Today's Tracking Up and Down TN-27
Since Jacque finally received her frozen shoulder surgery, we have looked forward to leaving Tennessee for drier climes....
But her Doc informed her this week that he insists on seeing her one more time, and that date is set for 20 September. So in three weeks hopefully we'll be on the RV road again.
Jacque is again motivated, and rode even farther today than she did yesterday, for a likely total of 7-8 miles. Me, I just rode my standard 11-ish miles with no disasters to report.
I've mentioned in past posts about me throwing truck tire chunks off the roadway and shoulder.
Before we even left to go riding this morning, we were shocked to hear a sudden earth-shaking BOOM! on the roadway going by our RV park. I was not far from the road, being out for a trash walk, and at first with all the crashing and loud racket going on, that there was a wreck in progress. I got out for a full view of the roadway and the semi tractor and trailer were still screaming past, with large tire chunks flying this way and that. I assumed the trucker would stop and assess the damage but he didn't even seem to slow down. NO WAY he could have missed that explosion when his tire blew up.
One thing we DID encounter while riding is a couple of joggers, either hubby and wife or daddy and daughter. We passed them heading south while they were jogging north on the same side of the highway, and I caught up to them again just south of Spring City on my way back. The guy looked about my age, and was still jogging after several miles. Impressive. Always somebody gotta show me up....
After the trike riding, I went out on foot and cleaned up the tire chunks still scattered along 100 yards of TN-68 in front of the RV park. I don't bike this road but I don't like driving over such junk any more in the SUV than I do riding a bike.
Ride Started: 9:10 AM Ride Ended: 10:34 AM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.7 Ending Voltage: 12.7 Lowest: 12.7
Beginning Blood Glucose: 91 Ending BG: 133
(Ate 1 cornbread piece before riding; insulin pump basal rate left at 100% for the ride)
Lowest Temp 75 F Highest Temp: 78 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 11.49
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
8.2 MPH 8.8 MPH 18.1 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 24 mins 1 hour 18 mins 5 minutes
Friday, August 31, 2018
Thursday, August 30, 2018
Thursday Thoroughbred
I was saddling up getting ready for a before-breakfast trike ride this morning when Jacque started making noises about wanting to take a ride too. Since both trikes are currently in or on the Ford Exploder, it was no trouble for us to both load up and go.
I normally ride somewhat faster than Jacque does, for a couple reasons:
(1) She doesn't ride as often
(2) Her Catrike Pocket is heavier than my older Catrike Road
(3) She usually carries both Tink and Lilly in her baskets. They are only maybe 5 pounds each, but the extra weight does make a difference.
Since she had ridden a couple days ago for several miles without any difficulty, I felt safe in letting her fall behind and ride her own pace while I went on ahead to get in my desired 10 mile minimum.
It started out cool but very foggy and humid this morning, and eventually turned hot and humid as the sun got higher in the sky and burned off the shady fog.
Nothing of note happened between our two rides today, but Jacque was impressive again with her triking distance achieved. She achieved at least 6 to 8 miles, and was pedaling strong when she came over the horizon where I was waiting for her. When she had knee replacement surgery a couple years ago, she immediately started trike riding, and was especially motivated to ride her trike the several miles to and from the post-operative therapy sessions. Where most people stagger in with wheelchairs and 4-plex canes, Jacque would arrive under her own steam on her Trike, ready for exercise therapy AFTER a 3 or 4 mile ride. She made great progress and was ambulatory in a very short time, amazing her doctors and therapists. Hopefully her triking will help in this recovery from frozen shoulder surgery as well. So I label her a thoroughbred pacer today.
My feet have been getting too numb while riding recently, and after Googling "neuropathy" I decided I have been doing too much sitting and not enough walking recently. With my diabetes, riding the trike helps, but the elevation of my feet while riding recumbent has not helped with foot circulation.
So the last couple days I have been trying to walk more than just around the compound waiting for the dogs to pee and poop. I find it much harder to motivate myself to walk, compared to riding the bikes and trikes, but I noticed quite an improvement in my numb feet today. So I need to walk at least a mile or two almost as often as riding the trike, it would appear.
I've almost decided it ain't worth the trouble trying to keep trash thrown off the road shoulders, even on this Dayton stretch where it's much cleaner than on the Rockford highway north of Spring City.
Every day more debris is scattered every which way, and when a big truck tire self destructs, the mess is hard to ride safely around:
So I got off the trike and took a few minutes to throw these huge tire chunks off the roadway.
I normally ride somewhat faster than Jacque does, for a couple reasons:
(1) She doesn't ride as often
(2) Her Catrike Pocket is heavier than my older Catrike Road
(3) She usually carries both Tink and Lilly in her baskets. They are only maybe 5 pounds each, but the extra weight does make a difference.
Since she had ridden a couple days ago for several miles without any difficulty, I felt safe in letting her fall behind and ride her own pace while I went on ahead to get in my desired 10 mile minimum.
It started out cool but very foggy and humid this morning, and eventually turned hot and humid as the sun got higher in the sky and burned off the shady fog.
Nothing of note happened between our two rides today, but Jacque was impressive again with her triking distance achieved. She achieved at least 6 to 8 miles, and was pedaling strong when she came over the horizon where I was waiting for her. When she had knee replacement surgery a couple years ago, she immediately started trike riding, and was especially motivated to ride her trike the several miles to and from the post-operative therapy sessions. Where most people stagger in with wheelchairs and 4-plex canes, Jacque would arrive under her own steam on her Trike, ready for exercise therapy AFTER a 3 or 4 mile ride. She made great progress and was ambulatory in a very short time, amazing her doctors and therapists. Hopefully her triking will help in this recovery from frozen shoulder surgery as well. So I label her a thoroughbred pacer today.
My feet have been getting too numb while riding recently, and after Googling "neuropathy" I decided I have been doing too much sitting and not enough walking recently. With my diabetes, riding the trike helps, but the elevation of my feet while riding recumbent has not helped with foot circulation.
So the last couple days I have been trying to walk more than just around the compound waiting for the dogs to pee and poop. I find it much harder to motivate myself to walk, compared to riding the bikes and trikes, but I noticed quite an improvement in my numb feet today. So I need to walk at least a mile or two almost as often as riding the trike, it would appear.
I've almost decided it ain't worth the trouble trying to keep trash thrown off the road shoulders, even on this Dayton stretch where it's much cleaner than on the Rockford highway north of Spring City.
Every day more debris is scattered every which way, and when a big truck tire self destructs, the mess is hard to ride safely around:
Ride Started: 8:45 AM Ride Ended: 10:22 AM
Beginning Blood Glucose: 168 Ending BG: 61
(Half an Apple for breakfast, pump basal set to 75% for this ride)
Beginning Blood Glucose: 168 Ending BG: 61
(Half an Apple for breakfast, pump basal set to 75% for this ride)
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 11.49
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
7.1 MPH 7.8 MPH 19.2 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 37 mins 1 hour 28 mins 8 minutes
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
7.1 MPH 7.8 MPH 19.2 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 37 mins 1 hour 28 mins 8 minutes
Tuesday, August 28, 2018
Ten Miles the Other Direction
Today's Tracking after I Poked Around
Jacque and I had driven the Highway 27 on the other side of Spring City all the way to Rockwood a few days ago. So, for a variation in ride routing, I decided to ride that marked "Bike Path" shoulder a ways.
