Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Beautiful February Riding Weather

Today's Short-Track Tracking

Just another short ride on Monday afternoon.  This time Tink  and I got maybe 1/2 mile west along the parallel Paseo del Norte trail before running out of time and turning back.
There seem to be a lot more cyclists out as the weather warms up, more than I remember encountering back when I was riding more regularly last year.  Of course there's the usual mix of friendlies and too-high-class-to-care types, but it's great to encounter any and all of them.

Ride Started: 3:21 PM    Ride Ended:  4:49 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage:   13.2   Ending Voltage: 13.1  Lowest:  12.4
Lowest Temp  55 F      Highest Temp:  64 F 
Stats from the GPS:    Total Miles:  6.65
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
   4.5 MPH                            6.7 MPH                   18.7 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
1 hour 29 mins                        59 minutes                  30  minutes

Friday, February 5, 2016

And Wowzers, Second Frigid Day in a Row

Tracking via GPS, Ham Radio, and APRS

All the LDS missionaries from Taos to El Paso send me their monthly mileage and expense reports.
Occasionally I get a nice note inside thanking me for whatever help I've been able to give them.
Yesterday I got no note, but a very nice sketch on the back of the expense envelope.....
Cute.  Very cute.








Tinkerbell and I went for another short trike trip this afternoon, hoping the weather would be a tad warmer.
It  didn't FEEL warm, even with the extra layer of a windbreaker.  However, I'm already noticing lower blood glucose readings even after only 2 days of mild riding.
This time we turned north on the North Diversion Trail and rode up to the fork in the trail just shy of Paseo del Norte and turned around.
I even wore my GoPro video camera today, but left it at the office so I'm unable to post any clips from it.
About the only exciting thing on it was me passing a good looker jogger - just barely - as we climbed the hill coming up from the bike underpass at Osuna.  I was able to put some distance between us once we topped the climb, but my pedal powered machine is no speedster even on level ground, and not at all on any degree of uphill grade.
The distance is still far short of what I hope to get back to soon, as I get the legs warmed up again.
Had we not been running a bit late, almost 5 PM, we could certainly have made another few miles.
I see from the temperature log it was already starting to cool down approaching the 5:00 PM hour.
Manana, Manana....

Ride Started: 3:57 PM    Ride Ended:  4:52 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage:   13.2   Ending Voltage: 12.9  Lowest:  12.7
Lowest Temp  43 F      Highest Temp:  50 F 
Stats from the GPS:    Total Miles:  5.44
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
   5.8 MPH                            6.5 MPH                   18.2 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
56 minutes                             50 minutes                  6  minutes

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Actually Got Out and RODE Today

Today's Exploratory Pathway via APRS

Well, I finally did what I've  been threatening to do for weeks.  The tandem Terratrike has been repaired, parked, and ready for at least a couple weeks.  Our busy schedule has seemingly been too crowded to allow breaks during the day for riding, but I never seem to get caught up in spite of long hours.  Realizing if I didn't just take off and DO it I'd NEVER do it, I got out my stuff after lunch today, saddled up, and rode away with Tinkerbell in the back basket.
Having not ridden this end of Jefferson before (the closest street with a bike-lane), I was motivated to see how easy it might be to ride down to the closest entry to an actual Albuquerque bike path and get away from the motorized traffic.
My legs are, of course, woefully out of shape from this long stretch of non riding, but it was OK, and it naturally felt GREAT to be out of doors again with the wind in my face.
Riding the tandem with an empty back seat might seem dorky, but keeping just the tandem at work in ABQ and my 2-wheel recumbent at home means if Jacque is in the mood to ride with me around town, she can do so, and if not, riding the tandem is fun even without her occupying the back seat.  I could have also taken both doggies for the ride instead of just Tinkerbell,  and probably should have.  Lilly gave Jacque unlimited grief while we were gone and had to be banished "to the crate" out in the front vestibule to allow the mission office staff some relief from her puppy whining and griping.
Tinkerbell, of course, was the perfect trike-passenger, royally surveying her boundless kingdom as we rode along, enjoying the odd glances of passing joggers, motorists, and walkers.
The new bike overpass over I-25  is now completely done and open for traffic.  We rode up the the ramp entry but decided to save that trip for another day to see how or if the city extended the other end of the overpass other than what it used to be..... fading out in TD's girlie club parking lot and feeding into a non-bike-laned street.  I think it now feeds into a usable bike pathway but will soon find out.
On the other  end of this short run across Jefferson and I-25, the path splits left at an above-ground water viaduct passing over the city's diversion canal.  I unfortunately took the right path split and wound up dead-ending at the sidewalk alongside Osuna, with the narrow sidewalk barely wide enough for the trike to get west enough on Osuna to get back  on the "North Diversion" trail. 
From this trail you can ride south down to UNM and Central, or north to Balloon Fiesta Park, or north and west along the Paseo parallel bike path to the world famous Bosque Trail which of course is a fun and easy ride up and down it's 16 mile length along the Rio Grande.
Me, and Tink too, decided to not push ourselves with my outa-shape legs, and turned around to go back and ride farther another day (hopefully almost every day).
Not very much distance today, but a vast improvement over sitting in a chair in front of a computer and file cabinets all day.....

Ride Started: 1:56 PM    Ride Ended:  2:43 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage:   13.2   Ending Voltage: 13.1  Lowest:  12.7
Lowest Temp  40 F      Highest Temp:  51 F 
Stats from the GPS:    Total Miles:  6.79
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
   4.1 MPH                            5.2 MPH                   13.6 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
47 minutes                             45 minutes                  2  minutes