Blinded by the Light

#4 / 3.7 miles

12.99 cumulative

Leaves in my undercarriage: big curly oversized maple leaves stuck in the cables for the derailleur and the brakes and who knows where else. Swish Swish Swish Swish Swish Swish CRUNCH when they come loose and the back wheel finally gets them.

For some reason that escapes me now, I decided to wash the wicking ball cap I wear under my helmet. Did I put it back with the helmet? No, no I did not. So I rode without anything to prevent the sun from beaming into my eyes over my sunglasses.

There are my poor pupils, obediently squinched down to tiny dots in response to the sunlight, completely unable to see through the sunglasses. BAM (hit a rock) SWERVE (was that an animal or a shadow?)

There WERE some suicide squirrels out. You know the ones: facing to the right in the middle of the trail, so you swerve left, and the darn thing makes an about face and runs right at you.

Between the leaves, the sun, the squirrels, and the brisk breeze, I bailed on my ride and soothed my upset with Starbucks.

Ciao!

Friendly Neighborhood Triker-Girl

#3 / 3.44 miles

9.29 cumulative

Lovely day, about 66 degrees at 11am. Tootled around the neighborhood, sidewalks still bedecked with chunks of asphalt.

I spent the morning removing the front fenders and installing Mr. Tuffy tire liners. I also took the time to replace the one patched tube that slowly loses air over time.

I prop the front of the trike on a plastic foot stool when I'm fussing with the front wheels. Rear-ward rolling is prevented by stuffing a bike shoe under the rear tire.

High tech!

I managed to remove the rear wheel with a minimum of cursing, and replaced it with even less cursing.

I've been trying to work out a trail-side method for propping the trike up for rear-wheel removal, and have decided to stick to helmet on top of bike bag since it is reasonably stable and I always have those with me.

My new Lazer helmet (recommended by the helpful folks over at Utah Trikes) is great! It does not crash into my headrest and is light and comfortable. You can see it there, stuffed under the trike.

My eventual plan is to ride to my dentist's office (much nearer than my old dentist's office) for my November cleaning appointment. It is less than 5 miles round trip. I would be traveling between the upper right and lower left of the handy map there. 

The only sketchy part is right next to the lake: two lanes, no middle lane, no shoulders, guardrails (crosses a marsh). But I've ridden that before and am comfortable riding there again. I do need to get replacement rear blinky lights. My faithful Cherry Bomb is dead dead dead.

That's enough for today.

Ciao!

Fun in Fantastic Folsom!

 #2 / 4.28

6.85 cumulative 

Started at the skate park, went in the uphill direction, diverted my route because of trail closure (tree work), then zoomed in the downhill direction (no real hills, just a trend in elevation) and slogged back up to my start in a nice wide bike lane on a slight hill.

I should drop a note to the City of Folsom and ask that the green light time be extended at this one intersection. A bike takes too long to get through on the green from a dead stop. The light, at least, seems to have a bike sensor. Not all do.

It was a beautiful day for a bike ride (honestly, given my past proclivities, ANY day is a nice day for a bike ride. Except hail. I draw the line at hail.)

My new tubes have arrived, just waiting for the tire liners, then it will be OFF with the front fenders and ON with the liners. And probably the fenders will stay off. It is slightly bothersome to load the trike into the car with the fenders on. Easier with bare-nekkid tires.

Ciao.

reboot

 #1 / 2.57

Well, it's been a minute, yes?

I stopped riding for a couple of years, except for intermittent spasms of guilt-induced clusters of rides.

I'm fed up with myself.

So, today I pumped up my horribly flat tires and tootled around the neighborhood (bigger than it used to be with the addition of a (thankfully) more flat subdivision to the west of our house). A whopping 2.57 miles. My legs are kind of tired. That's OK, totally worth it, because I did detect my usual huge bug-catching grin rolling down one of the small hills on my route. I've missed that grin.

I chose to ride mostly on a large, bike-width sidewalk, because - although the adjacent boulevard has bike lanes - the traffic is at least 55mph (no speed limits posted yet on the road - Autobahn anyone?) and the bike lanes are full of debris and vegetation.

