It was again a cold (29 Deg), dark, drizzly day today. However, as usual as of late, the moisture mostly cleared up around midday so we decided to ride our Tandem Terratrike around the block for lunch. We like the local Senior Center, since we are of legal age, after all, and thus far the fare there has been above reproach.
Today was taco plate day, and what's not to like about that?
The outside temperature was nothing to be enthused about, hovering close to 29-30 degrees all day, but it wasn't far away and we knew we could survive without bundling up too overly.
I wore only 2 layers: A sweater inner and a windbreaker outer. That wasn't too bad, but my insulated gloves were not up to snuff and my pinkies were totally numb by the time we arrived.
The lunch serving-time was almost over when we walked in but they served us and the food was fine.
Everyone seems to be watching out the doorway when we ride up. Though no one was outside when we rode up and parked, several of the group inside either commented on our "vehicle" or asked if it was ours and expressing interest.
We didn't stay long, as we had things to do. We rode round the town square on the way back, safe and unmolested. Still bitterly cold but dry.
Ride Started: 12:01 PM Ride Ended: 12:57 PM
Beginning Blood Glucose: 207 Ending BG: 72
Lowest Temp 28F Highest Temp: 30 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 6.17
Distance Walked: .1 mile
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
5.0 MPH 6.2 MPH 17.4 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
56 minutes 30 minutes 26 minutes
Friday, December 28, 2018
Thursday, December 27, 2018
Six Miles: Somebody Give Me a Medal
Today's Around-Town Tracking
Today started out dark, overcast, foggy, and raining. No chance for cycling anywhere, unless I was an Arctic Duck.
Howsomever, later in the afternoon the skies had partially cleared and after the large puddles had soaked down into the ground a bit, I decided the time was right to sneak out for a ride.
Since we have had rather few totally dry days here in Missouri, as in none, if I don't ride in narrow windows when possible, I will rarely if ever ride at all. With my sad state of fitness, that isn't a good modus operandi.
Thus the roads and streets were wet, but my fenders did their work and kept me dry.
My feet soon began talking to me, so I stopped several times to stand up, walk around a little, and get the blood circulating back down in the feets. I noticed, again, that one of my tires is starting to show serious wear-marks.
I'd planned to get in a several-mile ride but, as usual lately, I got started so late that it shortly began to run out of daylight.
I was just past what I hoped for my halfway mark when I realized I didn't have sufficient time left, so I turned the trike toward home.
About this time a few sprinkles began to hit me in the face, and I thought for a while I was going to get a real soaking.... but I only got slightly dampish by the time I got home.
Verdict: Another short but great ride.
Ride Started: 4:10 PM Ride Ended: 5:19 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.9 Ending Voltage: 12.9 Lowest: 12.9
Beginning Blood Glucose: 207 Ending BG: 72
Lowest Temp 46 F Highest Temp: 50 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 6.17
Distance Walked: .3 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
5.0 MPH 6.2 MPH 17.4 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 14 mins 59 minutes 15 minutes
Today started out dark, overcast, foggy, and raining. No chance for cycling anywhere, unless I was an Arctic Duck.
Howsomever, later in the afternoon the skies had partially cleared and after the large puddles had soaked down into the ground a bit, I decided the time was right to sneak out for a ride.
Since we have had rather few totally dry days here in Missouri, as in none, if I don't ride in narrow windows when possible, I will rarely if ever ride at all. With my sad state of fitness, that isn't a good modus operandi.
Thus the roads and streets were wet, but my fenders did their work and kept me dry.
My feet soon began talking to me, so I stopped several times to stand up, walk around a little, and get the blood circulating back down in the feets. I noticed, again, that one of my tires is starting to show serious wear-marks.
 |
| I need to swap out this tire NOW |
I'd planned to get in a several-mile ride but, as usual lately, I got started so late that it shortly began to run out of daylight.
I was just past what I hoped for my halfway mark when I realized I didn't have sufficient time left, so I turned the trike toward home.
About this time a few sprinkles began to hit me in the face, and I thought for a while I was going to get a real soaking.... but I only got slightly dampish by the time I got home.
Verdict: Another short but great ride.
