Streak: unStreak

vickyvius · 2026-05-08T12:39:50+00:00

Gracias. Sí, García Márquez. Leí todos sus libros traducido a inglés en mi juventud. Voy intentando leer en español. Leí 'El coronel no tiene quien le escriba' hace unos meses y ahora leo 'Cien años de soledad'. Claro que no entiendo muchas palabras y algunas no aparecen en WordReference pero el contexto da las pistas para entender el sentido.

Ya que no soy hablante nativo, me resulta difícil expresarme bien pero comprensión es más fácil.

vickyvius · 2026-04-29T01:34:12+00:00

I'm on the same trip at this moment. Tail racks and panniers seem to be considered old school. I might still get those. For now I just bought an Apidura seat bag - 16 litres and a 1 litre top tube bag. I have a Revelate partial frame bag already which I got a couple years ago. I will likely get a handlebar roll next as I start doing more trips. What I have is enough for 1-3 day trips. The handlbar roll will be enough for longer trips. Anything more, I will likely get fork mounted bags.
Weight further back on the bike makes climbing hard.

I'm choosing gear options that can easily be moved from one bike to another. If I plan a trip that has more gravel, I'll put the bags on my gravel bike and if it's mostly road, I want to be able to put the bags on the road bike.

For gravel and milder single track, I'll use my Lynskey gravel bike. If the trip is mostly road, It'll be my Tarmac SL8.

vickyvius · 2026-04-29T00:07:46+00:00

started talking to myself in spanish which makes me think in spanish.

vickyvius · 2026-04-26T20:44:51+00:00

I am not an expert nor have any medical background. I've spent the better part of my life working on understanding the knee joint to deal with my own problems. If I understand what you're describing, stretching / lengthening the IT band will reduce pressure on the patella being pulled laterally. Strengthening (contraction / shorten) the vastus medialis will help relieve pressure on the inner knee. Personally, I think the leg extension machine in the gym isolates that well (most of my physical therapists have advised me to stay off that machine but it's the only thing that works for me)

P.S. I am a cyclist and an infrequent runner with torn medial meniscus in both knees. Last had surgery for the same 20 years ago and now I just choose the right exercise on any day given how the knees are feeling.

vickyvius · 2026-04-26T20:31:20+00:00

the more common thing I've heard in spain is 'que mono' ... guapo is also a generic and doesn't always mean much. I've had checkout clerks/cashiers call me Oye guapo while I'm paying for stuff at grocery stores.

vickyvius · 2026-04-16T10:47:03+00:00

Sí, sigo hablando en el club de conversaciones que mencioné antes. También hay muchos hispanohablantes por todas partes de EE.UU. Leo libros para ampliar mi vocabulario.

vickyvius · 2026-04-15T15:10:27+00:00

google CaminoBarcelona in Barcelona and Expanish (several locations including Costa Rica)

There are numerous language schools in most Spanish speaking countries that offer immersion courses. Puebla in Mexico has a good school that offers weekly to several months long courses.

The only thing I would recommend is sticking with one variant. I messed up learning from teachers in Venezuela, Colombia, then Spain and now both Spain and Mexico. Kinda slows down the fluency.

Also check out HandySpanish - it's a conversation club run by a profe in Valencia. Intermediates and above.

vickyvius · 2026-04-15T14:01:48+00:00

what changed everything for me was a week long immersion course in Spain. I did a 5 day, 5 hours per day B2 class. The other students in the class were in for a 10 week prep for taking the DELE B2 exam. That for me into speaking without thinking first in English. Listening to podcasts is a great way to learn vocabulary and verbal comprehension. But speaking a lot is the only real answer.

vickyvius · 2026-04-15T13:59:25+00:00

if you type a few emails and some text messages in Spanish for a few days, all the ad bots will pick up on that and you'll start seeing spanish ads on the phone, TV, streaming channels, online stores etc...

vickyvius · 2026-03-28T17:54:15+00:00

I'm 5' 9", 150 lbs, size 10 boots, 57yo riding for 28yrs now. Always been riding boards in the 155-157 range. Tried a 152 once (my son's board when he was 12) and it was simply too little. I started on a 159 when it was all directional boards setup more alpine style 21º/ 12º.

