Testing, Testing

This is one of many errands the Catrike and Trailer have done wonderfully

It's been so long since I posted in this blog I'm not sure I remember how to do it.
I'm still alive and kicking, getting tired and sore most every day, but happy to still be useful.  I still ride the Catrike several times a week, and miss some days due to being "Too Busy".   I then typically develop a be funk, losing enthusiasm for pedaling the trike around.  The best way to defeat the blue funk is to drag the trike out and ride somewhere, of course.  Almost the best mood improvement available to me.

My lengthy gaps in posting to this blog involves the laptop being in the "radio room" (guest bedroom with radios in the window desk), where I spend precious little time.

Now I'm trying an old smaller laptop that is more manageable as a "laptop".
Again, Testing, Testing

Back Again:  Typing while listening to the Houston (MO) Ham Radio Nightly Net which started at 8:30 PM, about 14 minutes ago.
I didn't take a ride on my Catrike today but got hot and sticky running our Weed Whacker trying to keep the "Jungle" cut  away from the house, trees, and garden boxes out in the back yard.

Dragging (Cruisin') Main

23 Feb Tracking    24 Feb ShortTrip   26 Feb Track   29 Feb Airport Track   

4 March Tracking   5 March Track   9 March Track    14 Mar Track  

 16 March Track  18 Mar Test    19 March Track

Our weather, as usual, has been up and down day to day and often during each day.
One day requires insulated coveralls and boots, while another is too warm and results in unbuttoned shirt and ventilated shoes.
It has NOT warmed up to the point where I dare ride with open sandals yet.  Being March, I would usually think such temperatures would be weeks away.  But with this unusually warm AND cold late winter weather, who knows.

On 18 March, I saddled up for a ride.  As I tried to back the trike up to get pointed in the right direction,
the chain caught on something and locked up the works and I could not move.  Upon closer inspection, I saw the chain had caught the edge of the shifter guide bracket and not only was stuck in the bracket, but the chain link had BROKEN.  Wow, I was disappointed.  I remembered the last time, a few years ago (Thankfully) that I'd worked on a broken chain and I realized it wasn't going to be a quick fix.  I locked the trike back up and saved it "for later".
The Monday following, I got the car out of the drafty garage so I could have room to work.
It was bitter cold, so I built a fire in the little wood stove back against the garage wall.   It took a while for any heat to show up, and it only raised the temperature a few degrees above the outside temperature of 37 degrees more or less.  I waited a while and fed several more wood chunks into the stove before I dared get started.

With coveralls adorned, I poked around and found most of my bike / chain repair tools.  Using the chain breaker / clamp tool, I was able to remove the bloopered link(s).  It took a while to calculate a strategy to remove enough links to make sense, then figure out a way to get the proper amount of links reinstalled.  Trying to get the tiny link-pin back into place was fraught with fumbling finger trial and error and language unbecoming a Christian.  The link tool I had was very difficult since it did not accurately center on the pins, resulting in manually shifting it back and forth trying to get them perfectly centered through the links.  After  maybe an hour of fumbling around with cold fingers, interrupted by trips to the stove for more wood and at least one rest break with tired feet.... it finally worked.
Then I lubricated the chain, adjusted the shifting bracket, etc, etc. until it finally started shifting properly again.
I only had time by now to take a short test ride up the street, but all seemed to work OK.  The shifter felt quite different now, but does work through all the gear positions.

THEN I was able to take a decent ride the next day across town to our Big Box Store with bike trailer hauling a load of groceries home.

Happy me

Ride Started: 3:14 PM           Ride Ended:  4:56 PM 
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.0  Ending Battery Voltage:  12.8
Lowest Temp: 64 F                Highest Temp: 75 F
Beginning Blood Glucose:  180   Ending BG: 152
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  5.63
Overall Average Speed      Moving Avg       Max Speed
 3.3 MPH                              5.9 MPH            21.2 MPH
Total Trip(s) Time             Moving Time      Stopped Time
1 hour 43 minutes             57 minutes           46 minutes 

Out to the Airport and Back

 21 Feb 2024 Track via Ham Radio and APRS

I had been promising a friend to help set up his scanner and erect an outside antenna for some time.
I finally got off my butt and decided to get it done.
I initially surmised I could get it done with an hour or so of effort....
I wanted to use the trip as another excuse to ride the trike, so I hitched up the trike trailer.

