Goodbye 2020

In the fifteen years I have been writing here on Dave’s Bike Blog, I don’t think I have ever struggled so much to come up with a suitable post, hence the delay. This normally would have been written last Monday.

The problem has been that the subject is pre-determined by the date and traditionally for the last article of the year I must write about my reflections on the outgoing year, and my goals for the New Year. But in a year as disastrous as 2020 how do I do that?

Well, at least we got though it, otherwise I would not be here writing this, and you would not be reading it, so there is a positive thought to begin. What is the big deal about New Year’s Eve anyway? It is just a changing number on a calendar or clock. I believe that time is an illusion, synchronized by mankind to bring some kind of order to this chaotic lifestyle that we have brought upon ourselves.

I find it interesting that the design and engineering methods that clock making brought about, started the Industrial Revolution. I often wonder if something that started as man’s desire to harness time, will end with some form of Artificial Intelligence that can nun this whole shit show in conjunction with Nature. Because it is clear to me that Human Intelligence is diminishing and cannot continue to run things as they are.

2020 was not a particularly good year, but one that will be remembered for sure. Many lessons learned, not only about my fellow man, of traits both good and bad, but lessons about myself too.

At the end of this year a book came my way, mentioned in my last blog post. Published in Belgium, and written in French and English.

I am not saying that this book changed anything in my life, but it did make me realize how my life had changed in the years I have been engaged in writing here.

What has changed is my thinking, my point of view. What a good thing this is, for if one does not change their way of thinking, they become stagnant and do not continue to grow or move forward.

The book titled, “Bike Inspired Creativity. Volume 2.” is a collection of different bicycles, and here is where my thinking has changed. Five or ten years ago I would not have given this book a second look, I would have dismissed it as a “Waste of time.” I have been critical here of recumbent bikes, mountain bikes, anything that did not follow the lines of a pure racing bike was of little or no interest to me.

I was never fond of bikes that were pure art objects, and even now I will go as far as saying I feel if one is building a bicycle that is meant to be ridden then it needs to be built straight and accurate. If something is pure art with no other purpose than to be looked at, it needs to be obvious that it is akin to a piece of sculpture, not a practical bike to ride.

One such bike is one made entirely of wood, not just the frame, but the chain wheel, cranks, pedals and even the chain. The bike was actually ridden on a velodrome and apparently holds the world record for an all-wooden bike. One can appreciate and admire the woodworking skills and the knowledge of different wood properties that went into the building of such a bike.

Here is a practical folding bike with full size wheels. https://www.kruschhausen-cycles.de/

Here is another with full size wheels where not only does the frame fold, but the wheels too. https://www.tuckbike.com/

I highly recommend this book; it will entertain you for hours. Learn more about the book https://velosophe.be/livre Or buy it here, postage is FREE https://velosophe.ecwid.com

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Exercise and Aging

Exercise is good for you…. Right? Everyone knows that. But is there such a thing as too much exercise, especially as we age?

The more I read on the subject, coupled with actual changes I am experiencing, the more I am convinced that you can “Over” exercise.

Especially when you really start getting up there in years. In less than two months I will be 85. I am both physically and mentally fit. For the last five years I have maintained my weight at 150 lb. (68 kg.) (My racing weight as a teenager.)

The only medication I take is a low dose for my Parkinson's, but I do take a lot of supplements. I still hold on to my mistrust of Doctors, Big Pharma, the Food Industry, and Government of course, only because they allow the aforementioned to operate with impunity.

I like and respect my own doctor, but trust him? Hell no. I go in for an annual physical, when he does blood and urine tests. But if he prescribes any medication, I research it thoroughly, and invariably find the side effects of said medication is far worse that the condition it is treating.

One has to be their own health advocate. It is my body, so only I get to say what goes in it, and what I do to it. The great thing today is all the information I need is right there on-line. Yes, there is a lot of miss-information too, but one must be selective in what one reads. But on reading several articles saying the same thing, one has to accept there is some truth to it.

In recent years, one of the things I have learned about is Free Radicals, and in particular Oxygen Free Radicals. With my limited high school science knowledge, I will try to explain in simple terms. Atoms are made up of a Nucleus of Protons and Neutrons, and electrons orbit around the Nucleus.

An Oxygen atom has two electrons orbiting the nucleus, and six more electrons orbiting outside that. A Free Radical atom has one or more of these electrons missing. It then “Steals” an electron from the atom next to it, which in turn steals one from its neighbor, setting off a chain-reaction of wholesale electron thievery that can actually cause cell damage.  