It's an odd bike path arrangement: No announced start point or parking lot from which to "officially" begin riding. The first wide shoulder and green "Bike Route" sign occur a quarter-mile or so outside the northern limits of Spring City. There was a Dollar General parking lot nearby so that's where I parked the Ford Exploder and unloaded the trike to ride.
We had noticed before that these road shoulders were quite cluttered with wood and bark bits and pieces, no doubt because of the Huber Woods Plant about 4 miles from Spring City and the resultant parade of logging trucks coming and going from its entrance. The loads they haul are impressive only for their size. The felled logs are roughly trimmed, normally with small limbs and shards of bark and wood tissue poking out higgley-piggley, almost as if the trees were felled by throwing in a hand grenade and then piling the junk onto the log trailer. I encountered all shapes and sizes of "fallout" wood products: Limbs, stubs, bark bits and slabs, and one actual solid sound log 10 feet long!
On my way North, I at first began my usual slowing down and snatching up junk and throwing it off the road shoulder. After I got to my desired turnaround point, however, the junkpiles were even more plentiful and I finally just gave up and dodged around the garbage as best I could. The highway crews mow weeds and grass every other week or so, but I have not seen any evidence any shoulder cleaning or sweeping ever occurs. BAH
BTW, ever hear of Kudzu? Here in Tennessee (and evidently most of the South) the stuff is covering almost everything. The hillsides and forests appear leafy and green, quite pleasant until you realized what you are seeing is the broad leaves of Kudzu, covering almost everything. The stuff overgrows trees, power lines, vacant and untended houses, and actually brings down thousands of trees and power lines every year. A mild example:
That's about 60 feet of guy line on the power pole being overwhelmed by Kudzu. The shorter brown cluster to the right is a power pole with the Kudzu completely enveloping it clear up to and around the insulators. On narrower roads the kudzu crowds right up to the road shoulders, drooping off trees and power lines that cost tons of money for cutting back and control. Kudzu evidently is a decent cattle and even human food source but no one seems to be able to consume enough of it to keep it under control.
Jacque and I had driven the Highway 27 on the other side of Spring City all the way to Rockwood a few days ago. So, for a variation in ride routing, I decided to ride that marked "Bike Path" shoulder a ways.
It's an odd bike path arrangement: No announced start point or parking lot from which to "officially" begin riding. The first wide shoulder and green "Bike Route" sign occur a quarter-mile or so outside the northern limits of Spring City. There was a Dollar General parking lot nearby so that's where I parked the Ford Exploder and unloaded the trike to ride.
We had noticed before that these road shoulders were quite cluttered with wood and bark bits and pieces, no doubt because of the Huber Woods Plant about 4 miles from Spring City and the resultant parade of logging trucks coming and going from its entrance. The loads they haul are impressive only for their size. The felled logs are roughly trimmed, normally with small limbs and shards of bark and wood tissue poking out higgley-piggley, almost as if the trees were felled by throwing in a hand grenade and then piling the junk onto the log trailer. I encountered all shapes and sizes of "fallout" wood products: Limbs, stubs, bark bits and slabs, and one actual solid sound log 10 feet long!
Ride Started: 9:23 AM Ride Ended: 11:26 AM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.7 Ending Voltage: 12.7 Lowest: 12.7
Beginning Blood Glucose: 91 Ending BG: 133
(Ate 1 banana before riding; insulin pump basal rate set to 75% for the ride)
Lowest Temp 75 F Highest Temp: 78 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 10.41
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
5.3 MPH 7.3 MPH 18.7 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 57 mins 1 hour 25 mins 32 minutes
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.7 Ending Voltage: 12.7 Lowest: 12.7
Beginning Blood Glucose: 91 Ending BG: 133
(Ate 1 banana before riding; insulin pump basal rate set to 75% for the ride)
Lowest Temp 75 F Highest Temp: 78 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 10.41
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
5.3 MPH 7.3 MPH 18.7 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 57 mins 1 hour 25 mins 32 minutes
Monday, August 27, 2018
Jacque's Back on Her Trike
Work needs to be done on my APRS tracker. The last couple rides have resulted in no position reporting, even though the power was checked and the lights were blinking... red. I think it's supposed to blink green. Will check it out.
Jacque has been threatening to ride her trike again since her successful shoulder operation. She took it around the RV park compound Saturday and today, Monday, we took both trikes out to Highway 27 and rode several miles, she with both dogs in her baskets.
Jacque normally rides much slower than I do, but today, with my usual slow-down-sometimes-stop and pick up trash to throw out of the way, she got ahead of me most of the route today. It was easy to catch up with her, but within a few minutes I'd spot some more junk.... and when I looked up, she'd be another quarter mile ahead.
We set no distance records this ride. I'm impressed enough that she got in as many miles as she did, and her motivation has notched up, now having actually accomplished riding her trike for a few miles. Great Stuff. She's almost ready to do cartwheels again.
Ride Started: 10:55 AM Ride Ended: 12:25 PM
Beginning Blood Glucose: 217 Ending BG: 99
(Ate breakfast, pump basal set to 100% for this ride)
Beginning Blood Glucose: 217 Ending BG: 99
(Ate breakfast, pump basal set to 100% for this ride)
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 6.08
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
4.2 MPH 5.4 MPH 18.3 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 27 mins 1 hour 7 mins 20 minutes
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
4.2 MPH 5.4 MPH 18.3 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 27 mins 1 hour 7 mins 20 minutes
Friday, August 24, 2018
Stop Thief ! !
Since Jacque's recent shoulder operation, we've been going over to Athens TN for post operative therapy sessions. Yesterday was one of her sessions late in the afternoon. I had decided we needed to move the RV out from under the tree canopy on the edge of Bitner's RV Park and park out in the open instead. Thus we would lose the partial shade of the trees, but I'm hoping the insect and rubble issues will be less a little farther away from the trees.
Everything under the trees is daily showered with layers of leaves, bits and pieces of limbs and bark, and insects of all kinds, especially ants. When I had previously been up on the roof to lubricate the front air conditioner motor, I was disturbed by the masses of small ants all over the roof, amongst all the other stuff. At night every few minutes the roof would go "Ker-Thunk!" from the sounds of dropping acorns, leaf clusters, and twigs. So I asked the RV camp lady if we could move across the driveway into another spot in the open, and she agreed.
Thus, instead of riding my trike in the morning, I spent the time relocating all our RV stuff from the one spot to the other. It only took half the day to move about 50 feet away. No biggie.
After Jacque's tiring therapy session, we decided to eat out instead of her having to cook something when we got back. We decided to eat at the China Wok, where the Sherwood fam had introduced us a couple weeks ago. Great food. We enjoyed ourselves until a couple sat in the booth in front of us and the fellow began regaling his lady with loud statements and gestures.
We enjoyed the rest of the meal anyway, and Jacque treated herself to some ice cream. The waitress/hostess brought us our ticket but never came by to pick up the packet and charge card, so I finally got up to take care of the payment up front while Jacque finished her ice cream. As I approached the cash register and the nice lady appeared behind it, suddenly the "loud guy" came rushing behind me holding his cell phone, talking loudly into it as he exited the front door, ignoring the alarmed cries from the staff who smelled something bad going on. His "lady" came right behind him, telling the waitresses "He's just going out to get his wallet" or something to that effect. That confused the waitresses for a moment until SHE rushed past us all and out into the boyfriend's truck. The waitresses were right on their tails, hollering at them to stop and come back, but they jumped in their truck and roared away, leaving the waitresses wringing their hands in despair. As they came back in to accept MY payment, They exclaimed several times "WHY would anyone DO such a thing?" although surely it's happened before. I suppose what they SHOULD do is charge people immediately for what they order up front. After all it's a buffet, so paying up front shouldn't be a problem, unless you're hoping for an illicit free feed.