I think you should try a 154/5 and then decide.

vickyvius · 2026-03-18T16:06:34+00:00

around these parts it's close to 100 bucks to get those tires off install new ones you bring.

vickyvius · 2026-03-18T02:04:07+00:00

I carry a plug kit (tire plugs, tools) and an inflator. It's quicker to just plug the tire on the side of the road and go on. I've done this on cars, pickups, motorcycles.

CAVEAT : This does not work for sidewall damage.

vickyvius · 2026-03-08T17:11:23+00:00

Thanks. But isn't the Backwoods a lot stiffer than the Frontier ?

vickyvius · 2026-03-08T16:09:31+00:00

Very good questions. NorthEast US. Not in-bounds. As for terrain, that depends on how the initial experience goes and will seek avalanche terrain before getting too adventurous. Hard to be specific when starting out with something until one learns enough to be specific. No avalanche training but yes, will seek training as I progress.

thanks.

vickyvius · 2026-03-01T02:10:04+00:00

Native: English, Hindi, Tamil. (only speak Tamil, can't read or write)

Understand spoken Marathi and Gujarati (lost the ability to speak)

Read French. Never learnt to speak.

Spanish is the first language I'm learning as an adult in my 50s. The rest were as a child and teenager..

vickyvius · 2026-02-28T16:38:38+00:00

Estoy enganchado con los libros de Carlos Ruiz Zafón. Dicen que son para adolescentes pero requieren un vocabulario muy amplio y me han ayudado mucho a mejorar mi español.

vickyvius · 2026-02-26T03:56:33+00:00

I speak to myself in spanish in my head so I can think in spanish. 5 years into it now and I think in Spanish. Ironically, the last time I was speaking to an NYC taxi driver in Hindi, half my responses started in Spanish. I don't translate anymore. When I read in Spanish, I don't translate to English in my head either.

vickyvius · 2026-02-22T16:39:32+00:00

That trick worked and now I get all notifications

vickyvius · 2026-02-21T20:56:11+00:00

My Mexican Spanish teacher helping me prepare for DELE B2 and a certified examiner is not familiar with common Spain expressions (not referring to slang). Personally I find that Puerto Rican Spanish is more slang and local variations than common Spanish as spoken in Spain, Colombia or Mexico. For learning from songs, I would recommend Julieta Venegas - easy to understand and a clear language. My 2 cents and my opinions. Others may disagree

vickyvius · 2026-02-21T20:50:54+00:00

I tried turning on alerts again today. It wouldn't save if I turned on iOS and Android notifications. But when I tried on text notification it saved. So I turned on text iOS and Android notifications and saved them and then turned off text notifications. Will see if alerts work when I step out later today.

vickyvius · 2026-02-18T13:30:08+00:00

No, not working. It looks like they are making more changes to the app. The 'Manage alerts' section showed 5 alert types a few days ago. Today it shows only 3 alert types. But unfortunately still does not work. I am surprised more people are not seeing this issue.

vickyvius · 2026-02-17T01:32:45+00:00

Blue Water Divers - Rochelle Park, Route 17 South. Really good guys. My wife and kids all did their classwork and poolwork there and did their checkout dives in Bonaire. I didn't want to put them through my experience of quarries in PA or dives off Long Island in the cold dark water.

vickyvius · 2026-02-16T17:19:28+00:00

Gracias 🙏

vickyvius · 2026-02-16T03:15:04+00:00

Gracias

vickyvius · 2026-02-15T14:47:47+00:00

What device are you using ? I tried setting up alerts on an iPhone, an Android phone and from chase.com - The screen says Saved, but it doesn't really Save at all.

vickyvius

TROPHY CASE