More Boring Miles

Today's GPS / Map Track

Hurricane "Barry" was supposed to dump a lot of water on us as it exited the Gulf Coast in our direction but it only provided clouds and sprinkles around here for the last 2 days.
Today we awoke to blue skies and sunshine, and it didn't take too long to get the trike out of the garage, saddled up, and moving.  I rattled around the southeast part of town a bit before crossing the tracks on Wall Street and going east on State Street.
As I rode east I got near the office of my favorite chiropractor Dr. Brown and decided I would stop and see if he had any openings today.  Jacque had strongly suggested I get another adjustment.  I at first thought I would wait another week but since I was already in the neighborhood I turned in and parked the trike.
Sure enough, they took me right in and got to work on my back.  A half hour or so later I was back on the trike, with the lingering pain in my lower right back totally missing.
An enjoyablle ride today, with a couple folks stopping me to ask questions about the trike.
My favorite interaction was with a lovely 2 or 3-year old blondie girl and her doting Grandpa.  Grandpa had all sorts of questions about the trike and Blondie admired it while Grandpa visited with me.  Finally she informed me "Grandpa has to leave now.  He's supposed to take me somewhere."
So I thanked the both of them and rode on.  I had forgotten my GoPro video camera at home, as usual, which would have been nice to catch part of this episode in neighborly relations.
I had origiinally planned to add a few more miles to the trip but with the sun already high and the humidity going right up with it, I came on home to chill under the air conditioning.

Ride Started:  8:47 AM      Ride Ended:  10:24 AM

Beginning Battery Voltage:  14.0   Ending Battery Voltage:  13.0 Lowest Voltage:  13.0

Beginning Blood Glucose:   72   Ending BG: 145

Lowest Temp:  71 F    Highest Temp:  82 F

Stats from the GPS:  Total Miles:  6.61
Distance Walked: 1/2 mile
Overall Average Speed       Moving Avg          Max Speed
  4.0   MPH                           6.7  MPH              19.1 MPH

Total Trip Time                   Moving Time        Stopped Time
 1 hour 38  mins                   59 minutes            39 minutes

Ride to Beat the Rain

Today's Back & Forth Route

Jim & Jacque's Tandem Ride Route

I failed to do any riding yesterday, Monday, since it rained most of the day.  The sun came out about 2 hours before nightfall but we had an "Empty Nesters" Family Home Evening to attend.

The soggy weather associated with Hurricane Barry provided us with only a few hours of light rain, in spite of forecasts for two days of rain.  Today was cloudy and cool at first and the worst we seemed to get was occasional misting.  I started to ride east on Clouse Street saw heavy clouds and possible rain in that direction, and decided to turn around and ride west instead where the skies were brighter.  In spite of this ingenious strategy,, I was getting misty sprinkles in my face, prompting me to stop and dig out one of my large plastic baggies and pull it over the GPS and radio cluster in front to keep them dry.  It worked, and after a few miles the sun started to come out and I had to stop and lather myself up with sunblock.  Of course, almost as soon as I finished this, the skies clouded up again and I rode on, with little danger of sunburn.

I again stopped for a shade and sore foot break at the Mountain Grove International Airport.  I'm kidding.  It's an airport all right but the only plane I ever see there is a brightly painted crop duster and I've never caught any planes of any kind coming or going.  But it has a couple of great shade trees right at the entrance for me to rest under.

All in all it was, as usual, a decent ride for an old geezer.

I'd no sooner gotten home when Jacque suggested we go eat at the Senior Center for lunch.  I said I'd be interested if we rode the tandem trike, to which she readily agreed.

So we rode that short distance and had a nice lunch, and got misted again on the way home.  Such is life in summertime Missouri....