Ride Started: 4:10 PM Ride Ended: 5:19 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.9 Ending Voltage: 12.9 Lowest: 12.9
Beginning Blood Glucose: 207 Ending BG: 72
Lowest Temp 46 F Highest Temp: 50 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 6.17
Distance Walked: .3 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
5.0 MPH 6.2 MPH 17.4 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 14 mins 59 minutes 15 minutes
Wednesday, December 26, 2018
Gotta Ride When You Can
Today's Tracking in the Soup
Today was mostly spent on the road.... in the Exploder. We went to Springfield for my latest VA appointment for a circulation test. In relation to suspected circulation problems that might have been associated with my leg and foot pains, the doctor laid me on the gurney, after having me roll up my sleeves and removing my shoes and socks.
She then attached a compression sleeve to all 4 of my limbs, one at a time, and after attaching a sound transducer to the compressed leg, we could clearly hear my blood pulsing and "whooshing" through the closest artery. She then pumped up the compression sleeve until the whooshing ceased, indicating blood flow had stopped. She then relieved the pressure in the cuff until suddenly the pulse was clearly heard again, and she recorded the pressure at which this occurred. Very much like a blood pressure test, only with audible indication instead of 2 meter readings. This was done to each arm and leg, and when all 4 were completed, she pronounced the test as "Normal", whatever that is. Evidently this is evidence I actually do not have any circulation problems in my legs.
Which tests took about 15 minutes and we were out and on our way back. So no additional pills or treatments were prescribed.... at least for now. After roaming Sams Club and Walmart, my feet were starting to burn but they cleared up again pretty quickly while sitting in the driver's seat on the way home.
The weather, all day, was not much to brag about. Not that cold, but very breezy and drippy fog, with low visibility. We had to run wipers for about half the mileage to Springfield but it had slowed down to almost nothing but fog by the time we got home about 1:00 PM.
After resting up a couple hours, I stepped outside to see how wet it was getting to be. The surroundings were all soggy and wet, but no rain was falling, so I decided to drag the Catrike out of the garage and ride at least a couple miles.
I first rode the 3/10 of a mile to the nearest hardware store/lumber yard and looked around for wood stoves and accessories. They didn't have any stoves in stock but the counter guy said he could order one for me and get it in by Monday. So I had him order one, for a very reasonable price, and rode on.
By then it was getting a bit dark so I hurried on around the back streets of town in hopes of accumulating a few miles before it got too dark.
I turned on all my available lights, including a colored LED blinky-light string mounted on one of my ham antenna poles.
I rode around the town square, then around back streets, then half a mile or so along Third St./Business 60. I ran out of the nice shoulder before I got to the east end of town so I turned around and diverted back on to side streets on the North side of the main drag. As usual, nobody endangered me and it was a fun ride even though it had gotten almost completely dark by the time I got home.
Ride Started: 4:10 PM Ride Ended: 5:14 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.9 Ending Voltage: 12.9 Lowest: 12.9
Beginning Blood Glucose: 207 Ending BG: 72
Lowest Temp 46 F Highest Temp: 50 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 4.00
Distance Walked: .25 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
4.2 MPH 6.2 MPH 17.3 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
57 minutes 38 minutes 18 minutes
Today was mostly spent on the road.... in the Exploder. We went to Springfield for my latest VA appointment for a circulation test. In relation to suspected circulation problems that might have been associated with my leg and foot pains, the doctor laid me on the gurney, after having me roll up my sleeves and removing my shoes and socks.
She then attached a compression sleeve to all 4 of my limbs, one at a time, and after attaching a sound transducer to the compressed leg, we could clearly hear my blood pulsing and "whooshing" through the closest artery. She then pumped up the compression sleeve until the whooshing ceased, indicating blood flow had stopped. She then relieved the pressure in the cuff until suddenly the pulse was clearly heard again, and she recorded the pressure at which this occurred. Very much like a blood pressure test, only with audible indication instead of 2 meter readings. This was done to each arm and leg, and when all 4 were completed, she pronounced the test as "Normal", whatever that is. Evidently this is evidence I actually do not have any circulation problems in my legs.
Which tests took about 15 minutes and we were out and on our way back. So no additional pills or treatments were prescribed.... at least for now. After roaming Sams Club and Walmart, my feet were starting to burn but they cleared up again pretty quickly while sitting in the driver's seat on the way home.
The weather, all day, was not much to brag about. Not that cold, but very breezy and drippy fog, with low visibility. We had to run wipers for about half the mileage to Springfield but it had slowed down to almost nothing but fog by the time we got home about 1:00 PM.