The ped push buttons at the intersection are impossible from a recumbent trike. I need to get a poky stick.

Maybe, once I get over my newly discovered aversion to risk (thank you, pandemic (I worked in retail the entire time and it was life-altering)) I'll boldly ride on the roads again. Until then, poky sticks and sidewalks!

The sidewalk (and the road, and the bike lane) was covered with annoying little chunks of asphalt from nearby road 'improvements'. 

See that nice smooth sidewalk? See the black chunks? The bigger ones are perfect to rub on the front fenders when they get stuck to the tires. I spent some time reaching forward, tapping my fingers on the rolling tires, knocking off the biggest chunks. Tedious.

I inventoried our tubes (Red Leader and I have tires that take the same tubes) and we are down to 2 Presta valve and one emergency very fat Schrader tube (my rims are set up for Schrader but I added shims because I prefer Presta).

So I ordered 8 tubes today, and thorn-guards for my tires. Red Leader has had basically no flats since adding the guards to his tires. I remember a memorable week of 6 flats.

I've restarted my ride tally and I'll keep a running tally of miles as well.

Ciao!

Uninterested

I'm still riding when I can, but I'm totally uninterested in keeping up this blog.
Please enjoy the old posts, and maybe I'll see you on the Sacramento area trails some day!

liz

December/January Catch-up

#463 / #275

Yes, yes, I've been egregiously radio-silent for two months.
Sue me.

December 4th, December 11th, and December 25th Red Leader and I rode up and down the American River.

Then I got a horrible cold, work got busy, and the rain rained hard enough I thought about an Ark.
For pairs of recumbents, of course.

Red Leader got in four rides by himself in January, and then we rode at the same time and in the same place today!

Bliss!

Spring is on the way in Northern California, with green green grass, dead trail-side squirrels, and lots of horse poop.
Sunshine and bird song too.

Several other recumbents (three and two wheeled) out in the sunshine and intrepid runners and roadies and cruisers and all sorts of lucky people with a Friday afternoon off.

I do not know when we/I will ride again, but I'll try not to let it be a month gap again!!

CU

Flippin' Visors

#459 / #267
Thursday, December 1st

Today day we took our short, but not shortest, weekday afternoon ride along the American River.

Red Leader's visor (Da Brim) finally flipped off on the downhill (velcro vs wind) on the Hazel bridge. We were able to retrieve it, no problem.

Chilly - I wore my double layer wool Ibex gloves. Too much. Sweaty wrists. No arm warmers, but did wear tights and my windproof jacket.

And a wool Buff to cover up my super sensitive ears. Were you one of those children who got earaches all the time? I was, and still am. No cold breezes around my ears, please.

Finally, my early fears of riding trikes along the pedestrian/bikeway on the Folsom Auburn bridge came to pass. Some numbnut decided to pass both of us, despite me announcing and gesturing that he could cut in between us until the ONCOMING BICYCLISTS were safely pass. Said oncoming riders ended up slamming to an ungraceful and startled halt, clipped in and clinging to the concrete divider so Mr Numbnuts could ride by. Being a middle aged female, I apologized to them. BUT IT WAS NOT OUR FAULT. I hope Mr. NN got a flat today.
The Petty Person, signing off.

Turkey Trot

#458 / #266
Thanksgiving day 2016

Since I work on our usual holiday ride day (Black Friday) we opted outside a day early.
No turkeys spotted, but we did see some deer. Lots of deer. Remarkably unafraid of us.

A brisk ride of just under 20 miles, I enjoyed the chance to wear my tights, ear warmers, and arm warmers. I ditched the arm warmers after a mile or so.

The trail was not deserted, with family groups on foot and on wheels, and some exercise-hooked singles.

