11.2 mph             20.2 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
43:29 mins                          39:49 mins            03:40 mins

Friday, March 18, 2011

TBA Friday

BG before ride home:  96 (ate snack) -  BG after getting back to car: 104
Evening stats from the GPS:    Total Distance Miles:  7.44 Overall average speed     Moving Avg      Max Speed
09.8  Mph                       10.8 mph            21.9 mph
Total Trip time               Moving Time    Stopped Time
  45:35 mins                     41:15 mins            04:20 mins  

I got my "sport - cam " yesterday and am still trying to figure it out.  I keep trying the voice / noise activated movie camera function, and it works, but I'm a rank newbie with it and am not functional with it yet.
Here's a short clip while driving the carrito:


 And here's a wobbly one from the bike with the cam aimed too low, you get sea-sick from watching mostly pavement roll by:



Starting BG:  140      Post-Ride BG:  98
Morning Stats from the GPS:                       Total Miles:  7.44
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
10.3  Mph                          12.1 mph             23.4 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
43:13 mins                          36:53 mins            06:20 mins

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Balloon, Daddy, Balloon!


I worked until 6:30 PM thursday evening to make up partially for a half day off I took last week.
Even at that late hour it was still light out when I arrived back at the car, and the temperature for biking and walking is just great.  As it warms up for spring and summer we'll be remembering March with fondness.  The wind was much worse in February but March isn't over yet of course.
I received my much-anticipated "sport cam" in the mail at work yesterday, but I don't quite have the hang of it yet.  It has a sound or voice-activated camera function that I THOUGHT would keep the camera running last night while riding, but it never did.  I'll post a picture of the already-wonky helmet with the little cam on it and hopefully have some video from it to post soon.
BG before ride home:  181 -  BG after getting back to car: unk
Evening stats from the GPS:    Total Distance Miles:  7.43
Overall average speed     Moving Avg      Max Speed
09.8  Mph                       11.3 mph            21.0 mph
Total Trip time               Moving Time    Stopped Time
  45:31mins                     39:23 mins            06:08 mins 

Many moons ago, long ago and far away in Las Cruces, we were eating breakfast one morning while living in Helen Carbine's wonderful old house, when suddenly Jake, our youngest at that time (maybe 4 years old), pointed at the window and cried repeatedly "Balloons, Daddy, Balloons!!!"  At first not understanding what the Cat-Hair he could be talking about, at first seeing nothing out the window, we finally went outside and saw our first hot-air balloons, a couple hundred feet above us, floating slowly along and so close we could hear them and call out to them in reply.  There must have been 6 or 7 of them.  They were involved in some kind of balloon race from Albuquerque to El Paso or somewhere.  We've all seen probably a few THOUSAND hot air balloons since then, but they're still quite spectacular.  This even though there are few days in Albuquerque when at least 2 or 3 aren't floating in the air, usually out over the West Side.  Today as I cycled through the last leg of my commute via the Balloon Fiesta Parkway bicycle path, there in front of me was this:
It had a banner on the side saying something about "Albuquerque Green", and since it's Saint Patrick's Day, it must have some connection.  During Balloon Fiesta in October there are hundreds of colorful balloons sailing over our heads every morning, but this is the first up-close encounter I've experienced this year.
Starting BG:  140      Post-Ride BG:  98
Morning Stats from the GPS:                       Total Miles:  7.43
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
11.5  Mph                          12.0 mph             21.2 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
38:38 mins                          37:08 mins            01:30 mins

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Today's Headline: High Wind Forecasts OverBlown

Mercy, what warm, wonderful weather we're enjoying..
It was so warm I had to break out the Redneck Spandex:

other than that, there were lots of joggers and walkers this evening.
I passed another young family, this one with Mom and Dad walking and youngster-son and youngster-daughter on small bicycles.  As they saw me coming across the wooden bridge just north of Comanche, 'Dad' commanded the wobbly boy to keep to the right ('twould be nice if all path users could heed that advice).  The nearly-unbalanced youngster tried his best to get too far to the right and collapsed (lightly, thankfully) against the rail.  No road rash or even an 'ow-ee' as far as I could tell.
BG before ride home:  146  (ate snack before riding)
BG after getting back to car: 62
Evening stats from the GPS:    Total Distance Miles:  7.44
Overall average speed     Moving Avg      Max Speed
08.9  Mph                       10.1 mph            20.2 mph
Total Trip time               Moving Time    Stopped Time
  50:00mins                     44:09 mins            05:53 mins 