Then I started gathering tools and materials for the project.
My friend already had a pole to erect, so all I had to do was gather....
-Mounting bracket and screws
-Antenna cable.  I have a large collection of various types and it took a while to find one I thought would be long enough.
-Connectors.  Again, this took a while to find several of the right type.
-Tools.  Trimming/cutting tool, pliers, crimpers, diagonal cutter (dikes), soldering iron, solder, cordless drill, drill bits
-Electrical Tape, Zip ties, steel hose clamps (useful for all sorts of needs)

And probably several other items I'm forgetting.
The distance covered was right about 3 miles each way, so that wasn't much of a problem.
Of course the "short project" took well over my guess of an hour or so, and my diabetical feet got quite sore by the time I was done.
By the time I got home I was tuckered out and took an early shower before bed.

Ride Started: 3:49 PM           Ride Ended:  4:59 PM 
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.0  Ending Battery Voltage:  12.9
Lowest Temp: 67 F                Highest Temp: 73 F
Beginning Blood Glucose:  190   Ending BG: 102
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  6.55
Overall Average Speed      Moving Avg       Max Speed
 2.4 MPH                              6.5 MPH            17.5 MPH
Total Trip(s) Time             Moving Time      Stopped Time
 2 hours 43 minutes             1 hour             1 hour 43 minutes

Blood, Sweat, and COVID?

 23 Jan TrikeTrack

24 Jan TrikeTrack

26 Jan 2024 TrikeTrak 

29 Jan 2024 TrikeTrak

30 Jan 2024 TrikeTrak 

8 Feb 2024 TrikeTrak (shortie)

13 Feb 2024 TrikeTrak 

14 Feb 2024 TrikeTrak

17 Feb 2024 ShortTrak 

19 Feb 2024 TrikeTrak

 20 Feb GPS Trike Track 

Weather here in Missouri has been up and down "Kinda like a Toilet Seat" these last few weeks,
and Jacque contracted Covid about 2 weeks ago, with me following closely in her footsteps.
For some reason this has worked against outdoor activity and I'm sure I gained 10 pounds or so from relative lack of exercise.
Now the last couple days  have been very lovely weather wise and I've enjoyed both triking and splitting huge chunks of oak into stove size firewood.  Triking is wonderful aerobic activity overall and swinging the heavy log splitter maul is definitely upper torso exercise.  Of course after only a few minutes of swinging the maul I have to stop, catch my breath, and rest my sore feet for at least a few minutes, usually resting longer than my short work periods.

                                     The monster oak before cutdown

 

                                       

What's left of this monster oak tree is about 48" diameter and 60" length.
I've burned up a chainsaw chain and chain bar so far on it.  Tough Stuff

Today's pedaling datum:

Ride Started: 3:49 PM           Ride Ended:  4:54 PM 
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.0  Ending Battery Voltage:  12.9
Lowest Temp: 63 F                Highest Temp: 70 F
Beginning Blood Glucose:  180   Ending BG: 92
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  6.06
Overall Average Speed      Moving Avg       Max Speed
 5.5 MPH                              7.5 MPH            22.2 MPH
Total Trip(s) Time             Moving Time      Stopped Time
 1 hour 5 minutes               49 minutes           17 minutes