Jacque and I occasionally enjoy paying for someone else's meal when we spot them or sit close to them in restaurants. I hadn't planned on doing so this time but I couldn't resist offering to pay the bill for the bokum rip-off customers. "Are you sure?" they asked, and I reassured them, Yes. It cost the same as our bill, not that much, but we know sometimes the waitress has to pay for such deadbeats who scram without paying, in spite of their lack of ability to catch or overpower most such malcontents.
So, to the nasty couple who think you got away with ripping off an honest business, please remember that "What Goes Around, Comes Around". As the Good Book says, cast ye your bread upon the water and it will return to you....
This morning, I had no moving duties for RV or otherwise, so I went for a trike ride. Unlike the last ride, the radios didn't connect through the network at any time so I have no GPS tracking data to report. But the morning was cool and sunny. It has been in the low 60's overnight the last few nights which is unusual for this area. We'll enjoy it while it lasts. I hope.
Not much unusual happened on my 11 mile ride back and forth today, except for a bit more road cleaning than usual. I have ridden around a flattened dried up deer carcass ever since we arrived here, and today I thought to myself "If I had a stick of some kind I could scrape most of that mess off the road shoulder into the weeds". A few feet past the carcass and I spotted a flat piece of house trim lying in the grass, that I had thrown off the shoulder a week or so ago. I stopped, locked the brakes on the trike, and spent at least 15 minutes scraping and flipping and shoving bits and pieces of bone and hide off the shoulder. Finally I got it done to my satisfaction and I was able to roll on.
I COULD take a whole day instead of a few minutes at a time and try to clean up this stretch of road shoulder to the point where I wouldn't have to be distracted and disgusted by so much trash and debris, but it would be largely a waste of time. Every day there is more "Stuff" to deal with. I DID notice that the 5th wheel tailgate I dug out of the weeds several days ago was long gone this morning, so hopefully the actual owner was the one who retrieved it.
Everything under the trees is daily showered with layers of leaves, bits and pieces of limbs and bark, and insects of all kinds, especially ants. When I had previously been up on the roof to lubricate the front air conditioner motor, I was disturbed by the masses of small ants all over the roof, amongst all the other stuff. At night every few minutes the roof would go "Ker-Thunk!" from the sounds of dropping acorns, leaf clusters, and twigs. So I asked the RV camp lady if we could move across the driveway into another spot in the open, and she agreed.
Thus, instead of riding my trike in the morning, I spent the time relocating all our RV stuff from the one spot to the other. It only took half the day to move about 50 feet away. No biggie.
After Jacque's tiring therapy session, we decided to eat out instead of her having to cook something when we got back. We decided to eat at the China Wok, where the Sherwood fam had introduced us a couple weeks ago. Great food. We enjoyed ourselves until a couple sat in the booth in front of us and the fellow began regaling his lady with loud statements and gestures.
We enjoyed the rest of the meal anyway, and Jacque treated herself to some ice cream. The waitress/hostess brought us our ticket but never came by to pick up the packet and charge card, so I finally got up to take care of the payment up front while Jacque finished her ice cream. As I approached the cash register and the nice lady appeared behind it, suddenly the "loud guy" came rushing behind me holding his cell phone, talking loudly into it as he exited the front door, ignoring the alarmed cries from the staff who smelled something bad going on. His "lady" came right behind him, telling the waitresses "He's just going out to get his wallet" or something to that effect. That confused the waitresses for a moment until SHE rushed past us all and out into the boyfriend's truck. The waitresses were right on their tails, hollering at them to stop and come back, but they jumped in their truck and roared away, leaving the waitresses wringing their hands in despair. As they came back in to accept MY payment, They exclaimed several times "WHY would anyone DO such a thing?" although surely it's happened before. I suppose what they SHOULD do is charge people immediately for what they order up front. After all it's a buffet, so paying up front shouldn't be a problem, unless you're hoping for an illicit free feed.
Jacque and I occasionally enjoy paying for someone else's meal when we spot them or sit close to them in restaurants. I hadn't planned on doing so this time but I couldn't resist offering to pay the bill for the bokum rip-off customers. "Are you sure?" they asked, and I reassured them, Yes. It cost the same as our bill, not that much, but we know sometimes the waitress has to pay for such deadbeats who scram without paying, in spite of their lack of ability to catch or overpower most such malcontents.
So, to the nasty couple who think you got away with ripping off an honest business, please remember that "What Goes Around, Comes Around". As the Good Book says, cast ye your bread upon the water and it will return to you....
This morning, I had no moving duties for RV or otherwise, so I went for a trike ride. Unlike the last ride, the radios didn't connect through the network at any time so I have no GPS tracking data to report. But the morning was cool and sunny. It has been in the low 60's overnight the last few nights which is unusual for this area. We'll enjoy it while it lasts. I hope.
Not much unusual happened on my 11 mile ride back and forth today, except for a bit more road cleaning than usual. I have ridden around a flattened dried up deer carcass ever since we arrived here, and today I thought to myself "If I had a stick of some kind I could scrape most of that mess off the road shoulder into the weeds". A few feet past the carcass and I spotted a flat piece of house trim lying in the grass, that I had thrown off the shoulder a week or so ago. I stopped, locked the brakes on the trike, and spent at least 15 minutes scraping and flipping and shoving bits and pieces of bone and hide off the shoulder. Finally I got it done to my satisfaction and I was able to roll on.
I COULD take a whole day instead of a few minutes at a time and try to clean up this stretch of road shoulder to the point where I wouldn't have to be distracted and disgusted by so much trash and debris, but it would be largely a waste of time. Every day there is more "Stuff" to deal with. I DID notice that the 5th wheel tailgate I dug out of the weeds several days ago was long gone this morning, so hopefully the actual owner was the one who retrieved it.
Ride Started: 9:55 AM Ride Ended: 11:42 AM
Beginning Blood Glucose: 219 Ending BG: 86
(Ate breakfast, pump basal set to 80% for this ride)
Beginning Blood Glucose: 219 Ending BG: 86
(Ate breakfast, pump basal set to 80% for this ride)
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 11.51
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
6.5 MPH 7.5 MPH 19.7 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 47 mins 1 hour 31 mins 15 minutes
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
6.5 MPH 7.5 MPH 19.7 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 47 mins 1 hour 31 mins 15 minutes
Wednesday, August 22, 2018
Wonky Wednesday
Today's HiPo Tracking via GPS and Ham Radio
Since it was not yet raining for once this morning, I got to ride with cool cloud cover but without getting drenched.... or even dampish.
For whatever reason, the radios were working fine today, as can be seen in the intro link.
I was surprised to find the lost tailgate still leaning up on the guard rail today. I half expected someone to decide to see what it would bring for scrap metal. Chalk another one up for honest Tennesseeans.
It was 72 degrees when I got up this morning, and relatively dry humidity wise. A welcome change from Monday and Tuesday's stifling humidity.
