We arrived back in NM Thursday afternoon, after departing Amarillo about 9 AM the same day.
The weather has been nice & dry here. The Tennessee Daughter Jess tells us it has rained buckets there since we left, so the relative aridity has been nice.
And here it is Saturday and I'm itching to ride so I finally saddled up to take a bit of a ride. Aren't you proud of me, dear reader? Never Mind......
It was 44 degrees this morning, and it felt COLD, especially as compared to sub tropical Tennessee.
I slathered up with sun-block since the atmosphere is clearer and at 6500+ feet altitude the insolation is higher than we've experienced in the last few months.
But, by the time I finally got saddled up to ride away, it was already in the 60's and I did not have to layer up with the windbreaker I carry in the big pannier next to the LiFePO4 electronics battery and a bunch of other stuff I dare not leave home without.
I decided to ride over and see my closest grandson Jonathan, which is only a few miles from where our RV is currently parked. Route 66 is the linking passage between us and has a fairly wide shoulder most of the way. From our perch on Sedillo Hill to the Barton Valley where young Jon resides with his parents is mostly downhill so that direction was a fairly easy ride and even required some mild braking action to maintain stability. I thought to myself "We'll see how much fun it's going to be coming UP that hill on the way back."
Had a great visit with Jonathan and parents, even being fed a tasty Orange Cinnamon Roll. Jon is only 3+ years old but is a big talker now. He used to be a very strict Mama's Boy but today he came outside - ALONE with Grandpa - to look at Grandpa's Trike He Rode In On. He even sat in Grandpa's lap in the trike seat but decided he DIDN'T want to actually go for a ride. Fun Guy.
After a few more howdy-doos, I saddled up and rode back up hill to "home".... the parked RV.
The uphill ride was less of a struggle than I had anticipated. Guess I haven't 'lost my legs' yet.
Ride Started: 8:32 AM Ride Ended: 10:29 AM
Beginning Blood Glucose: 146 Ending BG: 77 (Orange Roll Consumed at Grandson's)
(Ate Breakfast before riding; insulin pump basal rate 50% for this ride)
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 7.94
Distance Walked: .7 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
3.5 MPH 6.0 MPH 31.8 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hours 57 mins 1 hour 8 mins 48 minutes
Saturday, September 29, 2018
Friday, September 14, 2018
Going to the Dawgs
Today's Tracking Courtesy of McMinn County Radio Club
We took the day off yesterday. At least I did. Jacque busted her chops, or at least her right arm and shoulder, at her therapy clinic yesterday while I ran some errands, like trash, stamps, birthday cards, gas, ice, and such-like RV essentials.
Today we were back in the saddles again. Jacque normally takes both doggies in her dual rear baskets, but today I wanted to share in the glory. Thus I hitched up my trike trailer and took the noisy one (Lilly) with me.
Actually, both dogs have recently been noisy on trike rides. Even though they love to come with us and throw squall-eyed fits when we leave them behind, they get restless and grumpy being restricted to passenger status on the trikes. But they're fun anyway, and we don't find "accidents" on the floor when they're riding with us instead of stuck at home in the RV.
Today we retraced our ride from last time: 5 miles to the Eureka Rail-Trail entry. BUT, this time we did not actually ride the entirety of the trail. Jacque got there before I did (she left 20 minutes before I did) and rode the half-mile triangular loop around the entry park. I merely used the public facility (i.e., OutHouse) before turning around for the ride home. On the way, we were forced to stop for a yard sale (Because there was a sign for a yard sale) where we enjoyed a short visit with strangers and spent a few bucks.
I finally encountered a roadneck, er, redneck, this trip. I was headed slowly up a short hill on a stretch of road with no shoulders and this black primered pickup came up behind me just as a car in the oncoming lane was fast approaching. Never touching his brake, primo-pickup roared around me, barely missing a head-on collision with the oncoming car. My so called Christian Attitude was strained during this episode, but thankfully he didn't endanger me as much as he did himself and the oncoming car.
Tennessee weather is slowly cooling, though the humidity index remains high even when it's "low".
Today wasn't too bad, even though it was a couple degrees warmer than the last 2 days.
One red truck turned out on the roadway, heading toward me, slowing down as though to talk to me.
NOPE. All he was doing was filming Lilly and me with his cell phone. HAH
Ride Started: 10:46 AM Ride Ended: 1:17 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.0 Ending Voltage: 13.0 Lowest: 12.5
Beginning Blood Glucose: 188 Ending BG: 132 (Cookies Consumed along the Way)
(Ate Breakfast before riding; insulin pump basal rate 50% for this ride)
Lowest Temp 75 F Highest Temp: 82 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 10.84
Distance Walked: .3 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
4.3 MPH 6.9 MPH 29.7 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
2 hours 31 mins 1 hour 33 mins 57 minutes
We took the day off yesterday. At least I did. Jacque busted her chops, or at least her right arm and shoulder, at her therapy clinic yesterday while I ran some errands, like trash, stamps, birthday cards, gas, ice, and such-like RV essentials.
Today we were back in the saddles again. Jacque normally takes both doggies in her dual rear baskets, but today I wanted to share in the glory. Thus I hitched up my trike trailer and took the noisy one (Lilly) with me.
Actually, both dogs have recently been noisy on trike rides. Even though they love to come with us and throw squall-eyed fits when we leave them behind, they get restless and grumpy being restricted to passenger status on the trikes. But they're fun anyway, and we don't find "accidents" on the floor when they're riding with us instead of stuck at home in the RV.
Today we retraced our ride from last time: 5 miles to the Eureka Rail-Trail entry. BUT, this time we did not actually ride the entirety of the trail. Jacque got there before I did (she left 20 minutes before I did) and rode the half-mile triangular loop around the entry park. I merely used the public facility (i.e., OutHouse) before turning around for the ride home. On the way, we were forced to stop for a yard sale (Because there was a sign for a yard sale) where we enjoyed a short visit with strangers and spent a few bucks.
I finally encountered a roadneck, er, redneck, this trip. I was headed slowly up a short hill on a stretch of road with no shoulders and this black primered pickup came up behind me just as a car in the oncoming lane was fast approaching. Never touching his brake, primo-pickup roared around me, barely missing a head-on collision with the oncoming car. My so called Christian Attitude was strained during this episode, but thankfully he didn't endanger me as much as he did himself and the oncoming car.
