Thursday, April 30, 2015

Oh, It's Tandem Time Again....

Today's Tandem Tracker Tracking

I haven't been on a people-powered cycle in a week or so, and the main excuse is the weeds roaring up out of the ground around our house, forcing me to take action NOW or have wste-high NASTY weeds to deal with in another couple weeks.  We got some recent rain and snow and now sudden sunny weather contributing to the mess.   My only exercise has been soveling wood chips, filling the wheelbarrow from the main pile on the wrond side of the house, wheeling them around the house and dumping them out and burying weeds alive, and raking the chips to smooth out their appearance to make it more aesthetically pleasing.
Our near neighbor is a professional tree trimmer and during the summer work season has tons of chips he has to dispose of somewhere.  We have found even fresh chips from live ground-up trees and limbs seem to kill weeds better than any other solution we've tried.  The chips immediately start decomposing and getting "hot" underneath the first inch or so and not only block the sun, mulch-like, from our noxious weeds, but "cook" them and kill them in large measure.  Anyway.  That's been taking up my time from people-powered travel.  I suppose I could stretch at straws, so to speak, and claim the wheelbarrow is definitely "people-powered".  Meaning tiring exercise but it doesn't make me feel supercharged after several hour:  Just exhausted.
Today I determined to get in a bike ride no matter what, and as I was about to go out the door with Jazzy (aka Belly-Mount Doggie), Jacque called and said she was on her way home from her sewing buddy and why don't we think about doing a trike ride?  So we did.
It was surprisingly warm by the time we got rolling, and on the way home the outside temperature on the car thermometer registered 82 degrees.  That might be considered cool to folks in Phoenix and Las Vegas, but around here, this early in the spring, it feels HOT.
Jacque thoughtfully made us a picnic lunch to take on the ride, and we found a rare shady spot along the road almost halfway through the ride and enjoyed something better than my usual biking food:  Cookies

Ride Started: 1:33 PM    Ride Ended:  4:37 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage:   13.2   Ending Voltage: 13.0  Lowest:  12.7
Lowest Temp  71 F      Highest Temp:  78 F 
Stats from the GPS:    Total Miles:  9.47
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
  2.2 MPH                                5.5 MPH                  29.3 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
3 hours 4 minutes                 1 hour 42 minutes       1 hour 22  minutes

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Yeah, it was Windy but Who Cares

Today's Partial Tracking

The faithful travel-buddy Jazzy and I rode up to the Post Office today and then decided to add our usual 10-mile loop to the end since it was such a beautiful day.
Well, it was beautiful for a few miles, but then it got a bit breezy so to speak.  Going west it was hittiing  us pretty strong in our faces, then going east again from the Post Office it was again hitting us strongly in the face.  Then when we got to the easternmost end of the loop at Mountain Valley Road and Entranosa, the wind seemed to change direction AGAIN and hit us crosswise in our faces instead of just directly head on.
Sigh.  It really wasn't all that bad but it DOES suck when you have to pedal hard DOWNHILL to keep your speed up.
No thrilling video today to suffer through.  I recorded the entire trip, except for a mile or so where the battery went dead and I switched it out and forgot to turn the camera on again.  Howsomever, NOTHING interesting happened.  Well, except for the bike ride itself, which is interesting even when it's boring.
We only encountered one other cyclist headed the other way and I didn't recognize him.....

Ride Started: 12:01 PM    Ride Ended:  3:05 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage:   14.1   Ending Voltage: 13.2  Lowest:  12.7
Lowest Temp  67 F      Highest Temp:  78 F 
Stats from the GPS:    Total Miles:  14.49
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
  4.7 MPH                                7.6 MPH                  26.1 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
3 hours 3 minutes                1 hour 53 minutes        1 hour 9  minutes

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

First Ten Miles in Ten Days (or so)