Free radicals are a natural occurrence, and the body has a defense mechanism in the form of antitoxins that repair the damage done by free radicals. Our bodies produce these antitoxins using nutrients from the food we eat.

The problem is as we age, we stop producing these antitoxins and the free radicals are left to ravage our bodies and our brains. It is the reason we become old, get dementia or become more susceptible to cancer and other diseases.

Glutathione is an antitoxin the body makes naturally and is known as “The mother of all antitoxins.” This is where the supplements come in, and it is here I wish it were it that simple. Glutathione taken orally, rarely makes it past the digestive system. However, the body makes glutathione from amino acids, Cysteine, Glutamine, and Glycine. By taking these supplements, the goal is to help my body produce its own Glutathione.

When we exercise to extremes, especially endurance exercise, which cycling can be if you ride far enough and hard enough, we actually produce free radicals. This is not surprising when you consider intense exercise means we are taking in 10 to 20 times more oxygen than we would while resting.

Our bodies are processing all that extra oxygen as it goes from our lungs to our blood-stream, to our muscles. I ask myself, is it any wonder a few little electrons get lost along the way? A young fit athlete can handle this, even a fit fifty- or sixty-year-old might be okay. But when we get to our seventies and eighties, time starts to catch up fast. I for one have come to respect my limitations.

I ride a moderate pace around 15 mph. pedal a low gear at around 72 rpm, and never ride to the point of exhaustion, or even to the point of being out of breath. Apparently, the worst thing an aging athlete can do is to exercise infrequently, then exercise hard. Weekend Warriors beware. Slow down, if you are like me, you have nothing to prove to yourself, or anyone else.  

If you Google “Exercise and Free Radicals,” or click here there is much info on this subject.

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My Parkinson’s and how my diet is helping

In the summer of 2015, I began a diet to lose and maintain my weight. I did what I set out to do and wrote about it here. When I started, I did not know I would be diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease a year and a half later at the end of 2016. There is no known cure for Parkinson’s, however, I have seen improvements in my condition, especially this year. I attribute this to my maintaining this diet and continued exercise.

I pass this information on in the hope it will help and encourage others. My main symptom is a tremor in my right hand and arm, I can control this to a certain extent due to exercise and practice. Typing was difficult for a while causing me to double type letters and insert extra spaces. This has improved greatly.

I should mention I resisted taking medication for the first two years, because there are side effects, one being that after time it no longer works. When I did agree, I settled for Carbidopa-Levodopa which is a basic, inexpensive medication that has been around for eighty years or more. The prescription calls for three tablets a day, I take only two per day, along with two capsules of Macuna Perens, a natural non-prescription L-dopa supplement.

I still have most of my motor skills, I can write, sign my name, draw, and even thread a needle. My tremors are resting tremors that come on when I am relaxing and not paying attention. My Parkinson’s may slow me down a little, but it does not stop me doing what I need to do. I am fortunate that my condition has not caused me any gait or walking problems, but I do include walking and balance exercises in my workout regimen.  

One of the things I have found essential is to weigh myself every day, I have a scale in my bedroom and weigh myself every morning the moment I get out of bed. I then log my daily weight along with the date. If I gain or lose weight on any given day, I can adjust my food intake and within a day or so, and I am right back on track.

For example, if I eat out at a restaurant it is easy to take in 1,300 calories (My whole day’s intake.) in one meal and I can find the next morning I have gained 3lb. or 4lbs. If I get right on it and exercise a little more or cut back my intake, I am back to my target weight. If I did not keep track by writing it down every day, within a week or ten days, I could quite easily gain back an extra ten or fifteen pounds.

It really has not been that difficult, it just required I change a few daily habits. When I started out, I had to research how many calories each food had, but now I know what to eat from experience. In July 2017 I stopped eating meat. I detest labeling myself as a Vegan or Vegetarian, and do not want to become one of those boring people who treat food intake like some kind of religion.

When I stopped eating meat, I stopped eating dairy also, but the non-dairy part only lasted about two weeks. I now drink A2 milk, which comes from a certain breed of cow, and does not have the same protein as the regular A1 milk, it is easier on the digestion. I love it and it is a big part of my daily food intake.

I continued to eat cheese, but just this year I switched to goat’s cheese. It is an acquired taste, and I can’t say I prefer it over the regular dairy cheese, but I do feel less bloated with the goat’s cheese. And this is what it is all about, finding what works for me.