Steve Stucker, my favorite TV weather guesser, has been forecasting high winds for the last couple of days, which largely has not materialized, and today his forecast seemed to postpone the winds to "Manana", or tomorrow or the next day.  As for me, I encountered only the mildest breeze this morning.... similar to yesterday.  I often wonder why we even tune into weather forecasts anyway:  The best of them (especially the highest paid scientific types like up at Los Alamos) are wrong more than they're right.  I'm a weather forecast addict myself, riding the daily bike and all.... but I do best when I just look out the window or, better yet, step outside and see what the weather feels and looks like.
At the San Mateo bicycle crossing this morning, an oncoming motorist saw me waiting in the median and stopped for me.  Usually I now just wave such nice innocent folk to go on in front of me, but this time all 3 lanes behind him were empty so I didn't have to worry about being nailed by someone coming around him.  I accepted his kindness and rode through, with a hearty "thank-you" wave, which upset my balance and caused me to wobble like a drunken sailor going across in front of him.  He probably thought to himself:  "I'm really glad I stopped for that old wino... "
Later, I actually passed a fellow cyclist after he pulled out into the path in front of me and got up to speed.... and I stayed ahead of him the rest of the commute.  Unusual for me.  And he was neither a 5-year-old with training wheels nor a doddering old geezer with flat tires.  Cool.

Starting BG:  126      Post-Ride BG:  70
Morning Stats from the GPS:                       Total Miles:  7.44
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
10.3  Mph                          11.5 mph             21.1 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
43:12 mins                          38:57 mins            04:15 mins

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Yesterday's Racial Profiling

Beautiful, balmy evening weather for a wonderful ride back to the car tonight.Several additionalcyclists were in evidence tonight.   I worked until 7 PM because I had some comp time to make up from taking a half day off last week to repair Jacque's Exploder.  It was still very balmy, with a nice faint but cool breeze, just enough to keep me from overheating and it was just one of those great-to-be-alive and fun-to-be-biking evenings.
BG before ride home:  142  (ate snack before riding)
BG after getting back to car: 65
Evening stats from the GPS:    Total Distance Miles:  7.41
Overall average speed     Moving Avg      Max Speed
11.3  Mph                            11.9 mph            22.7 mph
Total Trip time                Moving Time     Stopped Time
  39:23 mins                      37:21 mins          02:02 mins   

'Tis the time of year where you wrap up in layers for a cold morning ride and peel (almost) everything off for the balmy afternoon ride back.  The wind is forecast to get nasty sometime this evening or tomorrow, but we'll ride it out, hopefully.
Forgot to mention yesterday during my noon walk I stopped at the Jefferson and Alameda intersection and punched the pedestrian crosswalk light button and waited for the light to change.  A lowrider with wire wheels came to the still-red light and obviously intended to turn right.  I thought to myself "Better watch this one", and sure enough, as the light changed and I stepped into the intersection, he calmly accelerated as he turned and forced me to jump back out of his way:  Otherwise I'd be dealing with bodily injury or worse now.  What a loser.  I mildly pre-judged him by his ride and as he drove farther away I put my walkie-talkie up to my face as though I was reporting him to the police.  If I had half a wit to spare I would have pulled out the cell phone instead and gotten a shot of his rear bumper and license plate.  I again thought to myself, first, that I wished I'd had a shotgun to mess up his paint job with.  Second, I thanked God I had no weapons available.  That rush of adrenalin when someone barely misses (or dinks)  you would get me in ALL kinds of trouble if I had instant means of retaliation.... Like the hero Michael Douglas in the movie Romancing the Stone:  When some loser confronts him in the jungle he rips a sawed-off shotgun from a quiver on his backpack and instantly "adjusts the attitude" of his attacker.  I've had so many near misses as a pedestrian I'm convinced that walking is much more dangerous than cycling.  And of course the near misses (and worse) on the bicycle are hard on the Christian attitude as well.  I have considered (more than once) the idea of carrying a plastic but good look-alike AR15 or AK47 on the back of the bike just in hopes the bad guys would back off.  But I always talk myself out of such an idea:  If I looked like I was armed, some local wannabee warlord would likely start shooting at me OR rob me to take the gun away.  If the toy weapon was REAL and USEFUL, I'd be too tempted to use it.
BAH

