The Bigger They are the Harder They Fall; Lazy Blogger Playing Catch-up

Boring Normal Upright Bicycle Tracker-Path
I haven't missed more than 1 day out of the last 300+ workdays riding the bike, but Thanksgiving involved a 4-day weekend and thus I got no bike miles whatsoever during that period.  We did, however, finish Jacque's new quilting / long-arm sewing machine room... almost.  It still lacks a few finishing touches.  We ran out of moulding and the doorway from the main sewing room (aka small ex-bedroom) into the new room needs to be framed, dressed, and painted (it used to be a front window and was cut out to make a walkway).  The exterior door baseplate needs finishing to keep the cold drafts at bay.  But the room is essentially el finito, filled with all that stuff, and the long arm machine no longer fills our dining room.  So we can resume our life of entertaining friends.  Hah.
Since the loss of daylight savings time I have been getting up at 4:15 AM instead of 5:15 AM with the goal of getting to work early enough to be able to LEAVE work early enough in the evening to have at least a partial daylight ride back to the car.  Hasn't worked out well at all.  Even if I get to work an hour earlier than usual it's still difficult to depart early enough to catch any evening daylight.  Monday I was riding back to the car and, while crossing a street with poorly marked bike-path entries on each side, mistook the RIGHT-hand pylon for the CENTER pylon and passed it on the right, resulting in my crashing nastily into the 5" high curb, sending me and bike and stuff up into the air and landing sideways after jumping the curb with both front and rear wheels.  If I had been riding a "normal" bike I would have gone over the handlebars, which is almost physically impossible (Thankfully) on the low-riding recumbent.  I thought surely the front wheel would be toast.  After looking at it and spinning it by hand, it appeared to have no damage at all, so I remounted and rode on.  Trouble is, now every time I turned the bike the slightest to the right or left, my foot (AND the cranks) hit the front wheel, resulting in nasty noise and angst.  I carefully looked it all over again when I limped back to the car, under the streetlights, but still couldn't see any bent frame, fork, etc.  But when I arrived home and compared it with an older fork I removed from this bike a year or more ago, it was obvious the fork had been bent backwards to the rear at least 4 full inches.  So now the recumbent is parked awaiting repairs.  The old fork, while still straight, was removed because of a large stress crack on one side.  Also, the recumbent seat fabric is falling apart and needs to be re-fabricked.  I have the fabric but have been putting off installing it, but hopefully this weekend.... AFTER I weld and repair the necessary front fork.  These last 2 days I've been riding my backup bikes, upright DF (Diamond-Frame) both... and I'm shocked at how much more effort is required to rack up the miles on them.  I am most motivated to get with the program and get the recumbent repaired and returned to service.
There has been no snow nor rain recently, so no ice has seemed to exist, UNTIL I noticed last night, right at a very sharp corner-turn, a small patch of ice evidently formed from a water sprinkler leak in the adjacent commercial parking lot grass border.  So I have to continue to remind myself to watch for curbs and corners that harbor ice even when there's not supposed to be any.  BAH
Pre-Ride BG:  87   --  BG when arrived at Work: 73
Beginning Battery Voltage: Unk, current APRS does not report this  Ending Voltage: Unk (Gel Cell battery pack, charged last night)
Beginning Temperature: Unk    Ending Temperature: Unk
Morning Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 7.40
Overall average speed                    Moving Avg                       Max Speed
7.8 Mph                                         10.0 mph                             20.2 mph
Total Trip time                               Moving Time                      Stopped Time
57 mins 0 secs                                44 mins 20 secs                   12 mins 40 secs 

