Smokin' Saturday

Partial Tracking Today, with Broken Antenna

Water / Snack Break along Olde Rt 66

Jacque's had trouble the last couple days with a hurting stiff neck, so she wasn't up for a trike ride today.  I wasted all morning until right after noon when I suggested a ride to Edgewood to pick up a check Jacque was expecting.  Jacque suggested I just go by myself, which I promptly (?) did.
Even so late in this sunny day, the weather was comfortable and didn't seem at all overly hot as it has been much of the earlier part of the week.  (After looking at the logged temps, it must have been much less humid today.  It was quite nice in spite of elevated temperatures.)
When I got to Edgewood, it clouded up a bit and really cooled off as it began to sprinkle on me just as I was leaving town.  I looked up at the dark cloud overhead and decided to just ride through it instead of seeking shelter, and it paid off.  It only sprinkled lightly and cool on me for a few miles and then cleared off again, with renewed sunshine but seemingly moderate temperatures.  PERFECT day for riding.
On the outbound leg toward Edgewood, I decided to cut across Sedillo Hill Road and ride Olde Route 66 on into the village center.
Olde 66 has very spotty conditions, from smooth pavement with wide shoulder to crumbling pavement with NO shoulder at all.  The saving grace is the supposedly lower traffic on the old Mother Road, but on this weekend it seemed awfully crowded, with lots of thoughtless drivers who evidently have never ridden a bike on a public road:  Many crowded past me with barely any clearance at all, severely straining my so-called Christian Attitude and pure language habits.
This is not a widely read journal, but I offer unsolicited advice for any dear readers who may be unfamiliar with biking alongside cars - most of which have NO idea most US laws state cyclists have as much right - and right-of-way - on public roads as do Dinosaur-powered vehicles:  (Even on Interstates in some areas where there are no available secondary roads)

- Keep your eyes on the road and WATCH for pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcycles.  A couple seconds of not watching the road can mean severe injury or death for someone you had no intent of encountering, much less butchering.
- If the oncoming lane is clear, feel free to pass the cyclist, giving as much clearance as you possibly can.  Preferably, pass the cyclist with a FULL LANE of clearance between you and him, even if it means pulling out in the oncoming lane.  I'm amazed at how many motorists refuse to give such clearance, even when there's no other traffic and/or when the motorist has TWO LANES to choose from.
-If you cannot pass the cyclist with at least FIVE FEET (the law in most of NM) just slow down and WAIT until the oncoming traffic is clear and you can pass the cyclist safely.  Even if he's wobbling along inside the shoulder / bike lane, you are legally and morally required to give him at least 5 feet of clearance, and on most roads that means NO passing of cyclists until you have clearance to take the OTHER lane.
Yes, it will slow you down and cost you some time.... maybe as much as 30 seconds sometimes.  That's really not a bad price to pay to avoid the adrenaline-fueled response a cyclist experiences when he feels his life is threatened.  Or the several deaths suffered each year in most areas.
-Before you criticize cyclists and their many shortcomings and "bad behavior", try riding a bike YOURSELF in the same area a few days.
If I was running the country I'd require applicants for a driver's license to ride a bike for a week or so before being qualified to drive.
-Lastly, imagine the poor sap on the bicycle is one of your dear loved ones or even YOU.  It could help the attitudes on both sides.
/Rant OFF/

Water / Snack Break at the Unmanned County Line Road Fire Station

Beginning Battery Voltage:  13.0        Ending Voltage: 12.9
Lowest Temp  84 F      Highest Temp:  100.1 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  25.97
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
  6.1 MPH                                 8.9 MPH                    33.1 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
4 hours 14 minutes                2 hours 55 mins          1 hour 19 mins

Friday Frying

Today's Track Plot
Just another short but stiff run to the Post Office and Official Treat Stop (AKA Shell Station) today.
We got started after noon, but since we missed yesterday, we were anxious to ride, and Jacque spotted some distant clouds that she though promising, and sure enough, they did provide at least partial shading, but no moisture, as we huffed and puffed up the road.
Yesterday I removed a link from the front chain of the tandem recumbent Terratrike since the idler gear was not keeping it tight enough to keep from rubbing itself as it threaded around Jacque's crankset under my seat.  Then, noticing the relative dryness of both front and rear chains, I took my 30W oil can and carefully lubed each and every link-joint.... which takes a LOOONG time with 136+ links in each chain.  Then I wiped both chains as best I could to reduce the dripping slinging sludge that bike chains radiate when oiled.
What a difference it made for our ride today!  The chains and gears have been growling and noisy for weeks and today it was mostly silence and smoothness from the undercarriage.  Sweet.  Maybe the chains will last a few months longer now as well.
Just across the street from the Shell Station we noticed a new sign for a business going in the high-rent rapid-turnover A-frame building that's been vacant the last couple years:  "Twist & Turn".
The name gave no hint of the impending business activity, but today as we rode the bicycle trail, a pickup passed us with the same sign on it's door, but this sign had the addendum "Twist and Turn -- Ice Cream".  We both shouted aloud for joy:  "WOW!!"
The closest "Ice Cream Shoppe" is Dairy Queen, a rather run down facility in Edgewood, 10 miles away.  We drove by the business later and asked the lady standing outside when they planned to open for business and she told us hopefully in 2 weeks or less.  We think this will be a winning business and hope they live long and prosper.
Ice Cream Sandwiches out of the Shell Station Freezer are OK, after all, but real soft ice cream with chocolate and other coatings and.....
We plan to be first in line.
The 2 doggie travel companions, Tinkerbell and Jazmine, are even bigger hits with their adoring fans everywhere.  Even more than Tinkerbell, who was an attention getter in her own right.  They both patiently endured petting and spoiling from total strangers as well as the sweet baby talk that results when humans interact with cute tiny pooches.
Thought I might include some pics of Jacque's Catrike hanging on its new storage-mount:

