Weather Blessings, great cycling

 Monday Madness Tracking

Terrific Tuesday Travels 

 Well, let's see if I can remember much from the last couple days.  I DO sometimes get other things done besides Recumbent Tricycle riding, but rarely anything as interesting like digging holes, walking the dogs, raking leaves, picking up the dreaded Black Walnuts, etc, etc.

Yesterday, Monday, I got the bright idea to change the oil in our Exploder .  I rode the trike with B.O.B. trailer up to the Big Box store to get the necessary oil.  I already had a new oil filter in the garage on the shelf so I didn't need to buy another one.
Of course, when I got home and drained the gunk out, the "new oil filter" I had turned out to be the wrong one.  SO I pedaled furiously back up north to O'Reilly's, which was more expensive than the Big Box store, but closer, and the Sun  was starting to get low in the sky.  Their "Book" prescribed the SAME filter I already had on hand, but it certainly wasn't going to fit any better than that one.  The filter I'd removed from the V8 was a Fram PH-8 so I asked the counter kid to look up a match for that - Unfortunately O'Reilly's doesn't sell Frams.  Counter Youngster found a match, brought it to me grumping, saying it wouldn't fit since it wasn't the one listed for it.  He told me, more cheerfully, that I could bring it back for an exchange when I found it wasn't the correct filter.
Of course when I pedaled furiously back and installed the "incorrect" filter it fit perfectly.
When we purchased this Exploder yo so many years ago, we thought it was original and stock.  It's been a great buggy for us, but things like this make me wonder if the engine has been swapped or ??
I guess it doesn't help that it's 24 years old and doesn't even show up on the store catalogs.  Who knows?  Evidently Fram does...
TODAY I rode almost the same route to get my gnarled feet worked on at California Nails , but thankfully I didn't forget anything (that I can remember!) and didn't have to make the trip twice.
Oh, yeah, the weather.  It's definitely cruising into late fall and we've had a couple of mild freezes recently, but the mild SUNNY days we've had recently are not only fabulous, they are likely dangerous if they lull me into postponing winter preparations.

Monday Ride Started: 10:55 AM           Ride Ended:  4:41 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.7   Ending Battery Voltage:  12.9
Lowest Temp: 53 F Highest Temp: 64 F
Beginning Blood Glucose:  154   Ending BG: 90
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  8.76
Overall Average Speed      Moving Avg       Max Speed
  3.1 MPH                              6.5 MPH            21.9 MPH
Total Trip(s) Time                Moving Time      Stopped Time
 2 hours  47 minutes              1 hour 20 mins    1 hour  26 minutes

Tuesday Ride Started: 9:07 AM           Ride Ended:  10:47 AM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.0   Ending Battery Voltage:  12.9
Lowest Temp: 57 F Highest Temp: 68 F
Beginning Blood Glucose:  158   Ending BG: 65
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  5.46
Overall Average Speed      Moving Avg       Max Speed
  3.2 MPH                              6.6 MPH            21.9 MPH
Total Trip(s) Time                Moving Time      Stopped Time
 1 hour  41 minutes               49 minutes          52 minutes

 

No Sunscreen Today

 Technology Trike Tracking Through Town

Dateline Thursday, 11 Nov 2021, Veterans Day:  51 (!) years since I came home safely from Vietnam

Enough of that.  It was also very windy and nippy out, though the sun was shining.  Cold enough such that when I got ready to ride the Trike, I added two layers to my upper torso just for grins.  And to avoid shivers.  It worked pretty well.  Covered so well that almost no sunshine could "attack" my skin, so no "lotion" was required.  Earlier this year I rode several times in short pants and short sleeves, and a few times with open sandals with no socks.  Such behavior kept me cooler at the time but I had never before experienced sunburn on my FEET.  Ouch.  Which prompted me to be more faithful about applying sunscreen, but not this time.
I pedaled around a couple different streets this trip, though headed (of course) for our local Big Box Store.
The wind wasn't much fun, but since it stayed mostly in one direction, it wasn't so bad on the way back home.
I arrived successfully at the store, parked the trike, and made my purchases. 
When I walked back outside, the wind was even gustier than before, making me really happy to have the additional layers of shirt and jacket. I unlocked the trike from the storeside rack.  As I reached to put my sunglasses back on, they were nowhere to be found.  I normally hang them on the instrument pedestal on the front of the trike, but they just weren't there.
Riding a bike, even without stiff headwinds, is no picnic without protective glasses or goggles of some kind.  So I spent some time looking all over the trike, checking my multiple pockets, no luck.
Wondering if it was possible for any passerby to steal the well-used specs, I looked and looked. 
Finally I dug out my clear wind-goggles, and as soon as I sat down on the trike, I spotted my missing sunglasses:  About 100 feet away across the parking lot.  Gleefully pedaling over to them, I was sadly disappointed:

