Another Foggy Ride

 GPS/Ham Radio Tracking

Another trip to the Big Box Store, yada yada.  I stopped along the way to pay the nice lady at Anthony Heating & Air to renew our yearly service contract for our heater and A/C system, which not only gets a lot of workout in this climate but is also dated and worn.... Kinda like Me.
The weather was slightly overcast, after a morning of nice sunshine, and warmer than usual, upper 40's and low 50's.  So I wore only a nylon windbreaker jacket and chose open finger gloves and didn't don the warm skull cap Jacque made me.
Before I got too far the cool breeze was too hard on my pinkies so I stopped and dug out the warm mittens with retractable finger flaps that I normally wear this time of season.  I still wasn't cold elsewhere;  just the fingers.
When I finally got to the Big Store on the north end of town, I was a bit more tired than usual.  As usual I should have checked my Blood Glucose (BG) but as usual, put it off.  I also felt too warm in the jacket but wore it inside while walking around, which I regretted.
As I wandered around the store I was getting a bit more and more fuzzy - brained.  I finally got most of what I was shopping for and got back out to the chained-up trike and fumbled in the pannier to get my blood tester kit out.  BG came in at 61, which isn't that bad for a normal reading, but it's lower than  the recommended 80-120 range my endocrinologist recommends.
I was really feeling punk by now so I dug our my cookie stash and ate a couple.
I still wasn't feeling up to snuff, even after a few minutes resting and digesting, but I didn't want to just remain sitting in front of the store like a homeless dude.  Silly Me.
I took off the jacket since I still felt too warm.
I fished out a glucose tablet from the pannier goodie stock and pedaled out of the parking lot.
Still feeling blah, I pedaled another several hundred yards and, finding a nice abandoned fast food building, pulled into the empty parking lot and took another break.  Still confused and weird, I suspended the insulin pump to stop all delivery.  Now feeling cold, I put the jacket back on.  I finished off the last cookie in the stash and after several more minutes I started to feel human again and rode on toward home.
Of course by the time I got home my BG checked at 61.  By 5 PM it was up to 197.
It's such a common experience to bounce from one end of the scale to the other.  BAH

Ride Started: 1:19 PM           Ride Ended: 2:57 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.4   Ending Battery Voltage:  12.9
Lowest Temp: 53 F Highest Temp: 57 F
Beginning Blood Glucose: 114    Ending BG: 197
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 5.37
Overall Average Speed      Moving Avg       Max Speed
 3.2 MPH                              6.1 MPH            22.7 MPH
Total Trip Time                    Moving Time      Stopped Time
 1 hour 40  minutes                53 minutes          47 minutes

Sunny but Breezy....

 North to South and Back Again Track

Just another trip to our Big Box Store for some fresh veggies and to our great local Ace Hardware for some wire and clamps for my HF Ham Radio antenna project.  Fun ride, as usual, even if my feet DID start talking to me.

I also experienced another first today:  A "Telephone Doctor Visit".
The VA is having lots of exposure of patients with our current world wide panic-epidemic, or "Pandemic" strain of viral infection called COVID-19.
I had previously been scheduled for an in-person visit to the VA facility in Springfield, but with the current scare the Doc had called and asked if I would be willing to do it remotely via telephone instead of risking coming in for a close-up visit.  I had agreed. 
I was advised to be fasting, for some odd reason.  When the Doc finally called, all he did was ask lots of questions about my aches and pains and pills and whatnot.  He asked if I'd been hospitalized recently for any reason and I chose to tell him the story of my comatose incident of December 9.  He wasn't too surprised at the tale, and basically said he thought I was doing fairly well in spite of everything.
When he learned I was unnecessarily fasting, he said they would set me up for "Labs" in the morning so I wouldn't have to keep starving myself today.  So tomorrow we're doing the Springfield excursion.

