Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Wobbly Wednesday Wandering

Today's Tracking to a "Tee"
(This picture is actually from our July 4 ride in the short Independence Day Parade in White Rock, suburb of Los Alamos where our son Jimmy and family live)

We got rolling on the trike today an hour earlier than yesterday, and decided to ride a loop starting down Gutierrez Canyon Road and thence on to Olde Route 66 over to Tijeras.  But it was so HOT today.
No breeze, and just sunny and hot.  Climbing the hill up Riders Road to where it becomes Gutierrez Canyon Road was long and we took several breathing and water breaks.  When we finally got to the supposedly "last climb" before mostly descent down to Olde 66, we talked it over and I suggested we turn around instead since it was so hot.  Jacque was not difficult to convince.  The ride back was wonderful, coasting all that way with the resultant breeze in our faces, AND setting a new land speed record.  For us.  On this trike.  It's a wonder the high speed wind didn't burn us up on re-entry.  I mean, like, 32 Miles Per Hour, Dudes....
Onward and Upward.  When we got back to Frost Road we had recovered our wind and coolness sufficiently that we decided to turn west instead of east and climb ANOTHER long hill... to the Post Office.  Which actually made for a fairly nice energizing ride.
After getting the mail we arrived at the beloved Shell Station for our hot-weather treats and enjoyed visiting with several OTHER cyclists stopped for refreshments.
Beginning Battery Voltage:  13.1        Ending Voltage: 13.0
Lowest Temp  77 F      Highest Temp:  86 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  7.89
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
  3.6 MPH                                 6.2 MPH                    32.7 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
 2 hours 12 minutes               1 hour 15 mins           56 mins 6 secs

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Tiny Tuesday Trike Trip

Today's Usual Short Tracking Path via GPS and Ham Radio
We had a package to retrieve at One Stop Office  in Tijeras and I thought it to be a great idea to ride the trike down there, about 10 miles each way with lots of hills to climb.... a great workout.
Unfortunately, by the time I got the trike's tires aired up, trike and accessories loaded, dressed like a goon for the ride, etc, it was already 10 AM and HOT.  With no cloud cover and no breeze.  A BEAUTIFUL day to ride.... but it was already hot and the ten miles would take us over an hour to ride and it would be after noon before we could even THINK of returning.  So I wimped out and suggested we just do our usual mail-run short ride out-and-back and Jacque agreed.  To do a 4-hour (or more) ride in such weather we need to get going REALLY early while it's still cool and thus able to get turned around for the return ride before the afternoon heat kicks in.
It's a short ride, less than 5 miles round trip, but that climb going west is really a kick in the face:  Slow speeds, Grandma gears, and lots of aerobic huffing and puffing.  Coming back we get a bit of aerobic work too but lots of fun high speed coasting too.
This was the first Tandem Trike Trip for the 2 doggies Tinkerbell and Jazzy.  They were doing fine until we heard a screeching fit behind us and Jacque found the new pup Jazzy just snarling and biting and throwing a fit with Tink.  Tink was NOT fighting back for some reason, and Jacque wound up giving Jazzy some "physical punishment" before she would stop bullying her older (and we thought MEANER) sister.  After that little "attitude adjustment" she seemed to calm down and do fine for the rest of the ride.
We had to make at least 3 stops in this short trip for water breaks.  And, of course, we had to do something about the Ice Cream Sandwich calling my name from the Shell Station.  The two  girlie pups attracted all the attention while we were there and it was difficult to get them away from their admiring fans so we could go home.
Beginning Battery Voltage:  13.0        Ending Voltage: 12.9
Lowest Temp  77 F      Highest Temp:  86 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  4.14
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
  3.0 MPH                                 6.4 MPH                    29.6 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
  1 hour 22 minutes                39 minutes 2 secs       43 mins 55 secs

Friday, July 26, 2013

Friday First Ride of the Week

I have been busy all week, too busy to exercise, ride the bike/trike, and stay healthy.
This morning I was busy, as usual, this time loading all the trash bags from the cans outside to the trash trailer for a trip to the transfer station, known in former times as "The Dump".
Meanwhilst, Jacque dug out her nigh-unused Catrike and refitted it with a basket big enough for the 2 little doggies, Tink and Jazzy.
She decided while I was going to the Transfer Station in the Petro-Burner (Ford Explorer) she would ride her trike with the doggies to the Post Office. 
Well.
"I" need exercise as much or more than anybody.... right?  I decided I could saddle up my recumbent 2-wheeler and ride down the goat path to the paved road and catch up with her if I got with the program.... and the trash shouldn't go anywhere without me while I was gone.
So I did. 
I'm always surprised, even though I've been doing this pretty steadily for years, how much fun it is and how great it feels to get out and ride, even with stiff outa-shape leg muscles.
Riding separate pedal-machines reminded us, however, how much better it is when riding together to RIDE together..... on the tandem recumbent Terratrike .
Well, now that I got my breath back, I got some trash to haul.
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  6.30
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
  2.6 MPH                                 6.1 MPH                    20.8 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
  1 hour 25 mins                       1 hour                      23 minutes

Saturday, July 13, 2013

We Love Our Terratrike, EXCEPT...

