September rides, bringing in the fall.

[north woods gal]

I'm back home, safe and sound and oh, so, content. As for acclimating, highs in the 60s for our late afternoon bike ride and, no, no problem adapting at all and, in fact, I was amazed at just how much more energy I had compared to riding in the Florida. My average speed and acceleration was MUCH higher, this afternoon, than anything I could manage in Florida. Now, part of that was undoubtedly due to riding a better bike, but I think part of it was also the climate. I think that dense, sticky, hot Florida air is slower to ride in that our cool, thinner north woods air. Emily, that impresses me all the more with those miles you pull, down there in Florida. Good for you, girl.

Sheila, best I can find is that those Mary bars have 40 degrees of back sweep, compared to about 45 degrees of back sweep on the Jones H bars I was using. I did not like the Jones with its radical back sweep, so I suspect that Mary bar would be similar. I can do the Surly Moloku at 34 degrees for trail work, but 40 degrees? I'd have to try one. Still prefer a standard MTB bar for the really techy stuff, though.

[emily_in_nc]

Glad you're back home safely, NWG! And that the weather is pleasing. Doesn't sound too chilly. Yet. Thank you for your compliment. I do agree that riding in this "thicker" air here in Florida feels slower, but not sure if it really is, given equal equipment. Some days it can be quite windy, though, and that certainly affects speed.

Hope you feel much better soon, Crankin. I'm kind of surprised that they advised getting a flu shot when you were ill at all, but hope you have no adverse reactions. Enjoy your holiday!

Getting more and more worried about Hurricane Florence, not for me, but for my brother in Wilmington. He's been posting tons of stuff on Facebook about it, so he is well aware and getting ready, but I fear he won't evacuate. His house is sturdy, but I will still worry. He may have an extended power outage if nothing else. I have numerous friends and other family members scattered all over NC, since I spent most of my life there, so I am definitely feeling unsettled about this one... It would be great if you didn't have to evacuate after all, Sheila, but sometimes these storms take last minute bumps one way or the other, so I am sure you'll stay well-informed as it approaches.

[Crankin]

Emily, the NP said that as long as you do not have a fever, you can get the flu shot. She said almost everyone questions this, but there's been tons of studies done about the safety of it. They found that tons of people go to the dr for an illness and refuse to get their flu shot, and never come back. So far, I have nothing but the usual sore arm! I am already feeling 80% better. It's the same every time, within 2 hours of taking an antibiotic, I feel better. I went to boot camp this morning after a long and good night's sleep with no issue. It is going to start raining around noon, we are going for a short ride before then. We both took the day off, even though we do not belong to the synagogue anymore. I will pray on my bike!
Both my son and granddaughter are getting over a viral thing, too. It sounded like a hospital here at dinner, but we had fun.
That hurricane looks horrible. It is going to miss my son, in Columbus, GA, but he just bought a house outside of Fayetteville, NC and will be moving there Dec. 1. Hoping there's no damage.

[north woods gal]

My prayers for all who might be in the path of this next storm. Hurricanes wouldn't stop me from living in an area any more than blizzards or tornadoes would stop me from living where I've lived all of my life, but, as always, I have a very healthy respect for the power of all these storms. Hope no one suffers from this next one. Have cousins and a sister-in-law that may be affected, so we're keeping an eye on it, too.

Hang in there, Crankin. My hopes for a speedy recovery.

Will say one thing in favor of that hot Florida weather, though. It's good for keeping my weight in check. I actually lost a few pounds, even though we ate out, all week, and even though I cheated and had some desserts. Not surprised, though. My appetite always goes into hibernation in hot weather, only to reappear with cold weather. Going to have to be careful, now that I'm back home. Was fun eating anything I wanted on vacation, though.

Whoa! Talk about an adjustment. Upper 30s when we woke up, this morning. Back to wearing leggings and a sweatshirt when I ride in the mornings, at least. 70s, though, by mid day for the rest of the week, so great weather for riding, once we take care of errands and yard work that needs to be done after a week's absence. Be raking leaves, soon.

Speaking of errands, will stop by the bike shop and see how my new Log Lady custom build single speed is going. Yeah, I've become a real single speed junkie. All my riding, yesterday, was single speed, with both the Krampus SS (on the trails) and the old Log Lady (road and trails) and will be all single speed, probably, until the snow falls and I start riding the fat bikes, regularly. Did see a few fat bikes down in Florida, by the way. Folks use fatties to ride the beaches, there. May try that, next time.

[Crankin]

We ended up hiking, as the radar showed it might rain before noon. It was a wise choice, as a rain jacket with a hood protects you on a hike and I just hate riding in rain. We did 3.6 miles in some conservation land in an adjacent town, on trails new to us, although I have been here, on other trails. It did start raining at the end of the hike and is now full blown rain.
Time for a cozy afternoon.

[emily_in_nc]

We ended up hiking, as the radar showed it might rain before noon. It was a wise choice, as a rain jacket with a hood protects you on a hike and I just hate riding in rain. We did 3.6 miles in some conservation land in an adjacent town, on trails new to us, although I have been here, on other trails. It did start raining at the end of the hike and is now full blown rain.
Time for a cozy afternoon.

That sounds like a great choice!

Re. the flu shot, I refuse to get one after the last one I got (back in 2009 or so, at work, given for free to employees). I ended up in bed with chills and body aches and had to take the next day off from work. I know it wasn't the flu but was certainly flu-like symptoms. Symptoms lasted around 24 hours. I am rarely around children and haven't had the flu in a couple of decades, so I'd rather take the risk than get the shot. My doctor doesn't like it, but so be it.

NWG, 30s! Wowza. I would not be ready for that in September. I guess that is why I'll never again live anywhere in the north. I can handle that in January, but not Sept. 10th. It is 90 degrees at the moment here, by the way.

I didn't ride today due to an orthodontist appt., but DH came back with mud spots all over the back of his jersey. We had a lot of rain the previous two days in the late afternoon, and the trail was a mess this morning, he said. Interesting that it was so much worse than usual, as afternoon rainstorms are pretty typical here. I'm planning on doing our usual ride tomorrow, Wed., and Friday. One really nice thing about this time of year in Fla. is that morning rain is very unusual. We usually wake up to beautiful clear weather, making morning rides just fine. Only rarely have had to cut one short because clouds were building up early. Normally we're done, enjoyed a short cool down in the pool, and done with lunch before any rain comes our way.

[north woods gal]

Emily, I noticed that about the Florida weather, too. Was very nice in the morning, with thunderstorms every afternoon. Made for a nice, predictable pattern for bicycling or other outdoor activities.

30s at night is perfectly normal for us in September, so I'm actually relieved to see it. This has been such a strange weather year for us. Was beautiful, this afternoon, right at 70 degrees, so did more riding. Finished with 21.4 miles for the day with all but 2.5 miles being trail miles. Was just warm enough for shorts and a tank top, since there was only a little breeze. Won't be able to ride like that for much longer. Will soon be saying good-bye to my nice tan. Oh, well.