And I would like to offer a PSA to conventional bicycle riders. You might want to get a friend to check your backside for visibility. Not for lights or reflective gear, but for the appearance of your bike shorts or tights in bright sunlight. I can confirm that at least two cyclists yesterday, one male, one female, eschew underwear under their bike bottoms. Then there was the plumber's butt incident. FOR THE LOVE OF MIKE, PULL UP YOUR SHORTS!

that is all

One hour, fifteen

#457 / #264

Monday, November 21st
Retail madness (my new job) - even part time - is interfering with my chances to ride while the sun is shining. Red Leader, being a computer guy and independent of clamoring customers, snuck out for a ride on the 18th. 22.8 miles. Go, Red Leader!!

Today, we cruised around Lake Natoma backwards (counter clockwise) squinting into the patches of sun on the way west, and switching on our lights on the way back east.

I would like to shave 15 minutes off this ride and do it in one hour, but I'd need to be a LOT faster on the flats and really spin around the curvy parts, and charge up the hills. I might never make it, but the attempt will occupy me for a few years.

Next ride, Turkey Day - weather permitting!

Folsom Ramble, a New Beginning

#456 / #262

9.7 miles in beautiful Folsom on Nov 14th
We didn't have a lot of time, so we did a quick lovely ride through lots of fall leaves.
The Hill Shaving Fairies had been at it again, with inclines we used to notice becoming almost unnoticeable.
You will notice that Red Leader's ride number jumped by one more than mine. He has been trying very hard to exercise every other day, and I'm so pleased that he can go for a ride when I'm stuck at work.

Little, Middle, Big or Nerds on Bikes, a Conversation

Friday, Nov 11th

#455 / #260
Little, middle, big might refer to chain rings, but for these two nerdy recumbent riders, it was all about the glutes.

Yes, children. Butt muscles.

Specifically, the proper Latin plural for gluteus medius. That the muscle I feel the most after frequent rides. We never did figure the plural out. Red Leader had more Latin than I ever did, but it was a long time ago.

So, there you have it. Nerds.
Nerds on bikes.
The world is safe again.

CU

Hurry, scurry

#454 / #259

9 Nov. Wednesday

Our usual time for our Wednesday ride was disrupted by the end of daylight savings time, and by my work schedule.

So Red Leader drove in the bike-carrying truck from his work, and I drove from my work, meeting in the Folsom garage around 3:15 to start our refreshing 15 mile ride.

I could only find one water bottle in the morning brain fog, and Red Leader left his in the fridge at work, but my missing bottle was in the car, already full. So we each had a bottle, stopping to refill on our way back by Nimbus boat launch.

We did our shorter weekday afternoon ride from Folsom out to an easy turnaround before Sunrise, then back on whatever side of the lake we hadn't ridden on the way out.

I hope to ride again on Friday or Saturday this week! We shall see.

A Fork in the Road

No. I mean literally. A serving fork on the trail. Just lying there, no reason atall.

#453 / #248
7 Nov. Monday.
Red Leader went for a ride Saturday by himself. And had a flat. The tube in question has been sitting, inflated, on the kitchen counter all day. Still inflated. That man has a flat fairy following him around.

No flats today.
Anyway, we decided to do our old loop around Lake Natoma, as the time change is kind of messing with our usual schedule.
The river is high enough that the Nimbus Dam had two gates open. Nice to see. Does this mean there is hope for the drought? Dunno.
My chain tubes are beat up again, and I'm not sure when I can get in to the shop to get them changed out. Pretty sure Velotechnik did not intend to have the Scorpion folded all the time. So I go through a lot of tubes. Even with my newly acquired habit of putting the chain on the smallest rings.

Unclear when we will ride again. Hope Wednesday.

CU

Long time comin'

Whew. Has it really been THAT LONG since I wrote a blog post? Any blog post?

Yes, yes it has.

months and months and months!
I shall attempt a summary, and a big jump in our ride counts.

Last time we were here:
Me on ride #430  and Red Leader on #224


I can say that we have ridden together every time but twice since then, so I can just count the Strava riding activities and do some arithmetic.


One more ride in July where I forgot to bring my phone. So I manually added a ride based on Red Leader's Strava info. July's average ride distance 20 miles.


