Today's Tijeras Tracking
So it's been 9 days since I rode anywhere under my own steam. Been too busy to stay healthy, as they say. Since today there wasn't much else to distract me, I hitched up the dog BOB trailer, saddled myself up, and got in a few miles.
And paid for it....
9 days is certainly too long between exercise sessions. Yes, I've tired myself out heaving Air Conditioners and tools up and down the roof of the RV, split a few hundred pounds of firewood for our hosts etc, but unsustained non-aerobic tiredness does not produce the same results as a good bike ride. Measureable results such as lowered blood glucose for 24 hours or more, for instance.
Today I decided we (the doggies and I) would ride down to the sleepy village of Tijeras and back.
It was a nice cool but often sunny day, and the weather forecast calls for possible rain or even SNOW over the weekend. So perhaps I was able to beat the weather. However, the ride beat ME since I am so out of shape.
It's not all downhill from Sedillo Hill to Tijeras, so I was a bit winded by the time I pulled in to the Tijeras City Hall. I chose there to stop and rest and walk the dogs and turn around since there is very little traffic there, the parking lot is huge behind the fire station building, and thus lots of room to both park and walk the dogs. Several local passers-by admired the dogs, of course, and I was able to get some circulation back into my feet by walking around with them.
If I thought the somewhat downhill ride to Tijeras was tiresome, it got rather worser on the way back to Sedillo Hill. The grades are not terrible, but they do drag on, and I had to stop several times to stand up, get some circulation back in the feet, and even took my shoes off at one point and massaged my feet to get some relief. My diabetes is slowly catching up to me and no doubt aggravating neuropathy in my feet. I guess they's just fall off or rot if I didn't exercise them at all..... BAH
I got back to the RV just in time to take the gas-burning Explorer to pick up Jacque from her friend's house where they'd been sewing and hoo-hawing all day, thence to Grandson Jonathan's house where we are currently babysitting him with great gusto. He went to bed peaceably a half hour or so ago but has not succumbed to the Sand-Man as of yet. He keeps humming the Star Wars grand entry soundtrack amongst other noises. This little apple did not fall far from the tree, as his dear Mommy was much the same when she was a wee toddler too.
Ride Started: 12:24 PM Ride Ended: 3:48 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.4 Ending Voltage: 12.7 Lowest: 12.7
Beginning Blood Glucose: 187 Ending BG: 62
(Ate before riding; insulin pump basal rate 50% for this ride)
Lowest Temp 60 F Highest Temp: 67 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 14.48
Distance Walked: .8 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
4.2 MPH 6.3 MPH 27.1 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
3 hours 24 mins 2 hours 17 mins 1 hour 7 minutes
Friday, October 12, 2018
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
RV = Repair Vehicle?
We are currently encamped at Sedillo Hill near Edgewood NM. We would have moved on by now in our travels but the transmission started acting strangely as we entered New Mexico and got worse as we approached the East Mountains just shy of Albuquerque. When slowing for a stop, the engine would shudder and die, and we soon realized the torque converter was staying locked instead of unlocking at low speeds. We limped into our wonderful friends' yard and found the Ford shop (our Bounder is built on a Ford F53 truck chassis) would not be able to entertain our problems until almost 2 weeks away.
THEN, while enjoying our friends' hospitality (and driveway), on a warm afternoon several days ago, when we turned the air conditioner on, instead of cold air, all we got was a terrific growling noise. The A/C had been balky and I had lubed the bearings on the fan motor several times over the last couple years, and apparently now had burned out completely. Calling around to various suppliers revealed another heavy outlay would be required. An RV, with its relatively thin walls, cannot survive warm days without Air Conditioning. Or at least its Occupants cannot, including yours truly.
I was able to man-handle the removal and installation by myself, with the help of tools, of course.
