Monday, June 25, 2012

Tried the Bike Trailer Today

 We had a few minor maintenance details for the house over the weekend.  First of all the kitchen lavatory set started linking like a bandit so we had to turn off the service valves to those.  Of course we had to do without kitchen sink facilities all day Friday and most of Saturday.  We purchased a new set, goodbye $100 or so, and got it installed late Saturday evening.  Very nice new kitchen sink facilities now, well worth the money and effort, though we wound up chiseling the locknut on the old unit to get it to release and come free so the old could come out and the new one get installed.  Then the long-fading evaporative (Swamp) cooler got intolerable with all the recent heat wave.  I checked out the mess on the roof and decided it needed new aspen pads and a good belt-tightening, as the ole one was starting to slip and make noise.
Then the side-by-side freezer stopped freezing Sunday.  Had to force myself to finish a half a box of rapidly melting Moose Tracks ice cream - Jacque helped a bit in this crushing effort but I did most of it myself... got it (the cardboard ice cream container) cleaned out just in the nick of time.  We pulled out the fridge combo and this morning (Monday) vacuumed out a wad of fuzz, animal hair, cobwebs and lint from the cooling coils underneath the freezer.  That seemed to make it start freezing again..... hopefully this fix will last a while, knock on wood (Ouch).  While I had the kitchen in a mess with the fridge out in the middle of the floor we decided it was best to swap out the over-one-year-old water filter in the back feeding the ice maker and cold water dispenser.  So Jacque got to tolerate a totally disarrayed kitchen for another day.  I've been slack with my bike riding so I decided I would ride down to Davis Hardware on the bike to pick up the necessary hardware (Water filter and swamp cooler pads) and get some needed exercise whilst I was at it.
Now, since the swamp cooler pads might be a bit awkward to lash onto my handlebars and much too large for the rear pannier, I decided today would be a great day to tow the bike trailer on its maiden run and use it to haul the bulky stuff, AND see if I had the stones to pull it over a few miles.  Since the trailer was basically a stripped aluminum frame with no supports between the wheels, I hacksawed up some scrap aluminum tubing (that in a previous life was a commercial ham radio beam antenna) an - after a few busted knuckles I was ready to roll. 



Unfortunately my main radio battery was low so I only got a few positions recorded out of the 20-something mile round trip.
The results?  Trailer worked fine, hardly noticed it climbing hills even loaded with almost 20 extra pounds I'm not used to carrying.   HOWSOMEVER - When I finally ran out of steam and had to walk the bike/trailer combo up our horrible last-mile rocky hill road.... I REALLY noticed it. No fun pushing that combination at all.  So, short story is:  Straight and level or bikable hills, no problem.  If I have to dismount and push, OUCH... Bah
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.4                         Ending Voltage: 12.1
Ride's Lowest Temperature: 75 degrees F -- Highest Temperature: 83 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:     22.03
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
04.0 MPH                                7.7 MPH                   35.7 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
5 hours 30 mins                       2 hours 52 mins        2 hours 38 mins

Friday, June 22, 2012

Friday Morning Mail Run

Friday's Boring Tracking via Ham Radio
I decided to do my "Mail Run" earlier in the day to avoid the higher afternoon heat and winds.
As I rode the quarter-mile from our dirt road to the starting end of the Frost Road bike path, I noticed someone with a pickup had parked right on the paved path.  Since this behavior infuriates me, of course I veered right over to chew them out....
And, as usual, I was wrong.  Not only was the pickup NOT on the path, but on the gravel apron adjacent to the path where many motorists park, but the driver was a rather attractive young lady with her two children unloading HER bikes and kiddo-trailer to take them for a ride.  I swallowed my grump and rode by, and her 6-ish year old son smiled hugely and said "Nice Bike!!!"  I met them, again, on the return leg of my mail run, where the young Mom was taking a breather from pulling her young daughter uphill in the bike trailer.  The boy was on his own bike and rolling, again delighted to see me.  I must admire such a nice lady who decides to take her family, without Dad, who is likely at work, for a bike ride by herself.
That hill is a tough pull, even for us wimps not pulling a trailer.
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.7                         Ending Voltage: 12.7
Ride's Lowest Temperature: 73 degrees F -- Highest Temperature: 80.6 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:      5.55
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
05.0 MPH                                7.1 MPH                   25.7 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
1 hour 6 mins                        47 mins 14 secs        19 mins 45 secs