Today's Tracking via APRS and Ham Radio
We decided, immediately after Crafty Jacque finished my new cycling Tee-Shirts, to do a late afternoon trike ride - normally a no-no this time of year but it's been partly  cloudy and  cooler all day.  So off we went, for the usual Post Office Short Trip (POST).  The chain was a bit noisier than usual on the way up the hill so I decided I better have a look at it when we stopped for our Lemonade and Ice Cream Enjoyment (LICE).
We enjoyed our usual break and treats (BATS) and - of course - I completely forgot about checking the trike's running gear to see what all the extra noise might be about.  I'm terrible about thinking "I need to FIX that or CHECK that" while in motion with weird noises occurring but spacing out completely when stopped, since of course the noise and irritation disappear.  On the way back to the ranch...
"We were headed down the Highway Makin' 30 Miles An Hour when Our Whistle Broke Into a Scream...."  No.  Wait, that's one of my old guitar songs, and we don't have a whistle.  And the
"INCIDENT" happened right AFTER we smoked down the road and were shifting chain-gears going UPhill.  The rear end made a horrible CLAAAACK and we stopped immediately and..... the Terratrike Weakness had happened again. 
Terratrike builds these Terratrike Pro's with a so-called "Quick Release" axle spindle on the rear wheel and it SUCKS.  Big time.  Ours has come loose at LEAST a DOZEN times since we bought this trike.  I've called Terratrike a couple times about this problem but they don't seem to think it's a problem and don't even MAKE or SELL a fixed axle version with a good stout axle shaft and threaded ends that allow a good torquing when installing the nuts on the mounted axle, as with less costly bikes all over the place.  Thankfully our frame didn't get bent or twisted this time.  But it's irritating to have to re-mount this so often when a simple standard axle with threads and nuts -- not a "Quik Release" spindle less than 3/16 of an inch in diameter to handle all that stress and torque -- could be utilized.  I guess I'm going to have to build myself a custom rear wheel for this trike so we can ride for more than 20 or 30 miles without the rear axle falling apart.
Beginning Battery Voltage:  13.2        Ending Voltage: 13.0
Lowest Temp  77 F      Highest Temp:  84 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  4.27
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
  3.4 MPH                                 6.5 MPH                    30.7 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
  1 hour 15 mins                       39 mins                     35 minutes

Jacque's New Cycling Shirts


 My crafty spouse, Jacque, just finished modifying some high-visibility cycling shirts for me.  We were at Walmart a few nights ago when she spotted some bright "Day-Glo" yellow-green tee shirts for the smoking price of $4.00 each.  After a bit of discussion she decided to purchase 3 of them and use one of them as "Donor Fabric" for adding pockets to the other two.  They came out looking pretty fabulous.  Not only were they ripped up the middle and velcro zip-strip added (I can ride with my shirt as open or closed as I like), but they now have Jacque's famous king-size pockets.  Forgive the spotty photography:  Jacque refused to take the photos since she didn't think it was enough of a "project" to interest anyone.  Little does she realize what such things mean to an all-thumbs male who can sew but cannot make it come out looking good....

Happy Rider with Shirt Open

Shirt Zipped Closed. You can see the 2 pockets in this view
She realized she could use the bottom hem of the donor shirt fabric for the upper hem of the pockets.  Cool.  Reduced effort and sewing time.

Close-Up of Velcro Front Strip
 I have to figure some way to repay her efforts.  It may involve more shopping......


Thursday, July 11, 2013

Thursday Mail Run, Plus....