The entire roof mount assembly must weigh over 100 pounds which I could barely lift except one end at a time. I used one of our stout cargo-straps to lower the dead unit over the side of the RV and down to the ground, very slowly and carefully. Using a dolly I was able to maneuver it across the yard. The Central Trailer Supply where I purchased the replacement had several "exact replacement" units in the warehouse and the worker used an electric forklift to load it into my SUV. Back at the defunct RV again, I unboxed the expensive gadget. It was mounted on a small wooden pallet. I borrowed my friend's extension ladder and extended it as far as possible to lean against the roof of the RV to provide a sloping ramp. I again used another cargo strap to armstrong the new unit up to the roof: VERY slowly with a lot of grunting and groaning and hoping not to lose my grip. It all worked, I finally hoisted it over the edge onto the rooftop, and no cuts or abrasions to either the A/C unit or ME.
I was dismayed, after all this effort, to find this "exact replacement" had no bolts or screws or anything else to facilitate installation, AND the existing hardware from the previous unit did NOT fit.
The electrical hookup and connector were the same, thankfully, and I was able to turn it on and find that it blew HARD and COLD, just like it should. But bolting it down...... had to wait for morning to go back to the supply house. BAH
I refuse to disclose the exact amount of damage to my checking account, but this incidence does remind me of the similarities between RV owners and Boat owners: B.O.A.T. often stands for Break Out Another Thousand. We await the expense of the transmission repair with great trepidation.
I have already crawled underneath and around the engine and transmission compartments looking for vacuum leaks and loose wires. I have found and repaired several chewed vacuum hoses, rat-chewed wires, etc, and still the problems persist. I sure hope the Ford Shoppe can use their analyzer skills to solve the problem, hopefully without a rebuilt or new transmission.
The weather is approaching winter conditions with overnight temperatures dropping to the low 40's and requiring heater usage. We hope to be able to abscond to southern Arizona before it really deteriorates to dangerous freezing temperatures.
THEN, while enjoying our friends' hospitality (and driveway), on a warm afternoon several days ago, when we turned the air conditioner on, instead of cold air, all we got was a terrific growling noise. The A/C had been balky and I had lubed the bearings on the fan motor several times over the last couple years, and apparently now had burned out completely. Calling around to various suppliers revealed another heavy outlay would be required. An RV, with its relatively thin walls, cannot survive warm days without Air Conditioning. Or at least its Occupants cannot, including yours truly.
I was able to man-handle the removal and installation by myself, with the help of tools, of course.
The entire roof mount assembly must weigh over 100 pounds which I could barely lift except one end at a time. I used one of our stout cargo-straps to lower the dead unit over the side of the RV and down to the ground, very slowly and carefully. Using a dolly I was able to maneuver it across the yard. The Central Trailer Supply where I purchased the replacement had several "exact replacement" units in the warehouse and the worker used an electric forklift to load it into my SUV. Back at the defunct RV again, I unboxed the expensive gadget. It was mounted on a small wooden pallet. I borrowed my friend's extension ladder and extended it as far as possible to lean against the roof of the RV to provide a sloping ramp. I again used another cargo strap to armstrong the new unit up to the roof: VERY slowly with a lot of grunting and groaning and hoping not to lose my grip. It all worked, I finally hoisted it over the edge onto the rooftop, and no cuts or abrasions to either the A/C unit or ME.
I was dismayed, after all this effort, to find this "exact replacement" had no bolts or screws or anything else to facilitate installation, AND the existing hardware from the previous unit did NOT fit.
The electrical hookup and connector were the same, thankfully, and I was able to turn it on and find that it blew HARD and COLD, just like it should. But bolting it down...... had to wait for morning to go back to the supply house. BAH
I refuse to disclose the exact amount of damage to my checking account, but this incidence does remind me of the similarities between RV owners and Boat owners: B.O.A.T. often stands for Break Out Another Thousand. We await the expense of the transmission repair with great trepidation.
