Yesterday Jacque decided it would be a good day to ride the tandem to lunch at the Senior Center. It was a second day of good sunshine so we rolled the machine out of the garage, loaded ourselves up, and rode our Terratrike Tandem the 2 miles to the Senior Center.
We enjoyed a nice chili and baked potato lunch, visited with a couple of our new Missouri friends, and rode back home again.
Thankfully, the streets and roads here are mostly wide and the traffic is of the small town variety and we've encountered no challenges as of yet.
Today, Thursday, we would have loved to ride around again, but the sun did not present itself. It was dark and thick fog when we awoke, and it turned to rain and mush before noon, and it continued to rain heavily all day. So today we drove instead. Obviously we are NOT going to enjoy 300+ days of sunshine out here......
The humidity here so far is difficult to adjust to. We've been southwest desert rats for so long that it may take us a while. We spent most of the summer in Tennessee with HOT humidity and now it seems maybe worse here in the early winter. Everything is so green here: Part of it in brush and grass and weeds, part of it in fungus. The ground seems always a bit soggy even after several days of sunshine, unlike NM.
Ride Started: 11:56 AM Ride Ended: 12:23 PM
Beginning Blood Glucose: 203 Ending BG: 71
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 2.05
Distance Walked: 0 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
4.6 MPH 5.0 MPH 14.32 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
36 minutes 14.4 minutes 30 minutes
Thursday, December 13, 2018
Tuesday, December 11, 2018
Old Fart Rides Again
It's been a bit of a while since I last rode enough to post anything about it.
A bit of an update here: We sold our home in New Mexico and full-timed RV-ing since last December. It was great to be out from under a mortgage and have a bit of money in the bank and be totally out of debt.
Passing through Missouri last year chanced to find us attending church services in Mountain Grove along route 60. Jacque fell in love with the place and we even spent a couple days looking at homes for sale with the help of Melinda Grider, a realtor out of West Plains. We didn't find anything we wanted to bid on so we went on our way. This year, we stopped through again and Jacque's feelings about the town were even stronger. I had hoped to spend another winter in the RV in SW Arizona where it rarely freezes and usually offers shirt-sleeve weather in the daytime. By the time we got to Albuquerque, however, the RV transmission was starting to give trouble and we stopped for a few days with our dear friends in the East Mountains. I thought we could likely make it to Yuma by taking it easy. One night I awoke in bed with the strong impression "Do NOT take the RV to AZ with that transmission!" Next day I pulled the fluid pan from the transmission, bought a new filter and a hundred bucks worth of transmission fluid,, and changed the fluid. I was shocked to find the pan chock full of metal filings that the transmission had shed while it was self destructing.
New fluid and filter improved the transmission not at all, so we took it to Rich Ford with an estimate of $4500 for a new transmission, labor and all.
(I asked them to do the brakes while they had it. By the time they were done, the bill was $7500 and change and they had only done the REAR brakes. Thank goodness the new tranny is doing well. We will no longer patronize Rich Ford even if we break down in NM again.)
It took a couple weeks for them to even begin the work, and a couple more weeks to do the work, so we used the time to hit the road back east toward Mountain Grove, where we bought ourselves a house. Using the proceeds from the sale of our NM house, we were able to buy an older house in liveable shape and still remain debt free.
Well, with all the packing and moving and traveling back and forth, I have not ridden a pedal-powered machine since October.
The lifting and loading and unloading have been extremely hard on my old joints. I have largely been crippled up with painful feet and legs, and the onset of winter has been so cold I haven't been able to even repair the flat tire on my trike, reassemble the stuff we removed in order to haul it all the way to MO, etc.
A few days ago I was able to put a new tube in my rear tire and reinflate it. The weather was still bitter and my legs/feet get so tired with only short periods of standing and walking.
Today, however, the sun came out nicely and warmed things up considerably, even above the freezing level. With a couple of long rest breaks I was able to remount the rear wheel, reattach the panniers, etc.
I took it for a short ride down the street and was dismayed to find the front derailleur cable was frozen up, likely with a bit of rust since it had been parked out in the open in NM while we were waiting for the RV to escape from the shop.