Starting BG:  173      Post-Ride BG:  75
Morning Stats from the GPS:                       Total Miles:  7.89
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
07.8  Mph                          10.7 mph             20.6 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
46:31 mins                          44:18 mins            06:56 mins

Monday, March 14, 2011

More Monday Madness

BG before ride home:  unk     BG after getting back to car: unk 
Evening stats from the GPS:    Total Distance Miles:  7.42
Overall average speed     Moving Avg      Max Speed
09.7  Mph                            10.6 mph            21.1 mph
Total Trip time                Moving Time     Stopped Time
  45:43 mins                      41:51 mins          03:52 mins  

A lovely day was in the TV forecast this morning but it turned into a COLD bicycle ride.  Not cold enough to cause any real misery:  Just cold enough to make me wish I'd opened a couple hand warmers and stuck them in the handlebar-mittens today.  A bit of stiff head-wind slowed me down as well.
Still no sign of the cheapie video-cam I ordered off the Internet.  BAH
If I'd had the thing this morning I would have photographed the water sprinklers soaking the bike path at the intersection of Chappel and Osuna..... no ice, but it was COLD.  When the Big Decision is made to turn on those sprinklers, (Or light up a "Controlled Burn".....) no bureaucrat is going to worry about wind.
I didn't get soaked, just mildly sprinkled, so I really have no reason to complain.  But I don't let THAT stop me.

Starting BG:  180      Post-Ride BG:  85Morning Stats from the GPS:                       Total Miles:  7.44 Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
09.6  Mph                          10.7 mph             20.8 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
46:31 mins                          41:35 mins            04:56 mins

Friday, March 11, 2011

Colder than Snot Morning - Afternoon BALMY & Radioactive

 Since I started using the new color Garmin 350 GPS on the bike/tracker setup, I've started charging the AA battery pack while I'm at work so it doesn't die on me on the way back to the car.  This afternoon the strategy paid off, because I answered one radio call from a ham down in El Paso, and when I signed off (stopped talking with him), another ham called and wanted to talk.  I signed off with him, intending to take a talking-break and concentrate on pedaling and breathing deeply(!), but every time I signed off with one, another ham would call and I couldn't resist answering him.  I guess they all enjoyed the novelty of talking to a ham radio operator riding a bicycle.... it's not very often you hear other nut-cases on the air while bike riding.
There are about 3 other bicycle-mobile hams I have talked to on the radio, but I hear them maybe once a week or less.  No other radio-active daily commuters I've met yet.  With the skyrocketing price of gas it may not be long before several more show up on the road and on the air :?)

BG before ride home:  262(!)   BG after getting back to car: 149 
Evening stats from the GPS:    Total Distance Miles:  7.43
Overall average speed     Moving Avg      Max Speed
09.9  Mph                            11.5 mph            22.1 mph
Total Trip time                Moving Time     Stopped Time
  45:14 mins                      38:43 mins          06:31 mins 

Well, it really wasn't THAT cold.  I seem to just be jumping the gun in my expectations for warm weather to continue, nay, INCREASE.  I want my Global Warming back.....
It was a beautiful day this morning - I haven't used chemical hand warmers in my mittens for a week or so now - but it was QUITE cool for the ride in to work.  I wore a very light jacket under my flaming yellow biking SEE-ME windbreaker, and could have easily worn the warmer one for this trip.  My hands and fingers got quite chilled too... of course I was still overheated and pouring sweat the last mile of the ride, but the FIRST 6.5 miles of the trip were COLD.  No matter, it will be quite warm this afternoon.
I should whimper for myself.... shame, shame.  Compared to the Japanese suffering from last night's horrendous swarm of 8.9 Richter earthquakes and resulting fires and tsunamis sweeping across entire cities, I have absolutely nothing to complain about.
I'm seriously thinking about changing the name of this blog since I have other mis-guided and dippy things to report and talk about besides my few minutes a day on the bike..... I need a blog name with pizazz, that more matches my personality or lack thereof, this one being an inspiration:
The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning

Starting BG:  137      Post-Ride BG:  81
Morning Stats from the GPS:                       Total Miles:  7.43
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
09.4  Mph                          11.6 mph             20.3 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
47:29 mins                          38:27 mins            09:02 mins