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Just a 5-Mile Milk, er, Mail Run

Back & Forth Frost Road Track
I hadn't thought I would get a bike ride in at all yesterday, but about 4:30 PM or so I noticed I had a stamped envelope containing  our monthly house payment inside that needed mailing - so I decided to ride up to the Post Office and use that excuse for at least a short ride.
The "ride up to the PO" is not an easy one.... it's a gradual but long uphill pull that leaves me breathless before the first thousand yards are accomplished.
Yesterday, it was shocking to behold the outside air:  A fire had started about an hour earlier miles across the Sandias, at the Bosque (wooded area near the Rio Grande) at the north end of Corrales.  The wind had blown the smoke plume up over Sandia Crest so thick it looked like the entire mountain was on fire, and out here the air was thick with nasty smoke.
All the way to the PO and back I heard continuous chatter on the ham radio about the fire and the smoke.  If we don't get some decent summer rains, soon, our entire state is going to burn, and of course most of the west is suffering from multiple wildfires currently burning.  Hundreds of homes have already been destroyed just in New Mexico and Colorado.
Again, as usual, a stiff headwind presented itself once I got down to the pavement of Frost Road, and the weather was so warm I appreciated it for cooling me down a bit.
Of course, what goes up must come down...... normally a pleasure on a bicycle.  Most of the return leg east from the PO to our turnoff is downhill and a nice rest from the tiring ride just endured getting UP it.
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.0                         Ending Voltage: 12.8
Ride's Lowest Temperature: 80.4 degrees F -- Highest Temperature: 82.6 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:      5.54
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
06.2 MPH                                7.7 MPH                   30.0 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
53 mins  58 secs                    43 mins 21 secs        10 mins 37 secs

Monday, June 18, 2012

19 Mile Monday Mildness

Very Spotty APRS Tracking through Tijeras Canyon as Usual 
Jacque got a wild hair to go for a Human Powered Vehicle ride today, so we again did the routine where I rode mine all the way from home to Albuquerque and she drove in to Los Altos Park and rode from there.  The basic idea was for me to get in a longer ride and call her on the cell phone when I got to "Town" and meet her somewhere and ride around a bit more together.
The wind was  very strong and face-on most of the way south into Tijeras and west along Rt. 66 into ABQ, but the weather was so warm it again felt good to have it cooling me off in spite of also slowing me down.
I stopped at One Stop Office in Tijeras just in case just in case they had a received package for me, and sure enough they did.  Very nice folks there, they provide office supplies and shipping and receiving services for the East Mountains.  If you're like us and UPS and FedEx have trouble finding your home out in the sticks, or need a secure place for your UPS package to be dropped off (instead of finding it somwhere in your yard or down the road from your house) you should consider using One Stop.  Very reasonable.
Back at the ranch, or old US 66, by the time I got through the canyon into Albuquerque it was after 2 PM (I left home about noonish, my bad) I was so heated up I called Jacque to see where she was and decided to just wait for her in the shade next to her Ford Exploder.  Trouble is, right after we hung up, I put the cell phone back in one of the side pockets of  my cargo pants where I failed to hear several frantic calls from Jacque trying to inform me she'd suddenly experienced a flat on her left front tire on her trike.and needed rescue.  I only noticed her missed calls when I finally decided she was running much later than the 45 minutes she'd predicted for returning.  Was I ever in the dog-house, and of course rightfully so.  Finally I was able to rush to her aid and load her and Tinkerbell and the trike up into the SUV.  Thankfully she cooled off quickly and was OK, though we're disappointed at the difficulty of keeping her tires inflated.   When we bought the Catrike we paid extra for Kevlar tire liners but a teensey sticker penetrated the sidewall just at the edge of the Kevlar liner and created a not-so-slow leak.  I have patched it twice, and what a hassle it is to get these 16 inch tires off their rims!  I have to struggle with it mightily to get the tire off the rim, the tubes are tiny and hard to get a large enough area dressed for a patch, and evidently the tube is so small the patches have trouble maintaining good adhesion - I am a pretty accomplished bike mechanick and tire patcher but after two tries on this same tire I'm done.  I already tried to order spare tubes for these wheels and I am unable to find 16 X 1.35 tubes anywhere.  So we're going to bite the bullet and pay extra to have 20" wheels mounted on the front of the trike.  The rear is already a 20-incher, and thus this will allow us to use a single spare tube or tire for all 3 wheels, AND hopefully make it easier for me to service the tires
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.7                         Ending Voltage: 12.7
Ride's Lowest Temperature: 80.6 degrees F -- Highest Temperature: 82.4 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:      19.45
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
07.9 MPH                               10.7 MPH                   35.1 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
  2hours  27 mins                    1 hours 48 mins        38 mins