It took quite a bit of WD-40 and spray grease to get the shifter working again, but I was finally able to get it going and out on the road for a few miles.
A VERY few miles, indeed.... a little over 2 to be exact, but it was great to be able to rip around under my own power again and feel the wind in my face.
There is little cycling here - we have only seen a couple of cyclists in the 2 months we've been here - and I'm certain no one locally has ever seen recumbent trikes before. I certainly received some strange looks riding around town but had no trouble with the traffic I did encounter.
There is also no Ham Radio APRS coverage in this area, so I am unable to post a link to my GPS map of the day's ride. Hopefully within a short time I can get my own APRS station set up so myself and others can get their positions logged to the Internet.
Since I'm still so hobbled up from moving and out of shape from not riding, today's outing was short indeed. But it seemed to help the circulation in my legs.
Since returning home my legs are tired, for sure, but they are not as painful as they have been this last couple weeks. We'll see if I can get some sleep tonight with hopefully better circulation reducing the neuropathic pain in my legs.
Ride Started: 3:17 PM Ride Ended: 3:32 PM
Beginning Blood Glucose: 187 Ending BG: 51
(Lowest Blood Glucose for me in a Month)
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 2.17
Distance Walked: 0 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
7.1 MPH 7.3 MPH 17.0 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
18 minutes 17 minutes 1/2 minutes
A bit of an update here: We sold our home in New Mexico and full-timed RV-ing since last December. It was great to be out from under a mortgage and have a bit of money in the bank and be totally out of debt.
Passing through Missouri last year chanced to find us attending church services in Mountain Grove along route 60. Jacque fell in love with the place and we even spent a couple days looking at homes for sale with the help of Melinda Grider, a realtor out of West Plains. We didn't find anything we wanted to bid on so we went on our way. This year, we stopped through again and Jacque's feelings about the town were even stronger. I had hoped to spend another winter in the RV in SW Arizona where it rarely freezes and usually offers shirt-sleeve weather in the daytime. By the time we got to Albuquerque, however, the RV transmission was starting to give trouble and we stopped for a few days with our dear friends in the East Mountains. I thought we could likely make it to Yuma by taking it easy. One night I awoke in bed with the strong impression "Do NOT take the RV to AZ with that transmission!" Next day I pulled the fluid pan from the transmission, bought a new filter and a hundred bucks worth of transmission fluid,, and changed the fluid. I was shocked to find the pan chock full of metal filings that the transmission had shed while it was self destructing.
New fluid and filter improved the transmission not at all, so we took it to Rich Ford with an estimate of $4500 for a new transmission, labor and all.
(I asked them to do the brakes while they had it. By the time they were done, the bill was $7500 and change and they had only done the REAR brakes. Thank goodness the new tranny is doing well. We will no longer patronize Rich Ford even if we break down in NM again.)
It took a couple weeks for them to even begin the work, and a couple more weeks to do the work, so we used the time to hit the road back east toward Mountain Grove, where we bought ourselves a house. Using the proceeds from the sale of our NM house, we were able to buy an older house in liveable shape and still remain debt free.
Well, with all the packing and moving and traveling back and forth, I have not ridden a pedal-powered machine since October.
The lifting and loading and unloading have been extremely hard on my old joints. I have largely been crippled up with painful feet and legs, and the onset of winter has been so cold I haven't been able to even repair the flat tire on my trike, reassemble the stuff we removed in order to haul it all the way to MO, etc.
A few days ago I was able to put a new tube in my rear tire and reinflate it. The weather was still bitter and my legs/feet get so tired with only short periods of standing and walking.
Today, however, the sun came out nicely and warmed things up considerably, even above the freezing level. With a couple of long rest breaks I was able to remount the rear wheel, reattach the panniers, etc.
I took it for a short ride down the street and was dismayed to find the front derailleur cable was frozen up, likely with a bit of rust since it had been parked out in the open in NM while we were waiting for the RV to escape from the shop.
It took quite a bit of WD-40 and spray grease to get the shifter working again, but I was finally able to get it going and out on the road for a few miles.
A VERY few miles, indeed.... a little over 2 to be exact, but it was great to be able to rip around under my own power again and feel the wind in my face.