'Twas the Wednesday Before Thanksgiving

Pre-Thanksgiving Two-Wheel Trek-to-Work Track
Well, it's been, like, a WEEK since I rode the recumbent last.  Longest absence from the bike in the last couple of years.  In spite of the cool, nay, freezing temperatures outside in the mornings, Idon't like to miss a day.... Because I really miss the riding and the feeling of well being that comes daily after cooling down from a ride.
My excuse has been the effort to maximize daylight in order to finish construction on Jacque's new sewing room which will primarily house her long arm quilting machine.  I'm down to the last 2 ceiling panels and thence the flooring will commence.  Jacque piped up in her inimitable fashion and told me this morning "Let's stop trying to rush the sewing room.  No matter what we do we can't get it done in time for dinner tomorrow anyway."  So I took the sweet hint and dressed in bicycle layers and did my usual 7.47 mile commute from the top secret parking place this morning.  I was more slow than ever this morning and I assumed it must be due to a week of not riding.  However, I was shocked to find my blood glucose at 265(!) when I got to work.  Something was wrong in my insulin pump connection or plumbing somewhere.  It was almost out of gas (insulin) anyway, and started bleeping about 40 minutes after arrival at work, so I had to re-load and re-insert the apparatus.  Hopefully this fresh load of insulin will have more punch.  And I can get back to eating like a pig again.  Erp.Oink
Pre-Ride BG:  216   --  BG when arrived at Work: 54
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.5                Ending Voltage: 12.5 (Gel Cell battery pack, charged last WEEK)
Beginning Temperature: 55 F  (in ABQ)     Ending Temperature: 66 F
Morning Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 7.37
Overall average speed                    Moving Avg                       Max Speed
8.2 Mph                                         09.7 mph                             18.9 mph
Total Trip time                               Moving Time                      Stopped Time
54 mins 0 secs                                45 mins 33 secs                   8 mins 27 secs 
The ride back to the car was wonderfully nice:  The boss ordered us to leave early and I was happy to do so.  It meant I got to do my afternoon ride in the daylight instead of just while the sun is setting and totally dark by the time I'm halfway back to the car.
Pre-Ride BG:    152                                   Post-Ride BG:  56  
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.7                Ending Voltage: 12.6 (Why it's a tenth of a volt higher than this morning is a mystery)
Evening Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 7.41
Overall average speed                    Moving Avg                       Max Speed
7.8 Mph                                         10.0 mph                             20.9 mph
Total Trip time                               Moving Time                      Stopped Time
56 mins 59 secs                                44 mins 19 secs                   12 mins 40 secs 

Restful Days Off

Tuesday's Track

Hmmm..  Getting lazy about keeping up the blog, I suppose.  I haven't yet missed a workday of comuting by bike, but have had limited time available to mess with the blog.   Which is just as well since nothing of interest has transpired.  Even most of the pretty women that enliven the boring scenery have dropped out doubtlessly due to the colder weather, though there are still several hardcore gals still riding with snow-bunny suits similar to mine:  Lots of layers, face masks, and fat gloves making it difficult to know whether the passer-by is eye candy or otherwise unless they say "HI" in passing which is USUALLY an accurate indication of their gender.
I'm getting tired of taking the extra time required to mount and dismount my GPS/Radio stuff on the handlebars morning and night. Since my APRS tracker is an inexpensive but well hidden package inside part of the seat (and is left on the bike day in and day out, powering on only when I mount the rear pannier and connect the PowerPole battery plug), and I rarely, if ever, actually use the sexy Garmin 350 GPS on the handlebars, I've decided to mount a less expensive and less attractive (theft-wise) ham radio walky-squawky on the handlebars and just leave it there,. with some sort of weather protector perhaps as complex as a plastic sandwich baggie to put over it in inclement weather.  Will include photos, I promise, I'm sure the world is anxiously awaiting this achievement of engineering.
As for today, tomorrow, and Friday, well, I have taken them off work as vacation days in hopes I can get Jacque's new sewing room finished.  I'm sure  I'll be so stiff and sore by tonight I'll be wishing I was riding the bike in my wooley itchey underwear.