Today's Trike Tracking via APRS and Ham Radio
We decided to ride today, at least for the usual short run to the Post Office.  We're going crazy trying to get the house upgrades done:  Paint, new laminate flooring in dining room, living room, and master bedroom, exterior trim and paint.  Among others.
It was wonderfully cloudy and noticeably cooler today, with only a few minutes of sunshine trying to peek through and cook us.
After returning to the Exploder we decided to deliver 3 bags of "Goodwill Surplus" to the local Talking Talons thrift store.  On the way down North 14 I noticed a cyclist stopped on the bike trail flipping his bike upside down, obviously with a flat tire.  On the way back from the thrift store, we saw the same luckless cyclist pushing his bike along, apparently not having been able to repair his flat.
We stopped and asked if we could help, since we carry flat fixing equipment in OUR bike bags... He turned out to be a German Foreign Exchange Student riding his Uncle's bike.  His English was a bit mushy but much better than my command of Deutsche :O)
When we pulled the tube from his tire and wheel, we found it was full of so called flat retardant tire sealant...... and leaking from several small holes up and down the tube.  He had no spare tube so we decided there wasn't much hope for the tube since all the holes were bleeding tire goo without self-sealing themselves.  So we offered to load his bike in the back and deliver him back to his Uncle's house.
He asked "Are you Sure??"  As though it was unusual for someone to offer a ride to a stranger.  We tried to assure him we'd be happy to; that others had done it for us, etc, etc, and we finally loaded him up and followed his directions to his desired destination. He acted a bit worried as we got close, and he had us turn into a driveway just past HIS turnoff and insisted we let him out so he could walk his bike the rest of the way.  We tried to assure him we had no problem with taking him all the way to the house but he was insistent, and it started feeling like he was worried about his Uncle seeing us deliver him... so we let him out to do his thing walking the last 100 yards or so.  No idea what worried him.... Oh Well.
I forgot to take the Garmin 350 GPS today so I have only limited data to report from the beacon-tasked GPS on the APRS tracking beacon system.
Beginning Battery Voltage:  13.2        Ending Voltage: 13.2
(Battery not charged in 3 days, 2 with bike travel)
Lowest Temp  69.8 F      Highest Temp:  77 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  4.18
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
  3.1 MPH                                 4.9 MPH                    16 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
  1 hour 19 mins                       42 mins                     36 minutes

Monday, July 8, 2013

Hey, We Only Skipped One Day this time

Today's Tracking
Just another short run to the Post Office, Shell Station, and back today.  We got off later than planned so it was already getting uncomfortably hot or we would have ridden a longer distance.
We passed and met several other cyclists today including a couple we met at the Shell Station who had ridden clear out here from Albuquerque.   They were not the typical professional athletes with the typical disdain of mere mortals who rarely exceed 15 MPH.   They were in fact from the Dallas TX area and like to bike when in our area.
The majority of the fellow people-powered machine operators met today were friendly and talkative.   Very enjoyable.  We also passed a couple of Bernalillo County workers cutting weeds, and they politely stopped their whizzing motors while we passed by so closely.  A few minutes later when we arrived at the Post Office Parking lot, they approached us from behind in their county pickup and asked "Did you guys lose a phone?"  I realized immediately it must be mine, and sure enough when I checked the "cell phone pocket" of my cargo pants, MY phone was noticably absent.  This so called cell pocket has no flap nor other closure on top, so when leaning backwards as I do on the recumbents, it is moving in a circular motion, almost totally upside down.  It's a wonder it didn't fall out in our first mile.
Since it was my treasured new Iphone 4, I was doubly grateful to them for chasing us down to return the phone.
Beginning Battery Voltage:  13.1        Ending Voltage: 13.2
Lowest Temp  77 F      Highest Temp:  84 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  4.18
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
  3.1 MPH                                 6.1 MPH                    30.8 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
  1 hour 20 mins                       41 mins                     38 minutes