There is little cycling here - we have only seen a couple of cyclists in the 2 months we've been here - and I'm certain no one locally has ever seen recumbent trikes before. I certainly received some strange looks riding around town but had no trouble with the traffic I did encounter.
There is also no Ham Radio APRS coverage in this area, so I am unable to post a link to my GPS map of the day's ride. Hopefully within a short time I can get my own APRS station set up so myself and others can get their positions logged to the Internet.
Since I'm still so hobbled up from moving and out of shape from not riding, today's outing was short indeed. But it seemed to help the circulation in my legs.
Since returning home my legs are tired, for sure, but they are not as painful as they have been this last couple weeks. We'll see if I can get some sleep tonight with hopefully better circulation reducing the neuropathic pain in my legs.
Ride Started: 3:17 PM Ride Ended: 3:32 PM
Beginning Blood Glucose: 187 Ending BG: 51
(Lowest Blood Glucose for me in a Month)
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 2.17
Distance Walked: 0 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
7.1 MPH 7.3 MPH 17.0 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
18 minutes 17 minutes 1/2 minutes
Friday, October 12, 2018
Up Hill, Down Dale
Today's Tijeras Tracking
So it's been 9 days since I rode anywhere under my own steam. Been too busy to stay healthy, as they say. Since today there wasn't much else to distract me, I hitched up the dog BOB trailer, saddled myself up, and got in a few miles.
And paid for it....
9 days is certainly too long between exercise sessions. Yes, I've tired myself out heaving Air Conditioners and tools up and down the roof of the RV, split a few hundred pounds of firewood for our hosts etc, but unsustained non-aerobic tiredness does not produce the same results as a good bike ride. Measureable results such as lowered blood glucose for 24 hours or more, for instance.
Today I decided we (the doggies and I) would ride down to the sleepy village of Tijeras and back.
It was a nice cool but often sunny day, and the weather forecast calls for possible rain or even SNOW over the weekend. So perhaps I was able to beat the weather. However, the ride beat ME since I am so out of shape.
It's not all downhill from Sedillo Hill to Tijeras, so I was a bit winded by the time I pulled in to the Tijeras City Hall. I chose there to stop and rest and walk the dogs and turn around since there is very little traffic there, the parking lot is huge behind the fire station building, and thus lots of room to both park and walk the dogs. Several local passers-by admired the dogs, of course, and I was able to get some circulation back into my feet by walking around with them.
If I thought the somewhat downhill ride to Tijeras was tiresome, it got rather worser on the way back to Sedillo Hill. The grades are not terrible, but they do drag on, and I had to stop several times to stand up, get some circulation back in the feet, and even took my shoes off at one point and massaged my feet to get some relief. My diabetes is slowly catching up to me and no doubt aggravating neuropathy in my feet. I guess they's just fall off or rot if I didn't exercise them at all..... BAH
I got back to the RV just in time to take the gas-burning Explorer to pick up Jacque from her friend's house where they'd been sewing and hoo-hawing all day, thence to Grandson Jonathan's house where we are currently babysitting him with great gusto. He went to bed peaceably a half hour or so ago but has not succumbed to the Sand-Man as of yet. He keeps humming the Star Wars grand entry soundtrack amongst other noises. This little apple did not fall far from the tree, as his dear Mommy was much the same when she was a wee toddler too.
Ride Started: 12:24 PM Ride Ended: 3:48 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.4 Ending Voltage: 12.7 Lowest: 12.7
Beginning Blood Glucose: 187 Ending BG: 62
(Ate before riding; insulin pump basal rate 50% for this ride)
Lowest Temp 60 F Highest Temp: 67 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 14.48
Distance Walked: .8 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
4.2 MPH 6.3 MPH 27.1 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
3 hours 24 mins 2 hours 17 mins 1 hour 7 minutes
So it's been 9 days since I rode anywhere under my own steam. Been too busy to stay healthy, as they say. Since today there wasn't much else to distract me, I hitched up the dog BOB trailer, saddled myself up, and got in a few miles.
And paid for it....