After resting up a couple hours, I stepped outside to see how wet it was getting to be. The surroundings were all soggy and wet, but no rain was falling, so I decided to drag the Catrike out of the garage and ride at least a couple miles.
I first rode the 3/10 of a mile to the nearest hardware store/lumber yard and looked around for wood stoves and accessories. They didn't have any stoves in stock but the counter guy said he could order one for me and get it in by Monday. So I had him order one, for a very reasonable price, and rode on.
By then it was getting a bit dark so I hurried on around the back streets of town in hopes of accumulating a few miles before it got too dark.
I turned on all my available lights, including a colored LED blinky-light string mounted on one of my ham antenna poles.
I rode around the town square, then around back streets, then half a mile or so along Third St./Business 60. I ran out of the nice shoulder before I got to the east end of town so I turned around and diverted back on to side streets on the North side of the main drag. As usual, nobody endangered me and it was a fun ride even though it had gotten almost completely dark by the time I got home.
Ride Started: 4:10 PM Ride Ended: 5:14 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.9 Ending Voltage: 12.9 Lowest: 12.9
Beginning Blood Glucose: 207 Ending BG: 72
Lowest Temp 46 F Highest Temp: 50 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 4.00
Distance Walked: .25 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
4.2 MPH 6.2 MPH 17.3 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
57 minutes 38 minutes 18 minutes
Saturday, December 22, 2018
WOW, to WalMart and Back
Finally Got my Tracker Working!
Since we arrived in Mountain Grove, my trike trips have lacked the ability to be tracked on the internet. Since ham radio is a bit of a fetish for me, I finally took time to investigate to see what the problem with my radio tracking equipment was.
I found that the GPS line going to the Argentdata TNC device had only noise, no data, coming out. The entire assembly had been sitting outside at our friend's house on Sedillo Hill with only a plastic baggie over it to keep moisture out. I took the package inside the house to disassemble the pieces and repair or replace whatever was not functioning. When I pulled the connectors apart I noticed a faint dusty coating on the pins and wondered if that was the problem... a bit of corrosion. I had other new GPS and adapter units for replacing but I carefully reassembled everything as is just to see if it would now work..... and it did. Hurrah.
I then saddled up for an "Extra Long" ride today: Clear on the North side of Mountain Grove to Walmart. The farthest trike trip I've ridden so far.
This involves riding pretty much the entire height of the limits of Mountain Grove... We live almost on the outer edge of the south side and Walmart is almost the northern city limit of the town.
My route took me along the zigzag course of I-95 through town, with the assorted traffic. This involves semi trucks and cars and pickups..... the lot of common road traffic. Fortunately, there really isn't that much traffic in spite of the status as a highway, and all vehicles encountered gave me wide berth as they passed by.
Temperatures were on the cool side, but it was a sunny day again and it had warmed up from the overnight low 30's of late.
When I arrived at Walmart, I checked the GPS mileage: Almost exactly 2 whopping miles. Big Deal. But what the Hey. It's progress, and eventually I'll accumulate some more realistic mileages.
By now my feet were really throbbing and I wished I had taken another nerve pill just before taking off. Walking around Walmart was quite agonizing and when I got a text from my daughter Sherry in Oklahoma I found an unopened carton of paper towels and pulled it off the shelf to use as a stool to sit on while I was texting Sherry back, taking a load off my feet.
On the way home, I encountered some admirers: A couple of carloads of women and girls shrieking with laughter at the sight of me. What's so funny about an old geezer cranking along on a laid-back tricycle with long flagpole antennas, funny helmet with a microphone, and a Walmart bag bungeed on the backside? I don't get it.....
Riding back home was actually easier on the feets than walking around, and when I got back we immediately went out for a bite to eat, which also involved sitting and thus taking a load off.
So I'm Happy Tonight, No Snow in Sight, not Riding in a Winter Wonderland.
Ride Started: 3:14 PM Ride Ended: 4:05 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.0 Ending Voltage: 13.0 Lowest: 13.0
Beginning Blood Glucose: 187 Ending BG: 76
Lowest Temp 57 F Highest Temp: 74 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 3.98
Distance Walked: .25 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
8.4 MPH 8.9 MPH 25.3 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
30 minutes 26 minutes 2 minutes
Since we arrived in Mountain Grove, my trike trips have lacked the ability to be tracked on the internet. Since ham radio is a bit of a fetish for me, I finally took time to investigate to see what the problem with my radio tracking equipment was.