Tennessee weather is slowly cooling, though the humidity index remains high even when it's "low".
Today wasn't too bad, even though it was a couple degrees warmer than the last 2 days.
One red truck turned out on the roadway, heading toward me, slowing down as though to talk to me.
NOPE. All he was doing was filming Lilly and me with his cell phone. HAH
Ride Started: 10:46 AM Ride Ended: 1:17 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.0 Ending Voltage: 13.0 Lowest: 12.5
Beginning Blood Glucose: 188 Ending BG: 132 (Cookies Consumed along the Way)
(Ate Breakfast before riding; insulin pump basal rate 50% for this ride)
Lowest Temp 75 F Highest Temp: 82 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 10.84
Distance Walked: .3 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
4.3 MPH 6.9 MPH 29.7 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
2 hours 31 mins 1 hour 33 mins 57 minutes
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
Eureka! Overdid it Today
Today's Extensive Tracking courtesy of Tennessee Ham Radio
I ALMOST took a day off riding today, but Jacque decided to ride and I can't let her go do her own thing, right? So we both rode. Rode hard and put away wet, to coin a phrase....
The Athens Eureka Trail is a project in process, with about 4 miles of completed rail-to-trail accomplished with a fine gravel surface. A few years ago when I first rode it solo, the trail was very rough, with weeds growing high straight through the 2-3" rock gravel surface. I rode a couple miles of it then and gave up.
A week ago I rode a few miles of it again, long enough to lose my cell phone, and happily recovered it when Jacque and I returned to look for it and encountered a lovely couple who had it in hand and were frantically calling every number in it trying to track us down.
Where we are now encamped with our RV it is only a few miles of country road to the Eureka trailhead so we decided to ride all the way instead of trucking the trikes and then riding them.
The ensuing mileage turned out to be a bit more than we had bargained for, and we wound up wishing we HAD trucked the trikes so we could end the ride, cool off, and replenish our consumed carbs. But we had ridden out thus far and thus..... had to ride all the way back again.
We started out innocently enough, along a low traffic road, but then we encountered TN 307, which turned out to have a LOT of fairly high speed traffic on it, with no shoulders or bike lane. Howsomever, the drivers we encountered coming up behind us were unfailingly courteous, several times creeping along behind us while we chugged up hills with no room for them to pass. In New Mexico I have encountered several near-disasters where impatient drivers passed us at high speed with ONCOMING traffic and nowhere to dodge each other, but here in backwoods TN drivers seem to be able to tolerate mild delays and they bunched up behind us, never honking or giving any one-finger salutes, and passing only when sufficient room was encountered. I pulled off at all possible places where I had a solid surface to stop the trike off the road, but still blocked traffic for quite a ways. When we finally arrived at the trailhead, we had gone almost 5 miles up hill and down dale and likely should have just turned around and called it a good 10 mile ride. But we wanted to ride on the Real Eureka Trail, so we did.
Now, as noted before, it has been lengthened and upgraded, with a crusher-fine sandy road surface, few weeds, lots of big tree leaves, but quite level and shaded much of the route. It runs from Athens TN toward Englewood TN along an old rail line. The only remaining traces of railway are a few rotted railroad ties strewn among the trees along the path, a few concrete rail mile markers, and a sign or two:
Here at "Mashburn Station", the only evidence of a rail station I could see was the sign itself. There's a home here next to an old falling-down barn familiar to much of backwoods Tennessee, but nothing resembling railroad stuff. Whatever, at this point the end of the trail is only a bit over a mile away. Eventually the trail is to be extended "Clear to Englewood", but that is only a couple more miles of trail. Hopefully more of the abandoned railway will eventually be converted to TTT (Tennessee Triking Trail).
One of the nicest things about this trail - and many of the midwest trail projects - is the number of God's Air Conditioners (Tall trees providing wonderful shade) along the way.
Jacque turned around about 2 miles short of the end of the trail, but I wanted to finally actually ride the entire length, though short. So I kept going and, as a result, Jacque got miles ahead of me on the return ride "home".
There's a few rather steep hills just as you get close to the Sherwood Estate, and we both had to stop a few extra times for breathers even though we were very close to the "finish line".
Almost 20 miles today, with Jacque making at least 16. She's getting stronger already and isn't as easy to catch up to and pass any more. Hopefully her newly repaired shoulder will get just as strong soon.
Ride Started: 9:19 AM Ride Ended: 1:23 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.9 Ending Voltage: 12.9 Lowest: 12.2
Beginning Blood Glucose: 140 Ending BG: 48
(No Breakfast before riding; insulin pump basal rate 50% for this ride)
Lowest Temp 71 F Highest Temp: 84 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 19.56
Distance Walked: .8 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
4.8 MPH 6.3 MPH 26.6 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
4 hours 5 mins 3 hours 5 mins 59 minutes
I ALMOST took a day off riding today, but Jacque decided to ride and I can't let her go do her own thing, right? So we both rode. Rode hard and put away wet, to coin a phrase....
The Athens Eureka Trail is a project in process, with about 4 miles of completed rail-to-trail accomplished with a fine gravel surface. A few years ago when I first rode it solo, the trail was very rough, with weeds growing high straight through the 2-3" rock gravel surface. I rode a couple miles of it then and gave up.
A week ago I rode a few miles of it again, long enough to lose my cell phone, and happily recovered it when Jacque and I returned to look for it and encountered a lovely couple who had it in hand and were frantically calling every number in it trying to track us down.
Where we are now encamped with our RV it is only a few miles of country road to the Eureka trailhead so we decided to ride all the way instead of trucking the trikes and then riding them.
The ensuing mileage turned out to be a bit more than we had bargained for, and we wound up wishing we HAD trucked the trikes so we could end the ride, cool off, and replenish our consumed carbs. But we had ridden out thus far and thus..... had to ride all the way back again.