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Don't Drift Along With the Tumbling Tumbleweeds

BG before ride home:  179   BG after getting home, after 28 carb  snack: 144 
Evening stats from the GPS:    Total Distance Miles:  7.54
Overall average speed     Moving Avg      Max Speed
08.5  Mph                            10.3 mph            21.1 mph
Total Trip time                Moving Time     Stopped Time
  53:86 mins                      44:15 mins          10:00 mins 
 

Yesterday, when I finished reassembling the cam position sensor on Jacque's Exploder and aired up my bike tires, I also lubed the chain.  I noticed, as I turned the rear wheel, a clicking noise like something was touching the spokes... and there was.  A bit of tumbleweed.  I flipped the offending little thing out of the way, but it refused to get out of the way......  As I looked closer I could see it was part of a stem of tumbleweed wrapped around the outer ring of the cassette gears.  It had been shifting a bit weirdly recently and now I saw why.
Tumbleweed, especially this time of year, is just flimsy and fragile and dried out, right?  Not really.  I remembered the last couple of windy days when the tumbleweeds piled up underneath the Paseo overpass, completely covering the bike AND pedestrian path.  These pile-ups build up on almost every windy day, and unless a passing cyclist (like ME) stops and throws the things one by one over the rail and into the drainage ditch, they just seem to stay there.  I've never caught any city or county workers cleaning them out.
Anyway, a couple days ago I was running late for work and didn't feel I had time to stop and play throw-the-tumbleweed, so I just slowed down, eased over to the west side of the path where the pile was smallest, and rode right through them.  Made it OK, and got to work on time, but then a couple days later I find this so-called fragile tumbleweed stem wrapped solidly around my rear axle like it was strong rope.  It took a bit of hard digging with a  tool and several minutes to finally get it cleared out of the works.  I really like the smoother shifting now, with freshly lubed chain and derallier (sp?) workings.... AND lack of tumbleweed stubs gumming up the action.
Even though it was a bit colder this morning than yesterday, the sunny weather evidently is luring the cyclists back out.  Passed quite a few this morning.
Starting BG:  216      Post-Ride BG:  165
Morning Stats from the GPS:                       Total Miles:  7.43
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
09.8  Mph                          11.2 mph             20.4 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
45:38 mins                          39:44 mins            05:54 mins

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Half Day Goof-Off

As hoped, it was quite a bit warmer for the ride back to the car tonight. I heard the irritating "poppity-pop" of a motor bike coming up behind me and it turned out to be one of the bicycles with a gas engine mounted on the back wheel, sort of like a chainsaw with wheels.  I really don't get it.  If you don't want the exercise, why not just drive a motorcycle?  He wasn't going very fast - I've seen several but they seem to maybe make 20 MPH or so.  So they're not as dangerous as kids on motorbikes but it's kinda odd to smell the exhaust and see the little puffs of blue 2-cycle smoke on the trail as they go by.
As usual I encountered the usual odd lot of walkers and dog trotters, always guessing which way they will jump when I call out to them.
The last walkers were walking hand in hand, on the WRONG (Left) side of the path.  As I passed them on their right, my irritation was replaced by the enjoyment of seeing their 4-year-old son on a wee bicycle with training wheels.  He was 30 or more feet out in front of Mom & Dad, and instead of whizzing by him I slowed to match his speed and told him as he looked up at me with big eyes:
"That's a really cool bike!  I really like your bike..... Bye"
I don't know what he thought, but it tickled his parents.

BG before ride home:  223   BG after getting home, no snack yet: unk 
Evening stats from the GPS:    Total Distance Miles:  7.43
Overall average speed     Moving Avg      Max Speed
10.2  Mph                            11.8 mph            23.2 mph
Total Trip time                Moving Time     Stopped Time
  43:36 mins                       37:53 mins          05:44 mins 

