4 March 2013

Say What?

Getting ready for a long ride, I wondered for the umpty-bumpth time
what "DuoFlow" meant on my Specialized bike bottles. So I went to the
sewing room and DuckDuckGoed "DuoFlow". The first hit was for a
"sport bottle" that bragged that it would fall apart if exposed to the
sun.

***

It was nearly four in the afternoon when I got back. For a while
there I was thinking that I wasn't as tired as I was after I rode the
Aldi loop, but all of a sudden it's nap time.

[housewifery snipped]



5 March 2013

[housewifery snipped]

Ride Report

Today a major snowfall is scheduled --starting about ten minutes ago,
but so far no sign except for an overcast sky and what fell during the
night-- and yesterday was sunny with a high at or above freezing, so I
postponed the Monday wash and went for a long ride. I got caught out
by winter twice. Three times, if you count being too cold to want to
get off and read my map.

My plan was to go around the south end of the lake, inspect the new
roundabout on Zimmer Road, and come back by way of Avilla on Lake
street -- Avilla is the only store in town where I can buy plain
Baggies, and my current roll is noticeably thinner than it was when I
bought it several months ago. The return from Avilla would bring me
near Warsaw Health Foods, where I can buy corn flour, and three places
where I can buy salad. It worked out pretty much as planned.

Though I have Duegi cycling shoes, I bought a pair of black oxfords
just for wearing on the bike. I do most of my riding inside the city
limits, where I frequently get off and walk, where the streets are
level enough that cleats don't do much good, and where I have to put
my left foot down often enough to wear out a cleat that can no longer
be replaced.

But this time, I planned to ride somewhat undulating roads out where
the stop signs are miles apart, so I wore the Duegis and put the
oxfords in my pannier.

While dressing, I noticed my enormous collection of newspaper bags and
reflected that it hadn't been cold enough for the bread-bag trick all
winter. The bread-bag trick is that when you put a windbreaker on
over your jersey, you put a plastic bag on over your shoes. It makes
a marvelous difference in how warm your feet stay, and though the bag
doesn't breath, the condensation is all on the bag, which is well
separated from your feet. (And it doesn't condense much because feet
don't sweat much.) The thought of using the trick on a day that was
warmer than many of the days I've been out never entered my head.

Along about 225S, when my toes were aching pretty good, I remembered
that the Duegi shoes are full of ventilation holes. I had plenty of
grocery bags in my pannier --they don't fit as well as newspaper bags,
but they work-- but I hadn't brought wool gaiters to hold them in
place

Just to make it aggravating, when I went out to the garage to check
the spelling of Duegi, I remembered that I have an old
faded-but-functional pair of fleece-lined cycling shoes.

Starting at the beginning, I rolled down Boys City Drive intending to
cut through the Chicago Boys' Club on Heritage Trail. About halfway
there, I remembered that walkways don't get plowed, but continued on
to look. What I could see of the walkway *had* been cleared. A
streak of piled snow separated it from Boys City, but I could draisine
through a narrow path from the parking lot to the Trail. Dare I,
while wearing cleats, bet that that would be the only place there was
snow in my path?

On my way to the crossing, I saw that way down just before a curve hid
the Trail, there was another patch of snow. Fearing that it got worse
from there to Roy Street, I kept straight, following the Union Street
leg of the Heritage Trail to Chestnut, where I climbed the hill and
blundered through to King's Highway/Pierceton Road, which I followed
to Packerton Road and eventually got onto my original route.

At the intersection of 200S and County Farm, I was reluctant to
continue straight without first consulting my map (and I was, I
confess, somewhat less enthusiastic about wandering through the
countryside than I'd been before going around three sides of a
trapezoid to avoid Heritage Trail), so I turned onto County Farm and
followed it to Union Street, which is the way I go to Dr. Hollar's
office. Attempting to cut through Boggs Industrial Park to Zimmer
Road, I found myself in a residential area instead. At Letter and
Tippecanoe -- the street sign and the map I carry on my bike said it
was Letter; Google Maps and the Chamber of Commerce map agree that it
was Reader. Well where-ever it was, I got off the bike, changed my
shoes, consulted the map, and discovered that I was only a few yards
from Lake Street. Dollar store, gun shop, lunch at Penguin Point, and
Avilla is just around the corner. In addition to the Baggies, I
bought a bag of "chili and lemon fried potatoes" and a container of
crema, helpfully glossed as "sour cream". The one I chose was darker
than the plain, as if a hint of caramel had been mixed in, and the
adjective modifying "crema" reminded me of "almond", so I thought it
was a dessert sauce. In natural light the color is a faint pink, and
the crema has a very subtle taste of chili. The lemon-chili chips are
very good dipped in it.

I think it would also be very good on Annette the Great Dane's oat
cakes, but I didn't want to bake biscuits on a day when I'm making
pizza (not to mention that by the time I thought of it, waiting for
the oven to heat and biscuits to bake would have made for a *very*
late lunch) so I made a rolled-oat pancake for lunch, and the crema
*was* very good on it.

Once again, I took a lap around the jail before finding Owen's West. I
know quite well that Owen's extends from Center Street to Market
Street, but I always look for it on Main. Bought salad and a bag of
shredded mozzarella. Served both at supper tonight.

And I've already mentioned the stop at Warsaw Health Foods, where I
didn't buy oat bran. Home well before four; I didn't note either
departure or return precisely.

I noticed a lot of fresh streaks of molasses on the streets during the
last leg of the tour. Living in the future! You can't salt streets on
the day before.

/Ride Report

[housewifery snipped]

The snowfall developed nicely late in the day. No wind that we've
noticed; great heaps of snow on the raised beds and patio furniture.
Spouse left the patio lights on in case someone looks at his IP cams
during the night.

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://roughsewing.home.comcast.net/
The above message is a Usenet post.
I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site.