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AG: Parking on a Pole
On Sun, 11 Oct 2015 12:35:44 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote: Then another guy (at a LAW rally) showed me a sort of multi-step plastic wedge he'd cut out of plexiglass. He'd squeeze the front brake lever, then cram the wedge into the lever's opening to hold that brake on. The front wheel was then unable to roll and the parked bike was much more stable. Blackburn picked up the idea and sold them for a while. http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5087/...71eb9ec3_o.jpg But they're easy to make. For a while, there was a wire loop called a Flickstand for immobilizing the front wheel. It worked very well, but was incompatible with fenders and soon vanished. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Parking on a Pole
On Sun, 11 Oct 2015 23:38:12 -0300, Joy Beeson
wrote: On Sun, 11 Oct 2015 12:35:44 -0400, Frank Krygowski wrote: Then another guy (at a LAW rally) showed me a sort of multi-step plastic wedge he'd cut out of plexiglass. He'd squeeze the front brake lever, then cram the wedge into the lever's opening to hold that brake on. The front wheel was then unable to roll and the parked bike was much more stable. Blackburn picked up the idea and sold them for a while. http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5087/...71eb9ec3_o.jpg But they're easy to make. For a while, there was a wire loop called a Flickstand for immobilizing the front wheel. It worked very well, but was incompatible with fenders and soon vanished. Velo Orange sells a thing called a "wheel stabilizer" for $10 that is supposed to keep the front wheel straight and works with a fender. http://store.velo-orange.com/index.p...tabilizer.html And apparently comes in different sizes to fit different down-tubes. -- cheers, John B. |
AG: Parking on a Pole
On 10/11/2015 10:38 PM, Joy Beeson wrote:
On Sun, 11 Oct 2015 12:35:44 -0400, Frank Krygowski wrote: Then another guy (at a LAW rally) showed me a sort of multi-step plastic wedge he'd cut out of plexiglass. He'd squeeze the front brake lever, then cram the wedge into the lever's opening to hold that brake on. The front wheel was then unable to roll and the parked bike was much more stable. Blackburn picked up the idea and sold them for a while. http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5087/...71eb9ec3_o.jpg But they're easy to make. For a while, there was a wire loop called a Flickstand for immobilizing the front wheel. It worked very well, but was incompatible with fenders and soon vanished. I suspect a bigger reason it vanished was the demise of "standard sized tubing." But I suppose the Flickstand could be redesigned to use a flexible band clamp of some kind. That would allow it even on hydroformed aluminum frames and carbon fiber frames. To my continued bemusement, I almost never see fenders on a bike. Almost none of the members of my bike club use fenders. Once this year I was asked, at the last minute, to lead a regular weeknight club ride when the listed volunteer couldn't lead it. I threw my bike in the car (I usually ride to the start) and drove there through a rainstorm. As I sat in the parking lot, the sky cleared to a perfect blue. And nobody showed up, probably because of the wet roads. I did the ride solo, and had a fine ride. I love fenders. They make a bike so much more practical. See http://www.bicyclinglife.com/Practic...yofFenders.htm -- - Frank Krygowski |
AG: Parking on a Pole
On 10/12/2015 2:25 PM, Phil W Lee wrote:
Frank Krygowski considered Sun, 11 Oct 2015 12:35:44 -0400 the perfect time to write: On 10/10/2015 10:24 PM, Joy Beeson wrote: It has been brought to my attention that the art of parking on a pole is not hard-wired at birth, but must be learned. The process is very simple. Stop near the pole, a few inches away so that the bike will lean against the pole and its center of gravity has to be raised a bit before it can be knocked over. The curve of the saddle should rest against the pole. This prevents the bike from rolling forward. Nudge the pedal on your side with your foot until the pedal on the pole side rests firmly against the pole. This prevents the bike from rolling backward. So now it can't roll, the pole prevents it from falling to one side, and the lean prevents it from falling to the other side. The bike is stable. But sometimes a gust of wind (or a passing child) can give the bike enough of a push to overcome the weight pressing against the pole. Just to be sure, wind your cable lock around the pole and through the frame and both wheels. If the pole is one of a series intended for parking bikes -- wavy pipes that provide several poles for each pair of expensive anchor points are popular -- place your bike at right angles to the row of poles, so that you don't block other riders from using the other poles. If you want the bike locked, select a pole that is very tall, has something big at the top, or is a closed curve. (A post supporting a roof usually meets all three criteria.) Your subject line confused me at first. http://www.who2.com/sites/default/fi...elly-up-28.png When I first started "adult" cycling, my older British friend expressed surprise about my kickstand. He said "there's always _something_ to lean your bike against." And he showed me the pedal-on-a-curb trick: put the curbside pedal just back of straight down, prop the pedal on the curb and turn the front wheel against the curb. The crank acts as a kickstand. It's not super-secure, but it works. Then another guy (at a LAW rally) showed me a sort of multi-step plastic wedge he'd cut out of plexiglass. He'd squeeze the front brake lever, then cram the wedge into the lever's opening to hold that brake on. The front wheel was then unable to roll and the parked bike was much more stable. Blackburn picked up the idea and sold them for a while. http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5087/...71eb9ec3_o.jpg But they're easy to make. My front brake lever on the 'bent has a push-button which locks it in the "on" position. You just squeeze the brake lever, push the button while releasing the lever, and the lever stays in and the brake on. The next squeeze of the lever releases the brake-lock. I can't see a manufacturers name or model on it, but I believe they are fairly common on trikes, which generally have a greater need for them. Mine is compatible with V brakes, but I'm sure whoever makes it would be able to provide models for other braking systems if necessary - just check with trike suppliers. When I had just started riding my very first "ten speed" (1972 or so), another young engineer drove to the big city to buy one for himself. The 1970s bike boom was in full swing, and there were hundreds of new bike shops, with more hundreds of novice bike salesmen. My friend reported that one salesman pointed to the headset-mounted front brake quick release on a bike http://www.thedirtbum.com/wp-content...nger-Front.jpg and said "It's a parking brake!" Indeed, the novice mechanic had set up the brakes so the front wheel was locked when the QR was not open. It's occurred to me that with certain brakes, you could install two different QR mechanisms in series, so to speak, and use one in exactly that way. But I do fine with Blackburn-style brake blocks - mostly home made. -- - Frank Krygowski |
AG: Parking on a Pole
On Wed, 14 Oct 2015 16:45:46 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote: On 10/11/2015 10:38 PM, Joy Beeson wrote: On Sun, 11 Oct 2015 12:35:44 -0400, Frank Krygowski wrote: Then another guy (at a LAW rally) showed me a sort of multi-step plastic wedge he'd cut out of plexiglass. He'd squeeze the front brake lever, then cram the wedge into the lever's opening to hold that brake on. The front wheel was then unable to roll and the parked bike was much more stable. Blackburn picked up the idea and sold them for a while. http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5087/...71eb9ec3_o.jpg But they're easy to make. For a while, there was a wire loop called a Flickstand for immobilizing the front wheel. It worked very well, but was incompatible with fenders and soon vanished. I suspect a bigger reason it vanished was the demise of "standard sized tubing." But I suppose the Flickstand could be redesigned to use a flexible band clamp of some kind. That would allow it even on hydroformed aluminum frames and carbon fiber frames. To my continued bemusement, I almost never see fenders on a bike. Almost none of the members of my bike club use fenders. Once this year I was asked, at the last minute, to lead a regular weeknight club ride when the listed volunteer couldn't lead it. I threw my bike in the car (I usually ride to the start) and drove there through a rainstorm. As I sat in the parking lot, the sky cleared to a perfect blue. And nobody showed up, probably because of the wet roads. I did the ride solo, and had a fine ride. I love fenders. They make a bike so much more practical. See http://www.bicyclinglife.com/Practic...yofFenders.htm I also find that fenders also reduce family squabbles. The kind where you get a fresh, clean, jersey out of the drawer and it has a big black stripe down the back, and you hold it up for your wife's inspection and say, "WHAT IS THIS?" :-) -- cheers, John B. |