I had signed up to take the whole day off work today to replace the camshaft sensor in Jacque's Exploder.
However, I started at 8 AM and had it repaired and running by 10 AM.   While I was poking around outside in broad daylight, I checked the air in my bike tires (~40 PSI) added just a bleep of air to them (~45 PSI).
I cleaned up and saddled up and went on in to work, arriving about 1:30 PM.  The aired-up tires ride much harder and thus rattle my brains more when crossing Albuquerque's @@#$#%%&!!! wooden plank surfaced bridges.  Thought I was going to break something.
It's my daughter's birthday today so I am taking her and her fiance to dinner so I won't be able to make up much comp time today.  Hopefully I'll be able to work an hour or two a day over for comp time so I won't have to eat half a vacation day.
Today was clear and beautiful with a blue sky and no clouds but it turned off COOL even though I was riding during mid-day instead of the cooler morning hour.  It was so warm I took off without a jacket of any kind, except my day-glow green vest with reflective stripes.  Thankfully I had a long sleeved shirt on Jacque made for me, so I was able to button up the sleeves to cut down on the cold air refrigerating my arms.  Also hopefully this evening the air will be at least a little warmer so I won't freeze in spite of being coat-less.  I normally don't wear a coat or jacket for the evening ride anyway, normally getting too hot unless it's been REALLY cold all day, which is rare in these parts.  The wind was blowing south, and strongly, and of course I was headed north.  Huff Puff.  Crawl along in lower gears.... BAH
I ordered a "sport camera" a few days ago for recording live shots while I ride around, but it hasn't arrived yet.  I got the extended memory card for it in the inbox yesterday so hopefully it will arrive soon and I can begin playing with my latest toy.

Starting BG:  171      Post-Ride BG:  97
Morning Stats from the GPS:                       Total Miles:  7.43 Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
08.0  Mph                          10.3 mph             19.6 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
55:37 mins                          43:07 mins            12:30 mins

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Weather?

Coming back to the car from work tonight I spotted one of my favorite irritations:  A guy on a motorcycle riding the bicycle path.  When I approached, he rode down into the drainage channel and waited for me to pass.  I stopped and dug out the cell phone and enabled the movie camera function and waited for him to come back up on the trail.  He wouldn't do it;  perhaps he realized what I was up to.  I finally started rolling and took the following video of him down in the channel:
I need to find a video toaster so I can edit out the upside-down portions of the video, wonderfully focused shots of my fingers and handlebars, pavement underneath the bike, etc.  Right after I passed this guy he started up the motorcycle again and rode up on the bicycle path and put-putted back and forth several times before disappearing down the trail.  BAH
I spent part of Sunday measuring my battery current consumption with my old and new GPS/Radio combinations.  I was a bit shocked to find the new GPS consumes battery juice at about TWICE the rate of the old Magellan:
Device measured                                                               Current Drain (amps)
Magellan GPS (old, monochrome, very little mapping)         .090
Garmin 350 GPS (great GPS, good color maps)                 .16
TH-D7 Ham Radio HT, receive only, no GPS                    .16
TH-D7 transmitting, 5 Watts high power, no GPS             1.60
TH-D7 transmitting, 5 Watts high power, with Garmin  on 3.20 (Ouch)
TH-D7 transmitting, 5 Watts high power, with Magellan    1.48
So no wonder my batteries go flat when I talk a lot on voice on the radio.  The Tracker / Locator beacon function only occurs every 30 seconds and transmits for about half a second each time so that doesn't eat the battery too terribly.  But yacking on voice.... Mercy. This certainly proves I would need much heavier batteries (or a hub generator, which is not only expensive but I fear would slow me down)  for  a bike trip lasting longer than 2 hours, UNLESS I turned off the voice function and just let the beacon run by itself.  BAH
BG before ride home:  223   BG after getting home, no snack yet: 136 
Evening stats from the GPS:    Total Distance Miles:  7.43
Overall average speed     Moving Avg      Max Speed
09.9  Mph                            11.2 mph            22.0 mph
Total Trip time                Moving Time     Stopped Time
  45:00 mins                       39:52 mins          05:08 mins                                                   


I was surprised at the scarcity of riders this morning.  Yes, the wind was gusty yesterday and it rained & snowed a little in the area (in the East Mountains we were surprised to find at least an inch of snow on the ground, with the temperature barely freezing at 31 degrees).  However, it was relatively sunny and clear in Albuquerque when I drove in this morning so of course I rode the bike.  It was coated with a couple inches of snow and slush when I left home but it was almost dried off when I got to my parking space.  Of course there was still a bit of ice and moisture in my webbed recumbent seat but it wasn't bad and seemed to  dry up in only a mile or so of pedaling warmth.  I passed maybe 3 other cyclists and ONE runner (who evidently stays slim and shapely by jogging even when it's a bit cold), compared to the usual 10 or more cyclists and dog walkers I usually see.
Awakening BG:  155      Post-Ride BG:  82
Morning Stats from the GPS:                       Total Miles:  7.43 Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
10.1  Mph                          11.5 mph             20.9 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
44:05 mins                          38:49 mins            05:10 mins

Monday, March 7, 2011

Stop the Monday Madness

The wind was howling pretty good this afternoon, and had only changed direction slightly by 5:00...
Jacque was in town and called to offer me a ride to the car.  I wussed and rode with her.  Hopefully the storm will calm down a bit by tomorrow.