My recent rides would be boring, the same route day after day, were it not for the various people I encounter, whether in person from a car pulling over to talk, the friendly waves and Beep-Beeps from passing drivers, and the occasional squealing of passing teens either trying to be friendly or trying to spook me. Sometimes it's hard to tell. I tell myself they're friendly and smile and wave and keep on pedaling.
The guys I talk to on the ham radio are an interesting bunch as well. Today, as often is the case, a couple of ham radio operators kept me yakking so much that I was surprised to find myself at the end of my 10 mile out-'n-back in no time at all. Just riding along without talking or interacting with anyone, the ride seems much longer than when swapping lies with someone either on the radio or riding alongside me. Much easier to find guys to ride along on the radio than to ride along with me up close and personal on the road. Today was no exception, with Dano and Jerry gabbing it up with me on the ham radio 2 meter rig. I wish I could remember their call signs, but so far their names are all I can come up with. I've actually talked to both of them a couple times before, but still haven't memorized their ham calls. A brain is a horrible thing to waste.....
Ride Started: 8:49 AM Ride Ended: 10:13 AM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.9 Ending Voltage: 12.9 Lowest: 12.2
Beginning Blood Glucose: 123 Ending BG: 249
(No breakfast before riding; ate handful of trail mix while riding, insulin pump basal rate set to 100% for the ride)
Lowest Temp 67 F Highest Temp: 75 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 11.51
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
8.2 MPH 8.5 MPH 17.3 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 23 mins 1 hour 21 mins 3 minutes
Since it was not yet raining for once this morning, I got to ride with cool cloud cover but without getting drenched.... or even dampish.
For whatever reason, the radios were working fine today, as can be seen in the intro link.
I was surprised to find the lost tailgate still leaning up on the guard rail today. I half expected someone to decide to see what it would bring for scrap metal. Chalk another one up for honest Tennesseeans.
It was 72 degrees when I got up this morning, and relatively dry humidity wise. A welcome change from Monday and Tuesday's stifling humidity.
My recent rides would be boring, the same route day after day, were it not for the various people I encounter, whether in person from a car pulling over to talk, the friendly waves and Beep-Beeps from passing drivers, and the occasional squealing of passing teens either trying to be friendly or trying to spook me. Sometimes it's hard to tell. I tell myself they're friendly and smile and wave and keep on pedaling.
The guys I talk to on the ham radio are an interesting bunch as well. Today, as often is the case, a couple of ham radio operators kept me yakking so much that I was surprised to find myself at the end of my 10 mile out-'n-back in no time at all. Just riding along without talking or interacting with anyone, the ride seems much longer than when swapping lies with someone either on the radio or riding alongside me. Much easier to find guys to ride along on the radio than to ride along with me up close and personal on the road. Today was no exception, with Dano and Jerry gabbing it up with me on the ham radio 2 meter rig. I wish I could remember their call signs, but so far their names are all I can come up with. I've actually talked to both of them a couple times before, but still haven't memorized their ham calls. A brain is a horrible thing to waste.....
Ride Started: 8:49 AM Ride Ended: 10:13 AM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.9 Ending Voltage: 12.9 Lowest: 12.2
Beginning Blood Glucose: 123 Ending BG: 249
(No breakfast before riding; ate handful of trail mix while riding, insulin pump basal rate set to 100% for the ride)
Lowest Temp 67 F Highest Temp: 75 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 11.51
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
8.2 MPH 8.5 MPH 17.3 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 23 mins 1 hour 21 mins 3 minutes
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Highway Patrol
Today's Tracking Courtesy of APRS, GPS, and Ham Radio
Today's Entry Title is derived from my habit of picking debris off the side of the highway and (a) throwing it off the road into the weeds or (b) taking it home with me, if useful or interesting.
The only take-home item today was a 3/8 X 20 X 2" carriage bolt. A few feet away was an even more interesting item:
This breeze-way tailgate, meant for a pickup used as a 5th-wheel trailer puller, was new to the road shoulder. It was partially out in the shoulder and partially hidden in the weeds. I propped it up against the guard rail in hopes the owner spots it and retrieves it - these things are EXPENSIVE. If it's yours, contact me. Maybe it'll still be there when you come to get it.....
Jacque got her shoulder laparoscopy (sp?) surgery done yesterday morning and the results are quite impressive. She was able to use the arm within a few hours, with little ot no pain. Later on, the pain-block injection wore off and she has to now be more careful, but she has use of her right arm again, without TEARS. Life is good. This is also why I did not ride yesterday, Monday morning, or the rest of the day. She was too groggy to leave alone.
Today, however, she was all eager to encourage me to go for a ride, and I don't need much encouragement. As soon as I drove out of the RV park headed for the trike embarkation point, it began to rain, so I wimped out and came back. Putzed around the rest of the morning.
By shortly after lunch, the skies had stopped their weeping. It was still cloudy but not raining, so I took off again and got in a good ride.
The temperature wasn't awful this time but the humidity certainly was. We had trouble sleeping last night because it was so muggy. The wind came up a bit while I was riding and it helped the comfort level a lot.
Ride Started: 12:40 PM Ride Ended: 2:20 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.3 Ending Voltage: 13.0 Lowest: 13.0
Beginning Blood Glucose: 163 Ending BG: 66
(Ate lunch before riding; insulin pump basal rate set to 80% for the ride)
Lowest Temp 75 F Highest Temp: 78 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 11.5
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
7.0 MPH 7.6 MPH 21.2 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 38 mins 1 hour 30 mins 8 minutes
Today's Entry Title is derived from my habit of picking debris off the side of the highway and (a) throwing it off the road into the weeds or (b) taking it home with me, if useful or interesting.
The only take-home item today was a 3/8 X 20 X 2" carriage bolt. A few feet away was an even more interesting item:
Jacque got her shoulder laparoscopy (sp?) surgery done yesterday morning and the results are quite impressive. She was able to use the arm within a few hours, with little ot no pain. Later on, the pain-block injection wore off and she has to now be more careful, but she has use of her right arm again, without TEARS. Life is good. This is also why I did not ride yesterday, Monday morning, or the rest of the day. She was too groggy to leave alone.
Today, however, she was all eager to encourage me to go for a ride, and I don't need much encouragement. As soon as I drove out of the RV park headed for the trike embarkation point, it began to rain, so I wimped out and came back. Putzed around the rest of the morning.
By shortly after lunch, the skies had stopped their weeping. It was still cloudy but not raining, so I took off again and got in a good ride.
The temperature wasn't awful this time but the humidity certainly was. We had trouble sleeping last night because it was so muggy. The wind came up a bit while I was riding and it helped the comfort level a lot.
Ride Started: 12:40 PM Ride Ended: 2:20 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.3 Ending Voltage: 13.0 Lowest: 13.0
Beginning Blood Glucose: 163 Ending BG: 66
(Ate lunch before riding; insulin pump basal rate set to 80% for the ride)
Lowest Temp 75 F Highest Temp: 78 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 11.5
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
7.0 MPH 7.6 MPH 21.2 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 38 mins 1 hour 30 mins 8 minutes
Saturday, August 18, 2018
Saturday Sprinkles
Today's Tracking via Ham Radio and GPS
I must have wiggled a loose connection on my radio-electronics cluster since all of a sudden my tracker worked quite well today.
