Possibly the Absolute Last APRS Track of this Route
Well, I was happy to arrive at work half an hour earlier than normal this morning. As I entered the door and looked at the clock I thought to myself "Good, I get to leave earlier today. How much earlier I was yet to discover. I was met by a manager and ushered into an office and terminated. Let go, not killed, or I of course wouldn't be writing about it. More details.... much later.
I had ridden the bike to work and had to mount up and ride right back to the car to come back and pick up my junk cleaned out from my desk. More details.... much later.
I should be able to take much lengthier bike rides now. More later....
Morning Pre-Ride BG: 186 Post-Ride BG: 92
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.7 Ending Voltage: 12.5
Start-Ride Temperature: 26 degrees F Arrival Temperature: 51 F
Morning Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 14.88
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
09.0 Mph 10.3 mph 21.4 mph
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 38 mins 1 hour 26 mins 12 mins 42 secs
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
23 and Counting
Today's Below-Freezing Tide Path
I wore 2 pair of socks today, inside pair wool, outside pair cotton, for the ride today. The feets still got a bit cold but they didn't get numb and painful as they have all last week and yesterday (Monday).
It's frustrating to ride the bike with heavy ski mittens on, since I like to play with the GPS and radio settings while cruising. With the big-big mittens, all I can do is change channels on the ham radio. Even that is fraught with danger since I cannot feel the detents while turning the knob and I often wind up on a channel with nobody to talk to, not my intent at all. But trying to ride with lighter gloves, or my gun-mittens that allow the mitten shell to be folded back so the fingers can work small devices like radio knobs, results in great pain and suffering in the pinkies. At night everything's at least 10 degrees warmer, even after dark, so I'm usually able to wear good snug bike-gloves or even the gun-trigger-mittens on the way back to the car.
I didn't at first realize how much colder it was until I looked at my APRS-track after I arrived at work. The temperature sensor is in the back-of-the-seat bag which protects it somewhat from temperature extremes since my body at least partially blocks the wind, usually reporting several degrees warmer than what I think it must have been. I did a double-take when noticing the starting temperature of 23 degrees today. The sun was already up in the sky when I started out, though it was still shady when I started out on the bike.
Morning Pre-Ride BG: 145 Post-Ride BG: 72
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.4 Ending Voltage: 12.3
Start-Ride Temperature: 23 degrees F Arrival Temperature: 37 F
Morning Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 7.44
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
09.3 Mph 10.6 mph 20.8 mph
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
47 mins 59 secs 42 mins 12 secs 5 mins 47 secs
I wore 2 pair of socks today, inside pair wool, outside pair cotton, for the ride today. The feets still got a bit cold but they didn't get numb and painful as they have all last week and yesterday (Monday).
It's frustrating to ride the bike with heavy ski mittens on, since I like to play with the GPS and radio settings while cruising. With the big-big mittens, all I can do is change channels on the ham radio. Even that is fraught with danger since I cannot feel the detents while turning the knob and I often wind up on a channel with nobody to talk to, not my intent at all. But trying to ride with lighter gloves, or my gun-mittens that allow the mitten shell to be folded back so the fingers can work small devices like radio knobs, results in great pain and suffering in the pinkies. At night everything's at least 10 degrees warmer, even after dark, so I'm usually able to wear good snug bike-gloves or even the gun-trigger-mittens on the way back to the car.
I didn't at first realize how much colder it was until I looked at my APRS-track after I arrived at work. The temperature sensor is in the back-of-the-seat bag which protects it somewhat from temperature extremes since my body at least partially blocks the wind, usually reporting several degrees warmer than what I think it must have been. I did a double-take when noticing the starting temperature of 23 degrees today. The sun was already up in the sky when I started out, though it was still shady when I started out on the bike.
Morning Pre-Ride BG: 145 Post-Ride BG: 72
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.4 Ending Voltage: 12.3
Start-Ride Temperature: 23 degrees F Arrival Temperature: 37 F
Morning Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 7.44
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
09.3 Mph 10.6 mph 20.8 mph
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
47 mins 59 secs 42 mins 12 secs 5 mins 47 secs
Monday, January 9, 2012
Beautiful Biking Weather
Today's 12-mile one-way track via APRS/GPS
My radio/gps tracker seemed to be sending a bit too many positions, so I took the unit out of the bike's seat to re-configure the beacon settings. As a result, it worked NOT AT ALL for the trip back to the car this evening: I had turned the radio off so it wouldn't damage itself transmitting without an antenna while reprogramming the computerized beacon, and forgot to turn it back on when I put it back on the bike. Sigh. BAH
The weather was fairly cold, again, but still beautiful for riding. There was a storm forecast for yesterday and this morning but it failed to materialize so no snow or ice was encountered. Friday and today I rode a bit farther than I have been recently: About 12 miles instead of 7-ish, and it turns out my feet get TOO NUMB riding that far in these temperatures. I will begin wearing 2 pairs of socks henceforth until the weather warms up maybe another 10 degrees. Last winter I was wearing 2 sets of socks and had forgotten. Nothing like painful numb cold feet to help your memory bank.....