AG: Parking on a Pole
On 10/14/2015 11:06 PM, John B. wrote:
On Wed, 14 Oct 2015 16:45:46 -0400, Frank Krygowski wrote: On 10/11/2015 10:38 PM, Joy Beeson wrote: On Sun, 11 Oct 2015 12:35:44 -0400, Frank Krygowski wrote: Then another guy (at a LAW rally) showed me a sort of multi-step plastic wedge he'd cut out of plexiglass. He'd squeeze the front brake lever, then cram the wedge into the lever's opening to hold that brake on. The front wheel was then unable to roll and the parked bike was much more stable. Blackburn picked up the idea and sold them for a while. http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5087/...71eb9ec3_o.jpg But they're easy to make. For a while, there was a wire loop called a Flickstand for immobilizing the front wheel. It worked very well, but was incompatible with fenders and soon vanished. I suspect a bigger reason it vanished was the demise of "standard sized tubing." But I suppose the Flickstand could be redesigned to use a flexible band clamp of some kind. That would allow it even on hydroformed aluminum frames and carbon fiber frames. To my continued bemusement, I almost never see fenders on a bike. Almost none of the members of my bike club use fenders. Once this year I was asked, at the last minute, to lead a regular weeknight club ride when the listed volunteer couldn't lead it. I threw my bike in the car (I usually ride to the start) and drove there through a rainstorm. As I sat in the parking lot, the sky cleared to a perfect blue. And nobody showed up, probably because of the wet roads. I did the ride solo, and had a fine ride. I love fenders. They make a bike so much more practical. See http://www.bicyclinglife.com/Practic...yofFenders.htm I also find that fenders also reduce family squabbles. The kind where you get a fresh, clean, jersey out of the drawer and it has a big black stripe down the back, and you hold it up for your wife's inspection and say, "WHAT IS THIS?" :-) Hmm. Maybe they should sell pre-black-striped jerseys for fenderless riders? It might reduce those squabbles. -- - Frank Krygowski |
AG: Parking on a Pole
On Wed, 14 Oct 2015 23:58:12 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote: On 10/14/2015 11:06 PM, John B. wrote: On Wed, 14 Oct 2015 16:45:46 -0400, Frank Krygowski wrote: On 10/11/2015 10:38 PM, Joy Beeson wrote: On Sun, 11 Oct 2015 12:35:44 -0400, Frank Krygowski wrote: Then another guy (at a LAW rally) showed me a sort of multi-step plastic wedge he'd cut out of plexiglass. He'd squeeze the front brake lever, then cram the wedge into the lever's opening to hold that brake on. The front wheel was then unable to roll and the parked bike was much more stable. Blackburn picked up the idea and sold them for a while. http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5087/...71eb9ec3_o.jpg But they're easy to make. For a while, there was a wire loop called a Flickstand for immobilizing the front wheel. It worked very well, but was incompatible with fenders and soon vanished. I suspect a bigger reason it vanished was the demise of "standard sized tubing." But I suppose the Flickstand could be redesigned to use a flexible band clamp of some kind. That would allow it even on hydroformed aluminum frames and carbon fiber frames. To my continued bemusement, I almost never see fenders on a bike. Almost none of the members of my bike club use fenders. Once this year I was asked, at the last minute, to lead a regular weeknight club ride when the listed volunteer couldn't lead it. I threw my bike in the car (I usually ride to the start) and drove there through a rainstorm. As I sat in the parking lot, the sky cleared to a perfect blue. And nobody showed up, probably because of the wet roads. I did the ride solo, and had a fine ride. I love fenders. They make a bike so much more practical. See http://www.bicyclinglife.com/Practic...yofFenders.htm I also find that fenders also reduce family squabbles. The kind where you get a fresh, clean, jersey out of the drawer and it has a big black stripe down the back, and you hold it up for your wife's inspection and say, "WHAT IS THIS?" :-) Hmm. Maybe they should sell pre-black-striped jerseys for fenderless riders? It might reduce those squabbles. They already make black jerseys, But who wants to wear a dull, black, colored jersey when flamboyance is the name of the game, else bicycles would all be painted black :-) -- cheers, John B. |
AG: Beginners and Parked Cars
Beginners should not ride on streets where parking is allowed; there are skills that you must master before you can safely overtake a parked car. Exception: if the street is one where you wouldn't be surprised to meet a track team jogging down the middle, you may treat it as though it were a Multi-User Path, and use it to practice giving parked cars a wide berth. But don't forget that Multi-User Paths require more alertness than streets do. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Beginners and Parking lots
A rank beginner is apt to flee from a street where cars are constantly overtaking and meeting him into the calm safety of a parking lot -- but in a parking lot, the cars come at you from *every* direction. Until you have a clue, get off and walk whenever you enter a parking lot. I'm assuming that you already know how to walk across a parking lot -- is that rash? -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Beginners and Parking lots
On Sat, 24 Oct 2015 22:06:52 -0300, Joy Beeson
wrote: A rank beginner is apt to flee from a street where cars are constantly overtaking and meeting him into the calm safety of a parking lot -- but in a parking lot, the cars come at you from *every* direction. Until you have a clue, get off and walk whenever you enter a parking lot. I'm assuming that you already know how to walk across a parking lot -- is that rash? Maybe. There a lot more people killed in "Person" - auto collisions than "Bicycle" - Auto collisions :-) -- cheers, John B. |
AG: Beginners and Parking lots
John B. wrote in
: On Sat, 24 Oct 2015 22:06:52 -0300, Joy Beeson wrote: A rank beginner is apt to flee from a street where cars are constantly overtaking and meeting him into the calm safety of a parking lot -- but in a parking lot, the cars come at you from *every* direction. Until you have a clue, get off and walk whenever you enter a parking lot. I'm assuming that you already know how to walk across a parking lot -- is that rash? Maybe. There a lot more people killed in "Person" - auto collisions than "Bicycle" - Auto collisions :-) The problem in parking lots is more often the pedestrians, not the motorists. Avoiding witless pedestrians may put you in conflict with drivers seeking a spot or trying to exit. -- Andrew Chaplin SIT MIHI GLADIUS SICUT SANCTO MARTINO (If you're going to e-mail me, you'll have to get "yourfinger." out.) |
AG: Beginners and Parking lots
On 26/10/2015 3:06 PM, Phil W Lee wrote:
Andrew Chaplin considered Sun, 25 Oct 2015 20:07:59 +0000 (UTC) the perfect time to write: John B. wrote in : On Sat, 24 Oct 2015 22:06:52 -0300, Joy Beeson wrote: A rank beginner is apt to flee from a street where cars are constantly overtaking and meeting him into the calm safety of a parking lot -- but in a parking lot, the cars come at you from *every* direction. Until you have a clue, get off and walk whenever you enter a parking lot. I'm assuming that you already know how to walk across a parking lot -- is that rash? Maybe. There a lot more people killed in "Person" - auto collisions than "Bicycle" - Auto collisions :-) The problem in parking lots is more often the pedestrians, not the motorists. Avoiding witless pedestrians may put you in conflict with drivers seeking a spot or trying to exit. Since a parking lot by definition has pedestrians going to and from their vehicles, the drivers should be aware and on the lookout for them - it is THEIR responsibility to avoid the pedestrians, not the other way around. Driving is optional, being a pedestrian isn't. Anyone who can't drive safely in a parking lot shouldn't be driving at all. Motorists have an absolute responsibility to ensure that they do not cause harm by their use of a motor vehicle. Absolutely. Just as they have a responsibility to not run over innocent cyclists. But in either case I wouldn't want to trust to their responsibilities. |
AG: Beginners and Alleys
Alleys are pleasant to ride in because you hardly ever have to share them. But when you do meet someone in an alley, he is surprised to see you and may not do his share to avoid a collision. If you are also surprised and not doing your share . . . There are twice as many intersections in alleys as on streets. When you are on a street, you can pretty much ignore the alleys, but when you are in an alley, every alley is an intersection. When you cross a street, you will find that the people in the street are pretty much ignoring the alley. Come to a full and complete stop and check carefully before crossing. Looking both ways is harder in alleys than in streets because the set-backs required by law are smaller on alleys than on streets -- and they are more likely to be ignored. There's nothing wrong with setting a storage shed half an inch from the alley, because it isn't a building, it's lawn furniture. Moreover, these sheds are set, by preference, in a corner of the lawn to keep them out of the way, which means that the most-likely location for a shed is right where it blocks your view of the other alley. Summary: If you are a beginner, DON'T USE ALLEYS. If you are an expert, and you are tired, or hungry, or worried sick about something, DON'T USE ALLEYS. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Beginners and Alleys
Joy Beeson wrote in
: Alleys are pleasant to ride in because you hardly ever have to share them. But when you do meet someone in an alley, he is surprised to see you and may not do his share to avoid a collision. If you are also surprised and not doing your share . . . There are twice as many intersections in alleys as on streets. When you are on a street, you can pretty much ignore the alleys, but when you are in an alley, every alley is an intersection. When you cross a street, you will find that the people in the street are pretty much ignoring the alley. Come to a full and complete stop and check carefully before crossing. Looking both ways is harder in alleys than in streets because the set-backs required by law are smaller on alleys than on streets -- and they are more likely to be ignored. There's nothing wrong with setting a storage shed half an inch from the alley, because it isn't a building, it's lawn furniture. Moreover, these sheds are set, by preference, in a corner of the lawn to keep them out of the way, which means that the most-likely location for a shed is right where it blocks your view of the other alley. Summary: If you are a beginner, DON'T USE ALLEYS. If you are an expert, and you are tired, or hungry, or worried sick about something, DON'T USE ALLEYS. We don't see too many alleys hereabouts, they just make the snow clearance problem more complex. There is one alley on my route from work to one of my favourite pubs. It parallels a main street in an old neighbourhood and means I do not have to make a left turn into heavy traffic (not that difficult, since there is a traffic light at that intersection) followed by a left turn across heavy traffic (a tedious task since there is no light, and one has to bull one's way across a lane of traffic to get into position to make the turn). I rarely meet a vehicle in the alley, but, since I know the route well, I know where there are bolt-holes where I can lay by and let the motorist through. Sometimes, however, delivery vehicles stop in the alley and I have to dismount since there is barely a handlebar width available. -- Andrew Chaplin SIT MIHI GLADIUS SICUT SANCTO MARTINO (If you're going to e-mail me, you'll have to get "yourfinger." out.) |
AG: Fuel: some assembly required.
While taking a recreational tour of Meijer after lunching at Panda Express on my way home from Goodwill, I found a display of single-serve envelopes of almond butter, bought one, and added it to my emergency snacks. Which was rather silly, as it's useless without bread or crackers. It was a reflex, left over from the days when I needed sandwich components that would keep for four hours at ninety degrees. In those days I usually carried High Calorie Muffins, and I'll post about that some day, but today I'll reminisce about sandwiches that don't go icky before lunch time. One trick was to put a slice of dried beef between two slices of bread and carry a small whole tomato. Uncut tomatoes will keep good for days at room temperature, and love a couple of hours at "crystals of salt all over my face" temperature. Find a picnic table or a shady spot, slice the tomato onto the salty beef, yum! Most fresh vegetables keep well when uncut. I once bought some sweet peppers at a roadside stand, to the considerable improvement of my lunch. Once I took a single-serve can of chicken salad to spread on my bread. That didn't work out so well. I open such cans with a can opener when I'm at home, so I wasn't in the habit of being very, very careful of the sharp microtooth saw that wrench-and-flip lids leave on the can. It was a very small cut, but bled like a stuck pig. The bleeding stopped instantly when I pressed my thumb on the cut and held my hand over my head, but getting a band-aid out of my emergency kit while holding that position wasn't easy. To carry a beverage that would spoil if allowed to get warm, freeze a small amount in a container with a tight lid, fill the container just before leaving. Beverage ice cubes don't work; the good stuff freezes out of the beverage and sticks to the ice tray. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Fuel: some assembly required.
On Sat, 07 Nov 2015 23:24:00 -0400, Joy Beeson
wrote: While taking a recreational tour of Meijer after lunching at Panda Express on my way home from Goodwill, I found a display of single-serve envelopes of almond butter, bought one, and added it to my emergency snacks. Which was rather silly, as it's useless without bread or crackers. It was a reflex, left over from the days when I needed sandwich components that would keep for four hours at ninety degrees. In those days I usually carried High Calorie Muffins, and I'll post about that some day, but today I'll reminisce about sandwiches that don't go icky before lunch time. One trick was to put a slice of dried beef between two slices of bread and carry a small whole tomato. Uncut tomatoes will keep good for days at room temperature, and love a couple of hours at "crystals of salt all over my face" temperature. Find a picnic table or a shady spot, slice the tomato onto the salty beef, yum! Most fresh vegetables keep well when uncut. I once bought some sweet peppers at a roadside stand, to the considerable improvement of my lunch. Once I took a single-serve can of chicken salad to spread on my bread. That didn't work out so well. I open such cans with a can opener when I'm at home, so I wasn't in the habit of being very, very careful of the sharp microtooth saw that wrench-and-flip lids leave on the can. It was a very small cut, but bled like a stuck pig. The bleeding stopped instantly when I pressed my thumb on the cut and held my hand over my head, but getting a band-aid out of my emergency kit while holding that position wasn't easy. To carry a beverage that would spoil if allowed to get warm, freeze a small amount in a container with a tight lid, fill the container just before leaving. Beverage ice cubes don't work; the good stuff freezes out of the beverage and sticks to the ice tray. I mix a normal bicycle bottle full of "beverage" and freeze the entire bottle and contents over night. In 30 - 31 (C) weather it will last for about 4 hours before it gets warm. -- cheers, John B. |
AG: Fuel: some assembly required.