Ride Started: 1:28 PM           Ride Ended: 3:23 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.4   Ending Battery Voltage:  12.9
Lowest Temp: 42 F Highest Temp: 53 F
Beginning Blood Glucose: 366 (!!)    Ending BG: 197
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 6.09
Overall Average Speed      Moving Avg       Max Speed
 4.1 MPH                              6.1 MPH            24.5 MPH
Total Trip Time                    Moving Time      Stopped Time
 1 hour 29  minutes                59 minutes          30 minutes

Unplanned Triking

 SuperShort GPS Tracking

This Monday (yesterday) the weather was cool and cloudy with only a few minutes of sunshine.  I hadn't planned to ride anywhere, but about 4:30 PM or so I found I needed some hardware for my wire ham radio shortwave antenna.  With two lumber and hardware stores a couple or three blocks away, I jumped on the Catrike and took off.
I like these local hardware venues, but often they don't stock what I'm looking for.  Such was the case today.  I spent too much time looking fruitlessly for small cable clamps.  
By the time I left the second store, larger but still lacking my desired stuff, it was almost dark, and I turned on the helmet headlamp in addition to the blinky red tail light on the tail end of the trike.
It was really dark by the time I got home even though it was only a few minutes away.

Ride Started: 4:16 PM           Ride Ended: 5:16 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.6   Ending Battery Voltage:  12.9
Lowest Temp: 42 F Highest Temp: 50 F
Beginning Blood Glucose: Unk    Ending BG: Unk
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 1.45 
Overall Average Speed      Moving Avg       Max Speed
 1.5 MPH                              4.7 MPH            16.2 MPH
Total Trip Time                    Moving Time      Stopped Time
 1 hour                                 18 minutes          42 minutes

Probably Should have Stayed Home

Snowy and Cold GPS/Ham Radio Tracking 

Blame it on Jacque.  She took off in the Ford for some shopping and I was left to fend for myself.

NO, it's not her fault.   I'm ALWAYS looking for excuses to pedal around.

Trouble is, the weather was - for once - fulfilling the weatherman's predictions.
It was blowing and snowing and COLD outside, but I figured  I could do a short ride by riding only around a couple blocks to the closest hardware store and grocery store.
Even though I stuck to this philosophy, it was a tad miserable.  Thankfully nothing was slick from sidewalks to streets. 
Since I was low on diet soda, I hitched up the B.O.B. trailer.
I had to swipe snow off my seat to get on board, and every time I stopped, more snow had to be removed.  It wasn't yet accumulating that much but for it coated my seat and gloves all over.
For some reason I got more odd looks from passers-by than usual.

The wind was cold and the snow blasting me in the face diminished my enjoyment somewhat.  Pedaling homeward, the wind was almost directly head-on into my face, which enhanced my motivation to get it on and get home.
Later in the evening, we drove a few blocks to eat out (Friday night, ya know).
Snow was still falling and starting to really stick, but not too slick yet.
When I walked the doggies a few minutes ago, it was slick and icy on any hard surface.  I stuck to walking on the grass which still provided some traction.
Thankfully the girls did their business promptly.  Safe inside now and the heat and electricity is still on.  The forecast high 60 MPH winds have not yet shown up.
Praying for mercy.

Ride Started: 11:58 AM           Ride Ended: 12:30 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.7   Ending Battery Voltage:  12.9
Lowest Temp: 30 F Highest Temp: 38 F
Beginning Blood Glucose: 113    Ending BG: 84
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 1.39 (!?!)
Overall Average Speed      Moving Avg       Max Speed
 2.6 MPH                              6.2 MPH            15.3 MPH
Total Trip Time                    Moving Time      Stopped Time
 32  minutes                          13 minutes        19 minutes

Running Outa Sunshine

 Today's Frigid (?) Route

Thursday was a little cool, but mostly sunny.
As usual we had items to pick up at the local Big Box Store, so it was a sufficient excuse to saddle up the Catrike for a ride.
I'd only gone a mile or so when seemingly suddenly it got DARK, and as I looked toward where the sun was - only moments earlier - the horizon was filled with threatening-looking clouds.  I didn't want to turn around to abort the mission, but I lacked enthusiasm for getting caught in any outpouring of rain or snow, so I tried to pedal faster.

I got several shout-outs of encouragement from passing motorists as I went along, and arrived safely at the Big Box Store.  Their selection of fresh veggies was sadly lacking, but I gathered up what I could and paid the automated  cashier and left.
Made it home without incident, even with stiff head and side - winds.  The double bags I suspended the groceries from was sagging sadly as I pedaled "furiously" along, and I stuck my hand underneath the bag several times as I rolled along to make sure it wasn't actually touching the pavement.  When I got home the bag was still thankfully intact but the bike pouch from which it was suspended was bent over almost flat.  I need to figure out a more reliable way to hang shopping bags back there when I don't have the wonderful B.O.B. trailer attached.