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Just 24 miles this time

Today's very spotty tracking link
Yesterday, Friday, Jacque wanted to do a ride "in town (Albuquerque)" with our human powered vehicles (my recumbent 2-wheeler and her recumbent hot-rod Trike ).  I proposed to leave earlier and ride all the way from home to Los Altos Park (where Jacque likes to park, take Tinkerbell to the dog park, and saddle up to ride her trike).  This would allow me to get in a longer more satisfactory ride and allow me to go full speed rather than 'throttling back' to stay close to Jacque as we do when we ride together.  It was great for me, although my average speed does not impress me compared to riding seemingly more slowly with Jacque.  I had 19-something miles on my gps when I met her at the park, and we rode around a bit - deciding to do lunch at  Village Inn on Wyoming.  Getting there was not much fun since Wyoming has no bike lane and traffic was THICK as usual.  We wound up riding the sidewalk, very dangerous and uncomfortable, getting too close to vehicles at intersections not expecting to encounter bikes on sidewalks... but finally got there unscathed.  Tinkerbell was not allowed inside, unfortunately, so she remained patiently outside in the shade calmly enduring all the "OOOOhhhh, How CUUUUUTE...." comments from restaurant patrons entering and leaving the building.  What a fun companion she is.  She rides in her basket right behind Jacque's head - eagerly monitoring activity and sights and sounds and smells in all directions... and does not create scenes or otherwise embarrass us when she has to be left alone occasionally.  Of course it helps soothe her tender feelings to get a small treat of meat brought from whatever WE were eating inside.
Then, since we had "company coming" for dinner, we rode back to the car and went for a quick shopping stop and back home.  On the way through Tijeras Canyon I spotted something in the road that shouldn't be there, running over it with a WHUMP as it was too late to take evasive action.  Evasive action that would have saved me $300-something.... the left front tire was flat moments after getting home.  As I write this I sit patiently at Discount Tire waiting for 4 new tires to be delivered from across town.
The punctured tire was under warranty, but since this Explorer is all-wheel-all -the-time 4-wheel drive, the tires need to be perfectly matched or it will stress the 4WD drivetrain something awful, including the dreadful howl of the transfer case as you otherwise calmly cruise down a perfectly smooth road.
So I'm getting 4 new tires for the price of 3, not a pleasant thought since the existing tires were relatively new with only a few thousand miles on them.
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.7                         Ending Voltage: 12.6
Ride's Lowest Temperature: 73 degrees F -- Highest Temperature: 82 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:      24.10
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
06.5 MPH                               10.1 MPH                   32.2 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
3 hours  44 mins                    2 hours 23 mins        1 hour 21 mins