Today's Electronic Tracking

I've not been on the bike for several days now, being busily busting my butt (and back) humping rocks and shoveling and raking and wheelbarrowing wood chips to mulch and smother the weeds starting to multiply in the yard.
I kept noticing the weeds were popping up through our sand and gravel front yard landscaping we paid for a few years ago, where the professional landscaper put down clear plastic and then covered it with fine crushed gravel and poisoned the weeds on the perimeter of the new yard.  Not only did the poisoned weeds immediately come back; they also began popping through the plastic and gravel overlay in multiple spots.
Our neighbor down the hill from us is a professional tree cutter and remover, and during the warmer months of the year has multiple truckloads of wood chips  from his shredder/chipper, which we have obtained several truckloads of in the past.  We have found that a good thick layer of wood chips seems to keep the weeds at bay much longer than plastic and gravel, most likely because the wood chips immediately begin to decay and "cook" themselves under the first inch or so of chips and this action seems to kill or at least dramatically slow down weed growth.  A couple of days' work for a young buck, but over a week for me, what with laziness and procrastination thrown in.
Yesterday I pretty much ran out of chips and put in a call to our neighbor for another couple truckloads, but until he delivers some more, I have more time to do other things.... like work on the RV and get it ready for our upcoming summer trip.... and ride the bike.
Today Jazzy and I did the usual short and sweet ten miles out east on Frost Road to Mountain Valley, north to Entranosa, south on Tumbleweed, and then back west to home.
I overdressed for the occasion.  It's been  freezing and frosting for the last week, with us burning lots of  wood in the wood stove almost every morning to take the chill off the house, but by about 10 AM today it was already in the 60's and by the time we got to the paved road I had to stop after only a mile or so and strip off a layer, which involved removing my outer layers, one of which was Jazzy's belly harness.
Of course, immediately it got a little cloudier and cooler, but not enough to make me regret removing the extra layer. 
Beautiful weather today..... wish we had more time for longer rides, but I have to get a new floor installed in our RV for an upcoming overnight trip.  Amongst other projects....

Today's thrilling video is an old fart taking a break and walking his dog.  Don't Laugh
I SAID not to Laugh....

Ride Started: 11:11 AM    Ride Ended:  1:33 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage:   13.7   Ending Voltage: 13.1  Lowest:  13.0
Lowest Temp  64 F      Highest Temp:  87 F 
Stats from the GPS:    Total Miles:  10.54
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
  4.5 MPH                                8.0 MPH                  30.0 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
2 hours 21 minutes                1 hour 19 minutes      1 hour 2  minutes

Saturday, April 11, 2015

Doc Long Picnic Riding

Today's short but strenuous tracking

Our LDS congregation sponsored a Post-Easter Morningside picnic and sing-along this morning, at the Doc Long Picnic area.  It was planned to start at 9 AM so we had to get up early (for a Saturday) and leave the house by 7 AM so we could have time to struggle up that long long slow uphill grade to get there.
These long slow hills with no level or downhill breaks are real downers, but of course once we got there we felt wonderful after cooling off a bit.  Must have stopped for  a dozen or more rest breaks in slightly over 2 miles.....

We also had a VERY heavy frost on the car windshield today.  Where's My Global Warming, I ask?  BAH

I did NOT leave the GoPro at home today.  Instead, I left it safely in the tow car when we rode away on the trike.  Saves wear and tear that way, no strain on the battery, no videos to bore anyone with, etc, etc....
The long slow uphill trek took about an hour and a half to climb; a wee bit over FIVE MINUTES to coast back, riding the brakes most of the way.

Ride Started: 7:18 AM    Ride Ended:  10:40 AM
Beginning Battery Voltage:   13.2   Ending Voltage: 12.8  Lowest:  13.0
Lowest Temp  42 F      Highest Temp:  71 F 
Stats from the GPS:    Total Miles:  4.76
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
  3.0 MPH                                4.4 MPH                  34.9 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
3 hours 20 minutes                1 hour 25 minutes      1 hour 29  minutes

Thursday, April 9, 2015

30 Miles Round the Mountain

Today's Pretty-Good Tracking

I started out this morning thinking to do a fairly normal 10 miles or so.  The last few days of high winds,  howling all night and all that, did not fill me with hope for fair weather for today.  However, after the first few miles of absolutely balmy weather we (Jazzy and I) decided to just keep going and do The full loop around South Mountain - out Frost Road to 344 and north and west around the base of the mountain, then back south on NM-14 homeward.
It was stunningly beautiful weather all the way through the ride, with only a few moments of gusting breezes as I approached the top of Heartbreak Hill.  I normally ride around South Mountain the "backwards" way... looping east and north on NM 344 and then screaming DOWN Heartbreak instead of having to get off the bike and walk it 90% of the way:
Riding the Brakes Most of the Way.. only cracked 38 MPH