9 days is certainly too long between exercise sessions. Yes, I've tired myself out heaving Air Conditioners and tools up and down the roof of the RV, split a few hundred pounds of firewood for our hosts etc, but unsustained non-aerobic tiredness does not produce the same results as a good bike ride. Measureable results such as lowered blood glucose for 24 hours or more, for instance.
Today I decided we (the doggies and I) would ride down to the sleepy village of Tijeras and back.
It was a nice cool but often sunny day, and the weather forecast calls for possible rain or even SNOW over the weekend. So perhaps I was able to beat the weather. However, the ride beat ME since I am so out of shape.
It's not all downhill from Sedillo Hill to Tijeras, so I was a bit winded by the time I pulled in to the Tijeras City Hall. I chose there to stop and rest and walk the dogs and turn around since there is very little traffic there, the parking lot is huge behind the fire station building, and thus lots of room to both park and walk the dogs. Several local passers-by admired the dogs, of course, and I was able to get some circulation back into my feet by walking around with them.
If I thought the somewhat downhill ride to Tijeras was tiresome, it got rather worser on the way back to Sedillo Hill. The grades are not terrible, but they do drag on, and I had to stop several times to stand up, get some circulation back in the feet, and even took my shoes off at one point and massaged my feet to get some relief. My diabetes is slowly catching up to me and no doubt aggravating neuropathy in my feet. I guess they's just fall off or rot if I didn't exercise them at all..... BAH
I got back to the RV just in time to take the gas-burning Explorer to pick up Jacque from her friend's house where they'd been sewing and hoo-hawing all day, thence to Grandson Jonathan's house where we are currently babysitting him with great gusto. He went to bed peaceably a half hour or so ago but has not succumbed to the Sand-Man as of yet. He keeps humming the Star Wars grand entry soundtrack amongst other noises. This little apple did not fall far from the tree, as his dear Mommy was much the same when she was a wee toddler too.
Ride Started: 12:24 PM Ride Ended: 3:48 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.4 Ending Voltage: 12.7 Lowest: 12.7
Beginning Blood Glucose: 187 Ending BG: 62
(Ate before riding; insulin pump basal rate 50% for this ride)
Lowest Temp 60 F Highest Temp: 67 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 14.48
Distance Walked: .8 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
4.2 MPH 6.3 MPH 27.1 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
3 hours 24 mins 2 hours 17 mins 1 hour 7 minutes
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
RV = Repair Vehicle?
We are currently encamped at Sedillo Hill near Edgewood NM. We would have moved on by now in our travels but the transmission started acting strangely as we entered New Mexico and got worse as we approached the East Mountains just shy of Albuquerque. When slowing for a stop, the engine would shudder and die, and we soon realized the torque converter was staying locked instead of unlocking at low speeds. We limped into our wonderful friends' yard and found the Ford shop (our Bounder is built on a Ford F53 truck chassis) would not be able to entertain our problems until almost 2 weeks away.
THEN, while enjoying our friends' hospitality (and driveway), on a warm afternoon several days ago, when we turned the air conditioner on, instead of cold air, all we got was a terrific growling noise. The A/C had been balky and I had lubed the bearings on the fan motor several times over the last couple years, and apparently now had burned out completely. Calling around to various suppliers revealed another heavy outlay would be required. An RV, with its relatively thin walls, cannot survive warm days without Air Conditioning. Or at least its Occupants cannot, including yours truly.
I was able to man-handle the removal and installation by myself, with the help of tools, of course.
The entire roof mount assembly must weigh over 100 pounds which I could barely lift except one end at a time. I used one of our stout cargo-straps to lower the dead unit over the side of the RV and down to the ground, very slowly and carefully. Using a dolly I was able to maneuver it across the yard. The Central Trailer Supply where I purchased the replacement had several "exact replacement" units in the warehouse and the worker used an electric forklift to load it into my SUV. Back at the defunct RV again, I unboxed the expensive gadget. It was mounted on a small wooden pallet. I borrowed my friend's extension ladder and extended it as far as possible to lean against the roof of the RV to provide a sloping ramp. I again used another cargo strap to armstrong the new unit up to the roof: VERY slowly with a lot of grunting and groaning and hoping not to lose my grip. It all worked, I finally hoisted it over the edge onto the rooftop, and no cuts or abrasions to either the A/C unit or ME.