Saturday, July 6, 2013

Steamy Saturday Sallying

Circuituous Tracking via APRS and Ham Radio
It was wonderfully cool and cloudy when we departed for our "early" morning ride today... trouble is, by the time we got rolling it was already 10:37 and getting a bit warm..... and of course the clouds dispersed and allowed Mr. Sun to over-warm us as we rode.
We turned south on Gutierrez Canyon Road, planning to do a loop again south to olde Route 66, west to Tijeras, north to Sandia Park, and then the last couple miles east to the parked Ford Exploder.
As we finally topped the last "Roller" hill, though, we (read "I") were getting a bit overheated and tired and worried about trying to pull the longish hill going northbound out of Tijeras an hour or more later, when it would be EVEN hotter.  We've had daily showers this last week, and earlier in the morning it feels cool and moist, but the resulting humidity makes it more uncomfortable after the day warms up.  We dickered back and forth a few times about whether or not to do the entire loop or turn back, when I decided "Oh, my Heck, why not go for the whole loop?"  Just a few moments after this blazing inspiration Jacque announced "Let's Turn Around."  She'd just gotten one of those weird women's feelings that we should turn around, and I didn't need any pressure to do so.  When we arrived at the intersection at Frost Road we agreed we should turn west and at least do the Post Office run thing, as well as the Lemonade / Ice Cream Sandwich thing up a quarter mile farther at the Shell Station.  We were already a bit warmed-over and tired so the long pull uphill west to the PO was a struggle, but of COURSE we persevered and made it anyway.  After a short break and Jacque brought out the mail, we started off only to hear a dreadful CLUNK which we have learned to recognize as "DISASTER, Will Robinson" - or some such dire announcement.  For those of you too young to remember this funny show, here are 2 links that show my fascination with it:
June Lockhart, Previously Timmy's Mom from "Lassie"
DANGER WILL ROBINSON !
Back to the Bike.  The rear drive wheel had worked itself loose, again, and had popped out of the hanger brackets and jammed the cassette and chain.  Good thing we'd followed Jacque's prompting or who knows where the wheel might have come loose..... maybe going 27 MPH down the southern portion of Gutierrez Canyon Road?  Mercy.
We got it put back together successfully and lubricated.  Up at the Treat Stop, aka the Shell Station, we as usual received lots of comments from bystanders and passers-by about the trike and the Travelling Doggie, Tinkerbell.
Beginning Battery Voltage:  13.9        Ending Voltage: 13.2
(I finally charged the new Lithium-Ion Battery )
Lowest Temp  77 F      Highest Temp:  86 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  8.48
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
  3.1 MPH                                 5.4 MPH                    28.2 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
  3 hours 7 mins                     1 hour 45 mins          1 hour 21 minutes

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Happy Independence Day 2013 !

Very Short APRS Loop-Tracking
We got up early and drove to White Rock (Bedroom suburb of Los Alamos)  to participate with our kids and grandkids (who live there) in the Independence Day Parade sponsored by the White Rock Ward of the LDS Church .  Wed took both our handcart, pulled in a trailer, and the tandem trike, strapped on the roof rack of the Exploder.
We rode the Terratrike in the parade while our son Jimmy pulled HIS son Daniel in the handcart for the several-block parade.  This is a yearly non-stress event put on mainly for kiddies, where cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, toddlers and grade school level children and their doting parents walk, cycle, push doll carriages, ride decorated trikes and wagons, etc, and eat a lot of Slurpies and popcorn for free afterward.
We fielded lots of questions about our trike and Tinkerbell endured countless "Oooh's!", "Ahhh's!", and "Aw, Look at the Cute Puppy" as we rolled along.  I'm not sure we even made a full mile this trip, and as slow as we were going, we got little to no aerobic exercise, but lots of fun and tons of fun chatting with hundreds of kiddos and their parents.  I also enjoyed meeting old Los Alamos friends I have not seen for 20 or more years.
Beginning Battery Voltage:  12.7        Ending Voltage: 13.0
(Guess I finally need to charge the new Lithium-Ion Battery )
Lowest Temp  77 F      Highest Temp:  84 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  0.78
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
  1.4 MPH                                 2.5 MPH                    14.9 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
  32 mins                                18 mins                        14 minutes

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Wednesday, Wandering Wildly

Today's Predictable Tracking via APRS and Ham Radio
Well, my alliteration gets out of hand... often.  Not really wandering nor wildly though it WAS definitely Wednesday.
Yesterday we rode separately;  today we rode together on the beloved terratrike.
We didn't get in an early morning ride so we weren't out to get our brains cooked by riding too far, and we wouldn't have ridden at all but for the clouds in the sky helping to cool things down.  We rode the usual post office run, jog up to the Shell lemonade stand / ice cream sandwich shop for a short break, then back to the parked vehicle - thence up the unpaved 1 mile goat-path to the casita.  We stopped to clear up a worsening rattle - which turned out to be the recurring loose screw on one of the front fenders.  I also had to stop almost immediately after we initiated the ride... I was unusually fatigued after only a few minutes of riding and of course the blood glucose was frightfully low.  While eating an oatmeal power bar for a quick snack I took my knife to the burgeoning melon-weeds proliferating across the road shoulder and bicycle path.  I need to take a couple hours and rip out all these nasty path-obstructers for the 2 miles of the path we use much of the time.
The clouds, of course, blew away shortly after we started to ride and thus allowed the temperature to climb uncomfortably.
Beginning Battery Voltage:  13.0        Ending Voltage: 12.7
(Guess I finally need to charge the new Lithium-Ion Battery )
Lowest Temp  73 F      Highest Temp:  84 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  4.17
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
  3.0 MPH                                 5.8 MPH                    24.9 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
  1 hour 24 mins                     43 mins                     40 minutes