Finally: Frigid Friday

Following Frigid Friday Fatalistically

I need to stop complaining about the cold.  Every time I do, it gets even colder.
This morning the weather guessers claimed it was warmer than the last couple of days which have been FRIGID.
Fine and Dandy, but it seemed COLDER to me on the bike.  It may be the humidity was higher, and tugging the chill factor along with it, but I was not overly warm unitl well into the last third of my commute this morning.
I've noticed my reported temperatures on the back of the bike have looked  almost summerish... I connected the spare pouch-mounted  GPS to the output of the Argent APRS board, and it appears the additional +5 VDC load on the internal regulator heats up the other parts on the interface board.  How else to avccount for an 81 degree reading yesterday evening when it was barely above freezing?
Pre-Ride BG:  79   --  BG when arrived at Work: 54
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.4                Ending Voltage: 12.3 (Gel Cell battery pack, not charged last night)
Beginning Temperature: 51 F (Bogus!) (in ABQ)     Ending Temperature: 66 F
Morning Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 7.44
Overall average speed                    Moving Avg                       Max Speed
8.3 Mph                                         10.0 mph                             20.7 mph
Total Trip time                               Moving Time                      Stopped Time
53 mins 32 secs                             44 mins 52 secs                    8 mins 40 secs

BRRrrrr. Is Winter going to last much longer?

Thursday Bicycle Tracking
The upcoming weekend is supposed to be much warmer than most of this previous week, but I'm already tired of winter and it's just barely gotten started.  Riding the bike doesn't chill me as much as just going out on the deck or across the yard to get a load of firewood.  It's been BITTER feeling, even though the temps have not yet sunk much, if any, below 20 degrees.
Today's temperatures seem almost the same as yesterday's, but it seemed to be mucho colder - to me.
I tried a different layer this morning:  Instead of a cotton Tee shirt on top of my turtlenec, I wore a knitted sweater/vest Jacque made for me last winter.  My arms always get so overheated I thought perhaps the sleeveless sweater would not only allow my arms to remain cooler but also keep my core warmer.... and, since it;'s wool, drier as I work up a sweat (that is, perspiration, for my more sensitive readers)and hopefully it will wick away the moisture and keep me warmer even if it does get a bit smoggy in there.  So far I'm happy with it.
I'm also not the only lunatick on a bike in this weather.... the cycling traffic has fallen off noticeably with the cold weather, but only about by half.   I probably still encounter at least a dozen other cyclists daily, and that's only in my relatively short 7.5 mile commute.
Pre-Ride BG: 172   --  BG when arrived at Work: 144
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.7                Ending Voltage: 12.7 (Gel Cell battery pack, charged last night)
Beginning Temperature: 44 F (in ABQ)     Ending Temperature: 63 F
Morning Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 7.45
Overall average speed                    Moving Avg                       Max Speed
9.1 Mph                                         10.4 mph                             19.2 mph
Total Trip time                               Moving Time                      Stopped Time
48 mins 59 secs                             43 mins 9 secs                    5 mins 50 secs

Whoopee Wednesday

 Today's Track via APRS/GPS
Pre-Ride BG: 196                  BG when arrived at Work: 64
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.3 Ending Voltage: 12.2 (Gel Cell battery pack, not charged last night)
Beginning Temperature: 45 F (in ABQ)                 Ending Temperature: 63 F
Morning Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 7.45
Overall average speed      Moving Avg      Max Speed
9.1 Mph                          9.7 mph            20.2 mph
Total Trip time              Moving Time        Stopped Time
49 mins 01 secs           45 mins 59 secs     03 mins 01 secs

Winter's Back, in Spite of my Lack of Interest

Another cold breezy Ride-Track
Mercy. The outside temperature was 20 degrees F when I woke up this morning.  It was several degrees warmer than that when I got to Albuquerque and out of the warm car and onto the bike, but it was still COLD.
Pre-Ride BG: 116 BG when arrived at Work: 50

Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.5 Ending Voltage: 12.5 (Gel Cell battery pack, not charged last night)
Beginning Temperature: 41 F (in ABQ) Ending Temperature: 51 F
Morning Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 7.44
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
9.7 Mph 11.1 mph 21.8 mph
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
45 mins 59 secs 40 mins 9 secs 05 mins 50 secs

Snowing, Dark, and Cold.... What a Lovely Day for a Bicycle Ride

Today's cool ride track via APRS/GPS
Today made for cold biking but almost satisfyingly so... just enough for me to take satisfaction in being able to ride in spite of the weather.  Last night it snowed so heavily from the eastern outskirts of Albuquerque all the way through Tijeras Canyon and up North-14 to home I would have stayed the night on Jake and Stacy's couch rather than fumble along in the cold and dark, almost totally blinded and yet not having ANY safe area in which to pull off the road and wait out the storm.  Then this morning I had to scrape ice off the car windshield to get out of the yard.  When I arrived at my parking lot to ditch the car and mount the bike I found solid blobs of ice encasing parts of the derailleur and the sprocket gear rings and the chain.  I chipped all those off before riding off, fearing otherwise it might make the chain just pop right out of place, and that's not a fun problem to solve when it happens.
Then, all the way from the car to work, every few hundred feet more ice chunks would flake off the bike and go SPLAT! on the trail, often spooking me with the noise, making me think I'd lost something important off the bike.
Thankfully the trail and path and streets were clear of ice, so I didn't do any unrehearsed fancy tricks (Like sliding upside down with the wheels in the air).  All the ice was actually left over from last night's trip home through the blowing snow.

Pre-Ride BG: 116                          BG when arrived at Work:    50
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.5       Ending Voltage: 12.5   (Gel Cell battery pack,  not charged last night)
Beginning Temperature:  41 F (in ABQ)        Ending Temperature:  51 F
Morning Stats from the GPS:        Total Miles:    7.44
Overall average speed         Moving Avg           Max Speed
9.7 Mph                              11.1 mph               21.8 mph
Total Trip time                    Moving Time          Stopped Time
45 mins 59 secs                  40 mins 9 secs     05 mins 50 secs

Monday: Cold. Wet. Great biking

Cold this morning, rained on for a couple miles this evening.  Wonderful ride in spite of the wind.
It's late and the weather outside is ugly and I need to saddle up the bike and scat back to the  car as fast as I can and hope I don't get soaked.

Low and Slow

Today's Cool Ride
My blood glucose was high (194) this morning when I arose.  I pumped the recommended amount and went about getting ready for the day.  I SHOULD have checked it again just before I left for work.  Within a few miles from my cycling-start of the last 7.5 commute miles I felt like I had particularly low strength.  I experienced  similar sensations yesterday and assumed it must be the unaccustomed cold temperatures.  I thought about stopping and eating a snack "Just in Case" but didn't, since my blood glucose has been running high the last couple of days.  I finally stopped just outside Balloon Fiesta Park and drank a couple of snorts of my lemon-lime sugar water.I couldn't drink much of it since it was COLD from the wind while riding.  It seemed to help a bit, though, and I got to work and found my BG was 59.  Not good for trying to exert effort in any fashion.
It's late in the afternoon now, quitting time, and I did a quick BG test and found it to be 114... much too low still to take off on the bike.  Good thing I checked it so I'd realize I needed to eat my PB & Honey sandwich snack before I take off.
Pre-Ride BG: 182                          BG when arrived at Work:    59
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.3       Ending Voltage: 12.2   (Gel Cell battery pack,  not charged last night)
Beginning Temperature:  48 F (in ABQ)        Ending Temperature:  52 F
Morning Stats from the GPS:        Total Miles:    7.39
Overall average speed         Moving Avg           Max Speed
8.7 Mph                              10.0 mph               19.8 mph
Total Trip time                    Moving Time          Stopped Time
50 mins 59 secs                  44 mins 19 secs     06 mins 41 secs