We started out innocently enough, along a low traffic road, but then we encountered TN 307, which turned out to have a LOT of fairly high speed traffic on it, with no shoulders or bike lane. Howsomever, the drivers we encountered coming up behind us were unfailingly courteous, several times creeping along behind us while we chugged up hills with no room for them to pass. In New Mexico I have encountered several near-disasters where impatient drivers passed us at high speed with ONCOMING traffic and nowhere to dodge each other, but here in backwoods TN drivers seem to be able to tolerate mild delays and they bunched up behind us, never honking or giving any one-finger salutes, and passing only when sufficient room was encountered. I pulled off at all possible places where I had a solid surface to stop the trike off the road, but still blocked traffic for quite a ways. When we finally arrived at the trailhead, we had gone almost 5 miles up hill and down dale and likely should have just turned around and called it a good 10 mile ride. But we wanted to ride on the Real Eureka Trail, so we did.
Now, as noted before, it has been lengthened and upgraded, with a crusher-fine sandy road surface, few weeds, lots of big tree leaves, but quite level and shaded much of the route. It runs from Athens TN toward Englewood TN along an old rail line. The only remaining traces of railway are a few rotted railroad ties strewn among the trees along the path, a few concrete rail mile markers, and a sign or two:
One of the nicest things about this trail - and many of the midwest trail projects - is the number of God's Air Conditioners (Tall trees providing wonderful shade) along the way.
Jacque turned around about 2 miles short of the end of the trail, but I wanted to finally actually ride the entire length, though short. So I kept going and, as a result, Jacque got miles ahead of me on the return ride "home".
There's a few rather steep hills just as you get close to the Sherwood Estate, and we both had to stop a few extra times for breathers even though we were very close to the "finish line".
Almost 20 miles today, with Jacque making at least 16. She's getting stronger already and isn't as easy to catch up to and pass any more. Hopefully her newly repaired shoulder will get just as strong soon.
Ride Started: 9:19 AM Ride Ended: 1:23 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.9 Ending Voltage: 12.9 Lowest: 12.2
Beginning Blood Glucose: 140 Ending BG: 48
(No Breakfast before riding; insulin pump basal rate 50% for this ride)
Lowest Temp 71 F Highest Temp: 84 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 19.56
Distance Walked: .8 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
4.8 MPH 6.3 MPH 26.6 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
4 hours 5 mins 3 hours 5 mins 59 minutes
Tuesday, September 11, 2018
Changing Neighborhoods
Today's spotty tracking
Yesterday, Monday, we left Bitner's RV Park and moved on to our kids' place just outside Niota. We should only be in TN about 9 more days, and we will definitely sleep better out here away from the logging and other trucks rattling down highway 68.
We've stayed here a few times before, and had forgotten just how quiet it is. The road noise along 68 was not that bad after dark, and even quieter late at night, but it's so quiet out here it takes a while to get used to it.
Of course, Monday was the day we needed to move or have to pay another months' rent, and it was wet and rainy.. almost all day. Especially when we were outside loading things up. And, of course, after getting soaked to the skin, the rain slowed and stopped after we had finally gotten parked and set up.
Today, Tuesday, dawned clear and cool. Coolest temperatures I think we've had since we invaded Tennessee. People are saying the hottest part of summer is over, and hopefully they're right.
Jacque had a therapy session in nearby Athens this morning so much of our day involved that and shopping and traveling back and forth. The nice weather warmed up quite a bit as the fog burned off as the day wore on, and I thought I'd try to take the trike for a ride later in the evening, as the sun was setting.
I rode the narrow paved single lane road towards metropolitan Niota, the nearest hamlet. If you've never heard of Niota, few Tennessee residents seem to have heard of it either. Population 718, it's a quaint little burg with the oldest pre-Civil War railroad depot in the state of Tennessee. The rail depot now serves as the Niota City Hall. Since the roads in this rural neighborhood are so quiet and relatively low-traffic, I just took off from the kiddos' place without having to haul the trike somewhere safer first. I didn't get very far but I got some good aerobic heavy breathing with the little hills here. I made it almost all the way to Niota before deciding I should turn around to avoid having to ride in the dark.
Ride Started: 6:52 PM Ride Ended: 7:28 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.8 Ending Voltage: 12.7 Lowest: 12.7
Lowest Temp 71 F Highest Temp: 71 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 2.88
Distance Walked: 1 mile
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
4.8 MPH 5.8 MPH 27.2 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
36 minutes 33 minutes 2 minutes
Yesterday, Monday, we left Bitner's RV Park and moved on to our kids' place just outside Niota. We should only be in TN about 9 more days, and we will definitely sleep better out here away from the logging and other trucks rattling down highway 68.
We've stayed here a few times before, and had forgotten just how quiet it is. The road noise along 68 was not that bad after dark, and even quieter late at night, but it's so quiet out here it takes a while to get used to it.
Of course, Monday was the day we needed to move or have to pay another months' rent, and it was wet and rainy.. almost all day. Especially when we were outside loading things up. And, of course, after getting soaked to the skin, the rain slowed and stopped after we had finally gotten parked and set up.
Today, Tuesday, dawned clear and cool. Coolest temperatures I think we've had since we invaded Tennessee. People are saying the hottest part of summer is over, and hopefully they're right.
Jacque had a therapy session in nearby Athens this morning so much of our day involved that and shopping and traveling back and forth. The nice weather warmed up quite a bit as the fog burned off as the day wore on, and I thought I'd try to take the trike for a ride later in the evening, as the sun was setting.
I rode the narrow paved single lane road towards metropolitan Niota, the nearest hamlet. If you've never heard of Niota, few Tennessee residents seem to have heard of it either. Population 718, it's a quaint little burg with the oldest pre-Civil War railroad depot in the state of Tennessee. The rail depot now serves as the Niota City Hall. Since the roads in this rural neighborhood are so quiet and relatively low-traffic, I just took off from the kiddos' place without having to haul the trike somewhere safer first. I didn't get very far but I got some good aerobic heavy breathing with the little hills here. I made it almost all the way to Niota before deciding I should turn around to avoid having to ride in the dark.
Ride Started: 6:52 PM Ride Ended: 7:28 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.8 Ending Voltage: 12.7 Lowest: 12.7
Lowest Temp 71 F Highest Temp: 71 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 2.88
Distance Walked: 1 mile
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
4.8 MPH 5.8 MPH 27.2 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
36 minutes 33 minutes 2 minutes
Friday, September 7, 2018
There They Go, Two by Two
Today's Tracking
Jacque and I (and the dogs Tink and Lilly) did our morning constitutionals again today.
At first it was noticeably cooler and less humid than normal, which was great.
