The Day Before the Storm ?

 31 Jan 2022 GPS Tracks

Our area Weather - Guessers are gushing about Another Big Storm that's on its way, surely bringing rain, freezing rain, ICE, and SNOW.  S'posed to blow in tomorrow and Wednesday.
As for Today, it was warm and lovely out.  How could anyone resist the temptation to get outside and go?
Go somewhere??
It was so nice I decided to do a Medium Large Loop around the Big City of Mountain Grove (Pop. 5,000 - something).
I only wore a light windbreaker, and it actually had to be unzipped most of the trip to allow some cool air to invade my armpits.

It was just about 3:30 PM by the time I hit midtown and the main streets, and the streets were PACKED. 
This often happens about this time of day, and we are forced to assume it's because publick schools let out somewhere in there time - wise.
Traffic was backed up for almost 100 yards at the traffic light just north of McDonald's and it might have taken a long time to sneak into the queue without offending anyone or getting smacked by drivers jockeying for position.  BUT a kind soul spotted me and left a big gap right before my eyes, allowing me to cross the main street in front of him, straight into McDonald's big parking lot, which allowed easy re-entry when the line of cars actually began moving again.  Arrived at the Big Box Store unscathed.
I checked my blood sugar (BG) and found it was dropping precipitously and consumed some of my "emergency sweets" to get it back up where the docs tell me it belongs.
Which was a Good Thing since walking around Big Box fruitlessly searching for ordinary items seems more tiring to me than climbing hills in Grandma Gear on the Catrike .
Finally finding most of what I was after, I trundled for home.
I had started out thinking I'd take the outermost streets home to rack up the most miles, but since my BG was not surging AND it was getting close to 5:00 I took the straightest homeward bound streets.
Thank Goodness we are well past the Winter Solstice and darkness doesn't fall upon us at 4:30-ish.

Ride Started:  2:51 PM           Ride Ended:   4:22 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.5   Ending Battery Voltage:  13.0
Lowest Temp: 57 F Highest Temp: 64 F
Beginning Blood Glucose:  120   Ending BG: 102
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  6.47
Overall Average Speed      Moving Avg          Max Speed
  4.2 MPH                              6.4 MPH             27.6  MPH
Total Trip(s) Time              Moving Time        Stopped Time
 1 Hour 33 mins                  1 hour                 33 minutes

Sunday Driver

 Tuesday 25 Jan GPS Track

Thursday 27 Jan GPS Track

Saturday 29 Jan GPS Track

Sunday 30 Jan GPS Track

Spotty Weather makes for intermittent exercise.  At least that's my current excuse.
Today, Sunday morning dawned cold but milder than usual.  We stayed home from Church because we feared we had picked up at least a mild "bug" from somewhere and - in today's weird world - even though we didn't feel REALLY sick, we didn't want to chance anyone else getting whatever it is/was from us.
It's great, though.... In this "Modern" upside down weird world, we have the technology and ability to watch and listen to such meetings at home via Zoom.  So even though we weren't there, we got to enjoy the Spirit anyway.
I was not suffering any "symptoms" of anything, and as the day wore on and warmed up, I decided to drag out the Catrike and go for a ride.
I carefully randomly selected the route (Clouse Road) out to our local Mountain Grove International Airport.  It's been a while since I rode this road....
The weather was sunny and still cool enough that the snowbanks along the road had not completely disappeared.  

Should I feel guilty because the current arctic front terrorizing the East Coast is missing us for the time being?  I don't think so.

It was just cool enough to keep me from getting overheated;  that is, mostly.  On the way home I had to unzip my jacket to cool down a bit.  The slight breeze had been in my face on the way out and nearly non noticeable on the way back, thus allowing me to warm up a bit too much.