On Sun, 08 Nov 2015 12:18:42 +0700, John B.
wrote: I mix a normal bicycle bottle full of "beverage" and freeze the entire bottle and contents over night. In 30 - 31 (C) weather it will last for about 4 hours before it gets warm. One summer I froze water in bottles, used it to keep my cooler cold, and when I'd emptied both bike bottles, began to pour a quarter bottle of ice water at a time. This was very good for hydration, because I was strongly motivated to drink it before it got warm. But toward the end of one ride, I was frantically trying to get the ice to thaw faster. It's odd: when I lived in upstate New York, I always carried food, but was confident of being able to re-fill my bottles. In Indiana, I usually eat in restaurants, but always carry water. Hrrm. I remember stopping in the racquet club on a very hot day with four bottles in my arms and remarking that I'd re-filled them three (or was it four) times and yet was in no particular hurry to get to the ladies' locker room. Four bottles is about what I carry now -- my rides are shorter! A perfectly-good puzzle ruined by a fact. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Fuel: some assembly required.
On Sun, 08 Nov 2015 19:44:54 -0400, Joy Beeson
wrote: On Sun, 08 Nov 2015 12:18:42 +0700, John B. wrote: I mix a normal bicycle bottle full of "beverage" and freeze the entire bottle and contents over night. In 30 - 31 (C) weather it will last for about 4 hours before it gets warm. One summer I froze water in bottles, used it to keep my cooler cold, and when I'd emptied both bike bottles, began to pour a quarter bottle of ice water at a time. This was very good for hydration, because I was strongly motivated to drink it before it got warm. But toward the end of one ride, I was frantically trying to get the ice to thaw faster. It's odd: when I lived in upstate New York, I always carried food, but was confident of being able to re-fill my bottles. In Indiana, I usually eat in restaurants, but always carry water. Hrrm. I remember stopping in the racquet club on a very hot day with four bottles in my arms and remarking that I'd re-filled them three (or was it four) times and yet was in no particular hurry to get to the ladies' locker room. Four bottles is about what I carry now -- my rides are shorter! A perfectly-good puzzle ruined by a fact. Riding in Bangkok one can get along perfectly well without either food or water as nearly every gasoline pump has a 7-11 or another shop as part of the complex. I don't usually use them as I prefer to carry my own supplies and stop where there is a shady area to rest, but it is nice to know that they are there in an emergency. In other areas it isn't as handy as the service stations are further apart and "country gas stations" may not have a 7-11. -- cheers, John B. |
AG: Fuel: some assembly required.
On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 18:01:22 +0700, John B.
wrote: Riding in Bangkok one can get along perfectly well without either food or water as nearly every gasoline pump has a 7-11 or another shop as part of the complex. I don't usually use them as I prefer to carry my own supplies and stop where there is a shady area to rest, but it is nice to know that they are there in an emergency. In other areas it isn't as handy as the service stations are further apart and "country gas stations" may not have a 7-11. I don't think I ever stopped at a gas station when I lived in New York State -- not on the bike. (I avoided the sort of road that had gas stations as much as possible, and I lived where the shortest route to a destination was seldom along a main road.) There was a convenience chain called Stewart's Shops that were good rest stops, and every one had an outdoor faucet for re-filling one's bottles. I recall having one of my bottles filled with hot cocoa in a Stewart's near the Albany city limits one frigid day. When the Mohawk-Hudson Wheelmen wanted to print a packet of their ride maps, Stewart's agreed to pay for the printing and cartography in exchange for having the locations of their stores marked on the maps. *That* was a really good deal! Around here, I don't recall being in a gas station that didn't at least sell hot coffee, if you don't count Country Mark. Once when I stopped for a slice of pizza at the Marathon in Larwill, I saw the attendant rolling out pizza dough. The Marathon in Leesburg has anonymous fried things in an infra-red display case. I thought I was pointing at potato wedges, but it turned out to be miniature tacos. The gas station near Atwood didn't have anything as good as my emergency bars, but I bought a bottle of juice. (Great ride, disappointing destination; Atwood turned out to be one of those towns that is no longer around.) It's getting hard to distinguish among gas stations, convenience stores, and groceries: gas stations have expanded their candy-and-aspirin offerings into full-scale convenients, and groceries increasingly have gas pumps. -- Joy Beeson joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ |
AG: Fuel: some assembly required.
On Tue, 10 Nov 2015 23:30:44 -0400, Joy Beeson
wrote: On Mon, 09 Nov 2015 18:01:22 +0700, John B. wrote: Riding in Bangkok one can get along perfectly well without either food or water as nearly every gasoline pump has a 7-11 or another shop as part of the complex. I don't usually use them as I prefer to carry my own supplies and stop where there is a shady area to rest, but it is nice to know that they are there in an emergency. In other areas it isn't as handy as the service stations are further apart and "country gas stations" may not have a 7-11. I don't think I ever stopped at a gas station when I lived in New York State -- not on the bike. (I avoided the sort of road that had gas stations as much as possible, and I lived where the shortest route to a destination was seldom along a main road.) There was a convenience chain called Stewart's Shops that were good rest stops, and every one had an outdoor faucet for re-filling one's bottles. I recall having one of my bottles filled with hot cocoa in a Stewart's near the Albany city limits one frigid day. When the Mohawk-Hudson Wheelmen wanted to print a packet of their ride maps, Stewart's agreed to pay for the printing and cartography in exchange for having the locations of their stores marked on the maps. *That* was a really good deal! Around here, I don't recall being in a gas station that didn't at least sell hot coffee, if you don't count Country Mark. Once when I stopped for a slice of pizza at the Marathon in Larwill, I saw the attendant rolling out pizza dough. The Marathon in Leesburg has anonymous fried things in an infra-red display case. I thought I was pointing at potato wedges, but it turned out to be miniature tacos. The gas station near Atwood didn't have anything as good as my emergency bars, but I bought a bottle of juice. (Great ride, disappointing destination; Atwood turned out to be one of those towns that is no longer around.) It's getting hard to distinguish among gas stations, convenience stores, and groceries: gas stations have expanded their candy-and-aspirin offerings into full-scale convenients, and groceries increasingly have gas pumps. The old "General Store" with the two gasoline pumps out in front :-) -- cheers, John B. |
AG: Fuel: some assembly required.