My Ride Started: 8:58 AM      Ride Ended:  10:14 AM

Beginning Battery Voltage:  13.2   Ending Battery Voltage:  13.0 Lowest Voltage:  13.0

Beginning Blood Glucose:   108   Ending BG: 91

Lowest Temp:  67 F    Highest Temp:  71 F

Stats from the GPS:  Total Miles:  6.6
Distance Walked: 1/2 mile
Overall Average Speed       Moving Avg          Max Speed
  4.9   MPH                           7.4  MPH              25.7 MPH

Total Trip Time                   Moving Time        Stopped Time
 1 hour 19  mins                   53 minutes           27 minutes

Two On a Tandem: Saturday

Today's GPS Path to an Auction

There was a huge estate auction advertised only several blocks from our house so we first drove to the address in our Ford Exploder.  It hasn't been in Missouri long enough for the exhaust pipes to rust out nor the fenders open up to cancer.  We'll see how long that takes.  Other vehicles of the same vintage (1997) that have been here their entire lives are scarce and loud and rusty.
Anyhow.  We found the place surrounded by dozens of cars up and down all nearby streets and Jacque was driving and luckily found a parkable spot right in front of the house that lesser fortitudes would have feared to occupy.  The place had a really fast auctioneer but so much stuff was scattered all over the house and yard that progress was slow.  We had thankfully brought lawn chairs to use in the shade, which we quickly put to use.  So many people were there that our chairs were immediately occupied by others whenever we stood up.  There were several items of ham radio gear that were quite valuable, if still working, but I didn't have enough interest to wait around until the auctioneer sold all the outside stuff and moved inside.  I told Jacque I was wanting to drive home while she stayed at the auction, load up my trike, and come back and leave her the Exploder.  She said fine, so off I went.  After resting up at the casita, I called her back and asked if she'd like to ride the tandem trike home if I rode it back to the auction instead, and she readily agreed.
I got the heavy steel monster dragged out of the garage and loaded up and slowly chugged back the several blocks to the auction.  The "Monster" always garners lots of attention and comments from all who drive or walk by and today was no exception.  Our small parking space was still vacant when I got back, so it was easy to park the Terratrike Tandem there in spite of its 12 foot length.
Of course, Jacque informed me that just as soon as I had left, the auctioneer had quit the outside, gone inside, and sold several and all shelves full of ham radios for $20 per shelf, or the whole shebang for less than a hundred bucks.  If I had known this in advance I'd have gladly bid that price up a bit, but it was likely a good thing I missed it all.  I have boxes of radios already that I need to set up and install already, not installed nor used since we left New Mexico back in November.
Jacque, while I was gone, had successfully bid on a couple of items, and was shortly ready to get home.  We had to fiddle around a bit to find enough room and hardware sufficient to tie her goodies on the back basket of the trike, but we got it figured out and started out. 
With the additional slight poundage of our new treasures, it was a bit hot and stuffy.  We made it, of course. 
Of course, when we got to Wall Street and just about to cross the railroad tracks, the bells started ringing and the red lights flashed and the cross-arms dropped rapidly in front of us, providing an unwanted several minute break while we waited for the choo-choo to clear the area.
When we got home, the trike ride had been not that much, but we rejoiced in lukewarm showers to cool off.

Ride Started: 12:36 PM      Ride Ended:  1:24 PM

Beginning Battery Voltage:  13.8   Ending Battery Voltage:  12.8 Lowest Voltage:  12.7

Beginning Blood Glucose:   108   Ending BG: 91

Lowest Temp:  78 F    Highest Temp:  82 F

Stats from the GPS:  Total Miles:  3.45
Distance Walked: 1/2 mile
Overall Average Speed       Moving Avg          Max Speed
  4.4   MPH                           5.6  MPH              21.1 MPH

Total Trip Time                   Moving Time        Stopped Time
 47  minutes                        37 minutes            10 minutes

Still Able to Work Sometimes

Today's GPS/Ham Radio Track

On Wednesday this week we stopped at Sam's Club in St. Louis.  It was a huge store but lacking several favorite items we normally stock up on.  We did spot a Fiskars Extendable Shaft limb-cutting saw for less than forty bucks, though, and brought it home with us.  Yesterday evening I released it from its plastic covers and put it to work.  Or more precisely - Put ME to work.
I've seen these boogers before but never used one, and I was surprised to find the saw works on the back-pull, making it easier to work with, especially overhead.
I cut several large and small branches from an offending tree in the front yard, from a tree that had a large broken limb sagging down on the telephone line coming into our house.
The new limb-saw worked great but it was slow going most of the time, with frequent breaks.

