Today's spotty tracking coverage in the East Mountains
I got too busy yesterday to even make a short 6-mile mail run, but today I had not only another beautiful weather day but I had a check I needed to deposit in the bank. Jacque drove her Exploder to Albuquerque today so she could have easily done the chore for me, but I wanted to ride and even minor "tasks" or goals help me actually get out the door, saddled up, and riding.
FIRST, I had to actually accomplish something, work related, before waddling off on my trusty recumbent, We have a new(er) RV now and we're trying to get STUFF moved from the old RV (which is now available for the wee sum of $5000, runs great, details if desired) to the newest gas guzzler / bank account drainer. The new Bounder had a small solar panel on the roof (5 watts, a trickle charger mostly) and I was half done exchanging it for our 37 watt solar panel from the older RV. With some hacksawing, grunting, groaning, and re-doing the mounts several times, I finally got that all done up about 1:30 PM and climbed off the RV roof and loaded up the bike and left.
We recently saw a scare-story on the CBN 700 Club talking about how trans fats not only cause heart problems but evidently, even in tiny amounts, they also contribute greatly to brain disorders such as dementia, Alzheimer's, etc. Almost everything you buy pre packaged from a store that has any shelf life at all is chock FULL of trans fats, meaning partially hydrogenated oils which make for long shelf life crackers, chips, and cookies - as well as other packaged commercial foods. Most labels state "ZERO Trans Fat:" when in fact ther may be measureable amounts of trans fats in the foodstuff. Look carefully on the ingredients label for "Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil" - many if not most products claiming "Trans Fat: 0" in fact have hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils in them. If you Google trans fat, you will find conflicting statements about whether fully hydrogenated oils are dangerous or not, but everyone seems to agree partially hydrogenated fats are BAD-BAD-BAD for you. So, we have gone cold turkey on all trans fats if we even suspect they are snuck into our foods. Which means, dear reader, we must give up on convenient foods and cook and bake most of our own if we want to have anything tasty to eat.
So this morning I threw out my stash of mini chocolate donuts, my absolute fave snack, and dug out my old recipe book and whomped up a double batch of "Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies, taken off the side of Crisco shortening containers. But DON'T use Crisco or any other shortening containing trans fats, Crisco is full of it. Lard may actually be a healthier choice... but I've found just straight Olive Oil in the same amounts as called for in the recipe works just fine. The dough mix has a different texture but the baked cookies are great, not hard nor crumbly, just fine and dandy. Peanut butter, another staple of my diet, is full of hydrogenated oil, so I'm shopping for the old fashioned kind that is made only from peanuts, which are actually quite healthy for you unless you're allergic to them. The correct stuff is still sold in many stores: It's the kind Grandma used to have that the oil separates into a puddle inside the container and the peanut glunk becomes a very stiff and hard to use mass. You have to re-stir it almost each time you use it, time consuming huh! As for brain damage, I'm already screwed. I've eaten such stuff all my life, by the bucket full, and my brains are already mush. But for the future we're trying to limit further damage. With only a few dozen brain cells left, I sure can't afford to ignore the warnings.
Anyway - back to today's ride. Such loverly weather.... absolutely gorgeous. I peeled off my limited layers and lathered on sun-block and just enjoyed the cycling. The new batch of Ultimate Choc Chip Cookies came in very handy..... ran low on "Gas" at the start of the uphill climb of N-14 at Tijeras. Had 4 cookies with me and snarged them in short order.... and they got me up the hill and home without further problem.
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.7 Ending Voltage: 12.5
Ride's Lowest Temperature: 66 degrees F -- Highest Temperature: 73 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 18.63
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
06.8 Mph 08.2 mph 33.2 mph
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
2 hours 59 mins 2 hours 7 mins 52 mins 2 secs
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