On Tue, 10 Nov 2015 23:30:44 -0400, Joy Beeson
wrote: The Marathon in Leesburg Pierceton! Why I say "Leesburg" when I mean "Pierceton", I have no idea. Neither the words nor the towns have anything in common. -- Joy Beeson, U.S.A., mostly central Hoosier, some Northern Indiana, Upstate New York, Florida, and Hawaii joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Fuel: High Calorie Muffins
from
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/COOKBOOK/COOKBOOK.TXT ================================================== ======================= High Calorie Muffins 1 cup raw sunflower seeds 1 cup raisins 1 cup self-rising mixed edible powder 1 cup liquid (more or less) sweetener to taste Mix ingredients, divide among twelve or eighteen generously-oiled muffin tins, bake at 350 (or what whatever else you're baking takes) until done. A cup of the syrup off canned fruit makes a good muffin. Apple- juice concentrate makes the muffin unpleasantly tart. A few overripe bananas instead of liquid make a very good muffin. Honey is good when the powder is of delicate flavor; molasses is good with spices -- but spiced muffins aren't good on the road. Package in sandwich bags and freeze until wanted. Muffins will keep two or three weeks in the freezer and about twelve hours at 90. These muffins were my answer to a cyclist's need for small amounts of food at frequent intervals, and an old lady's need to be fed immediately when hungry. "Mixed edible powder" is assorted thises and thats to taste: soy flour and torula yeast for meat, kelp powder for vegetables, rose hip powder for fruit, malt flour for flavor, potato flour because I want to use it up, calcium carbonate because I don't want to put milk in something that may sit around for hours at incubator temperature, .. . . , sufficient whole-wheat bread flour to make six cups, and two tablespoons of baking powder. It makes good pancakes if it's at least two-thirds wheat flour. Sift the powder from one bowl [or square of waxed paper] to another until thoroughly mixed. An old-fashioned crank-type sifter is almost essential for this operation. A half-gallon tea strainer will work. A five-pound honey tin holds six cups of mix. Mix keeps indefinitely if kept in an airtight container in the freezer, but might go rancid at room temperature. White-flour muffins don't cotton to raisins and sunflower seeds, but a mix based on white flour can make good pancakes. ================================================== ======================= Washing eighteen muffin cups got old really fast. I tried making bars by baking the batter in a cake pan and slicing it, but the cake didn't have sufficient tensile strength. (Maybe more gluten in the self-rising mixed edible powder?) Then I tried baking it sheet-cookie style, and the crust held the bars together. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Never lead a pedestrian
Y'know how when you are waiting for a car to get out of your way, you lead him a little? That is, you start to get back into the saddle while he is still in front of you -- or if he's moving fast and is on the other side of the street, before he even gets there -- and by the time you get to the lane he is in, he's long gone. Don't EVER pull that stunt on a pedestrian. When a pedestrian sees a vehicle start getting ready to move, he stops dead in his tracks. It's hard-wired on a subconscious level that a stationary target is easier to miss, and the reflex clicks in without consulting the cortex. If you were expecting to pass behind him, he will freeze in the exact center of your intended path. Much confusion and embarrassment will ensue. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Never lead a pedestrian
On Saturday, November 21, 2015 at 10:17:14 PM UTC-5, Joy Beeson wrote:
Y'know how when you are waiting for a car to get out of your way, you lead him a little? That is, you start to get back into the saddle while he is still in front of you -- or if he's moving fast and is on the other side of the street, before he even gets there -- and by the time you get to the lane he is in, he's long gone. Don't EVER pull that stunt on a pedestrian. When a pedestrian sees a vehicle start getting ready to move, he stops dead in his tracks. It's hard-wired on a subconscious level that a stationary target is easier to miss, and the reflex clicks in without consulting the cortex. If you were expecting to pass behind him, he will freeze in the exact center of your intended path. Much confusion and embarrassment will ensue. Most pedestrians have squirrel brains and are unable to solve a triangle of velocities that involves them and a moving vehicle. Today, however, I met one who could. I suspect that he was a motorist who had had to leave his vehicle. -- Andrew Chaplin SIT MIHI GLADIUS SICUT SANCTO MARTINO |
AG: Fuel: bananas
Bananas are the canonical bike fuel. They are low in water and therefore high in other nutrients, but don't make you thirsty. Bananas come in an easy-open biodegradable wrapper that lets you eat them without touching your food with your filthy hands, bananas never dribble on your jersey, and bananas contain no pits to choke on when refueling too fast -- you could swallow a banana without chewing it at all, if you had to. Bananas are so mild in flavor that many of the people who don't like them can eat them anyway. Most important, bananas are available at all seasons of the year, and almost every food store sells bananas -- I've even seen them for sale in gas stations -- so it's quite safe to get habituated to them. I used to carry a banana and a snack bag of nuts for lunch. Bite the end of the banana flat, press one or more pieces of nut into the freshly-bitten surface, repeat. This has a good balance of sugar, complex carbs, protein, and fat. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Fuel: bananas
- Joy Beeson / Sun, 29 Nov 2015 05:26:08 +0100
Bananas are the canonical bike fuel. They are low in water and therefore high in other nutrients, but don't make you thirsty. Bananas have quite some 'instant fuel' (glucose) as well as 'long-term fuel' (starch), plus minerals. And they are low in fat and acid (so they don't distract energy for digestion). Bananas are so mild in flavor that many of the people who don't like them can eat them anyway. That's mainly because they are low in acid and high in starch (like potatoes - cooked or baked ones, not deep-fried). When I go on a tour (by bike, boat, or feet) I indeed prefer baked potatoes [wash them, don't peel, cook for 5 minutes or not, then into the stove, high temperature, wait until the peel cracks open -- fresh small ones of a waxy type are best]. Fuel #1 is of course water. Tour cycling for an hour takes about 100 »calories« extra, that's TWO chocolate cookies. No need for additional food. Eating additional meals because of sports activity makes you fat. Proof: Look at the people in a restaurant connected to a tennis or squash ground. They are damn fat. Water is important. I use a stainless-steel bottle, not plastics or aluminium alloy. Ok to add some salt (sweat tastes salty, so sweating means losing salt). A few grains are enough. Most important, bananas are available at all seasons of the year, and almost every food store sells bananas -- I've even seen them for sale in gas stations -- so it's quite safe to get habituated to them. Bananas are preferred monkey food. Our organism is not far away from monkeys' organisms. So the choice is good (proof by non-lethal animal test). In fact, the biggest mistake we humans make is eating too much at a time. A burger is ok if one likes burgers. But a king or mc menue definitely is an over-dose. jk -- no sig |
AG: Fuel: Starlight Mints
When I first reached my full height, I weighed one hundred and fifteen pounds, and I was plump. I got plumper with the passing of years. A decade or three later, I started taking the September Century seriously, and between exercising more and having less time to nibble, my weight dropped to a hundred and twenty pounds. One friend said I made him think of Dachau, and when I got access to a swimming pool for the first time in years, I jumped into the deep end expecting to bob up like a cork and went to the bottom like a rock. Muscle is a lot denser than fat. I noticed that I was exhausted after every ride, no matter how long or short. Soon after returning home, I would feel as though I were a marionette and someone had cut my strings. One day I had two separate conditions either of which by itself would have been a good reason to spend the day in bed, but for some now-forgotten reason, I *had* to go to Guilderland. About a mile from home, I realized that I'd forgotten to bring cough drops. It was about as far to the village as to go back, so I went on and stopped at the supermarket. Alas, there wasn't a single cough drop to be had. I bought a bag of hard candy; candy would suppress the cough until it had all dissolved, then I could take another. I not only wasn't exhausted when I came back, I felt better than I had when I started. That was a pretty low bar, but it inspired me to carry candy whenever I rode, and I never had any more sinking spells. When candy is taken as medicine, it's wise to always take the same flavor -- when I carried mixed flavors, I would think "that red one was pretty good; I wonder what flavor the purple one is?" and overdose. I settled on starlight mints because starlight mints are always available. Well, I forgot to take mints to Columbia City once, and had to hit the third pharmacy before I found some, but I did find them, in a town where I didn't even know the territory. Starlight mints have another virtue: if I'm the teensiest bit thirsty, they taste terrible, so I have an early warning of dehydration. At a hundred and sixty-nine pounds and significantly less muscle, I throw out more mints than I eat, but every now and again I'm glad that I still carry mints. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Fuel: Starlight Mints
- Joy Beeson / Sun, 06 Dec 2015 04:37:46 +0100
Joking about Dachau, I must call you an idiot. You can get a first-class free tour from me, should you ever come to an area near Dachau. American soldiers, after WW-II, did an immensely good job casting Nazi-stuff out of Germans' brains. No joke, true. Then you sucker do such infamous jokes, unbelieveable. Go and free Iraq. jk -- no sig |
AG: Retraction
I have often said that mirrors are important enough that it's worth wearing a helmet just to provide a firm support for your rear-view mirror. I recently discovered that now that Chuck Harris is dead, it is no longer possible to buy a helmet mirror. Hubbub's mirrors were designed to be a substitute for mirrors that Mr. Harris could not make fast enough, but they are an inch and five-eighths wide -- a bit more than half again the proper width. If you do the math, that means that they block more than twice as many steradians as they need to, so they don't fit neatly into the upper left corner that you don't use very much. They are, in short, no better than the billboard mirrors that my local bike shop gave up trying to sell. But, it now occurs to me, one could mount one of the billboard mirrors so high and so far to the left that part of it isn't in your range of vision at all. Too late; I've already taken my Hubbub mirror to the Goodwill store. By good luck, my spouse remembered that he had stashed away a Chuck Harris mirror that fastens with soldered-on clips instead of the bent wires on mine, and the clips can be attached to the suspension of my no-helmet helmet, so I can at long last wear my new hat. (The foam hats you see today started out as liners for hardshell helmets.) -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Fuel: some assembly required.