We thought surely my arms would give me trouble for the next 24 hours, but it was my feet complaining the most, and even they cooled off after an hour or so.

This morning I again took off for my currently almost-daily trike ride.  I didn't go that far, but as always, it was great to get out and get the blood circulating.
After the first couple of miles I stopped to check my blood glucose, as I was getting a bit spacey.
I had just eaten one of Jacque's  yummy breakfasts and I assumed my glucose would be reading high.
I was mildly shocked to find it low, at 57.  I'm supposedly not supposed to get below 100 or so.  I must have pumped too much insulin for breakfast, so I took a rest break in the shadow of a church parking lot tree line and ate a cookie snack out of my pannier.  A few more minutes of nice shade and I was on my way again.
I turned on to a road I had repeatedly seen but never before tried:  "Industrial Park Truck  Bypass".
It was a shorter trip than I thought but the pavement was pretty good compared with the ones I've been riding lately.

Ride Started: 10:14 AM      Ride Ended:  12:11 PM

Beginning Battery Voltage:  13.0   Ending Battery Voltage:  13.0 Lowest Voltage:  12.9

Beginning Blood Glucose:   100   Ending BG: 120

Lowest Temp:  71 F    Highest Temp:  75 F

Stats from the GPS:  Total Miles:  4.46
Distance Walked: 1/2 mile
Overall Average Speed       Moving Avg          Max Speed
  4.9   MPH                           6.9  MPH              23.9 MPH

Total Trip Time                   Moving Time        Stopped Time
 54  minutes                        39 minutes            16 minutes

Feel Like a Million Bucks

Today's Route Plotted from Memory

I took a bye day yesterday after the frustrating 16 miler on Tuesday and sidetracked on to at least 5 miles of rough gravel road.  Of course, AFTER this frustration, I discovered a setting that might help:
I found it under my Garmin "Avoidances" menu:  "Unpaved Roads".   CLICK on that one, and we'll see how it works in the future.
I didn't want to blow off another 16 miles today, paved or otherwise, so I rode a mostly familiar route which added up to a little  over 7 miles.
I wasn't feeling all that sassy when I started out, but wanted to ride at least a few miles, and found my mood and outlook improving as I rolled along.
The weather was great, the skies were blue, and I just felt fabulous with the breeze in my face.
Climbing the long hill up Oakland Avenue on the way home, a couple of youngsters on bikes spotted me and fell in behind, and tried their best to keep up with the old guy on the trike.  Even though I was climbing slight grades part of the way, I was able to outrun  even the strongest one until I braked to slow going down the final hill, where he caught up with me.  A great motivator he was to put in a little zoom into my stride.

Ride Started: 8:25 AM      Ride Ended:  10:56 PM

Beginning Battery Voltage:  14.0   Ending Battery Voltage:  13.0 Lowest Voltage:  13.0

Beginning Blood Glucose:   143   Ending BG: 110

Lowest Temp:  67 F    Highest Temp:  84 F

Stats from the GPS:  Total Miles:  7.27
Distance Walked: 1/2 mile
Overall Average Speed       Moving Avg          Max Speed
  5.4   MPH                           7.2  MPH              20.0 MPH

Total Trip Time                   Moving Time        Stopped Time
1 hour 21  mins                  1 hour                  21 minutes

i no sooner got home and started to cool off when Jacque suggested dining at the local Senior Center.  When she agreed to MY suggestion of riding the tandem trike there, we added a couple miles to my day's ride.
Noonish Tandem Ride with Jacque

Ride Started: 11:30 AM      Ride Ended:  12:47 PM

Beginning Battery Voltage:  13.0   Ending Battery Voltage:  13.0 Lowest Voltage:  13.0