Morning Pre-Ride BG: 138 Post-Ride BG: 56, ate oatmeal choc-bar
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.6 Ending Voltage: 12.6 (Why it's a tenth of a volt higher than this morning is a mystery)
Start-Ride Temperature: 33 degrees F Arrival Temperature: 41 F
Morning Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 11.79
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
11.0 Mph 12.0 mph 23.8 mph
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
56 mins 59 secs 44 mins 19 secs 12 mins 40 secs
My radio/gps tracker seemed to be sending a bit too many positions, so I took the unit out of the bike's seat to re-configure the beacon settings. As a result, it worked NOT AT ALL for the trip back to the car this evening: I had turned the radio off so it wouldn't damage itself transmitting without an antenna while reprogramming the computerized beacon, and forgot to turn it back on when I put it back on the bike. Sigh. BAH
The weather was fairly cold, again, but still beautiful for riding. There was a storm forecast for yesterday and this morning but it failed to materialize so no snow or ice was encountered. Friday and today I rode a bit farther than I have been recently: About 12 miles instead of 7-ish, and it turns out my feet get TOO NUMB riding that far in these temperatures. I will begin wearing 2 pairs of socks henceforth until the weather warms up maybe another 10 degrees. Last winter I was wearing 2 sets of socks and had forgotten. Nothing like painful numb cold feet to help your memory bank.....
Morning Pre-Ride BG: 138 Post-Ride BG: 56, ate oatmeal choc-bar
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.6 Ending Voltage: 12.6 (Why it's a tenth of a volt higher than this morning is a mystery)
Start-Ride Temperature: 33 degrees F Arrival Temperature: 41 F
Morning Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 11.79
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
11.0 Mph 12.0 mph 23.8 mph
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
56 mins 59 secs 44 mins 19 secs 12 mins 40 secs
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Hey, I Actually Passed Somebody
Thursday Track via APRS / GPS
.... And it wasn't an old lady in a wheelchair, either, or even a passed-out drunk.
OK, yeah, it WAS a female, on a bike, and she was younger than I. O'Course, EVERYBODY is younger than I am. She was probably like me, a bit stiff and slow from just starting to ride again after the holidays.
My Sealed Lead Acid (SLA) battery is getting low and I forgot to charge it last night, so I started to connect to my smaller-capacity AA NiMH backup pack - I was shocked to find the battery cable and connector had disappeared. Probably snagged on something or vibrated itself to death banging around in my pannier on the back of the bike. Nothing lasts forever on a bike, including me, unfortunately. I carry such spare parts around with me, being an electronics geek and all, so I was able to construct another cable and PowerPole connector for it during my noon hour, before my 2-mile noon constitutional walk..
I haven't gotten any decent videos lately from my mini-cam, even on the days when I remember to stick it into my glove and turn it on. Very awkward dealing with anything like that with big ski mittens on: I can barely grip the handlebars and twist shifters. So when my co-worker Bert asked if he could borrow the silly mini-cam to try skydiving with it, I said sure, why not. Surely screaming towards the earth after jumping out of a perfectly good airplane will result in a more interesting video than just wobbling along on a paved bicycle path at 8 miles per hour. If Bert lives through his jumps and brings any video back I'll be sure to post some of it.
Pre-Ride BG: 106 -- BG when arrived at Work: 66
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.2 Ending Voltage: 12.2
Beginning Temperature: 30 F (in ABQ) Ending Temperature: 40 F
Morning Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 7.41
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
9.8 Mph 10.8 mph 19.9 mph
Total Time 45:00 mins Moving Time 40:59 mins Stopped Time: 4:01
.... And it wasn't an old lady in a wheelchair, either, or even a passed-out drunk.
OK, yeah, it WAS a female, on a bike, and she was younger than I. O'Course, EVERYBODY is younger than I am. She was probably like me, a bit stiff and slow from just starting to ride again after the holidays.