On Sat, 07 Nov 2015 23:24:00 -0400, Joy Beeson
wrote: While taking a recreational tour of Meijer after lunching at Panda Express on my way home from Goodwill, I found a display of single-serve envelopes of almond butter, bought one, and added it to my emergency snacks. Which was rather silly, as it's useless without bread or crackers. I finally got around to eating the almond butter, and it turned out that it would have been a poor choice for packing in a lunch: I required a smooth, flat table and a plastic table knife to squeeze the last tablespoon out of the envelope. I wonder what metric people would say? Cubic centimeter and milliliter are too small, and deciliter is too big; if I haven't misremembered somewhere, a deciliter would be about two-fifths of a cup, and the whole 326-gram (1.15 oz.) envelope was only a tad more than an eighth of a cup, assuming that almond butter isn't a whole bunch less dense than water. Calculating: a cc is a microstere, a liter is a millistere ... dekamike? (I once wrote a story in which the vernacular term for cc was "mike".) (Perhaps liter would have been "milly", but nobody had occasion to say it, so we will never know.) -- Joy Beeson joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ |
AG: Fuel: some assembly required.
- Joy Beeson / Mon, 14 Dec 2015 17:16:53 +0100
I finally got around to eating the almond butter, and it turned out that it would have been a poor choice for packing in a lunch: I required a smooth, flat table and a plastic table knife to squeeze the last tablespoon out of the envelope. I wonder what metric people would say? As we are used to computers more than to soup (or at least don't eat solids by using a spoon), we'd say »the last bit« (or: bite). In daily life, one would say »the last couple of grams«, as well. Cubic centimeter and milliliter are too small, and deciliter is too big; ... According to cooking literature, a tea-spoon is about 5 ml, and a table-spoon 15 ml. An american cup is about 1/4 liter (250 g of water). As a liter (l) of water weighs 1 kg, 1 milliliter (ml) weighs 1 gram (g). As liter is a derived measurement (1/1000 m³ = 1/1000 cube meter), 1 cube centimeter (cm³ or cc) is exactly 1 ml. So, it isn't that complicated. Centiliters and deciliters are not commonly used (on some drinking glasses for strong stuff, you find the filling mark labeled '2 cl' or '4 cl' - that's about the only place to find 'cl'). For fluids, small amounts are either calculated in milliliter or liter numbers, big amounts are calculates in cube meters. ... if I haven't misremembered somewhere, a deciliter would be about two-fifths of a cup, and the whole 326-gram (1.15 oz.) envelope was only a tad more than an eighth of a cup, assuming that almond butter isn't a whole bunch less dense than water. No. We got rid of all these ancient measuring units and introduced the metric system exactly to stop this harrasment. Almond butter and similar fats have a density of ~ .9, so a glass containing 362 gram has a volume of about .4 liters, which makes about 1.6 US kitchen-cups or 27 table-spoons. Calculating: a cc is a microstere, a liter is a millistere ... dekamike? (I once wrote a story in which the vernacular term for cc was "mike".) (Perhaps liter would have been "milly", but nobody had occasion to say it, so we will never know.) Sorry, in Europe, 'Ster' is a cube meter of stacked forest wood (which is less than a cube meter of full material, because of the gaps in the stack). Nobody uses these expressions except when dealing with firewood. A 'cc' (better: cm³) is 1/1000 liter or 1/1000000 m³, and the expression is mainly used for car engines. Metric system is very easy; smaller units are broken down from bigger (or main) units by factors of 10. So a millimeter is 1/1000 meter, and a kilometer is 1000 meters. Wtf is good about calculating with multiples of 1/64 inch, while an inch is 1/12 foot, and a foot 1/3 yard, a yard 1/1760 mile (which is 1/55*32 - incoherent as can be), while a nautical mile makes 6076 feet 125⁄64 inch? Not talking about a foot with a foot length. While an average male foot is about 10 1/2" long, a foot with a foot length needs size 13 or 13 1/2, already considered as over-sized. Or weight: The lowest unit, 'dram' is 1/16 ounce (why not stay concludent in 1/12 grid like with length?), and an ounce is 1/16 pound (gratulations!!! twice 1/16), and a pound is 1/14 stone, a stone 1/2 quarter or 1/8 hundredweight (which makes 100 pounds - the first decimal factor, very good), which is 1/20 ton. Sorry, using such a messed-up system, there is no reason to ridicule the metric one. A kilometer (walking / driving unit) is 10000 centimeters (desk ruler unit). A mile (land, not sea / air) makes 63360 inches. Whow, how simple to handle is this? Our bike screws have 5, 6, 8, or 10 mm thread diameter, [not 3/16", 1/4", 5/16", 3/8"] the fitting wrench tools have 8, 10, 13, 17 mm opening width [not 3/8" - 7/16" - 1/2" - 9/16" ... why aren't they signed 6/16" - 7/16" - 8/16" - 9/16" ... that would be a little bit coherent, at least]. Rumor says, US congress has opposed introducing the metric system »because it was made by atheists«. In fact, it was made-up by very very catholic French guys. All they opposed was their emperor's claim to have received absolute power by god himself - what for the others was shere blasphemy, and this lead to French revolution. jk -- no sig |
AG: Faster than a speeding turtle
Amazingly, there exist people who object to wearing cycling-specific clothing on bicycles -- some of them running in circles and screeching hysterically about it. The ones who say "wearing Spandex makes you look as though you were trying to dress up as Superman", I'll ignore with the contempt they deserve. Besides, *good* cycle clothes don't contain a trace of Spandex or any other brand of elastane except in the waistband and the back-pocket closings -- they get their stretch from being 100% wool. But machine-washable wool has become unobtainable -- hence my years-long project to put hundreds of dollars of labor into renovating a jersey that cost less than sixty dollars in the first place. Then there are those who shout that we shouldn't wear cycling clothes because it gives beginners the idea that they can't ride their disposable Walmart bikes without spending hundreds of dollars on special clothing. Say What? Sure, it would be irresponsible to tell beginners that they can't ride in their blue jeans, but nobody is doing that -- in fact, when I began, an experienced rider advised me "don't ever try wearing black shorts, because you won't be able to ride in anything else if you do." Entities who say that I should be uncomfortable in order to set a good example are no different from entities who say that I should wear crippling shoes because it is stylish to look easy to catch. Wear what's comfortable and ignore the fashion critics. http://wlweather.net/pagesew/IMAGES/LINJERSF.JPG -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Faster than a speeding turtle
On 12/19/2015 9:18 PM, Joy Beeson wrote:
Amazingly, there exist people who object to wearing cycling-specific clothing on bicycles -- some of them running in circles and screeching hysterically about it. The ones who say "wearing Spandex makes you look as though you were trying to dress up as Superman", I'll ignore with the contempt they deserve. Besides, *good* cycle clothes don't contain a trace of Spandex or any other brand of elastane except in the waistband and the back-pocket closings -- they get their stretch from being 100% wool. But machine-washable wool has become unobtainable -- hence my years-long project to put hundreds of dollars of labor into renovating a jersey that cost less than sixty dollars in the first place. Then there are those who shout that we shouldn't wear cycling clothes because it gives beginners the idea that they can't ride their disposable Walmart bikes without spending hundreds of dollars on special clothing. Say What? Sure, it would be irresponsible to tell beginners that they can't ride in their blue jeans, but nobody is doing that -- in fact, when I began, an experienced rider advised me "don't ever try wearing black shorts, because you won't be able to ride in anything else if you do." Entities who say that I should be uncomfortable in order to set a good example are no different from entities who say that I should wear crippling shoes because it is stylish to look easy to catch. Wear what's comfortable and ignore the fashion critics. http://wlweather.net/pagesew/IMAGES/LINJERSF.JPG I note that Jan Heine (of _Bicycle Quarterly_ and Compass Bicycles) is now pushing cycling knickers. https://www.compasscycle.com/shop/co...pass-knickers/ I'm not sure where they fit on your spectrum of "comfortable" vs. "fashion." -- - Frank Krygowski |