I awoke at 6:43 AM this morning, almost 7 AM, and it was still very dark outside. The days are already getting shorter but I'm not used to it yet, as usual. I was quite droopy but decided going back to bed wasn't worth the 15-20 extra minutes of sleep I might possibly get. So we got going a bit earlier and it helped beat the heat, at least for the first parts of the ride.
While I was parked at our trike drop-off point at the intersection of TN-68 and TN-27, our neighbors drove up, the same ones who helped me with a jump-start a day or so ago. They laughingly asked if I needed another jump session and I assured them the new battery was working just fine.
And away we went. Nothing new or unusual occurred, which means it was great riding. I made my 11 plus miles and Jacque made slightly over 9 miles, a bit farther yet than she rode last time.
I again walked almost a mile at the turnaround point for my 11 biking miles, so we'll see how my toes go.
Ride Started: 8:00 AM Ride Ended: 10:28 AM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.0 Ending Voltage: 12.8 Lowest: 12.8
Beginning Blood Glucose: 134 Ending BG: 104
(No Breakfast before riding; insulin pump basal rate 75% for this ride)
Lowest Temp 64 F Highest Temp: 78 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 11.15
Distance Walked: .8 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
7.5 MPH 8.4 MPH 17.2 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 28 mins 1 hour 19 mins 9 minutes
Jacque and I (and the dogs Tink and Lilly) did our morning constitutionals again today.
At first it was noticeably cooler and less humid than normal, which was great.
I awoke at 6:43 AM this morning, almost 7 AM, and it was still very dark outside. The days are already getting shorter but I'm not used to it yet, as usual. I was quite droopy but decided going back to bed wasn't worth the 15-20 extra minutes of sleep I might possibly get. So we got going a bit earlier and it helped beat the heat, at least for the first parts of the ride.
While I was parked at our trike drop-off point at the intersection of TN-68 and TN-27, our neighbors drove up, the same ones who helped me with a jump-start a day or so ago. They laughingly asked if I needed another jump session and I assured them the new battery was working just fine.
And away we went. Nothing new or unusual occurred, which means it was great riding. I made my 11 plus miles and Jacque made slightly over 9 miles, a bit farther yet than she rode last time.
I again walked almost a mile at the turnaround point for my 11 biking miles, so we'll see how my toes go.
Ride Started: 8:00 AM Ride Ended: 10:28 AM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.0 Ending Voltage: 12.8 Lowest: 12.8
Beginning Blood Glucose: 134 Ending BG: 104
(No Breakfast before riding; insulin pump basal rate 75% for this ride)
Lowest Temp 64 F Highest Temp: 78 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 11.15
Distance Walked: .8 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
7.5 MPH 8.4 MPH 17.2 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 28 mins 1 hour 19 mins 9 minutes
Thursday, September 6, 2018
Touring Ancient Athens
Today's Tennessee Tracking
Yesterday the main achievement was getting a new battery in the Ford Exploder. It turned out to be more than 4 years old and had not been replaced since I bought this vehicle from Uncle Max.
Jacque had another physical therapy session today in Athens, TN. Unlike the last few days, the new battery fired the engine up without insult or injury this morning.
Thus I rode around while Jacque was getting her arm twisted, and I didn't even lose my cell phone this time.
I had planned to drive from therapy over to Athens Regional Park and ride the seemingly short paths around that park. I decided to just ride the trike on Athens City Streets instead, since most of them have decent shoulders.
The sun was out and bright today so it took me a bit longer to saddle up, what with sunblock spray and all, but it was all good. Just hot and humid enough to make me sweat like a pig, keeping a rag handy to wipe sweat off my head and face. The humidity factor is actually better today than usual...
The ride across this part of town took longer than I expected, and by the time I got within a quarter-mile of the park entrance, I had to turn around for the return ride to make sure Jacque didn't have to sit around and wait on me this time.
I made it back with several minutes to spare before Jacque escaped her torturers. About halfway up one of the hills, a car slowed to match my speed as I crawled along. The passenger window rolled down and the shotgun-rider said "HEY! I love your ride!" Which is the usual reaction in these parts. Most folks tell us ours are the first recumbent trikes they've ever seen, although we have met one or two other trikers in the weeks we've been here.
One of Jacque's fellow therapy patients came limping out of the office while I was loading up the trike and told me "I've been wondering about your trike". I told her she was welcome to take it for a ride, but she declined, saying "It would probably do me good though."
Note to self: I have to work on the radio wiring again. The handlebar transmit switch has died again, likely at the same connection point I had to repair a few weeks ago.
Ride Started: 11:15 AM Ride Ended: 11:58 AM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.0 Ending Voltage: 12.9 Lowest: 12.8
Beginning Blood Glucose: 104 Ending BG: 166
(Ate before riding; insulin pump basal rate 30% for this ride)
Lowest Temp 78 F Highest Temp: 82 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 4.7
Distance Walked: 0 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
5.8 MPH 6.9 MPH 27.3 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
48 minutes 40 minutes 7 minutes
Yesterday the main achievement was getting a new battery in the Ford Exploder. It turned out to be more than 4 years old and had not been replaced since I bought this vehicle from Uncle Max.
Jacque had another physical therapy session today in Athens, TN. Unlike the last few days, the new battery fired the engine up without insult or injury this morning.
Thus I rode around while Jacque was getting her arm twisted, and I didn't even lose my cell phone this time.
I had planned to drive from therapy over to Athens Regional Park and ride the seemingly short paths around that park. I decided to just ride the trike on Athens City Streets instead, since most of them have decent shoulders.
The sun was out and bright today so it took me a bit longer to saddle up, what with sunblock spray and all, but it was all good. Just hot and humid enough to make me sweat like a pig, keeping a rag handy to wipe sweat off my head and face. The humidity factor is actually better today than usual...
The ride across this part of town took longer than I expected, and by the time I got within a quarter-mile of the park entrance, I had to turn around for the return ride to make sure Jacque didn't have to sit around and wait on me this time.
I made it back with several minutes to spare before Jacque escaped her torturers. About halfway up one of the hills, a car slowed to match my speed as I crawled along. The passenger window rolled down and the shotgun-rider said "HEY! I love your ride!" Which is the usual reaction in these parts. Most folks tell us ours are the first recumbent trikes they've ever seen, although we have met one or two other trikers in the weeks we've been here.