Ride Started: 10:15 AM           Ride Ended: 11.32 AM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.5 Ending Battery Voltage:  12.9
Lowest Temp:   46 F Highest Temp: 53 F
Beginning Blood Glucose: 131    Ending BG: 84
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 5.89
Overall Average Speed      Moving Avg       Max Speed
4.8 MPH                              7.3 MPH            22.5 MPH
Total Trip Time                    Moving Time      Stopped Time
 1 hour 14  mins                    49 minutes        25 minutes

Well, Hey, the Sun Came Up Today

Today's predictable GPS Track 

My young buddy Jack came over today but it was still a tad too cold (I thought) to take him for a ride.  Even though it was a bright sunny day;  good stuff.
It started to warm up about the time he and his Mom left here, around noonish.
I spent an hour or so working on my HF Ham Radio shortwave dipoles, which I plan to string between our huge trees in the yard, hoping they work decently and survive the constant wear and tear from falling branches, scrambling squirrels, and whatnot.
Knowing that it would only get cooler later in the afternoon, I cut the antenna project short so I could drag out the Catrike   for a ride.
It seemed warm enough that I didn't put on my warm skull cap, though I did wear my heavy coat and mittens.  I started out with the finger flaps open but within a block or two folded them out to cover the cold pinkies.
Our local thrift store had stopped accepting donations a couple weeks ago, but somewhere in the last few days started accepting again.  We had a few bags of STUFF intended for such a destination so I hitched up the B.O.B. trailer to haul that stuff.
By the time I got that stuff delivered, it was approaching 4 PM, and it has been getting dark and colder shortly after that hour so I cut my ride short and did not ride all the way to our local Big Box Store to purchase the few items I had on my list.  Maybe tomorrow.... if the sun keeps shining.

Ride Started: 3:04 PM           Ride Ended: 3:41 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.0 Ending Battery Voltage:  12.9
Lowest Temp: 46 F Highest Temp: 53 F
Beginning Blood Glucose: 176    Ending BG: 70
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 4.12
Overall Average Speed      Moving Avg       Max Speed
 5.9 MPH                              7.4 MPH            21.7 MPH
Total Trip Time                    Moving Time      Stopped Time
 42  minutes                         33 minutes          8 minutes

Too Cold to Pay the Bills ?

 Very Short Tracking Today

We spent over half the day traveling to and from West Plains.
On the way home, the SUN actually come out and brightened up the gloom from the last several freezing days.
We decided it was going to be a great day for a trike ride.
I pondered deeply what route I could take for maximum exercise and enjoyment.
After a couple minutes I gave up and thought I'd likely just roam around town a bit.
Suddenly I remembered an email I'd gotten earlier this morning.
Our local heating and cooling firm had relocated our air conditioner from the back of the house - where we plan to build Jacque's sewing room addition - to the side of the house where it would no longer be in the way.  They didn't leave an invoice or bill with us, saying they would mail it to us.  That was around 3 weeks ago.
This morning the bill/invoice showed up in my email, and recalling this reminded me I could use this for an excuse to take a trike ride.  I usually pay my bills electonically, but this firm didn't offer that option, so I needed to either mail it or go over and pay in person.  

So I saddled up the trike.  It was a tad colder than it looked like from inside the house looking out the window, but I figured I would stay fairly warm pedaling along.
It didn't work out that way.  It was bitter cold starting out and stayed that way as I rode, in spite of the beautiful sunshine.  

I had planned to stop at the shop, pay my bill, and ride on around town for a reasonable ride.  Howsomever, by the time I got there I had decided wimping out was a better option.  I paid the bill, turned around, and rode HOME.
Not sure this was any colder than other cold days I've ridden, but this time it got to me.

Maybe a longer ride tomorrow..... Hopefully the sun will come out again.

Ride Started: 2:38 PM           Ride Ended: 3:00 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.7 Ending Battery Voltage:  12.9
Lowest Temp: 32 F Highest Temp: 42 F
Beginning Blood Glucose: 171    Ending BG: 137
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 2.11
Overall Average Speed      Moving Avg       Max Speed
 1.4 MPH                              6.2 MPH            25.1 MPH
Total Trip Time                    Moving Time      Stopped Time
 22  minutes                         18 minutes         4 minutes

And a Few More Miles

 The extended Wed Trip GPS Track

 After  my Joy-Ride with young Jack-Jack this morning, the weather turned a bit cloudy and the sun seemed to disappear again, almost as if it was WINTER or something.
I hadn't thought I was going out again but shortly after noonish Jacque mentioned going for another dual trike ride.