I was dismayed, after all this effort, to find this "exact replacement" had no bolts or screws or anything else to facilitate installation, AND the existing hardware from the previous unit did NOT fit.
The electrical hookup and connector were the same, thankfully, and I was able to turn it on and find that it blew HARD and COLD, just like it should. But bolting it down...... had to wait for morning to go back to the supply house. BAH
I refuse to disclose the exact amount of damage to my checking account, but this incidence does remind me of the similarities between RV owners and Boat owners: B.O.A.T. often stands for Break Out Another Thousand. We await the expense of the transmission repair with great trepidation.
I have already crawled underneath and around the engine and transmission compartments looking for vacuum leaks and loose wires. I have found and repaired several chewed vacuum hoses, rat-chewed wires, etc, and still the problems persist. I sure hope the Ford Shoppe can use their analyzer skills to solve the problem, hopefully without a rebuilt or new transmission.
The weather is approaching winter conditions with overnight temperatures dropping to the low 40's and requiring heater usage. We hope to be able to abscond to southern Arizona before it really deteriorates to dangerous freezing temperatures.
THEN, while enjoying our friends' hospitality (and driveway), on a warm afternoon several days ago, when we turned the air conditioner on, instead of cold air, all we got was a terrific growling noise. The A/C had been balky and I had lubed the bearings on the fan motor several times over the last couple years, and apparently now had burned out completely. Calling around to various suppliers revealed another heavy outlay would be required. An RV, with its relatively thin walls, cannot survive warm days without Air Conditioning. Or at least its Occupants cannot, including yours truly.
I was able to man-handle the removal and installation by myself, with the help of tools, of course.
The entire roof mount assembly must weigh over 100 pounds which I could barely lift except one end at a time. I used one of our stout cargo-straps to lower the dead unit over the side of the RV and down to the ground, very slowly and carefully. Using a dolly I was able to maneuver it across the yard. The Central Trailer Supply where I purchased the replacement had several "exact replacement" units in the warehouse and the worker used an electric forklift to load it into my SUV. Back at the defunct RV again, I unboxed the expensive gadget. It was mounted on a small wooden pallet. I borrowed my friend's extension ladder and extended it as far as possible to lean against the roof of the RV to provide a sloping ramp. I again used another cargo strap to armstrong the new unit up to the roof: VERY slowly with a lot of grunting and groaning and hoping not to lose my grip. It all worked, I finally hoisted it over the edge onto the rooftop, and no cuts or abrasions to either the A/C unit or ME.
I was dismayed, after all this effort, to find this "exact replacement" had no bolts or screws or anything else to facilitate installation, AND the existing hardware from the previous unit did NOT fit.
The electrical hookup and connector were the same, thankfully, and I was able to turn it on and find that it blew HARD and COLD, just like it should. But bolting it down...... had to wait for morning to go back to the supply house. BAH
I refuse to disclose the exact amount of damage to my checking account, but this incidence does remind me of the similarities between RV owners and Boat owners: B.O.A.T. often stands for Break Out Another Thousand. We await the expense of the transmission repair with great trepidation.
I have already crawled underneath and around the engine and transmission compartments looking for vacuum leaks and loose wires. I have found and repaired several chewed vacuum hoses, rat-chewed wires, etc, and still the problems persist. I sure hope the Ford Shoppe can use their analyzer skills to solve the problem, hopefully without a rebuilt or new transmission.
The weather is approaching winter conditions with overnight temperatures dropping to the low 40's and requiring heater usage. We hope to be able to abscond to southern Arizona before it really deteriorates to dangerous freezing temperatures.
Wednesday, October 3, 2018
Stretch Them Tired Legs
Today's Tracking via Ham Radio and GPS
It doesn't take too many days off before I lose my mocho, as fellow cyclists well know.
I've failed to motivate myself to ride the last few days, but today I had a birthday card to mail, so I used that for an excuse to saddle up and go.
Since the Edgewood Post Office is over 5 miles away, and right on Old Route 66, it was a fairly obvious choice.