 It was surprisingly warm this morning when I got up:  40 degrees outside, which meant I didn't have to build a fire in the wood stove and was thus able to leave for work about 20 minutes earlier than when I mess with the ashes, lighting the fire, stoking it up so it will still be warm with coals by the time I've got my lunch constructed and ready to go, etc.  It was quite dark and cloudy but very little wind [yet].  The forecast for today calls for chances of snow or rain this afternoon.  Might be a good thing even though it might mess up my go-home bike ride... we surely need the moisture.

Awakening BG:  120      Post-Ride BG:  102
Morning Stats from the GPS:                       Total Miles:  7.44
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
10.1  Mph                          11.6 mph             20.8 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
44:03 mins                          38:37 mins            05:26 mins

Friday, March 4, 2011

Another Day in Paradise

BG before ride home:  109   BG after getting home, no snack yet: 146 
Evening stats from the GPS:    Total Distance Miles:  7.42
Overall average speed     Moving Avg      Max Speed
11.2  Mph                            12.2 mph            21.8 mph
Total Trip time                Moving Time     Stopped Time
  39:53 mins                       36:32 mins          03:21 mins

 This morning was the first morning in months that I didn't build a fire in the wood stove when I woke up:  It was 37 degrees outside and 63 inside.  A bit on the cool side but Jacque's going to make a trip to town and I wanted to see if the house would warm enough from the sunshine to make it without a fire in the stove today.   As a result of not spending time shoveling ashes and making fire, I got to work almost half an hour earlier. Woo Hoo.
Spotted another couple of new cyclists this morning, warm weather and high gas prices ($3.30 and climbing) sure inspire more and more to ride bikes....  Also passed a walker pulling what appeared to be a briefcase on wheels so I took her for a new foot commuter.
Still investigating and reviewing various helmet/sport cameras.  The one in the catalog I spotted earlier is available all over the internet for 10 to 20 dollars less, INCLUDING shipping.  Just wanna find one that others have already tried out and highly recommend....

Awakening BG:  221(!)  Post-Ride BG:  62
Morning Stats from the GPS:                       Total Miles:  7.43
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
09.5  Mph                          11.1 mph             20.2 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
46:55 mins                          40.10 mins            06:45 mins

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Love this Global Warming

Several new cyclists and some who rode last year but now returning with the warm weather showed up on the trails tonight.  A slight head and cross wind slowed me down but when you ride all the time you compare everything to the worst days and today was a great day to ride a bike.
When I approached the street crossing at Washington a little blue car accelerated noisily to zoom out in front of me so he wouldn't have to slow down or wait for me to cross.  Nice guy.  NOT
BG before ride home:  109   BG after getting home, no snack yet: 146 
Evening stats from the GPS:    Total Distance Miles:  7.44
Overall average speed     Moving Avg      Max Speed
08.9  Mph                            10.3 mph            20.3 mph
Total Trip time                Moving Time     Stopped Time
  50:21 mins                       43:31 mins          06:50 mins 