I went out to drag her trike out for setup, but the wind had increased and the wind was a bit more chilly than desirable, and when I queried Jacque about t she decided she would keep working on her quilt instead.
Now the bug had bitten ME again, and after looking at the weather again I noted only non threatening clouds, no moisture seeming imminent.
So I checked my shopping list and did the usual trip to our local Big Box Store.
It turned out to be a nice ride after all.
On my way home I had to stop behind a car waiting at the light.  The fellow in front of me took an inordinate amount of time to go through the light when it changed, but other than that, no problem.
The mildly cool weather actually seemed to energize me, as I smoked full throttle-pedal across a straightaway at 25 MPH which might be the fastest speed I've accomplished yet on a stretch of level road.

Ride Started: 2:23 PM           Ride Ended: 3:35 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.8   Ending Battery Voltage:  12.7
Lowest Temp:   46 F Highest Temp: 50 F
Beginning Blood Glucose: 108    Ending BG:  203 (Ate 2 cookies before I left, didn't burn enough)
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 5.02
Overall Average Speed      Moving Avg       Max Speed
3.4 MPH                              5.4 MPH            25.1 MPH
Total Trip Time                    Moving Time      Stopped Time
1 hour 5 mins                      50 minutes        15 minutes

Around the Block with Jack-Jack

 Today's GPS Tracking "Long Distance"

 Today was actually my 3rd ride for 2021.  Big Deal, Give me a Medal --

We had a forecast for cold and rain today, which thankfully turned out at least partially inaccurate.
Thank Goodness for partially or totally inaccurate BAD weather forecasts.

The sun actually came out and warmed things above the forecast.  A rather stiff cold breeze tempered the enjoyment somewhat, but when Jack and his Mom arrived for a sewing session with Jacque, we could not resist going for at least a short ride.

                        Here, after the ride, Jack is frustrated with the seat belt

I cautioned Jack to holler "COLD!" if he got too cold, and we took off.
That breeze was cold, and though JACK didn't complain, it was cold for "Grandpa"
(me) with mittens and heavy coat.  So we rode around about 3 blocks and came back where it was warm.
Very mild exercise but still FUN

Ride Started: 9:30 AM           Ride Ended: 10:51 AM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.0   Ending Battery Voltage:  12.8
Lowest Temp: 46 F Highest Temp: 50 F
Beginning Blood Glucose: 123    Ending BG: 96
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 1.30 (!!)
Overall Average Speed      Moving Avg       Max Speed
 2.8 MPH                              4.1 MPH            11.9 MPH
Total Trip Time                    Moving Time      Stopped Time
 28  minutes                          19 minutes        9 minutos

First Ride of the Year (2021)

 Today's (Sunday) Track via GPS and Ham Radio

Actually, today, Sunday, is the first day the sun shone for more than a few minutes.
Even this morning, it was ice, snow, and no sun for the most of the morning.

Around eleven, the SUN actually peeked through the clouds, brightening the day and the sky, and within less than an hour almost all ice and snow had DISAPPEARED.  Heavenly Father is GOOD.
Both Jacque and I agreed we should go for at least a short trike ride to get out in the good relatively warm air.
All tires were sufficiently solid without pumping, so we saddled up and rode away, with the screaming Lilly-Dog complaining through the glass of the back door.
We didn't need to rack up a ton of mileage.  It was about 40 degrees more or less, which meant we dressed warmly, but with the welcome sunshine and lack of wind..... GOOD STUFF.
We rode the terrific distance to our Town Square, rode one circuit around it, and on east to Wall Street (NOT N.Y.) and then on back to the house.  
Just enough to raise the mood and metabolism a bit.
I was mildly surprised to find my blood glucose had dropped sufficiently to requre sustenance (One of Jacque's famous Sweet Rolls was left HURRAY).

Ride Started: 3:45 PM           Ride Ended: 4:19 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.2 Ending Battery Voltage:  12.8
Lowest Temp:   46 F Highest Temp: 50 F
Beginning Blood Glucose: 118    Ending BG: 110
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 1.42
Overall Average Speed      Moving Avg       Max Speed
3.1 MPH                              4.1 MPH            13.4 MPH
Total Trip Time                    Moving Time      Stopped Time
 27  minutes                          21 minutes          6 minutes