AG: Faster than a speeding turtle
On Sun, 20 Dec 2015 00:45:00 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote: I note that Jan Heine (of _Bicycle Quarterly_ and Compass Bicycles) is now pushing cycling knickers. https://www.compasscycle.com/shop/co...pass-knickers/ Blog bookmarked. I'm not sure where they fit on your spectrum of "comfortable" vs. "fashion." I don't have to decide -- they don't come in women's sizes. "Synthetic" is only slightly more specific than "fabric". Sometimes I don't get on at all well with polyester -- I once had to Goodwill an absolutely gorgeous dress because it contained a small percentage of polyester -- so I need a little more detail before mail-ordering a synthetic garment. --------------------- http://wlweather.net/pagesew/LINJERSY_files/25NJB.jpg I don't know how many years I've been wearing knickers, but I've worn out at least three pairs. And a pair lasts more than one season. Just made use of the ammo box -- twice, because I tore a pattern off the "my pants" nail while getting down, and had to plug the iron into the outlet in the ceiling to mend it. Um, three times because after ironing a patch onto the pattern, I had to hang it up again. Anyhow, the knickers pattern says I made the cotton-linen pair in 2009 and my current pair in 2011. I made at least two pairs of pure linen before resorting to a blend. (Sometimes a blend of cotton and linen is better than either used alone. This fabric was not one of those blends.) I wonder whether the pattern I used for the earlier knickers is still on the nail, but I can just barely reach it even when standing on an ammo box, and I'm not that curious. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ http://wlweather.net/N3F/ -- Writers' Exchange |
AG: Staying Awake
To stay awake between noon and three o'clock, I need a hefty jolt of caffeine. By good luck, I never became habituated to caffeine, so a pint of cold tea will do the job. The summer before last, I put tiles band-sawed from a brick of tea into a glass saucepan, filled the pan with water, and brought it to a boil. When it was boiling, I'd put in some lemon grass and a sprig of cinnamon basil (or whatever I found in the garden that I thought would ameliorate the taste of boiled tea), put the lid on, and allow it to cool. Then I'd strain the tea into a pitcher, refill the pan, boil the leaves again, strain this batch into the pitcher, and throw out the leaves. I would divide this strong tea into bottles, freeze them, and just before an all-day ride I would fill the head space of a bottle with fruit juice and put the bottle into my cooler, to be put into the front bottle cage at noon. It would be about half frozen at this stage, and thaw quickly in the summer heat. Come fall, it came time to make tea and I realized that the tea wouldn't thaw fast enough now that the heat was bearable. The dime dropped, and I put two heaping teaspoons of loose tea into a bottle, filled it, put it into the back bottle cage, and left it at garage temperature all night. (Some folks call cold-brewed tea "sun tea", but the sun is strictly optional; it brews just fine in a dark refrigerator, but takes a few hours longer than it does at ambient on a hot day.) Last summer I brewed my tea one bottle at a time. I'd put tea into a stainless saucepan, fill a bottle, empty the bottle into the saucepan, set it over the lowest-possible heat, when it came to a boil maybe an hour later, I'd turn off the heat, put on the lid, allow it to cool, then chill it until time to strain it into a bottle. I might freeze as much juice as I thought would replace what had boiled away and what had soaked into the leaves, or I might empty the saucepan into the bottle and then fill the bottle with juice. Or I might freeze a little tea in a disposable bottle, fill it up from the saucepan, and freeze any left-overs for next time. I really, really wish that Marsh hadn't stopped selling Smith Brothers Caffeine drops. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Staying Awake
On Sat, 26 Dec 2015 23:49:42 -0400, Joy Beeson
wrote: To stay awake between noon and three o'clock, I need a hefty jolt of caffeine. By good luck, I never became habituated to caffeine, so a pint of cold tea will do the job. The summer before last, I put tiles band-sawed from a brick of tea into a glass saucepan, filled the pan with water, and brought it to a boil. When it was boiling, I'd put in some lemon grass and a sprig of cinnamon basil (or whatever I found in the garden that I thought would ameliorate the taste of boiled tea), put the lid on, and allow it to cool. Then I'd strain the tea into a pitcher, refill the pan, boil the leaves again, strain this batch into the pitcher, and throw out the leaves. I would divide this strong tea into bottles, freeze them, and just before an all-day ride I would fill the head space of a bottle with fruit juice and put the bottle into my cooler, to be put into the front bottle cage at noon. It would be about half frozen at this stage, and thaw quickly in the summer heat. Come fall, it came time to make tea and I realized that the tea wouldn't thaw fast enough now that the heat was bearable. The dime dropped, and I put two heaping teaspoons of loose tea into a bottle, filled it, put it into the back bottle cage, and left it at garage temperature all night. (Some folks call cold-brewed tea "sun tea", but the sun is strictly optional; it brews just fine in a dark refrigerator, but takes a few hours longer than it does at ambient on a hot day.) With a good dose of sugar you would be producing something akin to Red Bull energy drink :-) Last summer I brewed my tea one bottle at a time. I'd put tea into a stainless saucepan, fill a bottle, empty the bottle into the saucepan, set it over the lowest-possible heat, when it came to a boil maybe an hour later, I'd turn off the heat, put on the lid, allow it to cool, then chill it until time to strain it into a bottle. I might freeze as much juice as I thought would replace what had boiled away and what had soaked into the leaves, or I might empty the saucepan into the bottle and then fill the bottle with juice. Or I might freeze a little tea in a disposable bottle, fill it up from the saucepan, and freeze any left-overs for next time. I really, really wish that Marsh hadn't stopped selling Smith Brothers Caffeine drops. There used to be a "No-Doze" tablet sold that I used when sailing to stay awake. I wonder whether they are still sold. -- cheers, John B. |
AG: Fitzall Hosiery
After you put on a stretch-to-fit stocking and get it settled into place, pinch it at the big toe, stretch it, and let it spring back. The stocking will fit much better. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Trek Pure