Sunday Ride Started:  2:27 PM           Ride Ended:   3.30 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.9   Ending Battery Voltage:  12.9
Lowest Temp: 39 F Highest Temp: 64 F
Beginning Blood Glucose:  140   Ending BG: 60
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  5.14
Overall Average Speed      Moving Avg          Max Speed
  7.9 MPH                              8.7 MPH             19.0  MPH
Total Trip(s) Time              Moving Time        Stopped Time
 39 minutes                          35 minutes             4  minutes

Outa Shape

My Ham GPS tracker was not working today, even after "repairing" it.  BAH

 After several days with bitterly cold weather, it was definitely time to get out and around on the Catrike.

I wanted to get going earlier than I usually do, but with various distractions it was 3:00 -ish PM by the time I saddled up.
It's been only a few days without riding, but I sure noticed a difference getting going.  I seemed to run out of steam earlier than I'm used to, and I'm no speed monkey at my advanced age in the first place.
So what, I just gear down earlier and longer and huff and puff, etc.
Of course my objective for an "excuse to ride" was our local Big Box Store for a few minor items.
I was looking for some 4 inch black stove pipe for our little garage wood burner.  Supposedly such a size of stovepipe is made and sold SOMEWHERE but evidently not in Mountain Grove.  First I tried the Hardware Store just north of the Big Box Store, since they usually have more of such stuff I often look for - even if a little higher in price.
After several fruitless minutes wandering around the store and asking sales help, I gave up and tode back the few hundred yards to the Big Box.
Why do the Big Box Stores have to move stuff around and rearrange - do customers buy more if they have to wander around??  I suppose I prove the point since I found NOTHING I was looking for, finally giving up to leave but buying a couple of nickle/dime items on the way out.  Had I been able to find anything actually on my list, I think they would have made more money from me.  I might have to swear off Big Boxes and just pay the higher prices at other places where I can actually find what I'm looking for.
When I staggered out of Big Box, I was feeling a bit punk and checked my blood sugar - it was crashing low at 47.  I've learned not to ignore such things nowadays, so I ate a couple of my emergency cookies.
I waited for a while before pedaling away, and Jacque called me - worried at the linked alerts she'd been getting on her smart devices.  I finally rode south across the Route 60 overpass and turned left at the Mickey D's exit.  Again feeling punk-ish, I pulled over in a wide spot in the pavement and checked my blood sugar again and it was again crashing, now at 40 with the pump bleeping and screaming at me.
I actually carry a little vial of white sugar for such "incidents", and consumed that as well, washing it down with my bottle water.  I sat there, impatiently waiting to see if / when my blood sugar would rise out of the danger zone.  Twenty or more minutes later, I finally was brave enough to again head for home.  The sun was still shining brightly, but by then it was starting to get cool again.  Motivating me to move along.
I stopped  again at our CHC Home Center, who also had no 4 inch black stovepipe in stock, so I went the remaining few blocks home.
Ending blood sugar was a bit low but acceptable.
When I got home I couldn't find our favorite Papillion doggy Tinkerbell.  She usually sleeps all day in her fluffy bed, but was nowhere to be found.
I finally spotted her:  Under the dining room table feverishly ripping through my Ziplock baggie of Jacques' Emergency Cookies.  Only a few crumbs left, rats.  I then realized I had stepped in a strange puddle of "unidentified water: on the floor.  Obviously I had arrived home too late to "walk the dogs".
SIGH.  Life in the Slow Lane

Ride Started:  3:15 PM           Ride Ended:   5:04 PM
Beginning Blood Glucose:  150   Ending BG: 102

Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  5.95
Overall Average Speed      Moving Avg          Max Speed
  5.9 MPH                              7.2 MPH             18.2  MPH
Total Trip(s) Time              Moving Time        Stopped Time
 21 minutes                          17 minutes             4  minutes