One of Jacque's fellow therapy patients came limping out of the office while I was loading up the trike and told me "I've been wondering about your trike". I told her she was welcome to take it for a ride, but she declined, saying "It would probably do me good though."
Note to self: I have to work on the radio wiring again. The handlebar transmit switch has died again, likely at the same connection point I had to repair a few weeks ago.
Ride Started: 11:15 AM Ride Ended: 11:58 AM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.0 Ending Voltage: 12.9 Lowest: 12.8
Beginning Blood Glucose: 104 Ending BG: 166
(Ate before riding; insulin pump basal rate 30% for this ride)
Lowest Temp 78 F Highest Temp: 82 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 4.7
Distance Walked: 0 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
5.8 MPH 6.9 MPH 27.3 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
48 minutes 40 minutes 7 minutes
Wednesday, September 5, 2018
Generous Rednecks
Today's Tracking.
WAIT. There's More. Well, a little bit, anyway.
Jacque again decided to ride her trike this morning, so we did the usual haul'em down to the junction of TN-68 and TN-27 so we could safely ride the wonderful wide shoulders along 27 towards Dayton.
Jacque keeps riding farther each time, which means I'm going to have to lengthen my stride so our arrival and departure times can occur more closely. Today when I rode out my usual 5+ mile stretch and turned around, there was Jacque and the doggies, not that far behind me. When we met up on the return leg going back toward the parked Ford Exploder, we stopped together to take a break and walk the dogs, who were getting restless from being confined to their respective baskets on the back of Jacque's Catrike .
As we returned from walking the dogs, a car pulled over and parked in front of us. Obviously an interested passer-by, he asked permission to photograph Jacque and the dogs on the trike. We told him no problem, and Jacque posed prettily for several snapshots. I suppose we could make a bit of extra spending money if we suggested a "Voluntary Donation" for each desired photo.
He also expressed interest in my rigging, but since I'm not as pretty as Jacque and had no doggies on board with me, I only rated a single shot before he drove away, expressing thanks.
I rode on back to the parked trike-hauler vehicle, arriving 15 to 20 minutes ahead of the 3 females.
I had been noticing a bit of near-dead battery in the Ford the last few days, and thinking to crank it up and have it cool and charging by the time Jacque arrived, I gave the ignition keys a twist and.... BRRonk. Urg. erg. click-click-click....
Drat and blast and all those other substitutes for effective swear words. I thought maybe letting it sit idle waiting for Jacque to show up might allow some surface charge to invigorate the battery enough to get it started, but when she arrived... Still nothing doing.
I dug out our jumper cables and since we were parked quite close to the road, I started waving the jumper cables at vehicles when they slowed down for the turn or stop sign. It took all of several minutes, when suddenly one of our RV park neighbors pulled up, noticed it was us, and turned in to our parking spot. Right behind them was a Tennessee pickup truck wanting to know if he could help.
I already had the cables hooked up to our friendly neighbor's car so I thanked the pickup driver and waved him on. Several minutes later another van pulled in and asked if we got it started. The driver apologized for not stopping earlier and explained he had just delivered his wife to an appointment and came back to check on us. Our weak battery was already charged up and the A/C already running cool so we thanked HIM and sent him on his way.
Now we're safely back in the RV park and a neighbor RV lady wants help with her propane hookup and her awning..... time for us to step up and pay it forward for the great help WE'VE already received this day. Later today.... Brand New Battery Time for the Ford.
On another Scientific Development Front, I've found that mounting my Iphone on a 20 foot pole and hoisting it high in the air with HotSpot enabled results in a very acceptable wifi connection.
The main drawback to this wonderful discovery is that in the sunlight and heat of the day, the iphone will shut itself off with an over-temperature alarm within a few minutes. I was trying to think of a way to:
(1) protect it from possible rain. I have put both a red bucket and a Ziplok sandwich bag upside down over the phone and, while keeping out the rain, the heating makes it shut down even faster.
(2) protect from heat and sunlight absorption? I finally hit on the idea of using a large white plastic fountain soda cup for a shield. We bought a couple at the 7-11 just yesterday..... BLAST, we must have already thrown them in the trash. On this morning's ride I started noticing all the discarded soda cups along the road shoulder and merely waited until I found one suitable for my choosing. So far it works great. It was already washed clean from rain, no cracks or holes, and the price was... priceless.
Ride Started: 9:02 AM Ride Ended: 10:37 AM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.0 Ending Voltage: 12.9 Lowest: 12.3
Beginning Blood Glucose: 130 Ending BG: 66
(Ate before riding; insulin pump basal rate 85% for this ride)
Lowest Temp 71 F Highest Temp: 75 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 11.07
Distance Walked: .4 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
7.4 MPH 8.12 MPH 17.3 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 35 mins 1 hour 17 mins 20 minutes
WAIT. There's More. Well, a little bit, anyway.
Jacque again decided to ride her trike this morning, so we did the usual haul'em down to the junction of TN-68 and TN-27 so we could safely ride the wonderful wide shoulders along 27 towards Dayton.
Jacque keeps riding farther each time, which means I'm going to have to lengthen my stride so our arrival and departure times can occur more closely. Today when I rode out my usual 5+ mile stretch and turned around, there was Jacque and the doggies, not that far behind me. When we met up on the return leg going back toward the parked Ford Exploder, we stopped together to take a break and walk the dogs, who were getting restless from being confined to their respective baskets on the back of Jacque's Catrike .
As we returned from walking the dogs, a car pulled over and parked in front of us. Obviously an interested passer-by, he asked permission to photograph Jacque and the dogs on the trike. We told him no problem, and Jacque posed prettily for several snapshots. I suppose we could make a bit of extra spending money if we suggested a "Voluntary Donation" for each desired photo.
He also expressed interest in my rigging, but since I'm not as pretty as Jacque and had no doggies on board with me, I only rated a single shot before he drove away, expressing thanks.
I rode on back to the parked trike-hauler vehicle, arriving 15 to 20 minutes ahead of the 3 females.
I had been noticing a bit of near-dead battery in the Ford the last few days, and thinking to crank it up and have it cool and charging by the time Jacque arrived, I gave the ignition keys a twist and.... BRRonk. Urg. erg. click-click-click....