It rained all night last night, making sleep difficult. Steady rain isn't too bad to sleep by, but the overhead trees tend to modify the rain-flow and make it come in blops, slams, and sheets.
So everything was soggy this morning but the sky was merely gray with fog, not black like those clouds that dump rain.
I got down to the dropoff point, unloaded the trike, and took off. I had not gone more than a mile or two when it started sprinkling on me and I could see heavier mist directly ahead, so I wimped out and turned around rather than get soaked.
It was only sprinkling slightly when I got to the Exploder parked at the intersection/dropoff point. I activated the radios and waited for the timed beacons to transmit so I could listen to them and see if anything sounded wrong. After at least 30 minutes NOTHING sounded wrong since nothing had been transmitted even though the maximum delay between beacons, sitting still, was 10 minutes or so, at least to my recollection. It takes a laptop/serial connection to check such things in the settings, which was not available at this point. So I began double checking connections and suddenly it started transmitting positions. I sighed and started to finish loading the trike onto the roof of the Exploder luggage rack, when I noticed the SUN had come out, no sprinkling was going on, and the immediate area seemed clear of rain. So instead of loading up the trike I loaded myself down into the seat and took off for ride attempt #2.
This time I got a few miles enjoyably down the road when, again, splats of rain began hitting me in the face, with dark clouds looming dead ahead threatening real rain. So I again turned around early and rode back and gave up for the day. Of course it hasn't rained the rest of the day, at least until we drove over to Knoxville to take my Martin to the guitar repair man. It seems we cannot make the hour-plus drive to Knoxville without rain falling on us somewhere around the metroplex.
I must have wiggled a loose connection on my radio-electronics cluster since all of a sudden my tracker worked quite well today.
It rained all night last night, making sleep difficult. Steady rain isn't too bad to sleep by, but the overhead trees tend to modify the rain-flow and make it come in blops, slams, and sheets.
So everything was soggy this morning but the sky was merely gray with fog, not black like those clouds that dump rain.
I got down to the dropoff point, unloaded the trike, and took off. I had not gone more than a mile or two when it started sprinkling on me and I could see heavier mist directly ahead, so I wimped out and turned around rather than get soaked.
It was only sprinkling slightly when I got to the Exploder parked at the intersection/dropoff point. I activated the radios and waited for the timed beacons to transmit so I could listen to them and see if anything sounded wrong. After at least 30 minutes NOTHING sounded wrong since nothing had been transmitted even though the maximum delay between beacons, sitting still, was 10 minutes or so, at least to my recollection. It takes a laptop/serial connection to check such things in the settings, which was not available at this point. So I began double checking connections and suddenly it started transmitting positions. I sighed and started to finish loading the trike onto the roof of the Exploder luggage rack, when I noticed the SUN had come out, no sprinkling was going on, and the immediate area seemed clear of rain. So instead of loading up the trike I loaded myself down into the seat and took off for ride attempt #2.
This time I got a few miles enjoyably down the road when, again, splats of rain began hitting me in the face, with dark clouds looming dead ahead threatening real rain. So I again turned around early and rode back and gave up for the day. Of course it hasn't rained the rest of the day, at least until we drove over to Knoxville to take my Martin to the guitar repair man. It seems we cannot make the hour-plus drive to Knoxville without rain falling on us somewhere around the metroplex.
Ride Started: 10:00 AM Ride Ended: 10.42 AM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.2 Ending Voltage: 10.9 Lowest: 10.9
Beginning Blood Glucose: 178 Ending BG: 118
(Ate breakfast this morning; insulin pump basal rate set to 80% for the ride)
Lowest Temp 71 F Highest Temp: 75 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 7.04
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
7.9 MPH 8.3 MPH 15.6 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
42 minutes 40 minutes 2 minutes
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.2 Ending Voltage: 10.9 Lowest: 10.9
Beginning Blood Glucose: 178 Ending BG: 118
(Ate breakfast this morning; insulin pump basal rate set to 80% for the ride)
Lowest Temp 71 F Highest Temp: 75 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 7.04
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
7.9 MPH 8.3 MPH 15.6 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
42 minutes 40 minutes 2 minutes
Friday, August 17, 2018
10:30 AM and Still No Sun
Another foggy day today, for sure. Visibility was very low but still noticeably cooler than when the sun DOES burn through and show its face. Even though I was not an early rider this morning, I had no need for sunscreen.
I seem to be making friends with passers-by around here. Seems like every day more people give waves and salutes and friendly beeps as they pass coming or going.
Just before I got back, I heard a loud "SCREEE!" I looked up over my right shoulder, and what should I see but a Bald Eagle swooping in a loop out of a very tall thicket of trees. Camera Access was Much Too Slow. DUH
Ride Started: 9:04 AM Ride Ended: 10:32 AM
Beginning Blood Glucose: 146 Ending BG: 133
(No breakfast; insulin pump basal rate cut back to 80% for this ride)
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 11.38
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
7.7 MPH 8.7 MPH 18.10 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 28 mins 1 hour 18 mins 10 minutes
I seem to be making friends with passers-by around here. Seems like every day more people give waves and salutes and friendly beeps as they pass coming or going.
Just before I got back, I heard a loud "SCREEE!" I looked up over my right shoulder, and what should I see but a Bald Eagle swooping in a loop out of a very tall thicket of trees. Camera Access was Much Too Slow. DUH
Ride Started: 9:04 AM Ride Ended: 10:32 AM
Beginning Blood Glucose: 146 Ending BG: 133
(No breakfast; insulin pump basal rate cut back to 80% for this ride)
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 11.38
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
7.7 MPH 8.7 MPH 18.10 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 28 mins 1 hour 18 mins 10 minutes
Thursday, August 16, 2018
Riding in the Soup
 |
| Very Poor Visibility |
The Smoky Mountains of Tennessee are aptly named. They often appear to have smoke arising from the sides of the mountains and the valleys in between. It appears to be mostly fog in the mornings and other times during the day when the temperature and humidity are right.
We often have some fog early in the mornings here between Spring City and Dayton TN, but this morning it was truly THICK. I started riding late, about eight, and the fog was still so thick I didn't even slather any sunscreen on and just rolled up my pants legs to the knee and socks down to the ankles (i.e. RedNeck Spandex) and took off. Not only did the fog not clear up; it actually got thicker, to the point I could hardly see 50 feet in front of me. My glasses fogged up to the point I had to stop and wipe them several times to clear up my vision. But no sunburn occurred. Just a nice ride.
So far I'm fairly impressed with Tennessee drivers. There aren't that many cyclists around; I've only seen one actually riding besides me. There are obviously others but our schedules have not overlapped to the point to where I've encountered more than just the one. In spite of the seeming lack of cyclists around, invariably the vehicle drivers I encounter give me more than enough room as they pass by, and they often give me a friendly "Toot" on the horn as they pass. Even on the 4-lane divided Highway 27 with extra wide shoulders, they normally pull into the left lane as they pass me and then come back to the far right lane after they pass, with plenty of clearance. Nice guys.
I also, while pedaling along and breathing heavily, enjoyed a lengthy ham radio conversation with Henry, KC4IJO. Also have established temporarily radio friendships with John N4AOW and others.