Monday, June 11, 2012

Monday Madness, or Big Deal 30 Miles

Today's Spotty Tracking
(My GPS/APRS tracking was spotty since my own internet I-gate for receiving radio positions and relaying them to the internet was not working.  I of course didn't realize this until I got home.  Working Now--)
My blood glucose has been creeping up in recent weeks.  I tend not to ride as much as when I was commuting to work and back, even though theoretically I have more time to ride now.  I have so many projects needing time that I tend to short-change aerobic exercise, which of course ain't too smart.
I needed to got "to town" to get some new fuel line for the Bounder RV's AC generator, so I decided to ride the bike for that small shopping trip.  Google showed 18 miles to the closest Albuquerque autozone, but only 12 miles to the Edgewood version.  So off to Edgewood I went.  The grades going that direction seemed a little steeper than the last time I rode them (i.e. several months ago at the least).  There was a bit of a headwind, but it mainly felt good and kept me cooler.   Plus, it encouraged me that the wind was blowing in my face as I rode east, meaning if it kept up it would provide me a tailwind for the trip back the other way to home.  All in all, a fine ride to Edgewood.  As I entered the Edgewood city limits I noticed the NAPA store right there alongside the road.  AHA!  Save at least a couple miles.... But when I turned in their parking lot, I noticed the empty look of the place.  Sure enough, a "Close Permanently" sign was in the window.  Nowadays it is so sad to see so many restaurants, auto parts stores, mechanics, etc, all closing their doors.  Last fall we drove through the old industrial area surrounding Candelaria and I-25 in Albuquerque.  Not only was the business we were looking for shut down, but most of the formerly-full buildings were boarded up, for rent, for sale, etc.  Very sad.
I went on into Edgewood, through the stoplight, and to the Autozone just across the street south of Smith's Food King.  Picked up what I wanted, and started to ride back to the Dollar Store to pickup a couple of paint roller sleeves for Jacque, when I suddenly decided to go north on 344 under I-40 and to Wal-Mart and get her items there and then make the north loop up 344 to Frost Road and back home.
I was getting a bit low on carbs, so I ate inside Wal-Mart at their McDonalds franchise.... consuming a sugared root beer, grilled chicken sandwich, and a full order of fries.  I pumped very little insulin due to the expected exertion and burned it all off.  My blood sugar was 111 when I got home.
North of Edgewood on 344, the road narrows and the shoulder disappears.  I've ridden this road before and the drivers have normally been very courteous and tolerant of my slow-going human powered vehicle slowing their progress.  Today, however, I heard sirens coming up behind me.  As they got closer, I pulled to the side of the road and stopped, to make more room for the emergency vehicles to pass.  The first fire truck passed without incident.  I started rolling again, only to hear a second fire truck in the distance behind me, so when this one appeared in my rear view mirror, I again pulled to the side (no shoulder, just rocks and weeds adjoining the road) and stopped.  THIS fire truck missed me by a bare six inches;  the driver may not have even seen me since he turned not the least away from me as he passed.  My so-called Christian attitude suffered greatly, and I shouted and gestured some regretful things as he roared away.  If I had been a few more inches away from the edge of the road I doubt I's be alive telling this story.  BAH
I arrived at the intersection of Frost Road and 344 and turned left, west, on Frost Road.  I had gone maybe a quarter mile before another siren-screaming vehicle came roaring north and I worried he might turn on Frost Road too, necessitating another withdrawal from the roadway.  Evidently the emergency was farther north since it kept going and didn't follow me onto Frost.  As hoped, the wind was at least a little at my back, helping me along a bit and still providing cooling.  As I rode past a new-looking hubcap lying in the weeds, it occurred to me I would appreciate it if some passerby made such a thing visible from the road if it was MY hubcap, so I turned around and pulled the wheel cover out of the weeds and propped it up against a fencepost.
Within about 4 miles of home, the slight tail-wind turned around and became a fairly stiff head-wind.  BAH -
But I slugged on, even though I had run out of water to drink.  I took one more 700 mL bottle than normal, for a total of 3, but drank the last one about 8 miles from home.  Next time there'll be more wter bottles stowed away....
When I arrived at our turn-off, I remembered no one had picked up the mail so I rode on the 2+ extra miles to the Post Office and back.  Thankfully the returning 2 miles from the P.O. are mostly downhill, so that wasn't too bad.
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.7                         Ending Voltage: 12.5
Ride's Lowest Temperature: 70 degrees F -- Highest Temperature: 77 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:      30.81
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
06.9 MPH                               08.8 MPH                   35.3 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
4 hours  27 mins                    3 hours 30 mins        56 mins 59 secs

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Nice Surprise for a Short Friday Ride