Drat and blast and all those other substitutes for effective swear words. I thought maybe letting it sit idle waiting for Jacque to show up might allow some surface charge to invigorate the battery enough to get it started, but when she arrived... Still nothing doing.
I dug out our jumper cables and since we were parked quite close to the road, I started waving the jumper cables at vehicles when they slowed down for the turn or stop sign. It took all of several minutes, when suddenly one of our RV park neighbors pulled up, noticed it was us, and turned in to our parking spot. Right behind them was a Tennessee pickup truck wanting to know if he could help.
I already had the cables hooked up to our friendly neighbor's car so I thanked the pickup driver and waved him on. Several minutes later another van pulled in and asked if we got it started. The driver apologized for not stopping earlier and explained he had just delivered his wife to an appointment and came back to check on us. Our weak battery was already charged up and the A/C already running cool so we thanked HIM and sent him on his way.
Now we're safely back in the RV park and a neighbor RV lady wants help with her propane hookup and her awning..... time for us to step up and pay it forward for the great help WE'VE already received this day. Later today.... Brand New Battery Time for the Ford.
On another Scientific Development Front, I've found that mounting my Iphone on a 20 foot pole and hoisting it high in the air with HotSpot enabled results in a very acceptable wifi connection.
The main drawback to this wonderful discovery is that in the sunlight and heat of the day, the iphone will shut itself off with an over-temperature alarm within a few minutes. I was trying to think of a way to:
(1) protect it from possible rain. I have put both a red bucket and a Ziplok sandwich bag upside down over the phone and, while keeping out the rain, the heating makes it shut down even faster.
(2) protect from heat and sunlight absorption? I finally hit on the idea of using a large white plastic fountain soda cup for a shield. We bought a couple at the 7-11 just yesterday..... BLAST, we must have already thrown them in the trash. On this morning's ride I started noticing all the discarded soda cups along the road shoulder and merely waited until I found one suitable for my choosing. So far it works great. It was already washed clean from rain, no cracks or holes, and the price was... priceless.
Ride Started: 9:02 AM Ride Ended: 10:37 AM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.0 Ending Voltage: 12.9 Lowest: 12.3
Beginning Blood Glucose: 130 Ending BG: 66
(Ate before riding; insulin pump basal rate 85% for this ride)
Lowest Temp 71 F Highest Temp: 75 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 11.07
Distance Walked: .4 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
7.4 MPH 8.12 MPH 17.3 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 35 mins 1 hour 17 mins 20 minutes
Tuesday, September 4, 2018
Lost my Phone. Now What??
Today's Tracking of a Very Short Ride
Jacque had another physical therapy appointment in Athens today, at 11:00 AM. Had I taken my usual morning ride before-wards, it would have been tight time-wise for me to get in a few miles and get back in time to make the trip with her. Athens has a couple of non - long distance trails around the perimeter of town, so I decided to try riding one of those whilst Jacque stretched and pulled with her trainer/therapist.
I had a whole hour to kill while Jacque was tied up... pun not intended. What could go wrong?
First of all, the Eureka Trail turned out to be almost 20 minutes away from the therapy shack, so I had less than 40 minutes to do a whopping marathon. The entire length of this particular trail is supposedly about 6 miles, so I had hoped to make 12 miles by riding its length and back again.
Since I only had 30 minutes or so by the time I got everything unloaded and set up to ride.
I have ridden this trail before, a couple or more years ago. It is gravel and unpaved, a fledgling rail-to-trail project. Last time I rode it the gravel was large chunks and not very easy to ride. This time the surface is much smoother, with finer gravel coating the trail. The inspirational signs every tenth of a mile are a bit much, but hey. What do I want for free? "Find Serenity!" "Find Butterflies!" "Eat Healthy!" And "Find Friends!" All that's missing is "Find True Love!" - But then again, I haven't ridden all 6 miles so I may have missed a few more important ones.
I was watching my pedestal clock closely, hoping to not get back too late or make Jacque wait too long, and I decided to turn around at the 1.1 mile marker - 11 tenth-mile inspirational markers later -
and went back to load up. As I hoisted my hind end off the trike and reached for my phone, it was nowhere to be found. I knew I hadn't lost it too far distant: I had used its mapping feature to lead me all the way to the Eureka park, so it had to be either dropped somewhere in the vehicle or out on the gravel somewhere along the trail. I searched the Exploder high and low with no success. I was running late by now but didn't want to leave without finding the phone, so I got back on the trike and re-traced part of the route... Still no joy. When I got back to the Exploder I was desperate to pick up Jacque so I took off without the phone, losing hope I would ever see it again. I called out on the ham radio for someone to get on THEIR phone and call MY phone in hopes I would hear it ringing - safely inside the vehicle somewhere close to me. A nice fellow with a distinct Tennessee accent answered, Jack WX4ID in Clinton, TN. He rang up my phone and HE could hear it ringing, eventually going to voice mail, but ME, I couldn't hear a peep. It has a nice loud ringer set to the OOOGAh-horn sound, so if it was anywheres in the car I'd have heard it. I finally made it to Jacque's therapy shoppe and we turned back to go looking for the phone, thinking of all the problems associated with trying to replace it.
As we pulled into the Eureka Park lot again, we were immediately accosted by a frantic but nice lady asking if we had lost a cell phone. A more welcome sight is seldom encountered. She had spent the last 20 minutes using the found phone to call all sorts of numbers contained therein - in hopes of tracking me down. She and her hubby had waited at the park for who knows how long, and thankfully we arrived before they gave up and left for home.
It's rather unsettling to realize just how much we've all come to depend on cell phones. Ours contain texts and emails from family and friends, names, phone #'s, addresses, we used them for songbooks and scriptures instead of actually carrying around paper books, reminders of birthdays and doctor appointments, calculator, GPS, internet browser, newspaper reader, book reader.... Gack. If Kim Jong Un ever fires off a low level nuke explosion in the sky and fries all our electronics we will no doubt sink back into the dark ages.
And on that sunny thought, see you next bike ride! Maybe I'll have my brain with me sometime.