Ride Started: 7:52 AM Ride Ended: 9:23 AM
Beginning Blood Glucose: 141 Ending BG: 150
(No breakfast; insulin pump basal rate cut back to 90% for this ride)
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 11.5
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
8.1 MPH 9.1 MPH 17.0 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 25 mins 1 hour 18 mins 9 minutes
Wednesday, August 15, 2018
What Treasures Can I Find Today
Whilst pedaling along on a relatively cool Tennessee Tuesday morning, I had only gone a few miles when a car pulled alongside me and slowed to match my pace. The gentleman inside was smiling and gesturing and after 30 seconds or so pulled on ahead and pulled over on the shoulder in front of me, requiring me to stop and see what he wanted. It was a moment or two before I registered the fact that he had a nice pedal-powered trike mounted on the rear of his car. He ambled out and walked toward and, with a distinct British accent, shook my hand and proceeded to regale me with stories.
He was not a bit over 90 years of age, originally from England, and was a WWII veteran, having served in both the RAF (British Royal Air Force) and the US Army Air Corps. He was mainly in training when the war was ending, but on a dare, flew one mission over France from England as a belly gunner in a bomber. He worked in all sorts of aeronautic and space programs, and was quite the tale spinner, also filling me in on some details about this area of Tennessee. He was a talker, indeed, and I almost had to insult him to get going and be on my way, enjoyable though he was.
When I was a college student in 1965-66 in Silver City NM at Western NM University, I occasionally visited friends up in the little village of Pinos Altos. Occasionally I would bump into a gold miner or two, of which there were several in those days, who spent most of their time back up in the mountains digging for gold and silver. None of them had struck it rich, but gold is found most everywhere if you look for it enough, and these guys often went for weeks without human contact. As a result, when they encountered some willing listener like me, they would enjoy TALKING to a live human so much that it was difficult to get away from them. This fellow reminded me of such guys, and sure enough, he lived in a nice home on top of one of the local Tennessee mountains, far from town. His wife of so many years still lived with him but evidently was in "bad shape" and provides little in the way of conversation for this ebullient Brit Boy. I commented on his accent and he laughed, saying he had left Britain about 1952 or so and didn't think he still maintained such an accent, but it was still quite evident, and really stood out here in the heart of downtown Tennessee.
He apologized several times for taking up so much of my time and said we should go on our own ways but 30 minutes later he was still holding forth. I apologized and explained after so long my wife would be worrying about me and we parted. Fun guy. This cut my riding time a bit short but I still almost made 10 miles to my surprise.
On Monday my radio/GPS tracker worked surprisingly well, and Tuesday - Not a drop of it. No clouds on Tuesday meant no ducting of the radio waves a bit farther to help out, I guess.
Oh, yeah, Treasures. I obtained tuesday, free of charge, a nice washer and a large bolt, both lying freely available for the taking on the road shoulder. Not only did I obtain such useful objects, but I might well have saved someone's tire or windshield. A few years ago just such a bolt flew off a cargo truck passing us in Montana, striking our RV windshield and making a mess of it in the process. It took me 5 miles to catch up to him and get his company and truck number. Little good it did me - when I called the company they proclaimed that unless the driver had pulled over and talked to me and acknowledged his guilt, they would never acknowledge or pay damages. So all truckers have to do is keep rolling..... BAH. No biggy. It only cost a little shy of $1000 to get new windshields installed. So at least THIS bolt goes into the safety of my spare-parts box instead.
Ride Started: 9:02 AM Ride Ended: 10:42 AM
Beginning Blood Glucose: 200 Ending BG: 66
(No breakfast; insulin pump basal rate cut back to 80% for the ride)
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 9.42
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
5.7 MPH 9.2 MPH 17.6 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 38 mins 1 hour 1 min 37 minutes
He was not a bit over 90 years of age, originally from England, and was a WWII veteran, having served in both the RAF (British Royal Air Force) and the US Army Air Corps. He was mainly in training when the war was ending, but on a dare, flew one mission over France from England as a belly gunner in a bomber. He worked in all sorts of aeronautic and space programs, and was quite the tale spinner, also filling me in on some details about this area of Tennessee. He was a talker, indeed, and I almost had to insult him to get going and be on my way, enjoyable though he was.
When I was a college student in 1965-66 in Silver City NM at Western NM University, I occasionally visited friends up in the little village of Pinos Altos. Occasionally I would bump into a gold miner or two, of which there were several in those days, who spent most of their time back up in the mountains digging for gold and silver. None of them had struck it rich, but gold is found most everywhere if you look for it enough, and these guys often went for weeks without human contact. As a result, when they encountered some willing listener like me, they would enjoy TALKING to a live human so much that it was difficult to get away from them. This fellow reminded me of such guys, and sure enough, he lived in a nice home on top of one of the local Tennessee mountains, far from town. His wife of so many years still lived with him but evidently was in "bad shape" and provides little in the way of conversation for this ebullient Brit Boy. I commented on his accent and he laughed, saying he had left Britain about 1952 or so and didn't think he still maintained such an accent, but it was still quite evident, and really stood out here in the heart of downtown Tennessee.
He apologized several times for taking up so much of my time and said we should go on our own ways but 30 minutes later he was still holding forth. I apologized and explained after so long my wife would be worrying about me and we parted. Fun guy. This cut my riding time a bit short but I still almost made 10 miles to my surprise.
On Monday my radio/GPS tracker worked surprisingly well, and Tuesday - Not a drop of it. No clouds on Tuesday meant no ducting of the radio waves a bit farther to help out, I guess.
Oh, yeah, Treasures. I obtained tuesday, free of charge, a nice washer and a large bolt, both lying freely available for the taking on the road shoulder. Not only did I obtain such useful objects, but I might well have saved someone's tire or windshield. A few years ago just such a bolt flew off a cargo truck passing us in Montana, striking our RV windshield and making a mess of it in the process. It took me 5 miles to catch up to him and get his company and truck number. Little good it did me - when I called the company they proclaimed that unless the driver had pulled over and talked to me and acknowledged his guilt, they would never acknowledge or pay damages. So all truckers have to do is keep rolling..... BAH. No biggy. It only cost a little shy of $1000 to get new windshields installed. So at least THIS bolt goes into the safety of my spare-parts box instead.
Ride Started: 9:02 AM Ride Ended: 10:42 AM
Beginning Blood Glucose: 200 Ending BG: 66
(No breakfast; insulin pump basal rate cut back to 80% for the ride)
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 9.42
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
5.7 MPH 9.2 MPH 17.6 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 38 mins 1 hour 1 min 37 minutes
Monday, August 13, 2018
Another Week in Paradise
Today's Enhanced Tracking due to Cloud Inversion
Saddled up the Catrike Recumbent this morning for a repetitive ride this morning. If I go more than a couple days without riding I tend to go a week or so without riding and then BOOM. I'm not riding regularly and outa shape. It takes weeks to build up the stamina and legs the least bit and only a few days of loafing to lose it all. At least that's the way it seems.
The weather seems to be cooling ever so slightly here in Tennessee. We're able to turn off the air conditioners at night and open the windows for some cool (relatively) outside air, sleep with the ceiling fan spinning overhead, and make it a half hour or so in the morning before cranking up the A/C units again. The temperatures are not as difficult to deal with as the humidity is. Often the humidity seems higher than the temperature.
I gained another road shoulder treasure today: A perfect dog leash, strung out on the side of the road. I was thinking maybe I should try to support our RV habit by picking up such finds along the roadway and selling them at flea markets. HAH.