These were my glasses, all right, evidently sailed so far by the wind...... but evidently the nearby truck had run over them.  SIGH
On the way home, trying to avoid looking too closely toward the sun, I stopped at an intersection and waited for a young lady to cross the street with her dog.  They turned the same direction as I did and I was shocked when they caught up with me quickly and started to PASS me.  It turned out the gal wasn't walking, she was skateboarding, and she and her dog were making GREAT time.  I pedaled harder to try to stay ahead of them, but only rough pavement slowed them sufficiently for me to go on without them.  After all, it's one thing to be outrun by an Electric bike..... But a skateboard ??  BAH I say.
As I gleefully pulled away from this pair, the trike started making a scritchy noise like something was dragging off the back.  I rounded a corner at another intersection and dismounted to see what was wrong NOW.  It was only a extra long twig with a big fall leaf on it that had caught itself in the bike frame and thus generating the irritating sound.  Easy fix, thankfully.

Ride Started: 2:18 PM           Ride Ended:  3:55 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.6   Ending Battery Voltage:  12.9
Lowest Temp: 53 F Highest Temp: 64 F
Beginning Blood Glucose:  154   Ending BG: 90
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  7.65
Overall Average Speed      Moving Avg       Max Speed
  3.7 MPH                              6.6 MPH            27.5 MPH
Total Trip(s) Time                Moving Time      Stopped Time
 2 hours  3 minutes              1 hour 9 mins     54 minutes

BEAUTIFUL Day for a Ride

 The Usual GPS Tracking via Ham Radio and APRS
 

Correction:  I misspoke about Jacque's riding history.  I'm STILL proud of her effort today - -

Today dawned without sunshine, but was not at all threatening.  I got a few things done and then Jacque got notice she had a couple of prescriptions waiting at our local Big Box store, giving me a great excuse for a ride longer than "Just around the block".
I got a couple things done on the New Sewing Room:
- I got the big door installed on its Barn Door Slide Bar.
- Then I got the handles and guide wheel set up;
- Then I had to take the Door back down and recess the inside handle so it would clear properly.
By this time I was more than ready for a ride to stretch my legs.
Jacque, of a sudden, decided she also wanted to ride across town with me.  Nothing unusual about that except she hasn't ridden more than a couple miles in over a year.
Well, she loves the stretching in her own legs when we've taken short rides together, and she can always turn around if she gets too tired.  Just like I can....
So she took off on her Catrike several minutes before I did, assuming I would quickly catch up with her.
I went a slightly different direction, dropping off a small bag of surplus castoffs at the local Thrift Store.
I caught up with her, all right..... Eventually.  She had a tall "Don't Tread on Me" Gadsden snake flag on the back of her trike -

 

and I finally spotted it, almost a quarter mile ahed after my "vigorous" pedaling.
We made it to the Big Box store after crossing the US 60 overpass and, as we rolled into the parking lot I was a few feet ahead of Jacque and I heard a small commotion as I approached the bike stand to park the trikes.  I dismounted and turned around to a most amazing sight:

- About the CUTEST little punkin we've bumped into in at least a few hours...
We didn't catch this friendly little beauty's name.  She had jumped loosed from her Mama's hand and chased after me when I passed her without seeing her.  She then spotted Jacque who opened up her arms and said "You want to ride with ME??"  Upon which the toddler jumped into Jacque's lap and rode the rest of the 100 feet or so to the bike rack where I was parked.  We were so tickled to meet her, I didn't even THINK about my GoPro camera or the cellphone camera until she was safely back in her Mom's shopping cart.
As per our usual habit, we had arrived shortly after One-ish, meaning the Pharmacy was "Closed for Lunch" until somewhere around 2:00 PM.  So we got to wait again.
After a bit of wandering around, I sat down on a pharmacy waiting bench to rest my tired feets for a bit ...... and waited what seemed to be quite a while.   Jacque texted me that she was going home without me, since she rides slower and we only needed one body to sit around and wait for the pills.
"Promptly" at 2:00, the pharmacists arrived and cranked open the windows, and after letting a couple of ladies go ahead of me, I finally got the prescriptions and saddled up to go home.
This was SUCH a pretty day for riding.  The sun didn't show its face until just before sundown, but it was just cool enough to be pleasant without a sprinkle of rain.   AND I was SO proud that sweet Jacque had made such "Big Time" mileage with only a bit of sore feet to show for it.

