Today's Tracking Worked in Spite of a Power Outage
APRS tracking doesn't work well in the East Mountains unless my home Igate is operational. We discovered, after we got home from our ride, that the AC power had been off much of the time we were riding. Which is just a bit frustrating: Central NM Electric, our power co-op, has historically been a less than failure-proof operation. At least once or twice a year we suffer an hour or more of power disruption, seemingly at least an overnight loss of electric power once each year. We purchased an emergency gas-powered AC generator 13 years ago and have put many hours on it keeping our water and other electrical needs supplied when the power goes off.
This last month, however, has been especially frustrating. Every other day or so the power has been blinking off, sometimes for over an hour. Call the CNME office and they will tell you..... NOTHING. Supposedly they have NO method of recording WHAT the cause of a power outage was. They do have a Web page that shows "Current Outages" that merely shows an outline map and a little corner list of the counties served and how many customers are currently without power.... no explanations provided. BAH. Today, our power has blinked off at least THREE TIMES.... without explanations.
Initially ignorant of all that, we took off on a ride today. Jacque just got her Single Seat Catrike back from Two Wheel Drive with new tires and alignment so she was dying to put some miles on it. I saddled up my ancient home brew recumbent 2-wheeler and rode with her. She was carrying all the weight: Tinkerbell and Jazzy.
With the weather so much cooler recently I have to remind myself to slather on the sunscreen anyway.
As usual, it was GREAT to get out in the open air and rack up a few miles on the legs and wheels.
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.1 Ending Voltage: 13.1
Lowest Temp 77 F Highest Temp: 86 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 7.79
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
3.2 MPH 6.7 MPH 32.2 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
2 hours 27 mins 1 hour 10 mins 1 hour 17 mins
Monday, September 30, 2013
Friday, September 27, 2013
About Halfway Around Our Favorite Loop
Today's Tracking Worked Better
The last couple of Fridays we have neglected to do our 22-mile loop after cooking the noon meal for the Friday Forum of the LDS UNM students: 3 Fridays ago we left immediately afterwards for our Labor Day Weekend RV trip to Chama. Last Friday was wet and miserable plus we were still stuffy from our colds we caught the week before in Chama. Today? We decided we were going to ride at least part way through our traditional Friday afternoon ride.
Yesterday, we had brought Jacque's Catrike in to Two Wheel Drive for new front tires and alignment.... the tires had worn down to the cords after less than 200 miles of riding. They told her today it was ready to pick up, already, so we loaded the Recumbent Tandem Trike on the roof rack and made room in the cargo bay inside the Explorer for the Catrike. After I retrieved the trike, in the Bike Store Parking lot, I was shifting cargo around and loading the single-seat trike when a, er, "Urban Dude" pulled up in his ghetto cruiser and shouted out his window to me: "Hey! Nice Bike! I want to buy it from you!!" I laughed and replied "They're not for sale! We love them too much!"
He responded "I'm serious, man.... I'll give you 50 dollars cash right now!" I wasn't quite sure how to take that stupendous offer. The tandem recumbent trike is worth a couple thousand without any accessories, used though it is, and Jacque's Catrike is nearly new and cost almost $ 2K with no accessories. So I laughed and turned away and ignored him, in spite of wondering if he was trying to make me an offer I couldn't refuse or........ ?
Instead of starting our ride straight from the UNM campus, as we do normally, we decided to park down at the Bosque and just ride that wonderful trail several miles just to limber up our legs, since we have not built up any endurance to speak of yet. Plus, the weather was cloudy and threatening and we were not sure if we might have to turn around and make a wet run back to the vehicle.
Evidently as a result of the dicey weather, we saw only two other cyclists and a couple walkers where normally we encounter dozens of each. But the weather, though cool, was almost perfect for riding. Only after we returned and stopped pedaling did we realize how cold it had become since starting the ride. Neither of us had even worked up a sweat, in spite of the ride being a bit over 10 miles and coming back into fairly stiff headwinds.
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.7 Ending Voltage: 12.6
Lowest Temp 81 F Highest Temp: 90 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 20.97
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
5.2 MPH 7.1 MPH 20.7 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
4 hours 4 mins 2 hours 57 mins 1 hour 6 mins
The last couple of Fridays we have neglected to do our 22-mile loop after cooking the noon meal for the Friday Forum of the LDS UNM students: 3 Fridays ago we left immediately afterwards for our Labor Day Weekend RV trip to Chama. Last Friday was wet and miserable plus we were still stuffy from our colds we caught the week before in Chama. Today? We decided we were going to ride at least part way through our traditional Friday afternoon ride.