NEVER This Way Again

Today's Killer Route, too few GPS positions to use that mode

I got going earlier than usual this morning, quickly got lost, and wandered around the countryside trying to rely on my iphone map and my Garmin GPS on the trike, with both of them leading me everywhere but where I wanted to go:  Back home.
I started by riding out to Bell Crossing Road, next to the Mountain Grove airport.  I have ridden out in this area before without difficulty but today I made the mistake of turning off Bell Crossing on to Whetstone Road, which I have ridden partially before.  I took this picture while I was still smiling because of the abundance of nice shade in this country:

I made the mistake of trying to ride Whetstone in its entirety instead of turning around.  I soon discovered it turned from a halfway decent  paved road into a very rough gravel road.  I looked at my gps and phone maps and thought they indicated the gravel was only a short distance before turning back into pavement.  Bad Mistake.
I The farther I rode the worse the gravel got, and it wasn't long until I had done several miles of ke it crawling along this nasty stuff and thought I had gone too far to make it worthwhile to turn around.
When I finally got to the other end of Whetstone I had ridden several miles of awful gravel.  With my narrow street tires I worried constantly that such abuse would destroy them, but thankfully they survived.  The map said Cherokee Road would lead me back to Mountain Grove and paved streets but - following GPS directions - when I turned on to Kaylor and then Sunny Slope road, I had to endure more miles of rough gravel.  Try as I might, with several rest stops, I could not find a way to set either of my maps to use pave roads only.  BAH.   About 2/3 of the way along this undesired path, I called Jacque to "report in" and tell her I was OK in spite of being way overtime on my trike ride.  The GPS claimed I had only 5 or 6 miles left to get home, but since so much of it was rough gravel it seemed to take forever.
I had reduced my insulin basal rate for the ride, but the difficulty of pedaling so slowly along in the rough gravel required several snack breaks, and even with this and plenty of water, I was getting really fatigued as well as stiff and sore.  I should have called Jacque to come rescue me but I wasn't sure I could convey my real location accurately enough for her to find me.  So I trudged on.
Eventually I staggered back on to Bell Crossing, which I recognized and was familiar with, AND BLESSEDLY PAVED.  In several more minutes I finally arrived safely home, where I immediately jumped into a lukewarm shower and rinsed the grime & sweat away.

Ride Started: 8:25 AM      Ride Ended:  12:47 PM

Beginning Battery Voltage:  13.0   Ending Battery Voltage:  13.0 Lowest Voltage:  13.0

Beginning Blood Glucose:   120   Ending BG: 110

Lowest Temp:  71 F    Highest Temp:  82 F

Stats from the GPS:  Total Miles:  18:43
Distance Walked: 1/2 mile
Overall Average Speed       Moving Avg          Max Speed
  4.2   MPH                           5.7  MPH              24.8 MPH

Total Trip Time                   Moving Time        Stopped Time
4 hours 22  mins                3 hours 13 mins     1 hour 9 minutes

Monday July 8

Today's Half-Way GPS Tracking

Just a short ride report today.
Always trying quasi-successfully to beat the heat, I got going this morning about 9 AM, again.
My feet were a bit more painful than usual this morning so I just did my fairly short around-main-streets-in-town ride.  I stopped for a couple quick foot rests in a couple of tree-shaded spots and when I arrived at the intersection crossing Route 95 just south of Walmart I decided to do a short detour over there, drink a cold soda, buy a couple items on my list, and get going back home.
I started to enter the store without locking the trike.  Thinking how long it might actually take me to get out of the store, I returned to the trike and locked it to the store bike rack.
After cooling off inside sipping my soda while sitting on one of their mesh steel guest benches, I found my desired items and paid for them.  As I exited the door I saw someone standing next to my trike, eyeing it with interest.  We exchanged greetings.  He asked the usual questions about my unusual vehicle.  We introduced each other, and I asked him if he lived in Mountain Grove too.  No, says he, he was returning to Buffalo or Bolivar, I'm slipping with exact recall.  He had been attending a family reunion in the Dora and Ava MO area and had just stopped on his return trip north to buy some beer that had been advertised on sale at our local store.  We enjoyed a nice visit before I told him I had to get going "Before it got hot HAH" (of course it was ALREADY hot!)
The ride home was uneventful, except for the usual feet-getting-too-hot.  I'm going to try some open toed sandals for my next ride to see if the feet can enjoy the ride more.
I received a cold welcome from the dogs when I got home to this:

WHAT A MESS?