Around a Few Blocks

 Today's GPS Roundabouts

After spending most of the day on the road to West Plains and back, I was determined to get at least a short ride going.
Of course it was past 4 PM when I got going.  I had thought to do my usual 5+ mile ride but thought I shouldn't get so close to dark-thirty before getting home.  So I just rode a few blocks past a couple nearby friends' houses and made it home before dark.
I was surprised at the mildness of today's Mid January weather.  Just cool enough to wear a medium jacket.
While putting the trike back inside the garage, I noticed our emergency generators (again) that haven't been needed in months.  Nor have they even been started and tested.
SO.  I dragged THEM outside.  One 5 KW and one 500 Watt -- both Heart Attack Yank-the-Cord starter types.  The bigger machine took several yanks and several minutes, since it has both an electric run switch and a fuel shutoff valve, which I usually forget to open until I've done several fruitless pulls on the starter rope.  Finally it coughed to life, and after massaging the choke for a few minutes while it warmed up, I plugged in a power saw and it seemed to run just fine.
The little guy, which usually won't power much more than a soldering iron or a very light motor, was a different story.  Not only was it out of oil/gas fuel, but it was covered with dust from being ignored so long.
Even after putting in the  fuel, which also works in the chainsaw, it took many yanks to get it going.  Then it took an unusual amount of choking to get it warmed up, but finally it too performed as it should.

Ride Started:  4:18 PM           Ride Ended:   4.36 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.0   Ending Battery Voltage:  12.9
Lowest Temp: 53 F Highest Temp: 53 F
Beginning Blood Glucose:  160   Ending BG: 150
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  2.03
Overall Average Speed      Moving Avg          Max Speed
  5.9 MPH                              7.2 MPH             18.2  MPH
Total Trip(s) Time              Moving Time        Stopped Time
 21 minutes                          17 minutes             4  minutes

Playing Catch-up

4 Jan GPS Tracking  

5 Jan GPS Track   

8 Jan GPS Track 

 10 Jan GPS Track  

 12 Jan GPS Track

 13 Jan GPS Track

14 Jan Yesterday GPS Tracking 

I struggled to get all these "rides" listed without errors, for those few who have nothing better to do than watch an Old Fart's limited travels.
As seen, often the "ride" is rather short, sometimes even less than a mile.  Obviously such short trips SHOULD be done either on foot (ouch) or by trike/bike instead of burning gasoline at today's prices.
Our balmy Spring-like weather during the midst of winter have helped a lot.
As I type this morning we are receiving fairly heavy snowfall, though at 34 degrees air-temp and warm ground from the last several days, it mostly melts as it hits the ground.  So I doubt I'll drag the trike out of the garage this day.  BAH

This would be what I wore if I rode today         

 I had a slightly unusual treat on one of my rides around the perimeter of town.  Riding parallel to US 60 on the frontage road, I heard a  Semi Truck approaching on my left from the rear TOOT his air horn.  Looking over as he passed, I saw him giving me a big wave, which I happily returned.  Dunno if he's one of our local truckers who recognized me or just a passing nice guy, but I gotta take my thrills as they happen Ha Ha.
I admit again that I am not always "In the Mood" to drag the trike out and pedal it around, but I remain motivated by at least a couple things:

- I usually feel energized and better after a ride, short or long, even if I'm "tired" as well.
- My doctors comment on such stunts as "good for me", keeping up circulation etc.
- My diabetic blood glucose is always MUCH better and lower on days that I ride

I find that many of my relatives, friends, and compatriots are also riders and walker/runners, whether outside like my cousin Luwana Whitten or others on treadmills or stationary exercise machines.
We actually have devices to mount our trike(s) on a stationary set of rollers so we can exercise without going out in the weather.  I normally like to think I'm doing something useful like going to the store, visiting neighbors or friends, etc.
BUT weather like today's may motivate me to set up the stationary widgets... which will NOT motivate me to post any GPS tracks of it.  Whatever.

Yesterday's Typical 'statistics:

Ride Started: 1:39 PM           Ride Ended:  3:12 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.5   Ending Battery Voltage:  12.9
Lowest Temp: 46 F Highest Temp: 50 F
Beginning Blood Glucose:  160   Ending BG: 99
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  6.47
Overall Average Speed      Moving Avg          Max Speed
  4.4 MPH                              6.7 MPH            22.6  MPH
Total Trip(s) Time              Moving Time        Stopped Time
 1 hour 28 minutes              58 minutes             30  minutes