It was brought to my attention that plants in the “Nightshade family,” may contain toxins and should be avoided. This group includes, tomatoes, eggplant, bell peppers, and even potatoes. There is no way I will stop eating potatoes; however, I have cut back on my intake and only eat potatoes or tomatoes no more than once a week.

For every article one reads online saying this Nightshade food group is bad, there is another that says this information is false, and these foods are safe. For me, an interesting affect from my cutting back on these foods, has been that my arthritis has improved. I had pain in both shoulders and could not raise my arms above my head. I also had severe pain in my left hip. Today I am pain free and have full motion.

I have stopped drinking soda and consume no High Fructose Corn Syrup. I will have the occasional beer, but not every day. On a typical day I start with coffee, black with no sugar. For breakfast a cup of cooked Balsamic white rice, with frozen blueberries or cherries added. Also, a tablespoon of local honey, which I have found helps with local pollen allergies. Alternatively, I may have two fried eggs with a slice of sourdough bread.

Quite often if I am not too active during the day, the rice may get me through until the evening meal, or I may manage with a glass of A2 milk and a handful of nuts. Or a slice of sourdough toast with almond butter and preserve. Almond butter I find is more nutritious than peanut butter, as the peanut is a bean rather than a nut. I eat bread sparingly, maybe two or three times a week, and because I eat so little I keep it in the freezer, then pop a slice in the toaster which thaws it out an toasts it at the same time.

About three times a week I will have a protein shake mid-day, consisting of 20 oz. of A2 milk, three raw eggs, a banana, or an avocado, and two scoops of Dr, Grey’s Super Food Shake for Men.

Evening meal will be fish, usually wild caught Cod or Salmon, with rice and a vegetable. Sometimes a shrimp and vegetable stir-fry, with rice. As mentioned occasionally a baked potato, or small red potatoes oven roasted with carrots, onion, broccoli. Sweet potato is not on the “Nightshade” list and I will often have one of those, baked instead of a regular baked potato. A green salad will often be included with the meal.

Most evenings, I will eat light with goat cheese and gluten-free crackers, and a large serving of fruit. Hommos (Or Humas.) will sometimes be a substitute for cheese. Eating this way is not at all costly, meat is expensive and by not buying it I can afford the best organic fruits and vegetables. I do not miss meat now I have become used to eating the way I do.

I stopped eating meat, not because I believe meat is bad in itself, but rather in the way it is produced. Animals and birds fed on Genetically Modified food and given hormones to make them grow faster. However, this is my reason, and my advice to anyone is, do your own research and find what works for you. I am not a qualified dietician, but I have laid out what is working for me, in the hope it may encourage others on their journey to better health.

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15 years of Blogging

On November 12^th, 2005 I posted my first article, and “Dave’s Bike Blog” was born.

I was a young man of 69, and “Blogging” was relatively new, there were only a few million or so blogs world-wide at the time, today there are around 600 million.

Facebook had only been launched a year before, (2004.) and Twitter would follow a year later in 2006.

It was 2002 when Google took over “Blogger” and made it a free platform under the name “Blogspot.”

it was the platform that I used initially. Blog, a word derived from Web-Log, not my favorite word, but it is too late to change it now. In July 2008 I had concerns about censorship, and switched to “Squarespace,” a commercial platform. Squarespace was itself in its infancy then.

One month later in August 2008 I quit writing, probably one of the dumbest decisions I have ever made. I had a pretty big following and decided to quit while I was ahead. At the time I felt I had nothing left to say. I did come back six-months later in February 2009. I did so because a group of bike enthusiasts, got together, and presented me with a “Tribute” bike. One of my own custom bikes that I had built in 1983.

Many of the people who contributed to this bike were strangers to me, I was deeply touched and had to write about it on my blog by way of a thank you, it brought me back, I had lost my big following and had to start all over again, which is why I admit it was not the smartest I ever did.

Here we are all these years later and I still struggle with what to write about each week, although now I have a huge backlog of articles, and often re-publish an old one. It takes me at least 4 to 6 hours to write a new post such as this, after writing, then editing and re-writing, then the time to post it to the blog platform along with any pictures and links to other articles.

I find I have to be careful what I write about. My last post in which I was trying to inject a little sanity into the craziness that was the recent election. At least it brought out some comments, which show people still read this stuff and I am not just talking to myself.