Friday Afternoon Tracking Map
Well, Steve and Jessica and Tyler and Katrien left our house for the next leg of their vacation trip Friday morning, and though it was nice to have a bit of peace and quiet, it suddenly seemed TOO quiet.
We had announced the kids could just stay with us while their parents traveled onward, but I couldn't whip Steve and was afraid to even try outfighting Jessica for her kiddos. 
So we did what any set of empty-nest grandparents would do:  We loaded up the bikes and went to the Bosque Trail for a leisurely ride.  We parked at the Bio Park and first rode south on the trail to Tingley Beach to use their "Facilities" and then rode back north and decided to take a detour we've not ridden except during group rides with Paul and Kay's recumbent enthusiasts.  We rode over to Old Town Plaza which is maybe a mile from the Bosque Trail and were pleasantly surprised to find a bluegrass band "The Squash Blossom Boys" performing on the plaza bandstand.  They had a rather lovely lady pounding away on the stand-up bass in the back, so don't let their name fool anyone.  Great toe-tapping music, and Jacque and I two-stepped to a couple of tunes.  They are part of the New Mexico Centennial celebration, and it was free.  Kewl.  Maybe we will get more adventurous in the future and try some more less-travelled areas.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

26 Miles with a Strong Youngster

Today's Long Hot Trail Tracking
Our daughter Jessica and her hubby Steve and their kids Tyler and Katrien are visiting us this week.
We've been having a blast.  Today, Tuesday, the "Girls" had it all set up to go get themselves pedicured.  So "Us Men" decided to do a  men-only bike ride.  I had a street bike that suited Steve, so we just borrowed Grandson Eric's bicycle for Tyler and had a great ride.  We parked at Balloon Fiesta Park and rode down to Paseo and thence to the Bosque down all the way to Tingley Beach.  We ate some ice cream and yummy junk food and rode back.  Tyler was a trooper throughout the trip.... not bad for a strapping 9-year-old.
Tyler was funny, as usual.  This was his first experience with a multi-gear bike:  At home he rides a single-speed with coaster brakes.  He was clicking those derailleurs up and down through all the combinations almost continually.  When he's tired he can get very gripey and cranky, but he did really well on this trip.  His Dad, Steve, and I realized we might have bitten off too many miles several times when Tyler would announce "I'm ready to turn around!"  But we had mentioned there was a place to buy ICE CREAM down farther along the trail (Tingley Beach concession) and every time he said anything about turning around we'd mention:  "OK, but we'll miss the Ice Cream..." at which point Tyler would bloom with renewed enthusiasm and say "I really want to go all the way, I'm wanting Ice Cream!" and that would get him through a few more miles.  We suspected we might have to call Grandma (Jacque) and Mom (Jessica) to come rescue him, but he made it all the way down there, and surprisingly, all the way back.  He was NOT enthusiastic about any more bike riding in the days after that, claiming his Butt was still too sore.  What a guy.  We're proud of him.
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.7                         Ending Voltage: 12.5
Ride's Lowest Temperature: 69 degrees F -- Highest Temperature: 82 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:      26.55
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
04.9 MPH                               07.2 MPH                   22.4 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
 5 hours  27 mins                    3 hours 40 mins        1 hour  46 mins

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Friday Date on the Bikes

Jacque's Tracking of our Downtown Path
Just after noon yesterday, Jacque and I decided to go "to Town" (Albuquerque) and do a bike ride, in spite of the heat (around 96 degrees at peak).  It was a great ride, especially as long as we kept moving.  Sitting at intersections waiting for the lights wasn't pleasant with the lack of breeze.  Jacque had ridden this area a week or so ago and wanted to show me the area too from the cycling viewpoint.
It turned into an afternoon date.  By the time we got back to the SUV and racked up the bikes, we went to  Sonic for some (Yum) Ice Cream, then decided to go do a movie.  We took Tinkerbell to the dog park and then went to Cottonwood Mall to see For Greater Glory , which is a pretty good movie, in spite of telling a one-sided story favorable only to Catholics about the Cristero rebellion in Mexico in the 1920's.   Catholics weren't the only people persecuted during this time period:  Mormons, Jews, and others all suffered from the upheavals during and after the Mexican Revolution.  Still, a good movie.  We highly recommend it.
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.7                         Ending Voltage: 12.6
Ride's Lowest Temperature: 80 degrees F -- Highest Temperature: 82 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:      8.99
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
04.0 MPH                               06.1 MPH                   19.0 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
 2 hours  14 mins                    1 hour 27 mins         46 mins 21 seconds