I chewed the critters out something awful, but it was mostly my fault:  I had emptied the big trash can and tied off this bag of smelly gunk and then forgot to put it in the outside bin, out of reach and irresistible temptation for the mutts.  Thankfully I got it picked up before Jacque got home to enjoy the sight of all this.

Ride Started: 9:05 AM      Ride Ended:  10:23 PM

Beginning Battery Voltage:  13.0   Ending Battery Voltage:  13.0 Lowest Voltage:  13.0

Beginning Blood Glucose:   120   Ending BG: 140

Lowest Temp:  78 F    Highest Temp:  82 F

Stats from the GPS:  Total Miles:  5.87
Distance Walked: 1/2 mile
Overall Average Speed       Moving Avg          Max Speed
  3.7   MPH                           6.4  MPH              16.6 MPH

Total Trip Time                   Moving Time        Stopped Time
 1 hour 35  mins                 55 minutes            40 minutes

Riding is More Fun than Repairing

Today's GPS Tracking

I had a slow flat as I rolled into the home yard yesterday.  My ring gear shifter was not letting me shift to the highest gear.  My brakes were dragging.  My radio was intermittent.  I needed to adjust the length of my trike boom.
Thus, instead of ignoring problems like I'm so prone to do, I simply had to do some basic repairs before riding again.
When I staggered out to the garage last night I  was shocked to find my REAR tire totally flat also, even worse than the right front tired that I worried about on the way home yesterday.

ANOTHER Flat

I got those two tires repaired before going to bed last night.  I had two extra new tubes, but rather than using both of them I opted to patch one of the tubes instead of throwing it in the trash.  I found I only had one patch left in my little bike kit, so I need to replace that for future emergencies.

I carefully examined both defunct tires and tubes.  I could find NO nails, pins or needles (or holes) in either tire.  The tubes were a different story:  When inflated outside the tires, both exhibited a very small but effective pin-hole.  Finding nothing in the tires that could have caused such a thing, I was forced to conclude one of those nefarious hair-thin wires from all the truck tire pieces scattered along the major roads must have been responsible.  The tires were both still fully inflated this morning, so I'm convinced that was the cause of the flats.
Then "all" I had to do was adjust the boom length, repair the radio wiring, adjust the brakes, and lube and adjust the gear ring shifter.  After a rest break and letting my feet cool off from all the standing, I had to take a "check ride" to see how it all worked.
Jacque has been working for the past 3 days sewing  a pair of cycling shorts for me, and she finished them just as I was about to leave.  So I changed into them and gave THEM a "Check Ride" too.

Custom Shorts by Jacque

The new shorts worked better than the trike did.  My high gear still was too difficult to work and the replacement radio wiring was no better than the original.

I decided to ride Clouse St. out to Bell Crossing at the local airport, then go north to the US 60 frontage road, then follow that to the main east-to-west street (Business 60) back to the village square and home.

I received several "high fives" and encouraging beeps from approaching motorists until I finally remembered the GoPro camera on my helmet and turned it on,  Of course, while the camera was running, absolutely nothing interesting happened....

Ride Started: 11:50 AM      Ride Ended:  12:59 PM

Beginning Battery Voltage:  13.0   Ending Battery Voltage:  13.0 Lowest Voltage:  13.0

Beginning Blood Glucose:   137   Ending BG: 72

Lowest Temp:  78 F    Highest Temp:  82 F

Stats from the GPS:  Total Miles:  5.81
Distance Walked: 1/2 mile
Overall Average Speed       Moving Avg          Max Speed
  4.7   MPH                           6.9  MPH              26.1 MPH

Total Trip Time                   Moving Time        Stopped Time
 1 hour 13  mins                 51 minutes            23 minutes