I read a story about a person who was getting abuse on an online forum. He found the abuser lived in the same town, so he suggested they meet, and he could tell him to his face the things he was saying anonymously online. The reply he got was that the other person was only 13 years old and is parents did not allow him to meet people he contacted online.

I have had some really obnoxious comments in the past, for example simply because I spoke out against Critical Mass. I suggested that blocking rush hour traffic once a month was not bike advocacy. I can accept that these comments are probably coming from juveniles, but at my age I can do without that kind of negative thought coming my way. The result is I stay away from the controversial stuff. It is a form of censorship that makes it harder to find subject matter to write about.

In 2016 I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, my symptoms have actually improved, this is due largely to exercise and diet. Writing here is exercise for my brain. Thinking new thoughts, deciding what to say, causes new connections to form between brain cells. This is essential therapy as Parkinson’s is caused by brain cells dying and my body is no longer producing dopamine.

Also, I cannot allow myself to get stressed out or angry, or my tremors in my right arm get worse. Normally, my Parkinson’s does not stop me doing anything I want to do, I can control it. However, if I am to go another 15 years it will put me at ninety-nine years old. So, people, please be nice, and we will see how long we can keep this party going.

Footnote: I would love to hear from long-time-readers. How long, and what are your favorite posts? 

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“It’s a Free Country.” Says no one anymore

Can we settle down now, the people have spoken with their vote, it is the way democracy works. But let’s not forget that it was the same democracy that put the King on his throne in the first place. I get the feeling that no one took that election all that seriously back in 2016.

Voting can often feel like ordering food at a shitty restaurant with a limited menu. Then when the food comes you go, “Hey, this is not what I ordered.”

In 2016 people said, “Let’s give Trump a chance.” He’s different, and at least he’s not named Bush, or Clinton. And America found out what happens when you elect a TV reality star to be President. You get a reality show that has little to do with reality.

And for the next four years, despite having the entire news media against him, (With the exception of Fox-News.) Every comedian and Late-Night-Talk-Show-Host, constantly ridiculing him, he built a following of people who loved him. No small following either, close to half the Nation. Sadly, this is what has divided this great nation to extremes, with rioting, and even people killing each other.

Enough already, it is time to put the “United’ back into the United States of America. Growing up in England, I am old enough to remember WWII. I did not fully understand it at the time, but I knew enough to know that the war was fought to preserve Freedom.

I was eight years old in 1944, and I clearly remember the American soldiers coming over prior to the Normandy Invasion in June 1944. At the time they seemed like adults to an eight-year-old, I remember how they were always laughing and goofing around, and I later realized this was because they were mostly teen-agers, just barely ten years older than me.

This is what teen-agers do, they laugh and goof around. I also realized years later that they died in their thousands on the beaches of Normandy. They died fighting for my Freedom, so I would not have to. Their faces still haunt me to this day and was probably the reason why I formed and affinity with These United States that lead to my moving here in 1979.

Also, as a kid, I remember whenever someone would question what I was doing, I would reply, “It’s a Free Country.” I never hear anyone say that anymore, which is strange as this is supposedly, “The Land of the Free.”

No one says that anymore because this is no longer a Free Country. Not by Government Decree, but by a divided people. One must pick a side. If a person were to put a Biden poster outside his house in certain parts of the country for example, he would have the signs stolen, or even a rock thrown through his window. By the same rule, a Trump sticker on your car in a certain city in a predominantly liberal state, could result the car being set on fire.

So, I ask, “What was the purpose of all those young Americans dying on the beaches of Normandy in 1944?” So people can fight and kill each other in some un-official civil war? The people have spoken, albeit by a small majority, and if your side lost, suck it up, deal with. There will be another election in 2024.

If your side won, now is not the time to celebrate, because you only just squeaked by with a narrow margin. Now is the time to hold your hand out to your fellow American, agree to disagree, bump elbows   and each move a little towards each other.

I have tried to be impartial here, favoring neither one side or the other, because neither can be all right, or all wrong at the same time. If anyone gives me stick for writing this, it will prove my point. There can be no Freedom while the is intolerance to anther man’s point of view.

I worry for the future for my grandchildren and great-grandchildren, mankind is destroying the planet, (Womankind has little to do with it.) How can we fix this if all we do is fight among each other? I wish everyone would just go outside on a clear night and look into the sky and realize just how insignificant we really are. We are nothing but tiny microbes, sitting on a speck of dust, floating in an infinite space.

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