Trouble is, Route 66 rarely gets the maintenance attention since it was deleted off federal maps with the onslaught of the small-town-killing Interstate highway system. There are parts of 66 through Tijeras Canyon that have really nice wide smooth pavement, but here close to Edgewood NM, not so much.
The hill going upward toward Edgewood from the Barton Valley is particularly bad, with "new" pavement that seems rougher than the old asphalt that it now covers. Even driving over it in a car is rough, but on the trike it was really bad. Add that to the fact the shoulder completely disappears with leftover asphalt rubble blobs, and it is close to half a mile of bounce and jostle.... I made it both ways, so I should stop whining about it.
It actually rained pretty hard yesterday, Tuesday, and the roads today were a bit water soaked yet. Which made for a cooler day in spite of the bright sunshine.
My rubbery legs, however, did begin to "speak" to me. They survived, though, with a couple extra water breaks, and that's the important part of the good news.
Ride Started: 12:01 PM Ride Ended: 2:19 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.8 Ending Voltage: 12.7 Lowest: 12.7
Beginning Blood Glucose: 134 Ending BG: 116
(Ate before riding; insulin pump basal rate 30% for this ride)
Lowest Temp 67 F Highest Temp: 75 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 11.96
Distance Walked: .7 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
5.2 MPH 6.8 MPH 33.35 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
2 hours 18 mins 1 hour 45 mins 33 minutes
It doesn't take too many days off before I lose my mocho, as fellow cyclists well know.
I've failed to motivate myself to ride the last few days, but today I had a birthday card to mail, so I used that for an excuse to saddle up and go.
Since the Edgewood Post Office is over 5 miles away, and right on Old Route 66, it was a fairly obvious choice.
Trouble is, Route 66 rarely gets the maintenance attention since it was deleted off federal maps with the onslaught of the small-town-killing Interstate highway system. There are parts of 66 through Tijeras Canyon that have really nice wide smooth pavement, but here close to Edgewood NM, not so much.
The hill going upward toward Edgewood from the Barton Valley is particularly bad, with "new" pavement that seems rougher than the old asphalt that it now covers. Even driving over it in a car is rough, but on the trike it was really bad. Add that to the fact the shoulder completely disappears with leftover asphalt rubble blobs, and it is close to half a mile of bounce and jostle.... I made it both ways, so I should stop whining about it.
It actually rained pretty hard yesterday, Tuesday, and the roads today were a bit water soaked yet. Which made for a cooler day in spite of the bright sunshine.
My rubbery legs, however, did begin to "speak" to me. They survived, though, with a couple extra water breaks, and that's the important part of the good news.
Ride Started: 12:01 PM Ride Ended: 2:19 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 12.8 Ending Voltage: 12.7 Lowest: 12.7
Beginning Blood Glucose: 134 Ending BG: 116
(Ate before riding; insulin pump basal rate 30% for this ride)
Lowest Temp 67 F Highest Temp: 75 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 11.96
Distance Walked: .7 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
5.2 MPH 6.8 MPH 33.35 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
2 hours 18 mins 1 hour 45 mins 33 minutes
Saturday, September 29, 2018
It's Saturday, Must be New Mexico
We arrived back in NM Thursday afternoon, after departing Amarillo about 9 AM the same day.
The weather has been nice & dry here. The Tennessee Daughter Jess tells us it has rained buckets there since we left, so the relative aridity has been nice.
And here it is Saturday and I'm itching to ride so I finally saddled up to take a bit of a ride. Aren't you proud of me, dear reader? Never Mind......
It was 44 degrees this morning, and it felt COLD, especially as compared to sub tropical Tennessee.
I slathered up with sun-block since the atmosphere is clearer and at 6500+ feet altitude the insolation is higher than we've experienced in the last few months.
But, by the time I finally got saddled up to ride away, it was already in the 60's and I did not have to layer up with the windbreaker I carry in the big pannier next to the LiFePO4 electronics battery and a bunch of other stuff I dare not leave home without.
I decided to ride over and see my closest grandson Jonathan, which is only a few miles from where our RV is currently parked. Route 66 is the linking passage between us and has a fairly wide shoulder most of the way. From our perch on Sedillo Hill to the Barton Valley where young Jon resides with his parents is mostly downhill so that direction was a fairly easy ride and even required some mild braking action to maintain stability. I thought to myself "We'll see how much fun it's going to be coming UP that hill on the way back."