Beautiful morning ride today.  It was 39 degrees at HOME (6800 feet elevation) when I got up about 4:40 AM.
By the time I got to the parking spot and on the bike I decided it was warm enough NOT to wear my face mask, and was I glad.  Barely cool enough to even call it cool.  I still had a hand warmer in each mitten, a fleece skull cap under the bike helmet, a next-to-skin thermal turtleneck on the torso, then a thick sweatsuit-like jacket, and the windbreaker on the outside of all that.
I was well overheated before I got very far, and stopped to unzip both jackets.  Another mile and I had to stop and remove the skull cap... really started to get toasty.  By the time I got to work I regretted having ANY cold weather layers on.  Forecasts call for high winds and a cold front to return in the next day or so, but it will have to get a lot colder than 40 degrees before I layer up like this again.  Since this is NM, it gets warm then it gets cold... we can have the weirdest extremes here.  We've had the driest summer on record and the wettest summer on record.... in the same summer.  Same with record breaking cold and heat... in the same month.
Been having trouble keeping the Blood Glucose down to reasonable levels the last couple days.  That's one of the main reasons to ride the bike.... to keep that burned down to acceptable levels.  Sometimes it just doesn't behave the way I think it should.  We had chili soup and a  fried tortilla for dinner last night, and it was probably more than I should have gobbled.
I got one of these "bargain electronics" catalogs yesterday.  I picked it up to throw it in the wood stove and decided to peek inside first and found a few interesting items.  That means this catalog is staying around for at least a few more days.  One of the most promising pages has 2 or 3 "Digital Sport Cameras" that can be used with a head band to take videos and pictures while in motion..... ding ding ding.  Just what I'm currently interested in.  If I had a camera like that on my helmet with an easy way to trigger the shutter, I would get a lot more cool photos of people and oddities I see in  my travels.  And the prices are less than 100 bucks, closer to 50 bucks.  We'll see.....
Awakening BG:  212(!)  Post-Ride BG:  71
Morning Stats from the GPS:                       Total Miles:  7.43
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
09.4  Mph                          11.4 mph             20.7 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
47:29 mins                          39.06 mins            08:23 mins

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Whoo, Hooo, Wednesday

The ride home provided some eye candy along the path:  2 Teen girls walking with one baggy pants guy.... gals decked out in fishnet stockings and low cut tank tops sashaying along.  Maybe they were walking to a party somewhere .. somehow I doubt it.  I stayed on the bike path and passed them safely with no neck strain.
Obviously the weather is getting much warmer.

BG before ride home:  298   BG after getting home, no snack yet:  Unknown, didn't test.  BG at 10:20 PM before bed, after chili supper: 
Evening stats from the GPS:    Total Distance Miles:  7.43
Overall average speed     Moving Avg      Max Speed
11.3  Mph                            12.2 mph            23.0 mph
Total Trip time                Moving Time     Stopped Time
  39:30 mins                       36:34 mins          02:56 mins

Awakening BG:  270(!)  Post-Ride BG:  123
Morning Stats from the GPS:                       Total Miles:  7.43
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
09.5  Mph                          10.9 mph             20.8 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
47:02 mins                          40:49 mins            06:13 mins

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Tuesday Twaddling

Very pleasant temperatures riding back from work this evening.  I stopped to unzip my removable sleeves from my windbreaker  and realized I was so heated up I just took it entirely off and rode the rest of the way in shirtsleeves.  Many joggers are starting to appear, with gas prices going the way they are (currently $3.25 and rising) we'll soon be seeing big numbers of new and returning cyclists on the trails.
BG before ride home:  219   BG after getting home, before dinner:  76
Evening stats from the GPS:    Total Distance Miles:  7.35
Overall average speed     Moving Avg      Max Speed
9.4  Mph                             11.1 mph            21.7 mph
Total Trip time                Moving Time     Stopped Time
  46:54 mins                       39:43 mins          07:11 mins

Great ride this morning, although I seemed to run out of gas about halfway through.  My insulin pump ran out of insulin maybe 10 minutes earlier.  I tend to think if I'm exercising I can get along without insulin but it just ain't so for me.  I struggled with the few slight hills on the commute this morning.
There's a grade school somewhere close to the bike trail (Comanche) and Washington Street.  There are almost always at least a handful of kids walking to school, loaded down with books and backpacks.  I often have to wait for them to clear the bike crossing, since like cars they seem unaware they are blocking bike traffic.  This morning a little girl spotted me crossing in front of her and started yelling how cool the bike was, etc, etc.  The younger kids normally shout out to me how nice the bike is, with all the blinkies and GPS and radio paraphernalia on it, while the older people tease me by calling me Inspector Gadget.  Guilty-
Awakening BG:  177  Post-Ride BG:  203 (Insulin pump ran dry during the ride)
Morning Stats from the GPS:                       Total Miles:  7.43
Overall average speed      Moving Avg         Max Speed
08.7  Mph                          10.2 mph             18.8 mph
Total Trip time                   Moving Time       Stopped Time
51:04 mins                          43:38 mins            07:26 mins