Then, four rides in August (five for Red Leader), including a re-visit of Folsom's neighborhood bike paths. Average ride distance 13 miles. A ride of a whopping 2.8 miles accounts for the low average.
This was the month when RL had 6 flats in two days of riding. 5 on the rear wheel. New rim tape seems to have done the trick. Red Leader, on the 2.8 mile ride, dragged his trike off the American River Parkway via a neighborhood access road, while I rode back to get the car and meet him. The ride I didn't go on also involved enough flats that Red Leader ran out of tubes and I had to drive to Sacramento to fetch him. He started carrying his street shoes with him for the next month. A talisman against flats.


Seven rides in September (we resolved to exercise more frequently) with an average distance of 19 miles. One of those was a 8.9 mile slog up to Beales Point.


Nine rides in October (8 for Red Leader). Average of 19.4
My solo ride was from Hazel over to the Capital Air Show. Really fun. I parked bikes with SABA for a few hours, then wandered the airshow in the cool drizzle. Riding back, the detours from traffic control meant I rode a considerable distance further on 5 lane roads, but I was liberally bedecked in hi-viz yellow, blinking lights, and flags, so it was not too bad.


And one in November. So far.



#452 for me and #246 for Red Leader


Somewhere in this back-log mess, my on-board odometer rolled over to 7000 miles. That does not seem like much to me, but at least I noticed it.


The weather is about perfect for riding, as long as the rain stays away. We are nervously anticipating the time change, when our afternoon weekday ride will have to start an hour earlier. Good thing my work schedule is part time and Red Leader has piles of vacation time he must use (or lose).

Two For

Rides #429 and 430  / #223 and 224

Very hot on June 25th. Really awful. But we rode anyway. I can't remember a thing about it. Thank goodness for Strava. If not for Strava I would have no way of figuring out where I rode when.

Then there was the Sunday, July 10th.
Why such a big gap? We were off at a music workshop for a week. Also, when we were home it was hot hot hot.
We decided to ride on the north side of Lake Natoma then out to Elmanto and back to Folsom via the south side. A nice 21 miles. We were moving (for us) pretty fast. Red Leader pointed out that it was his fastest time for that route (by a few seconds). Thank you, Strava.

See, Strava = memory.

Braincells, PHAH.

TaterTOT

June 19th - 22nd 2016

Rides #425-428 (me) / #219-222 (him)

In early summer for the last 10 years, a bunch of recumbent riders have descended on a little hotel in Kellogg Idaho to ride around on a long bike trail and generally have fun.

This year, we finally made it!

By standing Red Leader's (my husband's) Gekko trike (folded) on end, and lashing it to the grab bars, we fit everything in the back of the SUV. Lunch on the first driving day at Black Bear Diner. YUM.

We stopped off in Corvallis to visit with The StepSon, his wife, and their two little dogs. Great pub grub at Block 15 Brewing Co.

Next day, arriving at the hotel in Kellogg, it was like someone kicked over a nest of recumbent riders. Trikes, bikes, and people everywhere.

It was a bit overwhelming, so Red Leader and I went for a little ride up the trail to shake off the 2 days of driving.

Red Leader in yellow Sunday evening on the trail

The next day, we rode with the group (as much of a group as a bunch of independently minded folks can be) to Mullan, the easternmost end of the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes.

Swarm ready to leave for Mullan

Red Leader learned to stop in the shade and eat some raisins. This was RL's longest ride ever at 38 miles. GO TEAM.

I'm melting!

Mullan trailhead

The next day, it looked like rain (it did rain in the morning) so we drove to Wallace (we'd ridden through it the day before) to play tourist.

Railroad museum, silver mine tour (interesting - the mine never produced anything, but was eventually turned into a class room for aspiring high-school aged miners.)

Humongous drill

Ore cart loader

Big metal thing on a chain that drags rock and mud out of the way

Larry, our retired miner guide, unloaded an amazing amount of information on us, including operating mining equipment for us. He took a picture of us in front of the fake entrance to the mine. Tourist-ing is fun!



Lunch at the Blackboard, where I took a pic of the kitten drawing to remind me how patient Red Leader has been with my hunger-induced brain-fades.

Art at the Blackboard Cafe

We went out for a short ride, late in the afternoon, west on the trail. No pictures of this. The trail in this area has informational placards about the (former) mining industry here.