Ride Started: 10:20 AM Ride Ended: 11:21 AM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.0 Ending Voltage: 12.9 Lowest: 12.7
Beginning Blood Glucose: 165 Ending BG: 140
(Ate before riding; insulin pump basal rate 100% for this ride)
Lowest Temp 71 F Highest Temp: 78 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 1.27
Distance Walked: 0 mile
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
6.8 MPH 8.4 MPH 17.1 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 1 min 1 hour ? minutes
Jacque had another physical therapy appointment in Athens today, at 11:00 AM. Had I taken my usual morning ride before-wards, it would have been tight time-wise for me to get in a few miles and get back in time to make the trip with her. Athens has a couple of non - long distance trails around the perimeter of town, so I decided to try riding one of those whilst Jacque stretched and pulled with her trainer/therapist.
I had a whole hour to kill while Jacque was tied up... pun not intended. What could go wrong?
First of all, the Eureka Trail turned out to be almost 20 minutes away from the therapy shack, so I had less than 40 minutes to do a whopping marathon. The entire length of this particular trail is supposedly about 6 miles, so I had hoped to make 12 miles by riding its length and back again.
Since I only had 30 minutes or so by the time I got everything unloaded and set up to ride.
I have ridden this trail before, a couple or more years ago. It is gravel and unpaved, a fledgling rail-to-trail project. Last time I rode it the gravel was large chunks and not very easy to ride. This time the surface is much smoother, with finer gravel coating the trail. The inspirational signs every tenth of a mile are a bit much, but hey. What do I want for free? "Find Serenity!" "Find Butterflies!" "Eat Healthy!" And "Find Friends!" All that's missing is "Find True Love!" - But then again, I haven't ridden all 6 miles so I may have missed a few more important ones.
I was watching my pedestal clock closely, hoping to not get back too late or make Jacque wait too long, and I decided to turn around at the 1.1 mile marker - 11 tenth-mile inspirational markers later -
and went back to load up. As I hoisted my hind end off the trike and reached for my phone, it was nowhere to be found. I knew I hadn't lost it too far distant: I had used its mapping feature to lead me all the way to the Eureka park, so it had to be either dropped somewhere in the vehicle or out on the gravel somewhere along the trail. I searched the Exploder high and low with no success. I was running late by now but didn't want to leave without finding the phone, so I got back on the trike and re-traced part of the route... Still no joy. When I got back to the Exploder I was desperate to pick up Jacque so I took off without the phone, losing hope I would ever see it again. I called out on the ham radio for someone to get on THEIR phone and call MY phone in hopes I would hear it ringing - safely inside the vehicle somewhere close to me. A nice fellow with a distinct Tennessee accent answered, Jack WX4ID in Clinton, TN. He rang up my phone and HE could hear it ringing, eventually going to voice mail, but ME, I couldn't hear a peep. It has a nice loud ringer set to the OOOGAh-horn sound, so if it was anywheres in the car I'd have heard it. I finally made it to Jacque's therapy shoppe and we turned back to go looking for the phone, thinking of all the problems associated with trying to replace it.
As we pulled into the Eureka Park lot again, we were immediately accosted by a frantic but nice lady asking if we had lost a cell phone. A more welcome sight is seldom encountered. She had spent the last 20 minutes using the found phone to call all sorts of numbers contained therein - in hopes of tracking me down. She and her hubby had waited at the park for who knows how long, and thankfully we arrived before they gave up and left for home.
It's rather unsettling to realize just how much we've all come to depend on cell phones. Ours contain texts and emails from family and friends, names, phone #'s, addresses, we used them for songbooks and scriptures instead of actually carrying around paper books, reminders of birthdays and doctor appointments, calculator, GPS, internet browser, newspaper reader, book reader.... Gack. If Kim Jong Un ever fires off a low level nuke explosion in the sky and fries all our electronics we will no doubt sink back into the dark ages.
And on that sunny thought, see you next bike ride! Maybe I'll have my brain with me sometime.
Ride Started: 10:20 AM Ride Ended: 11:21 AM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.0 Ending Voltage: 12.9 Lowest: 12.7
Beginning Blood Glucose: 165 Ending BG: 140
(Ate before riding; insulin pump basal rate 100% for this ride)
Lowest Temp 71 F Highest Temp: 78 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 1.27
Distance Walked: 0 mile
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
6.8 MPH 8.4 MPH 17.1 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 1 min 1 hour ? minutes
Monday, September 3, 2018
Honest Tenneseeans
Today's GPS and Ham Radio Tracking
After a weekend with no pedaling, I got the trike reloaded and went on my usual merry way this morning.
And, as is my wont, I continue to be mildly surprised by the odds and ends found lying upon the roadside from day to day. Today I passed 2 separate bath towels and tupperware containers lying out in the open. They all looked pristine but I'm not into using bath materials found alongside the road, so I went on without them.
I am also still tired of trying to pick up all the unusable trash encountered. Now, unless it is totally blocking the path or a serious danger to other passers-by, I steer around it and continue on my way.... with fewer delays.
I have been experiencing increasing foot numbness and pain recently. It occurred to me a couple days ago that it might well be due to diabetic neuropathy, or nerve damage. Googling the subject reveals a few believable partial treatments: Tylenol, Vitamin D, WALKING, and believe it or not, Capsaicin ~ the active ingredient in Chili Peppers that provides the HEAT. Supposedly rubbing the stuff on my feet can help..... I don't have any in rubbable form or I might have already tried it.
I just started a Vitamin D pill this morning (I'd think I'd be generating enough D from exposure to sunshine?!) and have also begun walking more than just leading the dogs around the neighborhood waiting for them to pee and poop. Of course I'm re-realizing the entirely different muscles involved in walking versus cycling. Walking a mile or slightly less has resulted in very sore muscles and joints - here and I thought I'd be in nominally decent shape from cycling several times a week. SIGH. It stinks that all the warnings and horror stories the old timers used too tell me turn out to be mostly true.
I also find it more difficult to motivate myself to walk around somewhere as compared to hopping on the trike. Today I tried the ingenious idea of riding out to a certain point, then walking a mile or so, then walking back and riding the trike back to my starting point.
Hesitant to just park my trike out in the open in full view of passing cars, I watched for possible hidey-holes at various points along the highway, and spotted a likely spot right about the 5 mile halfway mark, in a dead end turnout that ended downhill in a patch of weeds and tall grass. Almost half a mile farther down the road was a 7-11 gas station, which I walked to from the parked trike. Finding shade there, I took a short break and a drink of water, then walked back to the trike. This short walking jaunt was much more tiring than the entire 10 miles of pedaling I did before and after.