Had a great visit with Jonathan and parents, even being fed a tasty Orange Cinnamon Roll. Jon is only 3+ years old but is a big talker now. He used to be a very strict Mama's Boy but today he came outside - ALONE with Grandpa - to look at Grandpa's Trike He Rode In On. He even sat in Grandpa's lap in the trike seat but decided he DIDN'T want to actually go for a ride. Fun Guy.
After a few more howdy-doos, I saddled up and rode back up hill to "home".... the parked RV.
The uphill ride was less of a struggle than I had anticipated. Guess I haven't 'lost my legs' yet.
Ride Started: 8:32 AM Ride Ended: 10:29 AM
Beginning Blood Glucose: 146 Ending BG: 77 (Orange Roll Consumed at Grandson's)
(Ate Breakfast before riding; insulin pump basal rate 50% for this ride)
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 7.94
Distance Walked: .7 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
3.5 MPH 6.0 MPH 31.8 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hours 57 mins 1 hour 8 mins 48 minutes
The weather has been nice & dry here. The Tennessee Daughter Jess tells us it has rained buckets there since we left, so the relative aridity has been nice.
And here it is Saturday and I'm itching to ride so I finally saddled up to take a bit of a ride. Aren't you proud of me, dear reader? Never Mind......
It was 44 degrees this morning, and it felt COLD, especially as compared to sub tropical Tennessee.
I slathered up with sun-block since the atmosphere is clearer and at 6500+ feet altitude the insolation is higher than we've experienced in the last few months.
But, by the time I finally got saddled up to ride away, it was already in the 60's and I did not have to layer up with the windbreaker I carry in the big pannier next to the LiFePO4 electronics battery and a bunch of other stuff I dare not leave home without.
I decided to ride over and see my closest grandson Jonathan, which is only a few miles from where our RV is currently parked. Route 66 is the linking passage between us and has a fairly wide shoulder most of the way. From our perch on Sedillo Hill to the Barton Valley where young Jon resides with his parents is mostly downhill so that direction was a fairly easy ride and even required some mild braking action to maintain stability. I thought to myself "We'll see how much fun it's going to be coming UP that hill on the way back."
Had a great visit with Jonathan and parents, even being fed a tasty Orange Cinnamon Roll. Jon is only 3+ years old but is a big talker now. He used to be a very strict Mama's Boy but today he came outside - ALONE with Grandpa - to look at Grandpa's Trike He Rode In On. He even sat in Grandpa's lap in the trike seat but decided he DIDN'T want to actually go for a ride. Fun Guy.
After a few more howdy-doos, I saddled up and rode back up hill to "home".... the parked RV.
The uphill ride was less of a struggle than I had anticipated. Guess I haven't 'lost my legs' yet.
Ride Started: 8:32 AM Ride Ended: 10:29 AM
Beginning Blood Glucose: 146 Ending BG: 77 (Orange Roll Consumed at Grandson's)
(Ate Breakfast before riding; insulin pump basal rate 50% for this ride)
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 7.94
Distance Walked: .7 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
3.5 MPH 6.0 MPH 31.8 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hours 57 mins 1 hour 8 mins 48 minutes
Friday, September 14, 2018
Going to the Dawgs
Today's Tracking Courtesy of McMinn County Radio Club
We took the day off yesterday. At least I did. Jacque busted her chops, or at least her right arm and shoulder, at her therapy clinic yesterday while I ran some errands, like trash, stamps, birthday cards, gas, ice, and such-like RV essentials.
Today we were back in the saddles again. Jacque normally takes both doggies in her dual rear baskets, but today I wanted to share in the glory. Thus I hitched up my trike trailer and took the noisy one (Lilly) with me.
Actually, both dogs have recently been noisy on trike rides. Even though they love to come with us and throw squall-eyed fits when we leave them behind, they get restless and grumpy being restricted to passenger status on the trikes. But they're fun anyway, and we don't find "accidents" on the floor when they're riding with us instead of stuck at home in the RV.