Pleading the Fifth (of July)

Troubles on the ride pedaling around the area is nothing new, but I experienced a few added ones today.
I chose to ride out again to the western-most ramp to US 60 and ride east from there to the Route 95 crossing to enter the middle of Mountain Grove for the return leg home.
As I pedaled across the tracks and around the square to head west on the main drag, I noticed some dark clouds building up.  Previous experience convinced me this meant I was going to get wet soon, so I decided to go out to the airport instead and shorten the ride by coming back along Clouse Street.
Howsomever, by the time I got that far, the clouds had cleared out, leaving a fairly clear sky.
Thus I proceeded with my original plan and soon I was up on 60, again picking truck tire scraps off the shoulder as I rode.
This stretch of 60 between the exits is only about 2 miles so it wasn't long before I was entering Mountain Grove again.  I was getting tired and powerful thirsty so I rode over to Walmart to get one of their 50 cent diet sodas from the outside vending machine.  After chugging the soda and cooling my feet for a bit, I resumed the ride home.
As I coasted downhill I was alarmed to feel the trike pulling strongly to the right.  At first I couldn't see anything amiss, but a few hundred more feet revealed the right front tire sagging.  It was sagging so badly I feared I might not make it home without having to air it up with one of my CO2 cartridges.
I did barely make it home, but the tire was by then very flat.  I normally  just install a new tube rather than patching the injured one, but I'll check this one closely to see what punctured it....
Maybe one of those blasted truck tire scrap wires finally got to me.

Sagging Tire BAH!

Then, after I got home, I checked my radio GPS track and found it had not been working.  So I have a few repairs to do before I ride again.   Riding is a lot more fun than Repairing. Oh Well.

Ride Started: 9:21 AM      Ride Ended:  11:00 AM

Beginning Battery Voltage:  13.1   Ending Battery Voltage:  13.0 Lowest Voltage:  13.0

Beginning Blood Glucose:   137   Ending BG: 107

Lowest Temp:  78 F    Highest Temp:  82 F

Stats from the GPS:  Total Miles:  7.40
Distance Walked: 1/2 mile
Overall Average Speed       Moving Avg          Max Speed
  4.5   MPH                           6.1  MPH              24.6 MPH

Total Trip Time                   Moving Time        Stopped Time
 1 hour 39  mins                 1 hour 12 mins        27 minutes

July 4th Celebrations

Today's Very Local GPS Tracking

I suggested a breakfast trike ride to my sweetie Jacque this morning and she readily agreed.  So we rode the very short distance to our favorite local cafe, the "Panther's Den".  This restaurant seems to change names or ownership every other month or so but the menu and cooking seems to stay to our liking, and today was no different.
We parked our trikes under the trees on the "City" square - and for the first time since moving here, noticed the stone monunent honoring the Confederate soldiers who fought in the "Battle of Mountain Grove" in 1862, by name.  About a dozen of them.  We'd wondered about the local motto "Historic Mountain Grove", but this is the first time we'd run into any evidence of "history" happening in this neck of the woods.
I googled the term "Battle of Mountain Grove" and only found bits of mention about a Civil War battle either here or in Hartville, our Wright County seat.  Oh Well.

We then rode over to visit one of Jacque's dear friends who only lives a few blocks away.
That visit occupied maybe 20 minutes, after which we rode back toward home.  It began to clabber up in the clouds and sprinkle on us the closer we got.  Frantically trying to beat the rain we made it home just as the skies cleared completely and the sun came out.
Maybe we should ride out again, to make sure MO gets its proper annual 4th of July rain.