My tracker seemed to work better than usual this morning, but my voice radio did not. It refused to transmit. I rode along listening to other hams chatting without interrupting them with my normally silly comments.
When i got back to the RV, Jacque suggested taking a short road trip down just south of the nearby GA/TN border on the highway to Dalton, to see the Joseph Standing Memorial.
Joseph Standing was a missionary who was murdered by a mob at this memorial's location in 1879.
The memorial is a small but very nice quarter-acre or so in a heavily wooded area near Tunnel Hill Georgia. We spent a couple hours there poking around and ate our picnic sandwiches at the concrete tables. A very nice day trip. When we got back later in the afternoon I was able to find the broken connection in my trike radio wiring and re-solder it so now I can shoot my mouth off over the radio again.
Saddled up the Catrike Recumbent this morning for a repetitive ride this morning. If I go more than a couple days without riding I tend to go a week or so without riding and then BOOM. I'm not riding regularly and outa shape. It takes weeks to build up the stamina and legs the least bit and only a few days of loafing to lose it all. At least that's the way it seems.
The weather seems to be cooling ever so slightly here in Tennessee. We're able to turn off the air conditioners at night and open the windows for some cool (relatively) outside air, sleep with the ceiling fan spinning overhead, and make it a half hour or so in the morning before cranking up the A/C units again. The temperatures are not as difficult to deal with as the humidity is. Often the humidity seems higher than the temperature.
I gained another road shoulder treasure today: A perfect dog leash, strung out on the side of the road. I was thinking maybe I should try to support our RV habit by picking up such finds along the roadway and selling them at flea markets. HAH.
My tracker seemed to work better than usual this morning, but my voice radio did not. It refused to transmit. I rode along listening to other hams chatting without interrupting them with my normally silly comments.
When i got back to the RV, Jacque suggested taking a short road trip down just south of the nearby GA/TN border on the highway to Dalton, to see the Joseph Standing Memorial.
Joseph Standing was a missionary who was murdered by a mob at this memorial's location in 1879.
The memorial is a small but very nice quarter-acre or so in a heavily wooded area near Tunnel Hill Georgia. We spent a couple hours there poking around and ate our picnic sandwiches at the concrete tables. A very nice day trip. When we got back later in the afternoon I was able to find the broken connection in my trike radio wiring and re-solder it so now I can shoot my mouth off over the radio again.
Thursday, August 9, 2018
Rained Out in Dollywood
Thursday GPS Tracking
Yesterday, Wednesday, we met up with the Sherwood fam and followed them to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, home town of Dolly Parton and now home to the huge-mongous complex of Dollywood.
Not only providing tons of screaming fun with various and sundry roller coaster rides, it has theaters, bluegrass performers, vendors of all sorts selling very high priced stuff, AND, most enjoyable to THIS old fart, a block of 1950's throwback including prime looking old cars parked in the streets, flashy Art-Deco stores and diners and theaters, and stores selling stuff to warm the heart of those of us who were youngsters in the 1950's.
A steam locomotive-powered train provided a very fun 40 minutes or so circling the complex with an announcer telling all sorts of info about the exhibits and surroundings. FUN was the gist of the activity, along with lots of walking and climbing long flights of stairs to achieve entry to the various rides. By the time 4 PM rolled around it began to rain, and rain HARD. The rides were all closed due to nearby lightning and we all got soaked trying to zip between roof overhangs and stores with their doors still open to soggy visitors. We finally got back to our parking lot about 5-ish, soaking wet, and enjoyed our heaters, or air conditioners set to slightly WARM as we drove the 80-something miles home. The kids were a blast and the 2 grandkids were even more funner.
This morning I awoke feeling a bit tired but decided to take a few-mile ride anyway. I was feeling punk enough to forget it and stay home, but found I was feeling better after the first mile or so, very happy to have gone ahead with the riding. The overhead skies were dark and soupy but not a drop of drizzle fell upon me. Which turned out to be funny as a sore toe, since it began to rain HARD the rest of the day, with little respite.
Ride Started: 9:42 AM Ride Ended: 11.06 AM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.7 Ending Voltage: 12.6 Lowest: 12.6
Beginning Blood Glucose: 162 Ending BG: 162
(No breakfast; insulin pump basal rate cut back to 80% for the ride)
Lowest Temp 71 F Highest Temp: 71 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 11.04
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
7.9 MPH 8.3 MPH 19.6 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 24 mins 1 hour 20 mins 15 minutes
Yesterday, Wednesday, we met up with the Sherwood fam and followed them to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, home town of Dolly Parton and now home to the huge-mongous complex of Dollywood.
Not only providing tons of screaming fun with various and sundry roller coaster rides, it has theaters, bluegrass performers, vendors of all sorts selling very high priced stuff, AND, most enjoyable to THIS old fart, a block of 1950's throwback including prime looking old cars parked in the streets, flashy Art-Deco stores and diners and theaters, and stores selling stuff to warm the heart of those of us who were youngsters in the 1950's.
A steam locomotive-powered train provided a very fun 40 minutes or so circling the complex with an announcer telling all sorts of info about the exhibits and surroundings. FUN was the gist of the activity, along with lots of walking and climbing long flights of stairs to achieve entry to the various rides. By the time 4 PM rolled around it began to rain, and rain HARD. The rides were all closed due to nearby lightning and we all got soaked trying to zip between roof overhangs and stores with their doors still open to soggy visitors. We finally got back to our parking lot about 5-ish, soaking wet, and enjoyed our heaters, or air conditioners set to slightly WARM as we drove the 80-something miles home. The kids were a blast and the 2 grandkids were even more funner.
This morning I awoke feeling a bit tired but decided to take a few-mile ride anyway. I was feeling punk enough to forget it and stay home, but found I was feeling better after the first mile or so, very happy to have gone ahead with the riding. The overhead skies were dark and soupy but not a drop of drizzle fell upon me. Which turned out to be funny as a sore toe, since it began to rain HARD the rest of the day, with little respite.
Ride Started: 9:42 AM Ride Ended: 11.06 AM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.7 Ending Voltage: 12.6 Lowest: 12.6
Beginning Blood Glucose: 162 Ending BG: 162
(No breakfast; insulin pump basal rate cut back to 80% for the ride)
Lowest Temp 71 F Highest Temp: 71 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 11.04
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
7.9 MPH 8.3 MPH 19.6 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 24 mins 1 hour 20 mins 15 minutes
Monday, August 6, 2018
Fellow Trikers UNITE
Today's Tracking
Today I desired to just get in about 5 miles with which to begin my week. It rains every day or so out here in the Tennessee Smokies and this morning was clear. The temperature was a very livable 70-something and the humidity, as usual, felt thicker than the temperature. But it's not too bad out riding, generating a bit of wind in the face so to speak.
I had not gone more than a couple miles when a gray minivan pulled over and stopped just ahead of me. The driver got out and walked back towards me and said aloud "Got a Question for you."
He turned out to be a Terratrike owner/operator, another vet (Iraqi Freedom or Desert Storm) much younger than I. Having seen few other trikers in this, his home area, he asked all the questions such as how do you like the Catrike, how far do you ride, what is all that electronic junk on your trike, etc.
Not only was he a fellow Army vet of another generation, he also was a fellow diabetic, using his trike for similar reasons to mine: Enjoyment, Exercise, and Elimination of Excess Blood Sugar.