Bitter Cold. I do Care

 8 Dec 2023

13 Dec 2023

20 Dec 2023 

21 Dec 2023

23 Dec 2023 

27 Dec 2023

28 Dec 2023 

29 Dec 2023

30 Dec 2023 

2 Jan 2024

10 Jan 2024 

18 Jan 2024

19 Jan 2024 

WHEW.  The listing above of my various GPS tracks  since early December betray my laxness in keeping up with my online ravings.
Up until the last couple of weeks, the weather had been rather mild, allowing me to wander about on my
Catrike unmolested.
Since then, increasingly bitter weather has hampered my efforts and enthusiasm.  Several other short term attempts happened as well but weren't worth bothering to mention.
An example is the last link labeled 19 Jan 2024.  That particular attempt occurred when I got tired of feeling trapped in the house due to lousy cold windy weather.  I layered up (padded vest, insulated coveralls, wool skull cap, snow boots, mittens, etc) and gleefully but slowly pedaled the trike out of the yard and into the street.  As I power shifted to a higher gear to attain proper cruising speed, I realized, sadly, that my gear shifter was solidly frozen in place and refused to budge, so I was stuck in 2nd gear, much too low a gear for actually making progress.
I stopped to fiddle with the cable.  It felt like solid steel, instead of flexible cable, and could not be manipulated or freed.  About this time a bit of colder air struck me and I wimped out, gave up, turned around and went home.
As usual, being unable to get out and ride around for enjoyable exercise has me thinking about building a rack where I could pedal without moving, safely inside garage or house, being motivated by hitching a generator to the drive wheel of a bike or trike.  We already have a set of exercise rollers whereby we can block the front wheels of the trike, place the rear drive wheel on the rollers, and pedal fiercely against the roller friction without going anywhere but getting the blood warmed up anyway.My problem is, of course, being motivated or enthusiastic enough to set it up and go for it.  Just burning energy fruitlessly goes against my weird principles, even though it would supposedly help me burn blood glucose and keep the flabby muscles moving.
Also, when the weather warms and I surely have time to scrounge the parts and set up such a system....
I tend to forget about such things and take off for another ride to the Post Office or the local Big Box Store.  Sigh

Bitter Cold? Who Cares?

7 December 2023, Thursday

 Today's GPS / Ham Radio Track 

Yesterday's GPS Track 

Tuesday Tracking 

Local weather is UP and Down with varying temperatures and wind speeds.
I guess  weather is spotty everywhere.  We watch closely for the expert forecasts which sometimes come in close, but usually it doesn't quite turn out that way.
My tendency is to ride the trike, somewhere, hot or cold, with a couple exceptions:
Rain or Ice.
Light misty rain doesn't deter me much, nor snow.  Real rainfall and ice I try to avoid, for obvious reasons.
It's been dipping low temperature wise recently, helping me dress a bit more warmly.  I have however learned not to dress TOO warmly because even on the coldest days, pedaling warms me up. 
My legs seldom get over - cold.
My feet DO get cold, and often.  No matter what I wear.  Pedaling tries to keep 'em warm.
My face and ears do get cold so I often wear a skull cap Jacque sewed for me, and if it gets really cold, I add a face mask.
My hands and fingers wear work mittens when cold, the kind with flaps that can be opened to expose the thumb and fingers when needed for turning knobs, punching buttons, etc.
My upper body is the trickiest.  To be moderately comfy I have learned to wear light layers, usually no more than two outside my shirt.  It doesn't usually take much pedaling to get warm up around the neck and chest, and if the warmth is ignored too long, perspiration results, which if ignored at all quickly results in increased COLD because of the sweaty moisture, even inside clothing.
These last couple days have been bitterly cold, with the light layers allowing a bit too much coolness, especially with wind gusting.  But Hey, if I don't get out there, I get to feeling even more sluggish.  Which at my age is not a welcome sensation.
So I try to ride, a little or a lot.
I have continued to get a ride in at least 3-4 times each week, and often ride with Jacque and the pooches in the tandem Terratrike on Sunday after Church.
I definitely am no sooperman, but I do feel better and more alert and productive after a trike ride.  Especially after a nap.....

Ride Started: 11:02 AM           Ride Ended:  12:34 PM 
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.5  Ending Battery Voltage:  12.7 (rode with a solar panel today)
Lowest Temp: 52 F Highest Temp: 60 F
Beginning Blood Glucose:  270   Ending BG: 90
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  5.71
Overall Average Speed      Moving Avg       Max Speed
 3.7 MPH                              5.9 MPH            26.4 MPH
Total Trip(s) Time             Moving Time      Stopped Time
 1 hour 33 minutes            58 minutes           35 minutes

Slow Catch-Up

 16 Oct GPS Track

17 Oct Tues GPS Track

18 Oct Wed GPS Track 

19 Oct GPS Thurs Track  

20 Oct Fri GPS TrikeTrack

23 Oct Monday GPS Tracking 

26 Oct Thurs GPS Track

27 Oct Fri GPS..... 

30 Oct Monday GPS Tracking

3 Nov GPS Track NOT 

4 Nov Sat GPS TrackNot

5 Nov Sunday Round-the-Square 

6 Nov Monday GPS Track

8 Nov Wed GPS working again 

9 Nov Thurs GPS / Ham Radio Track

10 Nov Friday Battery Trouble 

11 Nov Saturday GPS failure

13 Nov Monday GPS Track 

Just trying to show I'm still kicking ...... the pedals round and around.
Much more faithful riding & exercising than blogging.

 

Busting up this monster oak tree has sucked up too much of  my time...