Ride Started: 9:16 AM      Ride Ended:  11:05 AM

Beginning Battery Voltage:  13.2   Ending Battery Voltage:  13.0 Lowest Voltage:  13.0

Beginning Blood Glucose:   97   Ending BG: 157

Lowest Temp:  75 F    Highest Temp:  84 F

Stats from the GPS:  Total Miles:  5.12
Distance Walked: 1/2 mile
Overall Average Speed       Moving Avg          Max Speed
  2.9   MPH                           5.0  MPH              17.0 MPH

Total Trip Time                   Moving Time        Stopped Time
 1hour 47  mins                   1 hour 1  min        46 minutes

Shopping via Trike Transit

Today's GPS/Ham Radio Tracking

I took yesterday off the trike since I was still a bit tired from that days' 16 mile ride.
I also was a bit sunburned on previously unexposed upper knees that have been previously fishbelly white in texture.
Trying to get going a bit earlier to avoid the heat, it was still 9-something by the time I got rolling.  The temperature wasn't too bad and the humidity was just a bit over 50%, dry for this country.
The ride to Walmart was uneventful except for a pickup cutting me off turning directly in front of me going into Walmart.  Good brakes prevented anything bd from happening and I was able to go inside and spend some money unimpeded.
I tried to turn my GoPro helmet-cam on for the return ride, but as usual, the battery died with a bleep-bleep-bleep within 20 or 30 seconds.
No big deal.  Made it home safe and sound, as usual.

Ride Started: 9:16 AM      Ride Ended:  11:05 AM

Beginning Battery Voltage:  13.2   Ending Battery Voltage:  13.0 Lowest Voltage:  13.0

Beginning Blood Glucose:   97   Ending BG: 157

Lowest Temp:  75 F    Highest Temp:  84 F

Stats from the GPS:  Total Miles:  5.12
Distance Walked: 1/2 mile
Overall Average Speed       Moving Avg          Max Speed
  2.9   MPH                           5.0  MPH              17.0 MPH

Total Trip Time                   Moving Time        Stopped Time
 1hour 47  mins                   1 hour 1  min        46 minutes

Trouble is, I noticed my right "junk pocket" was entirely empty.  I was looking for the two GoPro batteries I'd taken, fully charged, for the ride.  I'll have to stop using these side-leg pockets when riding in future.  In spite of their velcro flaps, this isn't the first time I've lost something from them while riding.

I had a chiropractor appointment at 1:00 so I rode the trike over there, as far as possible following my morning route to see if I could find the batteries.  No dice the first third of the way, where I had to detour right to make it to the doctor's office in time.

When I exited the bone-cracker's office it was starting to get just a wee bit cloudy.  I rode back to resume the re-ride looking for my pricey batteries.  I watched closely and fruitlessly all the way back to Walmart, where I'd thought I had first noticed the empty pocket.

By now it was REALLY getting dark and cloudy and, though I was hot and thirsty I decided to forego my planned soda break from the outside machines at Walmart.

As I rode the reverse route toward home, it continued to get darker and more threatening.  

I Might get WET...

As I bottomed out at the base of the long hill toward home I found one of my missing batteries:  A bit ragged looking and evidence of bouncing along the pavement.  About 300 yards further, I found my second battery, this one with tire tracks on it and a bit flattened from being run over.  I haven't yet tried to test them, but likely they are both ruined.

I was worrying while chugging slowly up the hill about when it was going to start raining when a bright flash of lightning ripped out toward the west.  About 3 seconds later a HUGE thunderclap arrived, meaning the lightning had struck a bit more than half a mile away.  This put a bit of motivation into my pedaling in spite of my fatigue and  feet hurting.  A dozen or so thunder-rumblings later, along with just a bit of sprinkling rain, I arrived in our driveway to find Jacque gone. As I looked at my cell phone I saw I had 3 missed calls from Jacque.... my phone was still on silent from the doctor visit and I had forgotten to turn the ringer sound back on.

Of course, when I called her, she was out somewhere in town looking for me, alarmed by the water-works.  I assured her I was home safe and mostly dry.