The lack of cross winds and headwinds led to me coasting a bit faster than I usually do today.
Once down Heartbreak and southbound on NM14, it was both long slow downhills and long slow uphills.  Finally at the "Triangle", where we turned east on Frost Road, it was mostly downhill, except for the mile of uphill goat-path from  the pavement to the house.
We must have passed at least a dozen Sheriff Deputies and State Police vehicles today.  I don't know if this area of the East Mountains is a favorite hideaway for them or what.  I'm sure several of the cop sightings were of the same car;  I don't think there are that many police cars available out here.

Ride Started: 11:34 AM    Ride Ended:  5:23 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage:   13.8   Ending Voltage: 13.1  Lowest:  12.4
Lowest Temp  57 F      Highest Temp:  75 F 
Stats from the GPS:      Total Miles:  33.1
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
  5.7 MPH                               8.6 MPH                  38.7 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
5 hours  48 mins                    3 hours 51 mins         1 hour 57 minutes

Short Windy

Tracking in the Blowing Wind

This ride took place 2 days ago, on Tuesday April 17.  Jazzy the Belly-Lap Dog rode with me to the Post Office and then a few miles further in a feeble attempt to get closer to 10 miles.  We didn't quite make it to 8  miles before deciding whichever direction we rode, the wind was too discouraging to deal with.
Nothing interesting appeared in the viewfinder on the GoPro either...


Ride Started: 12:06 PM    Ride Ended:  1:34 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage:   14.0   Ending Voltage: 13.1  Lowest:  12.5
Lowest Temp  64 F      Highest Temp:  69 F 
Stats from the GPS:      Total Miles:  7.69
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
  5.3 MPH                               7.1 MPH                  27.5 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
  1 hour  20 mins                      1 hour 4 mins            16 minutes

Monday, April 6, 2015

Burning Easter Calories

Today's Tracking via APRS (GPS + Ham Radio)

Saturday and Sunday were Easter activities plus LDS General Conference , so we weren't able to find time to do any cycling. We did have a few people visiting our Redneck Castle (2 acres and a Double-Wide) Easter Sunday evening and that was certainly enjoyable.  Family and a couple of close friends to help me eat too much of Jacque's cooking.... Priceless.
However, the toll on my blood glucose readings was a bit high.  My BG barely got below 300 all during the 10-mile ride.  I must not have pumped enough insulin to cover breakfast this morning, since the BG was 117 last night when I went to bed and 97 at 3 in the morning and 137 or so when I awoke this beautiful morning.
The weather guessers were warning of possible high winds today and the early morning sky was red and unfriendly looking, but there was almost NO WIND and I decided to try to get rolling early enough to get done before any wind DID materialize.
I had to make a short detour to a good neighbors' house when I saw him out in his yard and hailed him.
Once I got rolling again the riding conditions were fabulous.....

Cruising with NO Wind Noise

Jacque was still at home with both doggies so I did not have the extra warmth of Jazzy tucked up against my belly.  Leaving her and Tink home reduces the complications of bike riding but they add a lot to the riding experience.  I don't get nearly as many admiring honks and waves without one or both of them....
By the time I got to the halfway turn-around point the wind had begun to huff and puff.  Not terribly so, but it did rock me side to side occasionally and slowed me down considerably coming back, even on the normally lean-back-and coast downhill stretches.
On the way back up our goat-path road from the pavement of Frost Road to our house, I noticed something crossing the road ahead of me out of the corner of my vision.  The GoPro didn't catch their road crossing but did get a fleeting view of them as I approached the scrub trees they were hiding behind.


Normally such deer run away much faster when encountering them in a motorized vehicle.  This is the first time I've encountered them when on the bike and they seemed curious about my contraption as I approached their hiding place and only took off when I was about 20 feet away from them.  We see more coyotes out here than deer, although we know the deer have a hideaway not far from here, since we occasionally see up to 6 of them strolling through our back yard.
I need to get out of bed and off my butt and ride this early, or earlier, more often.......