Trike hanging on Deck Wall

Rear Wheel Wall Hanger (from Terratrike)

Beginning Battery Voltage:  13.0        Ending Voltage: 13.0 (LOVE this new LiFePO4 battery! - Hasn't been charged in a couple weeks)
Lowest Temp  77 F      Highest Temp:  86 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  4.28
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
  3.6 MPH                                 6.7 MPH                    27.2 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
 1 hour 12 minutes                 38 mins 29 secs          33 mins 31 secs

Wobbly Wednesday Wandering

Today's Tracking to a "Tee"

(This picture is actually from our July 4 ride in the short Independence Day Parade in White Rock, suburb of Los Alamos where our son Jimmy and family live)

We got rolling on the trike today an hour earlier than yesterday, and decided to ride a loop starting down Gutierrez Canyon Road and thence on to Olde Route 66 over to Tijeras.  But it was so HOT today.
No breeze, and just sunny and hot.  Climbing the hill up Riders Road to where it becomes Gutierrez Canyon Road was long and we took several breathing and water breaks.  When we finally got to the supposedly "last climb" before mostly descent down to Olde 66, we talked it over and I suggested we turn around instead since it was so hot.  Jacque was not difficult to convince.  The ride back was wonderful, coasting all that way with the resultant breeze in our faces, AND setting a new land speed record.  For us.  On this trike.  It's a wonder the high speed wind didn't burn us up on re-entry.  I mean, like, 32 Miles Per Hour, Dudes....
Onward and Upward.  When we got back to Frost Road we had recovered our wind and coolness sufficiently that we decided to turn west instead of east and climb ANOTHER long hill... to the Post Office.  Which actually made for a fairly nice energizing ride.
After getting the mail we arrived at the beloved Shell Station for our hot-weather treats and enjoyed visiting with several OTHER cyclists stopped for refreshments.
Beginning Battery Voltage:  13.1        Ending Voltage: 13.0
Lowest Temp  77 F      Highest Temp:  86 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  7.89
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
  3.6 MPH                                 6.2 MPH                    32.7 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
 2 hours 12 minutes               1 hour 15 mins           56 mins 6 secs

Tiny Tuesday Trike Trip

Today's Usual Short Tracking Path via GPS and Ham Radio
We had a package to retrieve at One Stop Office  in Tijeras and I thought it to be a great idea to ride the trike down there, about 10 miles each way with lots of hills to climb.... a great workout.
Unfortunately, by the time I got the trike's tires aired up, trike and accessories loaded, dressed like a goon for the ride, etc, it was already 10 AM and HOT.  With no cloud cover and no breeze.  A BEAUTIFUL day to ride.... but it was already hot and the ten miles would take us over an hour to ride and it would be after noon before we could even THINK of returning.  So I wimped out and suggested we just do our usual mail-run short ride out-and-back and Jacque agreed.  To do a 4-hour (or more) ride in such weather we need to get going REALLY early while it's still cool and thus able to get turned around for the return ride before the afternoon heat kicks in.
It's a short ride, less than 5 miles round trip, but that climb going west is really a kick in the face:  Slow speeds, Grandma gears, and lots of aerobic huffing and puffing.  Coming back we get a bit of aerobic work too but lots of fun high speed coasting too.
This was the first Tandem Trike Trip for the 2 doggies Tinkerbell and Jazzy.  They were doing fine until we heard a screeching fit behind us and Jacque found the new pup Jazzy just snarling and biting and throwing a fit with Tink.  Tink was NOT fighting back for some reason, and Jacque wound up giving Jazzy some "physical punishment" before she would stop bullying her older (and we thought MEANER) sister.  After that little "attitude adjustment" she seemed to calm down and do fine for the rest of the ride.
We had to make at least 3 stops in this short trip for water breaks.  And, of course, we had to do something about the Ice Cream Sandwich calling my name from the Shell Station.  The two  girlie pups attracted all the attention while we were there and it was difficult to get them away from their admiring fans so we could go home.
Beginning Battery Voltage:  13.0        Ending Voltage: 12.9
Lowest Temp  77 F      Highest Temp:  86 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  4.14
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
  3.0 MPH                                 6.4 MPH                    29.6 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
  1 hour 22 minutes                39 minutes 2 secs       43 mins 55 secs