My Sealed Lead Acid (SLA) battery is getting low and I forgot to charge it last night, so I started to connect to my smaller-capacity AA NiMH backup pack - I was shocked to find the battery cable and connector had disappeared. Probably snagged on something or vibrated itself to death banging around in my pannier on the back of the bike. Nothing lasts forever on a bike, including me, unfortunately. I carry such spare parts around with me, being an electronics geek and all, so I was able to construct another cable and PowerPole connector for it during my noon hour, before my 2-mile noon constitutional walk..
I haven't gotten any decent videos lately from my mini-cam, even on the days when I remember to stick it into my glove and turn it on. Very awkward dealing with anything like that with big ski mittens on: I can barely grip the handlebars and twist shifters. So when my co-worker Bert asked if he could borrow the silly mini-cam to try skydiving with it, I said sure, why not. Surely screaming towards the earth after jumping out of a perfectly good airplane will result in a more interesting video than just wobbling along on a paved bicycle path at 8 miles per hour. If Bert lives through his jumps and brings any video back I'll be sure to post some of it.
Pre-Ride BG: 106 -- BG when arrived at Work: 66
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.2 Ending Voltage: 12.2
Beginning Temperature: 30 F (in ABQ) Ending Temperature: 40 F
Morning Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 7.41
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
9.8 Mph 10.8 mph 19.9 mph
Total Time 45:00 mins Moving Time 40:59 mins Stopped Time: 4:01
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Stretching Wimpy Legs
Wednesday APRS/GPS track
Today I was running later than normal. I don't enjoy getting to work 10-15 minutes late, so I need to get with the program in the mornings.... or start getting up a half hour earlier like I did when daylight savings time expired.
(Sigh) - I like my warm snuggly bed, especially so at the time the alarm goes off and unceremoniously forces me out of bed at 5:15 AM. I can rarely get to bed earlier than 10 or 10:40 PM, which makes for a short night's nap. Thus the reluctance to get up at, say, 4:30 or 4:40 AM in order to get off to work even earlier.
The morning temperatures have warmed up since the frigid Christmas holidays, but it still feels COLD out thar.
Once I get a mile or tow into my 7-mile commute I warm up a bit, but then the armpits start to get overheated, then moist, then cold as the wind creeps in. Part of me is overheated and part of me never gets truly warm.
I wear my ski mask to keep my face from freezing even uglier, and there I really get hot toward the last part of the ride and have to rip it off and carry it flapping in the breeze the last mile or two.
Pre-Ride BG: 166 -- BG when arrived at Work: 103
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.5 Ending Voltage: 12.4
Beginning Temperature: 41 F (in ABQ) Ending Temperature: 51 F
Morning Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 7.39
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
9.8 Mph 10.8 mph 19.9 mph
Total Time 45:00 mins Moving Time 40:59 mins Stopped Time: 4:01
Today I was running later than normal. I don't enjoy getting to work 10-15 minutes late, so I need to get with the program in the mornings.... or start getting up a half hour earlier like I did when daylight savings time expired.
(Sigh) - I like my warm snuggly bed, especially so at the time the alarm goes off and unceremoniously forces me out of bed at 5:15 AM. I can rarely get to bed earlier than 10 or 10:40 PM, which makes for a short night's nap. Thus the reluctance to get up at, say, 4:30 or 4:40 AM in order to get off to work even earlier.
The morning temperatures have warmed up since the frigid Christmas holidays, but it still feels COLD out thar.
Once I get a mile or tow into my 7-mile commute I warm up a bit, but then the armpits start to get overheated, then moist, then cold as the wind creeps in. Part of me is overheated and part of me never gets truly warm.
I wear my ski mask to keep my face from freezing even uglier, and there I really get hot toward the last part of the ride and have to rip it off and carry it flapping in the breeze the last mile or two.
Pre-Ride BG: 166 -- BG when arrived at Work: 103
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.5 Ending Voltage: 12.4
Beginning Temperature: 41 F (in ABQ) Ending Temperature: 51 F
Morning Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 7.39
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
9.8 Mph 10.8 mph 19.9 mph
Total Time 45:00 mins Moving Time 40:59 mins Stopped Time: 4:01
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Out of Sight, Out of Mind, Out of Shape
Tonight's Low-Battery Partial Track
It was, again, cold and clear today. People often comment to me about being "so persistent" by riding year round, but I think they fail to realize just how many other all-weather cyclists are out there more faithfully than I am.
23 December, for instance, I drove all the way to work because of ugly weather warnings. The morning was decent enough to have ridden the bike, but by noon the snow had started falling and the WIND was gale-force howling nasty-bad,. and driving across Albuquerque after work trying to get home was a struggle, with the horrible winds literally blowing me sideways with huge gusts and freezing snow blowing blizzard-fashion. Yet I passed at least 3 or 4 cyclists coming up Tramway, uphill, in that horrible weather. I NEVER ride but what I pass several other cyclists, no matter how cold or dark it might be. I'm impressed by them and try to emulate them... at least in their passion for bike-riding.