Yesterday, we had brought Jacque's Catrike in to Two Wheel Drive for new front tires and alignment.... the tires had worn down to the cords after less than 200 miles of riding. They told her today it was ready to pick up, already, so we loaded the Recumbent Tandem Trike on the roof rack and made room in the cargo bay inside the Explorer for the Catrike. After I retrieved the trike, in the Bike Store Parking lot, I was shifting cargo around and loading the single-seat trike when a, er, "Urban Dude" pulled up in his ghetto cruiser and shouted out his window to me: "Hey! Nice Bike! I want to buy it from you!!" I laughed and replied "They're not for sale! We love them too much!"
He responded "I'm serious, man.... I'll give you 50 dollars cash right now!" I wasn't quite sure how to take that stupendous offer. The tandem recumbent trike is worth a couple thousand without any accessories, used though it is, and Jacque's Catrike is nearly new and cost almost $ 2K with no accessories. So I laughed and turned away and ignored him, in spite of wondering if he was trying to make me an offer I couldn't refuse or........ ?
Instead of starting our ride straight from the UNM campus, as we do normally, we decided to park down at the Bosque and just ride that wonderful trail several miles just to limber up our legs, since we have not built up any endurance to speak of yet. Plus, the weather was cloudy and threatening and we were not sure if we might have to turn around and make a wet run back to the vehicle.
Evidently as a result of the dicey weather, we saw only two other cyclists and a couple walkers where normally we encounter dozens of each. But the weather, though cool, was almost perfect for riding. Only after we returned and stopped pedaling did we realize how cold it had become since starting the ride. Neither of us had even worked up a sweat, in spite of the ride being a bit over 10 miles and coming back into fairly stiff headwinds.
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.7 Ending Voltage: 12.6
Lowest Temp 81 F Highest Temp: 90 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 20.97
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
5.2 MPH 7.1 MPH 20.7 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
4 hours 4 mins 2 hours 57 mins 1 hour 6 mins
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Weird. A MONTH without riding?
First, our excuses:
-We both came down with the deep-chest-congestion miseries immediately after getting home from our short Labor Day weekend excursion to Chama.
-Immediately after starting to recover from THAT, Jacque caught the dreaded Norovirus "Vomiting Virus" that knocked HER out of action, again, for at least 3 days.
-During all this time, we have had torrential RAINS almost daily that have been making the weather too cold and wet to consider riding. We're SO thankful for the rains, but these have been record breaking, almost taking the entire state of New Mexico out of the "Drought" category. Now, with a few days of rain-free sunlight, we are now grateful the rains have PAUSED for a while.
I had decided I needed to get in at least a short ride, TODAY, no matter what. As I was checking the tires and chain on the recumbent 2-wheeler I realized "Hey! Jacque's been feeling better for a few days now, maybe SHE wants to go for a trike ride together!" And, sure 'nuff, she did, and we did.
The recumbent Tandem Terratrike had been left alone and idle under the deck for so long all three tires were low. A few quick bursts of air from the big Craftsman compressor in the shed took care of all that.
Of course we quickly suffered the consequences of not riding for a while: Low Output Power from the legs. The short ride up to the Post Office is deceptively steep and hard even with regular miles piled up on the old legs, and we really felt sluggish and slow and guilty for not being more faithful in our exercise. We are guilty of the common lot of man in the Western world: Too busy to stay healthy.
This cooler fall weather was great today, and it was wonderful to ride without overheating or overcooling. The doggies Tink and Jazz - as usual - made several new friends at the Shell Station where we partook of our usual break and treats.
I noted, only after returning home to check our Internet Track, that it did not work well at all today. Only one position was reported by the GPS/APRS/Ham Radio setup, so that's another problem I need to investigate.....
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 4.29
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
3.3 MPH 6.5 MPH 27.6 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 18 mins 39 mins 38 mins 41 secs
-We both came down with the deep-chest-congestion miseries immediately after getting home from our short Labor Day weekend excursion to Chama.
-Immediately after starting to recover from THAT, Jacque caught the dreaded Norovirus "Vomiting Virus" that knocked HER out of action, again, for at least 3 days.
-During all this time, we have had torrential RAINS almost daily that have been making the weather too cold and wet to consider riding. We're SO thankful for the rains, but these have been record breaking, almost taking the entire state of New Mexico out of the "Drought" category. Now, with a few days of rain-free sunlight, we are now grateful the rains have PAUSED for a while.
I had decided I needed to get in at least a short ride, TODAY, no matter what. As I was checking the tires and chain on the recumbent 2-wheeler I realized "Hey! Jacque's been feeling better for a few days now, maybe SHE wants to go for a trike ride together!" And, sure 'nuff, she did, and we did.
The recumbent Tandem Terratrike had been left alone and idle under the deck for so long all three tires were low. A few quick bursts of air from the big Craftsman compressor in the shed took care of all that.