Ride Started: 8:29 AM    Ride Ended:  10:31 AM
Beginning Battery Voltage:   13.9   Ending Voltage: 13.2  Lowest:  12.5
Lowest Temp  57 F      Highest Temp:  67 F 
Stats from the GPS:      Total Miles:  10.98
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
  5.3 MPH                               7.5 MPH                  28.1 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
2 hours  3 mins                      1 hour 27 mins           36 minutes

Friday, April 3, 2015

Close Encounters of the Blurred Kind

Today's Tracking
Jazzy and I went for a ride by ourselves today, on the recumbent 2-wheeler.  The weather was much calmer than yesterday, but a bit cooler as well.
We've had a vacant, years-neglected and never-finished house as a neighbor down the road from us for years.  The owner finally died without selling it and his grandchildren finally found a buyer, and he and his family are busily hauling out trash and hauling in materials for installing new interior, cabinets, etc, and generating a lot of neighboring noise and traffic.
This is the first of their vehicles I met on my way out this morning:

A Huge Trash Dumpster Truck

The road is a no-lane single passage goat-path, so I stopped and let him go by unmolested.  Lucky Him.

I encountered 3 more of the family's vehicles on the way back UP the hill toward home later on.  I got video of them too but will not bore you further, Dear Reader.
Beautiful riding weather today, just a bit too cool for me but not cool enough to stop and add a layer.
The almost total lack of wind, compared to yesterday and the two days previous, was wonderful.

Ride Started: 1:45 PM    Ride Ended:  3:43 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage:   14.2   Ending Voltage: 13.2  Lowest:  12.5
Lowest Temp  57 F      Highest Temp:  78 F 
Stats from the GPS:      Total Miles:  10.52
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
  5.2 MPH                               7.9 MPH                  29.1 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
2 hours  1 min                       1 hour 19 mins           42 minutes

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Soloing on Tricycle Built for Two



The blessed wind was TERRIBLE today.  This, after it was terrible all night, repeatedly waking us up with the roof rattling and thumps and bumps from the wind gusts banging everything around on the deck outside.
If you want to ride a bike regularly in New Mexico you either must ride on windy days or you will not be riding regularly.  March was relatively calm this year but April has come in with nasty winds.
I wanted to ride but worried about getting blown back and forth on my two-wheeler recumbent.  So I decided to ride the tandem trike without my Sexy Stoker Jacque since she wasn't available.  The tandem trike is heavy but I've ridden it solo a couple of times before.  The tricycle configuration seemed to be a good idea to avoid sideswiping wind problems.  The biggest problem without Jacque in the stoker's seat is the lack of weight on the rear driving wheel and thus a lack of traction, usually only noticeable when pedaling over sandy or gravelly spots on the roadway, and even then, usually only uphill.
 I also had both Tinkerbell and Jazzy with me so they rode in their usual positions:  Tink in the rear basket over the rear wheel and Jazzy in the belly bag on me.
The wind was seemingly cold when I started so I started out with extra (light) layers to ward off the cold but almost instantly it got too warm, even with the wind, so the outer layers went into the basket with Tink.  It was warm enough the rest of the ride that I didn't regret it.
The howling wind was east-bound, right along with me, and gusted up and down in velocity all day.  At times I thought it was going to calm down totally and overheat us but it never happened, the wind continued to come and go..... mostly go go go.
Either the side-winds were not as bad as anticipated or the lower-slung trike did the trick so well I didn't notice any problems with swerving sideways.
This rig is noticeably heavier and slower than my 2-wheeler but we did OK.  I half expected to have to give up and turn around before I hit the halfway turnaround point, but with each hill topped, the motivation increased and I was able to keep going the old favorite 10-mile loop around Frost Road and Entranosa.
Coming back in the howling headwinds was less fun.... it is always a downer to have to pedal hard to maintain speed on downhill slopes that normally cause speeds to exceed the ability of my wrinkled legs to keep up.
Today's thrilling videos:

 Eastbound clip, wind at our backs


Westbound with wind in the face.....


Ride Started: 1:26 PM    Ride Ended:  3:52 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage:   13.4   Ending Voltage: 13.2  Lowest:  12.5
Lowest Temp  64 F      Highest Temp:  75 F 
Stats from the GPS:      Total Miles:  9.83
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
  4.5 MPH                               6.0 MPH                  27.7 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
2 hours  12 mins                    1 hour 38 mins           34 minutes