18 Degrees of Glory

Today's Chilly Cycling Catalogue
Yesterday was a grand example of why I should never pay attention to the weatherman. - it makes me even question my OWN ability to look at the portending sky and make any valid assumptions.
The weather-guessers have been proclaiming "Afternoon High Winds and Arctic Temperatures" for the last several days, and the actualities have been rather mundane.  Yesterday morning I awoke with memories of the wind howling outside much of the  night.  The weather-dude again announced high winds and horrible cold temperatures by early afternoon.  I was all set to ignore this and ride the recumbent anyway but when I walked out to the car I could see lowering clouds off to the west and other side of Sandia Crest, and a very reddish tinge to them.  The old saying "Red Sky at Morning, Sailor Take Warning" always resonates with me so I made the difficult decision to just drive all the way to work and take a day off from cycling.  It turned out to be quite cold, but the winds were quite minimal and when I left work in the GAS HOG CAR, I was again chagrined to notice how calm it was and regretted, again, that I had not ridden the bike.  I guess in future I will try to rely on what's going on NOW weather wise and ride if at all possible and dodge or worry about the afternoon weather when it happens.  Absolute worst case scenario:  Jake (my youngest son) lives only about a mile from where I work and I could always call him or his wife Stacy to come rescue me and let me sleep on their couch.  Which doesn't sound unpleasant at all, though I'd likely get in trouble for being too rowdy and noisy with my VERY invigorating grandchildren.
This morning?  Colder than yesterday (18 degrees at the house when I got up, and 33 degrees when I saddled up the bike in town) but quite pleasant riding weather.  Lots of other hardy weather-fearless cyclists out there on the paths too, including a rather lovely eye-candy type that would encourage crowded cyclist trails should the word get out that she's a regular.

A fleeting View...

Pre-Ride BG: 138                          BG when arrived at Work:   100
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.5       Ending Voltage: 12.5   (Gel Cell battery pack,  charged last night)
Beginning Temperature:  33 F (in ABQ)        Ending Temperature:  44 F
Morning Stats from the GPS:        Total Miles:    7.42
Overall average speed         Moving Avg           Max Speed
8.4 Mph                              10.0 mph               20.3 mph
Total Trip time                    Moving Time          Stopped Time
52 mins 59 secs                  44 mins 35 secs     08 mins 24 secs

Winter's Cancelled Due to Lack of Interest: It's Fall Again

Today's APRS/GPS Route.
This morning I rode with hand-warmers toasting inside my mittens on the way to work.  It actually seemed a bit warmer than yesterday:  I didn't wear the ski mask but it still felt great to have the pinkies a bit warmer.
I've had trouble getting my blood glucose down the last 48 hours.  I had just changed infusion sites and the BG has been off the chart since.   I closely inspected my new infusion this morning and saw it was bruised and bloody;  a bad sign.  I pulled it out, cleaned it up, and reinserted it elsewhere on my belly.  It now seems to be working, but only slightly., as seen in the readings today.  I'm having to pump extra and with very weak results and nasty high bg readings
Tonight, as the leaving time approached, I looked out the work windows and was alarmed to see dark clouds gathering.  I rushed to leave before it started raining and was mildly surprised to find the weather absolutely balmy outside in spite of the clouds.  It turned out to be a lovely ride back to the car.
BG before ride home:  159   BG after getting home, before dinner: 255 - which resulted in NO dinner.
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.5       Ending Voltage: 11.9   
Beginning Temperature:  69 F        Ending Temperature:  77 F
 Evening stats from the GPS:    Total Distance Miles:  7.41
Overall average speed     Moving Avg      Max Speed
10.6  Mph                           11.6 mph            23.4 mph
Total Trip time                Moving Time     Stopped Time
  42:00 mins                       38.25 mins          03:35 mins