I just love riding my bicycle on the Bakersfield bike trail. I usually start riding in March or April depending on the weather. I don’t like to ride when it is too cold because I get sick easily. When it’s still cool outside I will go out in the mornings when the sun is up because it’s just warm enough and I might get a little tanned in the spring. In the summer, I go out before the sun comes up because it gets too hot and I get a heat stroke out in the middle of nowhere, so I try to avoid that.

A few years ago I bought a few things to help me out on the bike trail. I have 2 skull caps that are supposed to keep my face dry. They soak up all the sweat so it doesn’t drip down my face and onto my glasses. It sucks to have to keep pulling over to wipe my glasses dry. I will wear 1 during the first half of my trip and switch to the dry one when I’m turning around to head back home.

A Camelbak which is like a backpack, but it holds 3 liters of water that I can drink from through a hose that is attached to the shoulder strap. When I need water, I simply grab it and put it in my mouth which only takes my hand off the handlebar for a second. When I’m done, I simply let go with my mouth and the hose drops. When I have to use a bottle, I have to reach down to grab it which can make me lose balance and ride into the sidewalk or a moving car. That hasn’t happened, but I worry it will someday.

I have your typical biking gear like fingerless gloves meant for people with carpal tunnel syndrome. Bib shorts and sports shirts that both wick away the moisture from my sweat. I have my regular walking shoes because they work just fine for me. I recently bought a new pump because I can’t afford to keep buying Co2 cartridges because they are really expensive and they only work once. Finally the most essential accessory, a helmet with a rear view mirror attached.

My bike has been out of commission because the tubes kept deflating every day and I didn’t know why. I pulled the tubes out and checked for holes, but never found any to patch up. I was getting very frustrated that every morning I would get ready to go only to have to put air in the completely deflated tubes. I used a box of 30 Co2 cartridges in a month. I would fill the tires before I left the house, but then I had to fill them again while I was on the bike trail. It really ruins the fun of it when you spend your entire session worrying about the tubes deflating.

I went to Target this week and bought 2 new tubes and a new pump with a gauge on it. I didn’t need the tubes because both tubes filled with air and are still inflated after several days. Now that is frustrating to me.

Well, I am taking care of my partner who just had spinal surgery and he requires 24 hour attention, so exercise will have to wait until he is able to walk to the bathroom on his own. But as soon as he is healed up, I will be ready to go out and get exercise. In the meantime, it is up to me to ride my bike to the store for groceries, so I’m trying to use that as an excuse to ride the bike as much as possible. It will also get my legs used to the exercise so when I do go out on the bike trail, my legs will be able to handle 2 hours of constant riding. So the store runs are good practice. Which reminds me, I need to run to Food Maxx now 😉 .