I found that the GPS line going to the Argentdata TNC device had only noise, no data, coming out. The entire assembly had been sitting outside at our friend's house on Sedillo Hill with only a plastic baggie over it to keep moisture out. I took the package inside the house to disassemble the pieces and repair or replace whatever was not functioning. When I pulled the connectors apart I noticed a faint dusty coating on the pins and wondered if that was the problem... a bit of corrosion. I had other new GPS and adapter units for replacing but I carefully reassembled everything as is just to see if it would now work..... and it did. Hurrah.
I then saddled up for an "Extra Long" ride today: Clear on the North side of Mountain Grove to Walmart. The farthest trike trip I've ridden so far.
This involves riding pretty much the entire height of the limits of Mountain Grove... We live almost on the outer edge of the south side and Walmart is almost the northern city limit of the town.
My route took me along the zigzag course of I-95 through town, with the assorted traffic. This involves semi trucks and cars and pickups..... the lot of common road traffic. Fortunately, there really isn't that much traffic in spite of the status as a highway, and all vehicles encountered gave me wide berth as they passed by.
Temperatures were on the cool side, but it was a sunny day again and it had warmed up from the overnight low 30's of late.
When I arrived at Walmart, I checked the GPS mileage: Almost exactly 2 whopping miles. Big Deal. But what the Hey. It's progress, and eventually I'll accumulate some more realistic mileages.
By now my feet were really throbbing and I wished I had taken another nerve pill just before taking off. Walking around Walmart was quite agonizing and when I got a text from my daughter Sherry in Oklahoma I found an unopened carton of paper towels and pulled it off the shelf to use as a stool to sit on while I was texting Sherry back, taking a load off my feet.
On the way home, I encountered some admirers: A couple of carloads of women and girls shrieking with laughter at the sight of me. What's so funny about an old geezer cranking along on a laid-back tricycle with long flagpole antennas, funny helmet with a microphone, and a Walmart bag bungeed on the backside? I don't get it.....
Riding back home was actually easier on the feets than walking around, and when I got back we immediately went out for a bite to eat, which also involved sitting and thus taking a load off.
So I'm Happy Tonight, No Snow in Sight, not Riding in a Winter Wonderland.
Ride Started: 3:14 PM Ride Ended: 4:05 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.0 Ending Voltage: 13.0 Lowest: 13.0
Beginning Blood Glucose: 187 Ending BG: 76
Lowest Temp 57 F Highest Temp: 74 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 3.98
Distance Walked: .25 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
8.4 MPH 8.9 MPH 25.3 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
30 minutes 26 minutes 2 minutes
Thursday, December 20, 2018
Progress !
I finally got to see a VA doctor.... They never answered any of their MO phone numbers so we drove to Springfield Wednesday (yesterday) and walked in to the new clinic there without an appointment. It worked. Within 20 minutes or so I was referred to a "team" and was prescribed some pills for my neuropathy foot pain. They actually seem to help a little, which is great. I was able to sleep most of the entire night in bed instead of sitting up in the living room. Wowzers.
We worked on installing a new vanity in our "Master" bathroom today. Towards the end of the day I started to drive around the corner and across the tracks to pick up some elbow fittings for the pipes. The weather was getting dodgy but I turned around and parked the SUV and pulled out the Catrike, saddled up and rode IT to the hardware store. It was so close it hardly even qualifies as a ride, but it was fun to get out, even with the cold wind and spotty rain trying to bleep out of the foggy weather.
We also rode the Tandem Terratrike to the Senior Center for lunch and a bit of dancing Tuesday, which is almost a mile (Big Whoop) away. Fun and a bit of exercise, what's not to like?
Ride Started: 4:00 PM Ride Ended: 4:23 PM
Beginning Blood Glucose: 122 Ending BG: 76
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 0.8
Distance Walked: 0 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
6.1 MPH 6.8 MPH 13.5 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
24 minutes 7 minutes 17 minutes
We worked on installing a new vanity in our "Master" bathroom today. Towards the end of the day I started to drive around the corner and across the tracks to pick up some elbow fittings for the pipes. The weather was getting dodgy but I turned around and parked the SUV and pulled out the Catrike, saddled up and rode IT to the hardware store. It was so close it hardly even qualifies as a ride, but it was fun to get out, even with the cold wind and spotty rain trying to bleep out of the foggy weather.