Ride Started: 12:52 PM           Ride Ended:  2:50 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.6   Ending Battery Voltage:  12.9
Lowest Temp: 61 F Highest Temp: 68 F
Beginning Blood Glucose:  225   Ending BG: 107
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  6.07
Overall Average Speed      Moving Avg       Max Speed
  3.2 MPH                              5.2 MPH            23.1 MPH
Total Trip(s) Time                Moving Time      Stopped Time
 1 hour 54  minutes            1 hour 10 mins     44 minutes

Odd Tripper

 Route Previousyly Unexplored?

I surprised myself this morning - finding I had neglected to record several recent "Bike Trips" in this blog.
I parenthesize Bike Trips, as a means of minimizing their importance in a world where several other cycling enthusiasts are riding USA coast to coast, and even a precious few who are trying to circumnavigate the globe.
Howesomever, since even my minor forays into the area seem to help with my aging bod, regulate diabetical blood sugar, and even Elevate my MOOD, I proffer a few remarks for friends and family bored enough to read my driving drivel.  Let's see, did my GHS Bulldog English teacher Mrs. Smith call any of that alliteration?  More likely:  drivel.

Fall has arrived here in the Ozarks along with cooler weather, and a couple of frost warnings.  The last few days have been sunny and mild, leaving me with no excuse for not riding more often.
Sure, I'm retired, but the "projects" and "chores" tend to pile up.  The older I get, it seems that I'll never get caught up with the yard maintenance, house maintenance, car maintenance..... BAH.
Saturday the 6th, day before yesterday, I did dig the Catrike out of the garage and got in a couple miles.
Sweet Wife  instructed me to pick up some hot dogs at the grocery store near us, so that was my first stop.
Afterwards, I detoured a bit from my usual route and rode a loop through some streets I had not "done" before.  As usual, the ride opened up my lungs, improved my pulse rate, lowered my blood glucose a bit, and I felt more alive and alert when I got home.  

Which is a Wonderful Thing.

Ride Started: 3:38 PM           Ride Ended:  4:40 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.8   Ending Battery Voltage:  12.9
Lowest Temp: 57 F Highest Temp: 72 F
Beginning Blood Glucose:  205   Ending BG: 128
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  1.37
Overall Average Speed      Moving Avg       Max Speed
  2.5 MPH                              4.3 MPH            13.4 MPH
Total Trip(s) Time                Moving Time      Stopped Time
   33  minutes                        19 minutes         14 minutes

Unwanted Interruptions

Monday's abortive Track

This is another of my day late and a dollar short posts.  Whatever.
Monday, i.e., yesterday, was wet, dark, windy, and cold.
No rain was falling at the time so I saddled up the Catrike and B.O.B. trailer to take a package to the Post Office as well as a couple bags of STUFF for the local Thrift Store.
I barely got out of the yard and onto the paved street when I noticed a distinct rubba-rubba-Thump.  At first I figured it must be bumps in the pavement, not uncommon in our neck of the woods.  I pedaled a few more yards and the annoying noise continued, with no evident cracks or bumps in the road.  I checked the trailer tire, suspecting it might be low.  It was fine.  When I checked the rear tire on the Trike, it was sadly almost totally flat.  By now I was almost 100 yards from home, and the process of dragging the trike and trailer back to the garage was not easy nor pleasant.  With the flat rear tire, the trike kept trying to overturn while being dragged, and the wet and slop helped with unpleasantness.
Now it was actually precipitating, and it was not helping the process or my surly mood.   I finally got the Schrader adapter on the Presta valve stem and eventually was able to get some air into the tire at 45 PSI.  Then it was a struggle to find where I'd laid my gloves, and a few other mis-steps, and finally I was on my way again.  The moisture did not soak me clear through, and I suffered no other interruptions as I wimped along.
Got home OK, trike and trailer safely back into shelter in the garage, built a fire in the garage wood stove.....

Life is Good.

Ride Started: 12:12 PM           Ride Ended:  12:34 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.0   Ending Battery Voltage:  12.9
Lowest Temp: 47 F Highest Temp: 50 F
Beginning Blood Glucose:  205   Ending BG: 98
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  1.37
Overall Average Speed      Moving Avg       Max Speed
  2.5 MPH                              4.3 MPH            13.4 MPH
Total Trip(s) Time                Moving Time      Stopped Time
   33  minutes                        19 minutes         14 minutes