Friday First Ride of the Week

I have been busy all week, too busy to exercise, ride the bike/trike, and stay healthy.
This morning I was busy, as usual, this time loading all the trash bags from the cans outside to the trash trailer for a trip to the transfer station, known in former times as "The Dump".
Meanwhilst, Jacque dug out her nigh-unused Catrike and refitted it with a basket big enough for the 2 little doggies, Tink and Jazzy.
She decided while I was going to the Transfer Station in the Petro-Burner (Ford Explorer) she would ride her trike with the doggies to the Post Office. 
Well.
"I" need exercise as much or more than anybody.... right?  I decided I could saddle up my recumbent 2-wheeler and ride down the goat path to the paved road and catch up with her if I got with the program.... and the trash shouldn't go anywhere without me while I was gone.
So I did. 
I'm always surprised, even though I've been doing this pretty steadily for years, how much fun it is and how great it feels to get out and ride, even with stiff outa-shape leg muscles.
Riding separate pedal-machines reminded us, however, how much better it is when riding together to RIDE together..... on the tandem recumbent Terratrike .
Well, now that I got my breath back, I got some trash to haul.
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  6.30
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
  2.6 MPH                                 6.1 MPH                    20.8 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
  1 hour 25 mins                       1 hour                      23 minutes

We Love Our Terratrike, EXCEPT...

Today's Tracking via APRS and Ham Radio
We decided, immediately after Crafty Jacque finished my new cycling Tee-Shirts, to do a late afternoon trike ride - normally a no-no this time of year but it's been partly  cloudy and  cooler all day.  So off we went, for the usual Post Office Short Trip (POST).  The chain was a bit noisier than usual on the way up the hill so I decided I better have a look at it when we stopped for our Lemonade and Ice Cream Enjoyment (LICE).
We enjoyed our usual break and treats (BATS) and - of course - I completely forgot about checking the trike's running gear to see what all the extra noise might be about.  I'm terrible about thinking "I need to FIX that or CHECK that" while in motion with weird noises occurring but spacing out completely when stopped, since of course the noise and irritation disappear.  On the way back to the ranch...
"We were headed down the Highway Makin' 30 Miles An Hour when Our Whistle Broke Into a Scream...."  No.  Wait, that's one of my old guitar songs, and we don't have a whistle.  And the
"INCIDENT" happened right AFTER we smoked down the road and were shifting chain-gears going UPhill.  The rear end made a horrible CLAAAACK and we stopped immediately and..... the Terratrike Weakness had happened again. 
Terratrike builds these Terratrike Pro's with a so-called "Quick Release" axle spindle on the rear wheel and it SUCKS.  Big time.  Ours has come loose at LEAST a DOZEN times since we bought this trike.  I've called Terratrike a couple times about this problem but they don't seem to think it's a problem and don't even MAKE or SELL a fixed axle version with a good stout axle shaft and threaded ends that allow a good torquing when installing the nuts on the mounted axle, as with less costly bikes all over the place.  Thankfully our frame didn't get bent or twisted this time.  But it's irritating to have to re-mount this so often when a simple standard axle with threads and nuts -- not a "Quik Release" spindle less than 3/16 of an inch in diameter to handle all that stress and torque -- could be utilized.  I guess I'm going to have to build myself a custom rear wheel for this trike so we can ride for more than 20 or 30 miles without the rear axle falling apart.
Beginning Battery Voltage:  13.2        Ending Voltage: 13.0
Lowest Temp  77 F      Highest Temp:  84 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  4.27
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
  3.4 MPH                                 6.5 MPH                    30.7 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
  1 hour 15 mins                       39 mins                     35 minutes

Jacque's New Cycling Shirts

 My crafty spouse, Jacque, just finished modifying some high-visibility cycling shirts for me.  We were at Walmart a few nights ago when she spotted some bright "Day-Glo" yellow-green tee shirts for the smoking price of $4.00 each.  After a bit of discussion she decided to purchase 3 of them and use one of them as "Donor Fabric" for adding pockets to the other two.  They came out looking pretty fabulous.  Not only were they ripped up the middle and velcro zip-strip added (I can ride with my shirt as open or closed as I like), but they now have Jacque's famous king-size pockets.  Forgive the spotty photography:  Jacque refused to take the photos since she didn't think it was enough of a "project" to interest anyone.  Little does she realize what such things mean to an all-thumbs male who can sew but cannot make it come out looking good....

Happy Rider with Shirt Open

Shirt Zipped Closed. You can see the 2 pockets in this view

She realized she could use the bottom hem of the donor shirt fabric for the upper hem of the pockets.  Cool.  Reduced effort and sewing time.

Close-Up of Velcro Front Strip

 I have to figure some way to repay her efforts.  It may involve more shopping......