We also rode the Tandem Terratrike to the Senior Center for lunch and a bit of dancing Tuesday, which is almost a mile (Big Whoop) away. Fun and a bit of exercise, what's not to like?
Ride Started: 4:00 PM Ride Ended: 4:23 PM
Beginning Blood Glucose: 122 Ending BG: 76
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 0.8
Distance Walked: 0 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
6.1 MPH 6.8 MPH 13.5 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
24 minutes 7 minutes 17 minutes
Saturday, December 15, 2018
Another FEW Miles
So yesterday we awoke to pea-soup fog which quickly turned to dripping and then pouring rain...... all day and all night. The sun never showed its face.
The temperature never got below 45 degrees or so but with 95% humidity it's quite miserable, and unmotivational so far as bike riding is concerned.
Today, however, the sun came out nice and bright. My legs & feet were still hurting like blazes but most of the pain subsided by about 4 PM and the darkness had not yet encroached so I was able to saddle up and go for another short ride. My blood glucose has been unusually high with the lack of riding recently so I'm desperate to "get my legs back".
I only made a little over 2 miles again due to increasing cold and dark, but this ride included more uphill and downhill which hopefully helped the circulation a bit. We'll see.
Ride Started: 4:10 PM Ride Ended: 4:34 PM
Beginning Blood Glucose: 220 Ending BG: 130
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 2.55
Distance Walked: 0 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
6.4 MPH 6.7 MPH 25.7 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
24 minutes 23 minutes 1 minute
The temperature never got below 45 degrees or so but with 95% humidity it's quite miserable, and unmotivational so far as bike riding is concerned.
Today, however, the sun came out nice and bright. My legs & feet were still hurting like blazes but most of the pain subsided by about 4 PM and the darkness had not yet encroached so I was able to saddle up and go for another short ride. My blood glucose has been unusually high with the lack of riding recently so I'm desperate to "get my legs back".
I only made a little over 2 miles again due to increasing cold and dark, but this ride included more uphill and downhill which hopefully helped the circulation a bit. We'll see.
Ride Started: 4:10 PM Ride Ended: 4:34 PM
Beginning Blood Glucose: 220 Ending BG: 130
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 2.55
Distance Walked: 0 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
6.4 MPH 6.7 MPH 25.7 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
24 minutes 23 minutes 1 minute
Thursday, December 13, 2018
O the Blessed Sunshine
Yesterday Jacque decided it would be a good day to ride the tandem to lunch at the Senior Center. It was a second day of good sunshine so we rolled the machine out of the garage, loaded ourselves up, and rode our Terratrike Tandem the 2 miles to the Senior Center.
We enjoyed a nice chili and baked potato lunch, visited with a couple of our new Missouri friends, and rode back home again.
Thankfully, the streets and roads here are mostly wide and the traffic is of the small town variety and we've encountered no challenges as of yet.
Today, Thursday, we would have loved to ride around again, but the sun did not present itself. It was dark and thick fog when we awoke, and it turned to rain and mush before noon, and it continued to rain heavily all day. So today we drove instead. Obviously we are NOT going to enjoy 300+ days of sunshine out here......
The humidity here so far is difficult to adjust to. We've been southwest desert rats for so long that it may take us a while. We spent most of the summer in Tennessee with HOT humidity and now it seems maybe worse here in the early winter. Everything is so green here: Part of it in brush and grass and weeds, part of it in fungus. The ground seems always a bit soggy even after several days of sunshine, unlike NM.
Ride Started: 11:56 AM Ride Ended: 12:23 PM
Beginning Blood Glucose: 203 Ending BG: 71
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 2.05
Distance Walked: 0 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
4.6 MPH 5.0 MPH 14.32 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
36 minutes 14.4 minutes 30 minutes
We enjoyed a nice chili and baked potato lunch, visited with a couple of our new Missouri friends, and rode back home again.
Thankfully, the streets and roads here are mostly wide and the traffic is of the small town variety and we've encountered no challenges as of yet.
Today, Thursday, we would have loved to ride around again, but the sun did not present itself. It was dark and thick fog when we awoke, and it turned to rain and mush before noon, and it continued to rain heavily all day. So today we drove instead. Obviously we are NOT going to enjoy 300+ days of sunshine out here......