A few years ago, I bought a Trek Pure model of "comfort bike" so that I could exercise a sprained knee without putting any weight on it. It's been useful several times since: It makes an excellent granny walker, and if a hill gets too steep to draisine, the extra-high handlebars and the deep notch in the middle of the frame make it a good rolling cane. I rode it around the block one day when I needed a walker to get to where I'd parked it, and at least twice I've bungeed a cane to the back. And it's also a dandy toy: it sits in the garage ready to go, and if I feel like a little spin, I can hop onto it in whatever I happen to be wearing, as long as I'm willing to leave the house in it. If the pants I'm wearing are already shabby, I don't even pin my ankles to keep my hems from rubbing on the sprocket guard. If I'm feeling poorly on a Sunday, I'll ride it wearing floor-length skirts -- but I do have a special pair of pedal pushers to wear instead of pettipants on those occasions; I have to hike the skirts up quite a bit, and don't want to show white ruffled underwear. The Trek is so un-fussy about footwear that I took a lap around the block barefoot. The pedals got to feeling rather rough before I got back, so I've run back for sandals ever since, but I also insist on wearing footgear for walking. (Tried leaving home barefoot once; found there's nothing to walk on but sharp gravel and hot asphalt.) So the Trek would seem to be the ideal just going someplace machine -- if one could go someplace on it. During my first rehab, I rode one point six miles to the grocery store twice, going by way of the emergency room seven tenths of a mile farther away the second time. The first trip was an achievement and the second was an expedition. I've lost count of the times I've walked to that grocery, but I think that the number of trips by Trek Pure will stay at two. If I'm feeling good, I've got a real bike, and if I'm feeling bad, I have a car and a truck. Or I can phone for pizza. Why? For openers, it's so slow to start moving that going through a stoplight is terrifying; if I ever do ride it out of the village again, I'll get off and take the sidewalk to the pedestrian crossing. The Trek doesn't climb worth a nickel; I have to use its bottom gear on slopes that I had never been aware of on my Fuji. And that bottom gear is fairly low; the problem is that one can't apply any force to the pedals -- which is a major feature when the machine is used for rehab; you can't strain anything without trying to. The "comfortable" upright posture forbids you to use any of the large muscles in your legs, and the "flatfoot" feature means that the seat is so low that I get only half a stroke of power out of each rotation of the pedals. And there is only one way to hold the handlebars. When I get tired of that position, the ride is over. With the drop bars on my Fuji, I can sit up when the going is easy, shift to the tops of the hooks and lean forward a little, or get down on the drops and lean forward a lot. Male riders have an intermediate position on the brake hoods, but since I have small hands, I have "junior" brake levers, which have no hoods. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Trek Pure
On 1/9/2016 10:49 PM, Joy Beeson wrote:
A few years ago, I bought a Trek Pure model of "comfort bike" so that I could exercise a sprained knee without putting any weight on it. It's been useful several times since: It makes an excellent granny walker, and if a hill gets too steep to draisine, the extra-high handlebars and the deep notch in the middle of the frame make it a good rolling cane. I rode it around the block one day when I needed a walker to get to where I'd parked it, and at least twice I've bungeed a cane to the back. And it's also a dandy toy: it sits in the garage ready to go, and if I feel like a little spin, I can hop onto it in whatever I happen to be wearing, as long as I'm willing to leave the house in it. If the pants I'm wearing are already shabby, I don't even pin my ankles to keep my hems from rubbing on the sprocket guard. If I'm feeling poorly on a Sunday, I'll ride it wearing floor-length skirts -- but I do have a special pair of pedal pushers to wear instead of pettipants on those occasions; I have to hike the skirts up quite a bit, and don't want to show white ruffled underwear. The Trek is so un-fussy about footwear that I took a lap around the block barefoot. I've found that I love having one bike set up so I can jump on it immediately and ride, no matter what clothing I'm in. OK, most of my bikes use platform-ish pedals that allow me to ride them using almost any shoes I own. But when I built up this three speed, I left the toe clips off, so I can ride it in backpacking boots if I choose. And about pinning pants angles: I fitted a double chainring crank, but ground the teeth off the outer chainring. Now it's just a ring, but it keeps my pants out of the chain just fine. It's not that pinning pants cuffs takes a long time. It's just that its nice to remove that one little step, and totally eliminate the occasional "Wait - where's my safety pin?" irritation. Similarly, clipping on my eyeglass mirror is normally a three-second operation; but the handlebar mirror on this three speed eliminates even that step. Of course, it's got hub dynamo lights (quirky ones, I'll admit) and a basket on the front and a rack on the back. So it's great for instantaneous trips to the local stores, etc. And the upright handlebars are sort of a pleasant change. They either allow or force me to take things slowly. So the Trek would seem to be the ideal just going someplace machine -- if one could go someplace on it. Yep, there are tradeoffs. I don't think I've ever done more than ten miles at a time on this bike. Horses for courses, they say. But it's been kind of fun to have a different, quirky bike that I can jump on and ride in literally two seconds. -- - Frank Krygowski |
AG: Trek Pure
On 1/10/2016 11:41 AM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 1/9/2016 10:49 PM, Joy Beeson wrote: A few years ago, I bought a Trek Pure model of "comfort bike" so that I could exercise a sprained knee without putting any weight on it. It's been useful several times since: It makes an excellent granny walker, and if a hill gets too steep to draisine, the extra-high handlebars and the deep notch in the middle of the frame make it a good rolling cane. I rode it around the block one day when I needed a walker to get to where I'd parked it, and at least twice I've bungeed a cane to the back. And it's also a dandy toy: it sits in the garage ready to go, and if I feel like a little spin, I can hop onto it in whatever I happen to be wearing, as long as I'm willing to leave the house in it. If the pants I'm wearing are already shabby, I don't even pin my ankles to keep my hems from rubbing on the sprocket guard. If I'm feeling poorly on a Sunday, I'll ride it wearing floor-length skirts -- but I do have a special pair of pedal pushers to wear instead of pettipants on those occasions; I have to hike the skirts up quite a bit, and don't want to show white ruffled underwear. The Trek is so un-fussy about footwear that I took a lap around the block barefoot. I've found that I love having one bike set up so I can jump on it immediately and ride, no matter what clothing I'm in. OK, most of my bikes use platform-ish pedals that allow me to ride them using almost any shoes I own. But when I built up this three speed, I left the toe clips off, so I can ride it in backpacking boots if I choose. And about pinning pants angles: Make that "pinning pants ankles." My engineering brain's habits wrenched control away from my writing brain. I fitted a double chainring crank, but ground the teeth off the outer chainring. Now it's just a ring, but it keeps my pants out of the chain just fine. It's not that pinning pants cuffs takes a long time. It's just that its nice to remove that one little step, and totally eliminate the occasional "Wait - where's my safety pin?" irritation. Similarly, clipping on my eyeglass mirror is normally a three-second operation; but the handlebar mirror on this three speed eliminates even that step. Of course, it's got hub dynamo lights (quirky ones, I'll admit) and a basket on the front and a rack on the back. So it's great for instantaneous trips to the local stores, etc. And the upright handlebars are sort of a pleasant change. They either allow or force me to take things slowly. So the Trek would seem to be the ideal just going someplace machine -- if one could go someplace on it. Yep, there are tradeoffs. I don't think I've ever done more than ten miles at a time on this bike. Horses for courses, they say. But it's been kind of fun to have a different, quirky bike that I can jump on and ride in literally two seconds. -- - Frank Krygowski |
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