A bit more tired than usual pedaling on the way back, I stopped a few more times than usual.
At one point I pulled over and stopped, and found some more "tossed stuff" along the roadway. I did a double take.... it was OUR junk, that I had unloaded Friday (2 days ago) when I picked up Jacque and loaded her trike on board. I distinctly NOW recall when I put the 2 plastic carry-baskets alongside the Exploder, I forgot all about them - just loaded Jacque's trike and drove away. Had I not accidentally spotted it this morning, I likely would have eventually realized I no longer had the stuff, assumed someone must have stolen it, and never seen it again.
As it was, it was in full view of the roadway, a very busy TN hiway 27, and no one had molested it.
It actually contained several hundred dollars' worth of stuff:
-2 ham radio transceivers worth around $400
-A GPS unit
-A brand new set of towing signal lights I just got from Amazon that have not even been used yet
-And various other unknown-value smaller items like umbrella, brackets, bits and pieces of hardware...
When I grabbed the stuff to see if I could strap it on the back of the trike, I realized it was too bulky and heavy. So I figured if it had lasted all weekend with no one bothering it, it might make another half hour or so if I abandoned it again - long enough to ride back to the Exploder and drive it over to the treasure site. Sure enough, it was still there a while later when I got back. This time when I picked it up to load it, water sloshed out of both stacked containers. I then realized/remembered we had rain over the weekend..... close to an inch in each one. So I more carefully tipped out the rainwater and am now hope a few weeks of sunshine will dry it up enough to use again. Stay tuned, we will eventually see how it went.
Ride Started: 10:20 AM Ride Ended: 12:01 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.0 Ending Voltage: 12.7 Lowest: 12.7
Beginning Blood Glucose: 126 Ending BG: 148
(Ate before riding; insulin pump basal rate 60% for the ride)
Lowest Temp 71 F Highest Temp: 82 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 11.87
Distance Walked: .8 mileOverall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
6.8 MPH 8.4 MPH 17.1 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 43 mins 1 hour 24 mins 19 minutes
After a weekend with no pedaling, I got the trike reloaded and went on my usual merry way this morning.
And, as is my wont, I continue to be mildly surprised by the odds and ends found lying upon the roadside from day to day. Today I passed 2 separate bath towels and tupperware containers lying out in the open. They all looked pristine but I'm not into using bath materials found alongside the road, so I went on without them.
I am also still tired of trying to pick up all the unusable trash encountered. Now, unless it is totally blocking the path or a serious danger to other passers-by, I steer around it and continue on my way.... with fewer delays.
I have been experiencing increasing foot numbness and pain recently. It occurred to me a couple days ago that it might well be due to diabetic neuropathy, or nerve damage. Googling the subject reveals a few believable partial treatments: Tylenol, Vitamin D, WALKING, and believe it or not, Capsaicin ~ the active ingredient in Chili Peppers that provides the HEAT. Supposedly rubbing the stuff on my feet can help..... I don't have any in rubbable form or I might have already tried it.
I just started a Vitamin D pill this morning (I'd think I'd be generating enough D from exposure to sunshine?!) and have also begun walking more than just leading the dogs around the neighborhood waiting for them to pee and poop. Of course I'm re-realizing the entirely different muscles involved in walking versus cycling. Walking a mile or slightly less has resulted in very sore muscles and joints - here and I thought I'd be in nominally decent shape from cycling several times a week. SIGH. It stinks that all the warnings and horror stories the old timers used too tell me turn out to be mostly true.
I also find it more difficult to motivate myself to walk around somewhere as compared to hopping on the trike. Today I tried the ingenious idea of riding out to a certain point, then walking a mile or so, then walking back and riding the trike back to my starting point.
Hesitant to just park my trike out in the open in full view of passing cars, I watched for possible hidey-holes at various points along the highway, and spotted a likely spot right about the 5 mile halfway mark, in a dead end turnout that ended downhill in a patch of weeds and tall grass. Almost half a mile farther down the road was a 7-11 gas station, which I walked to from the parked trike. Finding shade there, I took a short break and a drink of water, then walked back to the trike. This short walking jaunt was much more tiring than the entire 10 miles of pedaling I did before and after.
A bit more tired than usual pedaling on the way back, I stopped a few more times than usual.
At one point I pulled over and stopped, and found some more "tossed stuff" along the roadway. I did a double take.... it was OUR junk, that I had unloaded Friday (2 days ago) when I picked up Jacque and loaded her trike on board. I distinctly NOW recall when I put the 2 plastic carry-baskets alongside the Exploder, I forgot all about them - just loaded Jacque's trike and drove away. Had I not accidentally spotted it this morning, I likely would have eventually realized I no longer had the stuff, assumed someone must have stolen it, and never seen it again.
As it was, it was in full view of the roadway, a very busy TN hiway 27, and no one had molested it.
It actually contained several hundred dollars' worth of stuff:
-2 ham radio transceivers worth around $400
-A GPS unit
-A brand new set of towing signal lights I just got from Amazon that have not even been used yet
-And various other unknown-value smaller items like umbrella, brackets, bits and pieces of hardware...
When I grabbed the stuff to see if I could strap it on the back of the trike, I realized it was too bulky and heavy. So I figured if it had lasted all weekend with no one bothering it, it might make another half hour or so if I abandoned it again - long enough to ride back to the Exploder and drive it over to the treasure site. Sure enough, it was still there a while later when I got back. This time when I picked it up to load it, water sloshed out of both stacked containers. I then realized/remembered we had rain over the weekend..... close to an inch in each one. So I more carefully tipped out the rainwater and am now hope a few weeks of sunshine will dry it up enough to use again. Stay tuned, we will eventually see how it went.
Ride Started: 10:20 AM Ride Ended: 12:01 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.0 Ending Voltage: 12.7 Lowest: 12.7
Beginning Blood Glucose: 126 Ending BG: 148
(Ate before riding; insulin pump basal rate 60% for the ride)
Lowest Temp 71 F Highest Temp: 82 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 11.87
Distance Walked: .8 mileOverall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
6.8 MPH 8.4 MPH 17.1 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 43 mins 1 hour 24 mins 19 minutes
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