The humidity here so far is difficult to adjust to. We've been southwest desert rats for so long that it may take us a while. We spent most of the summer in Tennessee with HOT humidity and now it seems maybe worse here in the early winter. Everything is so green here: Part of it in brush and grass and weeds, part of it in fungus. The ground seems always a bit soggy even after several days of sunshine, unlike NM.
Ride Started: 11:56 AM Ride Ended: 12:23 PM
Beginning Blood Glucose: 203 Ending BG: 71
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 2.05
Distance Walked: 0 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
4.6 MPH 5.0 MPH 14.32 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
36 minutes 14.4 minutes 30 minutes
Tuesday, December 11, 2018
Old Fart Rides Again
It's been a bit of a while since I last rode enough to post anything about it.
A bit of an update here: We sold our home in New Mexico and full-timed RV-ing since last December. It was great to be out from under a mortgage and have a bit of money in the bank and be totally out of debt.
Passing through Missouri last year chanced to find us attending church services in Mountain Grove along route 60. Jacque fell in love with the place and we even spent a couple days looking at homes for sale with the help of Melinda Grider, a realtor out of West Plains. We didn't find anything we wanted to bid on so we went on our way. This year, we stopped through again and Jacque's feelings about the town were even stronger. I had hoped to spend another winter in the RV in SW Arizona where it rarely freezes and usually offers shirt-sleeve weather in the daytime. By the time we got to Albuquerque, however, the RV transmission was starting to give trouble and we stopped for a few days with our dear friends in the East Mountains. I thought we could likely make it to Yuma by taking it easy. One night I awoke in bed with the strong impression "Do NOT take the RV to AZ with that transmission!" Next day I pulled the fluid pan from the transmission, bought a new filter and a hundred bucks worth of transmission fluid,, and changed the fluid. I was shocked to find the pan chock full of metal filings that the transmission had shed while it was self destructing.
New fluid and filter improved the transmission not at all, so we took it to Rich Ford with an estimate of $4500 for a new transmission, labor and all.
(I asked them to do the brakes while they had it. By the time they were done, the bill was $7500 and change and they had only done the REAR brakes. Thank goodness the new tranny is doing well. We will no longer patronize Rich Ford even if we break down in NM again.)
It took a couple weeks for them to even begin the work, and a couple more weeks to do the work, so we used the time to hit the road back east toward Mountain Grove, where we bought ourselves a house. Using the proceeds from the sale of our NM house, we were able to buy an older house in liveable shape and still remain debt free.
Well, with all the packing and moving and traveling back and forth, I have not ridden a pedal-powered machine since October.
The lifting and loading and unloading have been extremely hard on my old joints. I have largely been crippled up with painful feet and legs, and the onset of winter has been so cold I haven't been able to even repair the flat tire on my trike, reassemble the stuff we removed in order to haul it all the way to MO, etc.
A few days ago I was able to put a new tube in my rear tire and reinflate it. The weather was still bitter and my legs/feet get so tired with only short periods of standing and walking.
Today, however, the sun came out nicely and warmed things up considerably, even above the freezing level. With a couple of long rest breaks I was able to remount the rear wheel, reattach the panniers, etc.
I took it for a short ride down the street and was dismayed to find the front derailleur cable was frozen up, likely with a bit of rust since it had been parked out in the open in NM while we were waiting for the RV to escape from the shop.
It took quite a bit of WD-40 and spray grease to get the shifter working again, but I was finally able to get it going and out on the road for a few miles.
A VERY few miles, indeed.... a little over 2 to be exact, but it was great to be able to rip around under my own power again and feel the wind in my face.
There is little cycling here - we have only seen a couple of cyclists in the 2 months we've been here - and I'm certain no one locally has ever seen recumbent trikes before. I certainly received some strange looks riding around town but had no trouble with the traffic I did encounter.
There is also no Ham Radio APRS coverage in this area, so I am unable to post a link to my GPS map of the day's ride. Hopefully within a short time I can get my own APRS station set up so myself and others can get their positions logged to the Internet.
Since I'm still so hobbled up from moving and out of shape from not riding, today's outing was short indeed. But it seemed to help the circulation in my legs.
Since returning home my legs are tired, for sure, but they are not as painful as they have been this last couple weeks. We'll see if I can get some sleep tonight with hopefully better circulation reducing the neuropathic pain in my legs.