Today we retraced our ride from last time: 5 miles to the Eureka Rail-Trail entry. BUT, this time we did not actually ride the entirety of the trail. Jacque got there before I did (she left 20 minutes before I did) and rode the half-mile triangular loop around the entry park. I merely used the public facility (i.e., OutHouse) before turning around for the ride home. On the way, we were forced to stop for a yard sale (Because there was a sign for a yard sale) where we enjoyed a short visit with strangers and spent a few bucks.
I finally encountered a roadneck, er, redneck, this trip. I was headed slowly up a short hill on a stretch of road with no shoulders and this black primered pickup came up behind me just as a car in the oncoming lane was fast approaching. Never touching his brake, primo-pickup roared around me, barely missing a head-on collision with the oncoming car. My so called Christian Attitude was strained during this episode, but thankfully he didn't endanger me as much as he did himself and the oncoming car.
Tennessee weather is slowly cooling, though the humidity index remains high even when it's "low".
Today wasn't too bad, even though it was a couple degrees warmer than the last 2 days.
One red truck turned out on the roadway, heading toward me, slowing down as though to talk to me.
NOPE. All he was doing was filming Lilly and me with his cell phone. HAH
Ride Started: 10:46 AM Ride Ended: 1:17 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.0 Ending Voltage: 13.0 Lowest: 12.5
Beginning Blood Glucose: 188 Ending BG: 132 (Cookies Consumed along the Way)
(Ate Breakfast before riding; insulin pump basal rate 50% for this ride)
Lowest Temp 75 F Highest Temp: 82 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 10.84
Distance Walked: .3 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
4.3 MPH 6.9 MPH 29.7 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
2 hours 31 mins 1 hour 33 mins 57 minutes
We took the day off yesterday. At least I did. Jacque busted her chops, or at least her right arm and shoulder, at her therapy clinic yesterday while I ran some errands, like trash, stamps, birthday cards, gas, ice, and such-like RV essentials.
Today we were back in the saddles again. Jacque normally takes both doggies in her dual rear baskets, but today I wanted to share in the glory. Thus I hitched up my trike trailer and took the noisy one (Lilly) with me.
Actually, both dogs have recently been noisy on trike rides. Even though they love to come with us and throw squall-eyed fits when we leave them behind, they get restless and grumpy being restricted to passenger status on the trikes. But they're fun anyway, and we don't find "accidents" on the floor when they're riding with us instead of stuck at home in the RV.
Today we retraced our ride from last time: 5 miles to the Eureka Rail-Trail entry. BUT, this time we did not actually ride the entirety of the trail. Jacque got there before I did (she left 20 minutes before I did) and rode the half-mile triangular loop around the entry park. I merely used the public facility (i.e., OutHouse) before turning around for the ride home. On the way, we were forced to stop for a yard sale (Because there was a sign for a yard sale) where we enjoyed a short visit with strangers and spent a few bucks.
I finally encountered a roadneck, er, redneck, this trip. I was headed slowly up a short hill on a stretch of road with no shoulders and this black primered pickup came up behind me just as a car in the oncoming lane was fast approaching. Never touching his brake, primo-pickup roared around me, barely missing a head-on collision with the oncoming car. My so called Christian Attitude was strained during this episode, but thankfully he didn't endanger me as much as he did himself and the oncoming car.
Tennessee weather is slowly cooling, though the humidity index remains high even when it's "low".
Today wasn't too bad, even though it was a couple degrees warmer than the last 2 days.
One red truck turned out on the roadway, heading toward me, slowing down as though to talk to me.
NOPE. All he was doing was filming Lilly and me with his cell phone. HAH
Ride Started: 10:46 AM Ride Ended: 1:17 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.0 Ending Voltage: 13.0 Lowest: 12.5
Beginning Blood Glucose: 188 Ending BG: 132 (Cookies Consumed along the Way)
(Ate Breakfast before riding; insulin pump basal rate 50% for this ride)
Lowest Temp 75 F Highest Temp: 82 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 10.84
Distance Walked: .3 miles
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
4.3 MPH 6.9 MPH 29.7 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
2 hours 31 mins 1 hour 33 mins 57 minutes
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