September rides, bringing in the fall.

[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.

[Crankin]

Emily, mild, flu like symptoms like you described are listed as possible side effects. I'd take 24 hours of that any time over the real flu. You don't need to be around kids to worry about catching it. I've had the flu twice, both in March. The first time was the cause of my first child, a little girl, being born at 8 months, without any kidneys. High fevers cause that. The second time, in 1993, I suddenly got a fever at work, on Monday after lunch and it didn't break until Friday night. In addition to the fever of 104, I had all of the other stuff, which went into my chest and I ended up with pneumonia, on antibiotics for 4 weeks. I had to take a leave from teaching fitness classes for 2 months, I was so weak. I was only 40 years old, in great shape and it sucked! I didn't get the shot until the swine flu thing in 2009 and I've had it every year since. So, I am kind of adamant about immunization.

[emily_in_nc]

I get that, Crankin, but the other objection that I have to the flu shot is that it so often only covers a small % of strains of the flu. I think last year they said it would only be effective on about 15% of the strains! Not worth it to me to possible feel like a dog for a day, given the small risk of getting the flu. Yes, I'm playing the odds, but given my lifestyle, they are usually on my side. It's a personal decision that everyone has to make.

My mother, who is nearly 84 now, used to get the flu with some frequency when she was a schoolteacher. She has the same kind of reaction to the shot as I do. She stopped getting shots after she retired, and has never gotten the flu since. I know, that's anecdotal, but I understand and support her decision.