We visited for a while, exchanged phone numbers, and went on our ways. He is still young enough to work for a living and me... the only work I do nowadays is for free. We agreed to try to set up a joint ride sometime soon so we can ride together and swap a few more lies.
I'm beginning to think I like Tennesseeans. Again I got several friendly honks today from semi trucks and passenger cars alike.
Ride Started: 7:15 AM Ride Ended: 9:24 AM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.7 Ending Voltage: 12.7 Lowest: 12.7
Beginning Blood Glucose: 119 Ending BG: 126
(No breakfast; insulin pump basal rate cut back to 80% for the ride)
Lowest Temp 72 F Highest Temp: 72 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 11.48
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
8.0 MPH 9.6 MPH 18.1 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 26 mins 1 hour 11 mins 15 minutes
Today I desired to just get in about 5 miles with which to begin my week. It rains every day or so out here in the Tennessee Smokies and this morning was clear. The temperature was a very livable 70-something and the humidity, as usual, felt thicker than the temperature. But it's not too bad out riding, generating a bit of wind in the face so to speak.
I had not gone more than a couple miles when a gray minivan pulled over and stopped just ahead of me. The driver got out and walked back towards me and said aloud "Got a Question for you."
He turned out to be a Terratrike owner/operator, another vet (Iraqi Freedom or Desert Storm) much younger than I. Having seen few other trikers in this, his home area, he asked all the questions such as how do you like the Catrike, how far do you ride, what is all that electronic junk on your trike, etc.
Not only was he a fellow Army vet of another generation, he also was a fellow diabetic, using his trike for similar reasons to mine: Enjoyment, Exercise, and Elimination of Excess Blood Sugar.
We visited for a while, exchanged phone numbers, and went on our ways. He is still young enough to work for a living and me... the only work I do nowadays is for free. We agreed to try to set up a joint ride sometime soon so we can ride together and swap a few more lies.
I'm beginning to think I like Tennesseeans. Again I got several friendly honks today from semi trucks and passenger cars alike.
Ride Started: 7:15 AM Ride Ended: 9:24 AM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.7 Ending Voltage: 12.7 Lowest: 12.7
Beginning Blood Glucose: 119 Ending BG: 126
(No breakfast; insulin pump basal rate cut back to 80% for the ride)
Lowest Temp 72 F Highest Temp: 72 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 11.48
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
8.0 MPH 9.6 MPH 18.1 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 26 mins 1 hour 11 mins 15 minutes
Friday, August 3, 2018
Finders Keepers
Today's Tracking, Partially Only
The Sun came out today.
Actually, at 7 AM it was not yet "out" but the scattered clouds were mainly providing shade, not moisture, as has been the case with unremitting rain the last few days. SOGGY
I was a bit slow getting going today due to hauling trash, dog walking, loading the Catrike on top of the Exploder, yada, yada. But I finally got up and rolling and rode down my favorite local road: Tennessee 27 toward Dayton TN.
The sun had not burned through the clouds yet. Had I started earlier I likely would have skipped the sun-block but to be safe, I squirted the goo over my exposed parts and took off.
I thought I'd ride a bit further today and received a treat as a result. As I got closer to Dayton, I heard a voice coming up behind me and realized another cyclist had overtaken me. As we rode together for the next couple of miles we learned we were both retired, relatively slender, and diabetic to boot. He was riding a Trek upright Diamond Frame and of course I was on my recumbent trike. He lived in Dayton so he kept on going when I turned around to go the other way back toward my parked Exploder.
I normally see all kinds of scrap and trash and assorted items along the road, but rarely am I tempted to pick something up to take home. Today was different. I spotted a couple of irresistible treasures:
I found these babies about a mile apart while throwing trash off the shoulder into the weeds.
The square aluminum tubing is not much to look at, but between the RV and the trikes and the radio antennas, I find all sorts of uses for all sorts of aluminum tubing and brackets. This will not take long to be absorbed into some project. The spring clamp is something I've often seen but never owned before, but a usable tool like this will not sit ignored in the toolbox forever.
I was vastly enjoying the clear weather for the ride when suddenly - seemingly out of a blue clear sky, as George Strait would state it, I felt a few drops which rapidly turned into a light drizzle. Above me just over my shoulder I spotted some puffy but dark clouds which were not directly over me but the air currents were obviously wafting the raindrops over towards me. I did not slow down nor stop. Light rain here in the sub tropics of Tennessee are similar to rain in Hawaii: It gets you damp or even wet but it is NOT cold; pretty much just "room temperature". In several more minutes I had ridden out of the damp zone back out into the sunshine.
Ride Started: 9:13 AM Ride Ended: 11:47 AM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.0 Ending Voltage: 12.9 Lowest: 12.9
Beginning Blood Glucose: 127 Ending BG: 136
(No breakfast; insulin pump basal rate cut back to 80% for the ride)
Lowest Temp 71 F Highest Temp: 78 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 18.29
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
7.1 MPH 8.7 MPH 25.5 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
2 hours 34 mins 2 hours 5 mins 28 minutes
The Sun came out today.
Actually, at 7 AM it was not yet "out" but the scattered clouds were mainly providing shade, not moisture, as has been the case with unremitting rain the last few days. SOGGY
I was a bit slow getting going today due to hauling trash, dog walking, loading the Catrike on top of the Exploder, yada, yada. But I finally got up and rolling and rode down my favorite local road: Tennessee 27 toward Dayton TN.
The sun had not burned through the clouds yet. Had I started earlier I likely would have skipped the sun-block but to be safe, I squirted the goo over my exposed parts and took off.
I thought I'd ride a bit further today and received a treat as a result. As I got closer to Dayton, I heard a voice coming up behind me and realized another cyclist had overtaken me. As we rode together for the next couple of miles we learned we were both retired, relatively slender, and diabetic to boot. He was riding a Trek upright Diamond Frame and of course I was on my recumbent trike. He lived in Dayton so he kept on going when I turned around to go the other way back toward my parked Exploder.
I normally see all kinds of scrap and trash and assorted items along the road, but rarely am I tempted to pick something up to take home. Today was different. I spotted a couple of irresistible treasures:
The square aluminum tubing is not much to look at, but between the RV and the trikes and the radio antennas, I find all sorts of uses for all sorts of aluminum tubing and brackets. This will not take long to be absorbed into some project. The spring clamp is something I've often seen but never owned before, but a usable tool like this will not sit ignored in the toolbox forever.
I was vastly enjoying the clear weather for the ride when suddenly - seemingly out of a blue clear sky, as George Strait would state it, I felt a few drops which rapidly turned into a light drizzle. Above me just over my shoulder I spotted some puffy but dark clouds which were not directly over me but the air currents were obviously wafting the raindrops over towards me. I did not slow down nor stop. Light rain here in the sub tropics of Tennessee are similar to rain in Hawaii: It gets you damp or even wet but it is NOT cold; pretty much just "room temperature". In several more minutes I had ridden out of the damp zone back out into the sunshine.
Ride Started: 9:13 AM Ride Ended: 11:47 AM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.0 Ending Voltage: 12.9 Lowest: 12.9
Beginning Blood Glucose: 127 Ending BG: 136
(No breakfast; insulin pump basal rate cut back to 80% for the ride)
Lowest Temp 71 F Highest Temp: 78 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 18.29
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
7.1 MPH 8.7 MPH 25.5 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
2 hours 34 mins 2 hours 5 mins 28 minutes
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