Second Re-Ride GPS Track

Second Ride Started: 12:38 PM      Ride Ended:  2:19 PM

Beginning Battery Voltage:  13.0   Ending Battery Voltage:  13.0 Lowest Voltage:  13.0

Beginning Blood Glucose:   157   Ending BG: 84

Lowest Temp:  78 F    Highest Temp:  78 F

Stats from the GPS:  Total Miles:  5.78
Distance Walked: 1/2 mile
Overall Average Speed       Moving Avg          Max Speed
  3.4   MPH                           6.4  MPH              16.7 MPH

Total Trip Time                   Moving Time        Stopped Time
 1 hour 42  mins                  54  minutes          48 minutes

Hiway 60 Trike Cleanup

Today's Travels via GPS and Ham Radio

I decided that today for my Monday morning ride I would use the excuse to ride out to Cabool MO to visit one of my new friends we met at Church a few months ago.  According to my GPS map app on the Iphone it would be about a 7.7 mile ride one-way or a bit over 15 miles both ways.  Easy Peasy, says I, and I told Jacque my itinerary and saddled up and took off. 
I got off much later than planned.  Earlier rides mean cooler temperatures, and a couple hours earlier start would have helped a lot.  Such is life.
A mild detour confronted me before I achieved my first mile:  Wall Street was blocked with a train sitting still in the crossway with no evident intent to move any time soon.  I turned back west along South Street which parallels the tracks and at the next train crossing the intersection was clear, thank goodness.
The route North to the middle entrance for Mountain Grove to US-60  adds maybe half a mile or more to the trip than the more direct route of "Business 60" east, but the narrow ramp with no shoulder for more than a mile dictated the safer alternative.  Radio coverage isn't great more than a few miles from home as I don't yet have a tower erected to hold my base station antennas higher in the sky, so the tracked dots peter out about halfway to Cabool.
Again, as usual, I encountered all sorts of detritus along the roadway, both biological  and otherwise.
Rather than bore viewers with more guts & gore, I photographed only a few of the items I spotted today. 

Steel Tire Belts

Chunks of truck tires like this are found scattered along all road shoulders and are tough on cyclist tires.  The thin wires embedded in the torn treads eventually penetrate cyclist tires and cause either fast or slow leaks, with injury holes so small they are hard to spot and patch.  Thus I prefer being slow and low to the ground already, to grab as many of these as I can and throw them off the road shoulder for a safer ride the next time I or any other shoulder-rider comes by.
A couple other items attracted my iphone camera....
If I took pictures of everything spotted along the road I'd be even slower than I already am:

Shattered Smartphone

Quarter-Inch Steel Plate:  This had to go home with me in the saddlebag

I stopped under an overpass along 60 for a shade break and took several jolts of warm water to slake my dry throat.  It was extra warm today and the humidity was a tad higher than normal as well.
The ham radio I have on the trike (Kenwood TH-F6A) also picks up FM radio music stations and I've taken a liking on longer rides like this to listening to vintage country music along with ham chatter as I ride along, often singing along with the music since there's no one around to be alarmed at the noise.
It helps shorten the miles and takes my mind off my aches and pains - at least a little bit.
I finally arrived at the exit just before Cabool and I didn't see my friend's vehicle in front of his house.  So I called him on the cell phone, with no answer.  I was just turning around to return home when I saw his vehicle pull up in his driveway:  He had pulled right past me while I was trying to call.
I rode on  up next to his vehicle and knocked on his door and spent almost an hour visiting and then took my leave.  I was feeling a bit overheated and woozy as I left but made it the 5 miles to Walmart where I planned to take an extended snack, drink, and shade break.
After chilling there for a half hour or so, I resumed the homeward bound leg of the trip.
Even with the hilly streets, riding here is not bad with all the shade trees helping shield me from direct sunshine.

Ride Started: 10:09 AM      Ride Ended:  2:07 PM

Beginning Battery Voltage:  12.9   Ending Battery Voltage:  12.7 Lowest Voltage:  12.7

Beginning Blood Glucose:   140   Ending BG: 78

Lowest Temp:  75 F    Highest Temp:  84 F

Stats from the GPS:  Total Miles:  17.74
Distance Walked: 1/2 mile
Overall Average Speed       Moving Avg          Max Speed
   4.9   MPH                           6.9  MPH            27.4 MPH

Total Trip Time                   Moving Time        Stopped Time
 3 hours 35  mins              2 hours 34  mins   1 hour 1 minute