Of course we quickly suffered the consequences of not riding for a while: Low Output Power from the legs. The short ride up to the Post Office is deceptively steep and hard even with regular miles piled up on the old legs, and we really felt sluggish and slow and guilty for not being more faithful in our exercise. We are guilty of the common lot of man in the Western world: Too busy to stay healthy.
This cooler fall weather was great today, and it was wonderful to ride without overheating or overcooling. The doggies Tink and Jazz - as usual - made several new friends at the Shell Station where we partook of our usual break and treats.
I noted, only after returning home to check our Internet Track, that it did not work well at all today. Only one position was reported by the GPS/APRS/Ham Radio setup, so that's another problem I need to investigate.....
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 4.29
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
3.3 MPH 6.5 MPH 27.6 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 18 mins 39 mins 38 mins 41 secs
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Chama Cycling
We went RV'ing in Chama NM for the weekend and brought along my recumbent 2-wheeler and Jacque's Catrike.
Beautiful country up here, but the dormant allergies were killing us.
We had planned to do at least a few miles of cycling while here, and have been pleasantly surprised at how level the town of Chama is,
in spite of its high altitude. We were talking to an old duffer in our RV park about riding the bike/trike to the nearest grocery store for some supplies we'd forgotten to bring, and he said "Oh, it's too far away for that. It must be 3 miles or so."
We kinda snickered to ourselves about that. We don't even think we've had much of a bike ride unless it's 10 miles or so, and even our short mail runs at home are a bit over 4 miles with one way up a nasty long drawn out hill climb. Here, it seems very level and we found the nearest store only about TWO miles away, and later when I rode to the southernmost end of town to check the mileage to the
LDS Church meetinghouse I found it was only 4.2 miles. That old duffer (Must be at least a couple years older than ME) must have been thinking about Granny riding one of those single speed trikes with a huge shopping basket on the back. Even with one of THOSE 3 or 4 miles is no big deal.
Chama is a beautiful place to spend a few nights, but there is very spotty TV coverage and internet access is very poor.
I hear NO ham radio activity even when scanning all channels and there are no local repeaters that respond to calls and APRS digipeater coverage appears to be nonexistent. So our bike rides around town remain unrecorded on the Internet. BAH
It was also much less enjoyment riding separate rigs instead of being together on the tandem Terratrike. Jacque going slower, me going ahead and pulling over to wait, yada, yada... we're spoiled by the tandem.
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: (First trip to "town") 5.6
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
1.9 MPH 7.9 MPH 33 MPH (Not sure how this speed was recorded since we surely never exceeded 12 MPH and no hills to roar down).
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
2 hours 13 mins 1 hour 30 mins 43 mins12 secs
Second Trip to "town": Total Miles 8.4
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
6.8 MPH 9.2 MPH 17.2 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
36 mins 55 secs 27 mins 33 secs 9 mins 21 secs
Beautiful country up here, but the dormant allergies were killing us.
We had planned to do at least a few miles of cycling while here, and have been pleasantly surprised at how level the town of Chama is,
in spite of its high altitude. We were talking to an old duffer in our RV park about riding the bike/trike to the nearest grocery store for some supplies we'd forgotten to bring, and he said "Oh, it's too far away for that. It must be 3 miles or so."
We kinda snickered to ourselves about that. We don't even think we've had much of a bike ride unless it's 10 miles or so, and even our short mail runs at home are a bit over 4 miles with one way up a nasty long drawn out hill climb. Here, it seems very level and we found the nearest store only about TWO miles away, and later when I rode to the southernmost end of town to check the mileage to the
LDS Church meetinghouse I found it was only 4.2 miles. That old duffer (Must be at least a couple years older than ME) must have been thinking about Granny riding one of those single speed trikes with a huge shopping basket on the back. Even with one of THOSE 3 or 4 miles is no big deal.
Chama is a beautiful place to spend a few nights, but there is very spotty TV coverage and internet access is very poor.
I hear NO ham radio activity even when scanning all channels and there are no local repeaters that respond to calls and APRS digipeater coverage appears to be nonexistent. So our bike rides around town remain unrecorded on the Internet. BAH
It was also much less enjoyment riding separate rigs instead of being together on the tandem Terratrike. Jacque going slower, me going ahead and pulling over to wait, yada, yada... we're spoiled by the tandem.
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: (First trip to "town") 5.6
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
1.9 MPH 7.9 MPH 33 MPH (Not sure how this speed was recorded since we surely never exceeded 12 MPH and no hills to roar down).
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
2 hours 13 mins 1 hour 30 mins 43 mins12 secs
Second Trip to "town": Total Miles 8.4
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
6.8 MPH 9.2 MPH 17.2 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
36 mins 55 secs 27 mins 33 secs 9 mins 21 secs
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