I have already crawled underneath and around the engine and transmission compartments looking for vacuum leaks and loose wires. I have found and repaired several chewed vacuum hoses, rat-chewed wires, etc, and still the problems persist. I sure hope the Ford Shoppe can use their analyzer skills to solve the problem, hopefully without a rebuilt or new transmission.
The weather is approaching winter conditions with overnight temperatures dropping to the low 40's and requiring heater usage. We hope to be able to abscond to southern Arizona before it really deteriorates to dangerous freezing temperatures.
Wednesday, October 3, 2018
Stretch Them Tired Legs
Today's Tracking via Ham Radio and GPS
It doesn't take too many days off before I lose my mocho, as fellow cyclists well know.
I've failed to motivate myself to ride the last few days, but today I had a birthday card to mail, so I used that for an excuse to saddle up and go.
Since the Edgewood Post Office is over 5 miles away, and right on Old Route 66, it was a fairly obvious choice.
Trouble is, Route 66 rarely gets the maintenance attention since it was deleted off federal maps with the onslaught of the small-town-killing Interstate highway system. There are parts of 66 through Tijeras Canyon that have really nice wide smooth pavement, but here close to Edgewood NM, not so much.
The hill going upward toward Edgewood from the Barton Valley is particularly bad, with "new" pavement that seems rougher than the old asphalt that it now covers. Even driving over it in a car is rough, but on the trike it was really bad. Add that to the fact the shoulder completely disappears with leftover asphalt rubble blobs, and it is close to half a mile of bounce and jostle.... I made it both ways, so I should stop whining about it.
It actually rained pretty hard yesterday, Tuesday, and the roads today were a bit water soaked yet. Which made for a cooler day in spite of the bright sunshine.
My rubbery legs, however, did begin to "speak" to me. They survived, though, with a couple extra water breaks, and that's the important part of the good news.
Ride Started: 12:01 PM Ride Ended: 2:19 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.8 Ending Voltage: 12.7 Lowest: 12.7
Beginning Blood Glucose: 134 Ending BG: 116
(Ate before riding; insulin pump basal rate 30% for this ride)
Lowest Temp 67 F Highest Temp: 75 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 11.96
Distance Walked: .7 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
5.2 MPH 6.8 MPH 33.35 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
2 hours 18 mins 1 hour 45 mins 33 minutes
It doesn't take too many days off before I lose my mocho, as fellow cyclists well know.
I've failed to motivate myself to ride the last few days, but today I had a birthday card to mail, so I used that for an excuse to saddle up and go.
Since the Edgewood Post Office is over 5 miles away, and right on Old Route 66, it was a fairly obvious choice.
Trouble is, Route 66 rarely gets the maintenance attention since it was deleted off federal maps with the onslaught of the small-town-killing Interstate highway system. There are parts of 66 through Tijeras Canyon that have really nice wide smooth pavement, but here close to Edgewood NM, not so much.
The hill going upward toward Edgewood from the Barton Valley is particularly bad, with "new" pavement that seems rougher than the old asphalt that it now covers. Even driving over it in a car is rough, but on the trike it was really bad. Add that to the fact the shoulder completely disappears with leftover asphalt rubble blobs, and it is close to half a mile of bounce and jostle.... I made it both ways, so I should stop whining about it.
It actually rained pretty hard yesterday, Tuesday, and the roads today were a bit water soaked yet. Which made for a cooler day in spite of the bright sunshine.
My rubbery legs, however, did begin to "speak" to me. They survived, though, with a couple extra water breaks, and that's the important part of the good news.
Ride Started: 12:01 PM Ride Ended: 2:19 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.8 Ending Voltage: 12.7 Lowest: 12.7
Beginning Blood Glucose: 134 Ending BG: 116
(Ate before riding; insulin pump basal rate 30% for this ride)
Lowest Temp 67 F Highest Temp: 75 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 11.96
Distance Walked: .7 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
5.2 MPH 6.8 MPH 33.35 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
2 hours 18 mins 1 hour 45 mins 33 minutes
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