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Tuesday Solos

Tracking Map courtesy of APRS, GPS, and Ham Radio
Jacque took her Catrike to Albuquerque today since she had some cooking to do for the Masons and I was reluctant to bring in the tandem Recumbent Trike for a warmish ride starting after lunch in the Big City.
Me?  I had a couple of parcels to ship via the Post Office - so I had a ready excuse to ride my own 2-wheeler recumbent for at least a short ride.  I got going only slightly earlier than Jacque did, but it was nice and cool and slightly cloudy.  Since Jacque now has me hooked on ICS (Ice Cream Sandwiches) I rode on up to the Corner Shell to fulfill that addiction, and I decided to put in at least a few more miles to burn off the calories and try to build up a bit more endurance for our on-and-off goal of daily weekday riding.  As I got to the Vallecitos turnoff my chain locked up during a gear-shift and I had to pull over to try to release it.  The chain had de-railed itself off the smallest cassette gear and wedged itself into the small space between cassette and axle hanger strut.  Even with my trusty Gerber plier-multitool I was unable to release it so I had to dig into the pannier and retrieve the tool set and loosen the nut holding the axle sufficiently to get the chain released.  As I struggled to get everything back together again, I noticed the derailleur was very loosey-goosey, AND the chain itself appears to be at least a few links too long:
SO, now I have 3 smallish chores to accomplish on this bike I seldom ride any more:
1-Replace the worn derailleur
2-Remove at least one or two links from the chain
3-Reprogram my GPS/APRS position beacon so it doesn't transmit so irritatingly often.
I finally got it serviceable sufficient to get home with (Hopefully) and rode on another couple miles.  The clouds above were getting darker and more threatening so I finally wimped out and turned around and honked for home.  Unfortunately,  I got home before it started raining.  I say 'unfortunately' since - as of a couple hours now - It STILL hasn't rained.  I'd rather have gotten soaked than miss a rain shower during our spotty but welcome "Monsoon".  In other parts of the world "Monsoon" means rainy season.  In Vietnam during monsoon season it rained day and night nonstop for a month or more.  Here in the Great American Southwest "Monsoon" means it rains a few drops now and then for a couple weeks, sometimes a downpour, often just enough specks of rain to allow the dirt in the air to stick to your car like it's been shot with a shotgun full of dirt.
Beginning Battery Voltage:  13.0        Ending Voltage: 13.0
(I LOVE this new Lithium-Ion Battery ) , still uncharged for several days)
Lowest Temp  73 F      Highest Temp:  86 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  11.9
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
  5.7 MPH                                 8.6 MPH                    26.1 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
  2 hours 6 mins                     1 hour 22 mins            43 minutes

Monday, July 1, 2013

Monday Starts a New Week

As Usual, a Very Short Track Today
All last week we skipped riding the people-powered 3-wheel tandem since we were in the midst of ripping out 17-year-old carpeting and installing laminate snap-together flooring to replace it.  We were getting frantic about getting done with the project since we had the whole house looking like a hoarders' paradise, trying to move furniture etc. into one corner while ripping up and redoing the floor, then trying to put stuff back in decent order.  Dining Room, Living Room, and Master Bedroom all got the treatment.  Now we ARE done, at least with the flooring.  Now to finish odd spots of missed paint on the walls.
We knew, however, that we HAVE to get back into our exercise routine.  Pedaling along helps exercise and strengthen Jacque's trick knees and it of course helps ME burn off blood sugar and keep the metabolism going, what with the diabetes and all.  We fully realize it is all too easy to lose enthusiasm for any form of exercise and we want to stay "enthused" and motivated for cycling as long as we're physically able.
Anyway, we did the usual first-ride-in-a-while route today, 3 miles out, 3 miles back, and since it rained yesterday (and later today) it was not as hot as usual.  Jacque's trick knee started feeling better within a few hundred feet of riding.  That's good stuff.
Beginning Battery Voltage:  13.1        Ending Voltage: 13.1
(I LOVE this new Lithium-Ion Battery )
Lowest Temp  70 F      Highest Temp:  80 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  4.28
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
  3.0 MPH                                 6.3 MPH                    23.3 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
  1 hour 24 mins                     40 minutes                 43 minutes