Ride Started: 3:17 PM Ride Ended: 3:32 PM
Beginning Blood Glucose: 187 Ending BG: 51
(Lowest Blood Glucose for me in a Month)
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 2.17
Distance Walked: 0 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
7.1 MPH 7.3 MPH 17.0 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
18 minutes 17 minutes 1/2 minutes
A bit of an update here: We sold our home in New Mexico and full-timed RV-ing since last December. It was great to be out from under a mortgage and have a bit of money in the bank and be totally out of debt.
Passing through Missouri last year chanced to find us attending church services in Mountain Grove along route 60. Jacque fell in love with the place and we even spent a couple days looking at homes for sale with the help of Melinda Grider, a realtor out of West Plains. We didn't find anything we wanted to bid on so we went on our way. This year, we stopped through again and Jacque's feelings about the town were even stronger. I had hoped to spend another winter in the RV in SW Arizona where it rarely freezes and usually offers shirt-sleeve weather in the daytime. By the time we got to Albuquerque, however, the RV transmission was starting to give trouble and we stopped for a few days with our dear friends in the East Mountains. I thought we could likely make it to Yuma by taking it easy. One night I awoke in bed with the strong impression "Do NOT take the RV to AZ with that transmission!" Next day I pulled the fluid pan from the transmission, bought a new filter and a hundred bucks worth of transmission fluid,, and changed the fluid. I was shocked to find the pan chock full of metal filings that the transmission had shed while it was self destructing.
New fluid and filter improved the transmission not at all, so we took it to Rich Ford with an estimate of $4500 for a new transmission, labor and all.
(I asked them to do the brakes while they had it. By the time they were done, the bill was $7500 and change and they had only done the REAR brakes. Thank goodness the new tranny is doing well. We will no longer patronize Rich Ford even if we break down in NM again.)
It took a couple weeks for them to even begin the work, and a couple more weeks to do the work, so we used the time to hit the road back east toward Mountain Grove, where we bought ourselves a house. Using the proceeds from the sale of our NM house, we were able to buy an older house in liveable shape and still remain debt free.
Well, with all the packing and moving and traveling back and forth, I have not ridden a pedal-powered machine since October.
The lifting and loading and unloading have been extremely hard on my old joints. I have largely been crippled up with painful feet and legs, and the onset of winter has been so cold I haven't been able to even repair the flat tire on my trike, reassemble the stuff we removed in order to haul it all the way to MO, etc.
A few days ago I was able to put a new tube in my rear tire and reinflate it. The weather was still bitter and my legs/feet get so tired with only short periods of standing and walking.
Today, however, the sun came out nicely and warmed things up considerably, even above the freezing level. With a couple of long rest breaks I was able to remount the rear wheel, reattach the panniers, etc.
I took it for a short ride down the street and was dismayed to find the front derailleur cable was frozen up, likely with a bit of rust since it had been parked out in the open in NM while we were waiting for the RV to escape from the shop.
It took quite a bit of WD-40 and spray grease to get the shifter working again, but I was finally able to get it going and out on the road for a few miles.
A VERY few miles, indeed.... a little over 2 to be exact, but it was great to be able to rip around under my own power again and feel the wind in my face.
There is little cycling here - we have only seen a couple of cyclists in the 2 months we've been here - and I'm certain no one locally has ever seen recumbent trikes before. I certainly received some strange looks riding around town but had no trouble with the traffic I did encounter.
There is also no Ham Radio APRS coverage in this area, so I am unable to post a link to my GPS map of the day's ride. Hopefully within a short time I can get my own APRS station set up so myself and others can get their positions logged to the Internet.
Since I'm still so hobbled up from moving and out of shape from not riding, today's outing was short indeed. But it seemed to help the circulation in my legs.
Since returning home my legs are tired, for sure, but they are not as painful as they have been this last couple weeks. We'll see if I can get some sleep tonight with hopefully better circulation reducing the neuropathic pain in my legs.
Ride Started: 3:17 PM Ride Ended: 3:32 PM
Beginning Blood Glucose: 187 Ending BG: 51
(Lowest Blood Glucose for me in a Month)
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 2.17
Distance Walked: 0 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
7.1 MPH 7.3 MPH 17.0 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
18 minutes 17 minutes 1/2 minutes
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