I was dismayed this morning to find my super-bright flashing red tail light was gone:
Evidently fallen off somewhere. I ordered 2 more from Amazon - I really like the bright attention-getter light back there.
Then, tonight, as I started across the intersection of Alameda and Jefferson, something fell out of my leg pocket with a thunk and landed out in the MIDDLE of the intersection, with all kinds of heavy traffic in all directions. I disgustedly pulled to the side of the street once I got through the intersection. I thought it must have been a new pocketbook novel (I just bought and started reading) but when I walked back to the intersection and looked, it was only one of my cheap plastic water bottles. I had walked out of work with it in my side leg pocket, intending to insert it into the bottle bracket on the bike, and instead had ridden off and up to the intersection with it still in my leg pocket. I started to dodge into the intersection to retrieve the bottle of water, but suddenly thought how cheap it was; I haven't been using it for drinking while riding since the cold weather started, so could obviously make it back to the car without it. Plus, if a car hit it or ran over it, it would merely pop and spray water onto the car and pavement - worst case. So, I let it lie and went back to the bike and rode off bottle-less. Good riddance. I refill the bottles after Jacque buys them and empties them of their tasteless store bought water and "only" have 40 or so of them.... so I can find another one to stick on the bike rather easily.
I was also dismayed at how weak and slow I got over the last couple weeks , eating Christmas goodies without riding. The only exercise I've been getting is chopping and hauling firewood, with little leg exercise - and I certainly noticed it today along with the increased stiffness of sore muscles when I got to work.
It was, again, cold and clear today. People often comment to me about being "so persistent" by riding year round, but I think they fail to realize just how many other all-weather cyclists are out there more faithfully than I am.
23 December, for instance, I drove all the way to work because of ugly weather warnings. The morning was decent enough to have ridden the bike, but by noon the snow had started falling and the WIND was gale-force howling nasty-bad,. and driving across Albuquerque after work trying to get home was a struggle, with the horrible winds literally blowing me sideways with huge gusts and freezing snow blowing blizzard-fashion. Yet I passed at least 3 or 4 cyclists coming up Tramway, uphill, in that horrible weather. I NEVER ride but what I pass several other cyclists, no matter how cold or dark it might be. I'm impressed by them and try to emulate them... at least in their passion for bike-riding.
I was dismayed this morning to find my super-bright flashing red tail light was gone:
Evidently fallen off somewhere. I ordered 2 more from Amazon - I really like the bright attention-getter light back there.
Then, tonight, as I started across the intersection of Alameda and Jefferson, something fell out of my leg pocket with a thunk and landed out in the MIDDLE of the intersection, with all kinds of heavy traffic in all directions. I disgustedly pulled to the side of the street once I got through the intersection. I thought it must have been a new pocketbook novel (I just bought and started reading) but when I walked back to the intersection and looked, it was only one of my cheap plastic water bottles. I had walked out of work with it in my side leg pocket, intending to insert it into the bottle bracket on the bike, and instead had ridden off and up to the intersection with it still in my leg pocket. I started to dodge into the intersection to retrieve the bottle of water, but suddenly thought how cheap it was; I haven't been using it for drinking while riding since the cold weather started, so could obviously make it back to the car without it. Plus, if a car hit it or ran over it, it would merely pop and spray water onto the car and pavement - worst case. So, I let it lie and went back to the bike and rode off bottle-less. Good riddance. I refill the bottles after Jacque buys them and empties them of their tasteless store bought water and "only" have 40 or so of them.... so I can find another one to stick on the bike rather easily.
I was also dismayed at how weak and slow I got over the last couple weeks , eating Christmas goodies without riding. The only exercise I've been getting is chopping and hauling firewood, with little leg exercise - and I certainly noticed it today along with the increased stiffness of sore muscles when I got to work.
Monday, January 2, 2012
New Year 2012 Shakedown Ride
Our track along the Bosque Trail todayWe did not do a bike-trek on Saturday but instead did a ride today. The temperature was a bit colder than we anticipated but the weather was clear and sunny. We only rode a little over 6 miles (3-something out and back) but it was great to get out and ride.
Lots of other cyclists, walkers, and runners shared the trail with us today.
Weather is forecast to continue warm and dry for the next several days; hope to be able to do the commute-ride to work and back all week.
Lots of other cyclists, walkers, and runners shared the trail with us today.
Weather is forecast to continue warm and dry for the next several days; hope to be able to do the commute-ride to work and back all week.
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