The next day, our last day of riding, we drove with a subset of attendees over to Harrison to ride west to the bridge, then back.

Ready to leave

Some folks went on to Plummer, but I demanded ice cream (think kitten) so we turned around. Huckleberry and Caribou Track ice cream for lunch. YES. I'm ON VACATION!

We packed up the next day and drove home, stopping off at a nice Super8 in Klamath Falls.

The last day, we had great views of Mt Shasta from US97.

Home, home again

#439 / #223

We started earlier (much earlier than Red Leader would normally prefer) today. It will be hot hot hot.
It was under 90 our entire ride, but not by much.

Red Leader stated that 20 miles seems like nothing much now. I suggested we shoot for 20 on weekdays, and 35 on weekends and see how that goes.

We might ride at night later this week (something I'm willing to put up with to avoid frying like an egg on a griddle).

Two notable sights today.
Super Fast Squirrel: the squirrel attained 12mph along side Red Leader. The poor wee beastie was just trying to get back into the weeds while avoiding the madly spinning Wheel of Death beside him.
and
The Incredible Paceline o' Legs: a trio of roller bladers in a perfectly synchronized pace line, pushing along in step. If they had not been in step, they would have fouled each others' skates.

Two June Rides

So, I was so wrapped up in prepping for riding in Idaho (see next post), that I neglected to write about these two local rides.

So, here goes!
#423-424 / #217-218

9th June, a cool afternoon ride along the American River, Folsom to Sunrise and back.
I suppose I should look up the official name of that place we turn around. I mean, "The porta potties and the water fountain" is not very clear, now is it?

onemomentplease

Ok. "The parking lot off Elmanto." There, isn't that better?

12th June, Beals Point.
It was hot, we did it anyway. Red Leader commented that the hills seem less troublesome than before.
I agree.
We should toss this ride in every once in a while for strength. All you who do thousands of feet of climbing for a ride may move along. Nothing to see here. Move along, move along.

May is Bike Month roundup

IOU three posts. It is hot and my brain melted. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

22nd May
#420 / #214
Really nice in-the-groove ride again. AND (news flash) Red Leader's longest ever bike ride. 33.5 miles. So proud of him.

25th May
#421 / #215
Ugh. I just could not get those pedals moving around. Did I do too much? Probably.

30th May
#422 / #216
AND WE DID IT. Red Leader and I both met our pledged miles for May is Bike Month. 200 miles (well, a little more). Next year, I'd like to try for 15 logged rides in May. That's just 6 more than we did this month.
Today was hot hot hot. So RL dragged himself out of bed a bit earlier than he might on a vacation day, allowing us to finish our ride before 1pm. Most of the the time there was a nice breeze, but some of the short hills on the American River Trail were just little bitty bake ovens.
The American River Parkway was jam packed with people. Kids, families, a pair of sisters(?) who happened to ride our same route at the same time and showed up as part of our Strava reckoning. Plenty of other two and three wheeled recumbents. Various rafting parties doing the rubber centipede thing smack down the middle of the paved trail.
Intoxicating smells of barbeque wafting from every park.
We are grilling tonight.

CU - three weeks until Tater TOT! WHOOOO!

Turk-lets. Gob-lets, poults?

#419 / #213

Thursday, 19 May

Another lovely day on the American River Trail, filled with wildlife.
Baby turkeys were seen: my husband, Red Leader, speculated that they would be called  Turk-lets. I voted for Gob-lets. A post-ride consultation with a dictionary yielded 'poults' as a general name for immature fowl. Our designations were better.
Then, there was another edition of Suicide Squirrel. I came as close as I ever have to clobbering one. I missed. But because I missed I think I noticed the face I made. If I'd hit it, I would have no recollection of any facial gyrations on my part . I didn't brake, I didn't swerve, I didn't stop pedaling. Instead, I tilted my head to the left, scrunched my mouth, and clenched my nostrils. Apparently, that was enough to cause the squirrel to teleport out from under my trike.

CU and may your rides be critter-safe.