September rides, bringing in the fall.

[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.

[Crankin]

Yeah, they need to do a better job of predicting the strains and developing a universal vaccine. I think that will take awhile. But, with my risk factors (asthma and a tendency toward bronchitis) I will take the risk. This year, I am going to get the pneumonia vaccine, too, but that's only once. I never want that again!
We had rain all day until 2 pm. I needed a rest day, so I did a 30 minute yoga dvd before work. My dvds are so old (2004) they are starting not to work so well. So despite some sun late in the afternoon, we will be having another rainy morning tomorrow. I already signed up for spin/core and that is probably OK, since the antibiotic I am taking has that sunburn side effect. I had that happen last time, for the first time ever. I will be riding Friday and Saturday, so I hope I can wear long sleeves and perhaps use my granddaughter's 50 spf sunblock that I have here.

[north woods gal]

We're getting a last delicious taste of summer for the rest of the week with temps right at 80 for a high and lots of sunshine. I'm enjoying it while I can. time to also catch up on some yard work and trail work, while I can. September is a fall month for us and snow is possible.

Mixed a short 6 mile ride with trail work, yesterday, then off to town for some errands.

Emily, I know you have family in N.C., so I hope they will be safe from this approaching storm. Does sound awful.

[Crankin]

Oy, my son just bought a home outside Fayetteville... right in the predicted torrential rain zone. They won't be moving until 12/1, but I hope the house is not damaged.

It is raining here. Had a good spin/core class, where so many people asked me how to set up their bikes, I felt like I should have been paid. I may skip boot camp on Friday, to do a 30 mile ride with fresh legs, since I already have my 2x a week weights, etc.

[north woods gal]

Hoping for the best for all those folks in the Carolinas. Not looking good, though.

Beautiful ride for me, today. Sunshine and 80 degrees with a bit of wind, but not too much. Just a great day to be out and riding. Did 22.1 miles on the Log Lady single speed. Even added a mile of rough gravel and sand road for a little variety along the way. This LL is geared a bit too low for pavement work, but it's still doable. Was just a matter of me choosing a very hilly and challenging route to take advantage of this bike's rabbit-like ability to accelerate and climb. Flying down one hill at nearly 30 mph at times and then scurrying up the next hill as fast as I could spin, one hill after another. Talk about fun!

Riding the Log Lady and my other fast single speed, the Gunnar, has changed my riding, radically. It's not just the single speed thing, though that's an important part of the equation. It's also very much the pure joy that comes from riding a very quick, agile, easy rolling, oh so easy to pedal, light weight steel bike. Really makes me dread taking the fat bikes with their big heavy wheels for any long rides, now. They really are collecting dust, especially now that I have the Krampus set up for single speed trail work. Will still need the fatties for my winter riding, of course. You do need those fat tires for snow riding. For warm weather riding, though? Why ride a lumber truck when I can ride a sports car? These two racing single speed MTBs have really put the joy back into my road riding. Definitely one of my best ever biking decisions to try.

[emily_in_nc]

Thanks for the well wishes re. my NC family. I have family all over the state, from west to east, including my brother in Wilmington, which looks like ground zero for this awful storm. Fortunately, he's lived there for decades and knows how to prepare. He and his friends have helped each other board up and eat up the food in their freezers! They are as ready as they'll ever be, and are in the highest elevation in town, not near any water, so should be okay re. flooding, though they may have to deal with an extended power outage.

We also have family on my husband's side in SC, mostly in Columbia. They may get some high wind and lots of rain but should be okay that far inland, we hope.

This is gonna be a doozy, and although I feel super thankful that Flo is not coming to Flo-rida, I am super worried about people in the Carolinas, since I know so many of them!

Back in our neck of the woods, we did our usual ride yesterday and today, and it remains hot and humid. Nothing new there, but we'll take boring over hurricanes!

[north woods gal]

Keep us updated, Emily and anyone else affected by the storm.

Back home, our lawn rake is getting a good workout on our trails, now that the leaves have started to fall. My main problem with the leaves is that they make the trail, ahead, hard to see and distinguish and that can be dangerous when doing a downhill run. Wet leaves are also notorious for causing wheels to slip, though this really doesn't affect fat bikes or plus bikes with their wider tires. Have been working hard, though, to make most of the trails safe and enjoyable to ride with standard MTB wide tires, now that I ride a couple of the single speed MTBs with standard 2.25" wide tires. Again, running these standard wheel MTBs on the trails is a very different experience than running the big heavy fat bikes. Nice to have the option to ride any of these bikes on the trail when I feel like one or the other.

Have definitely reverted back into more of a roadie, though, wether it's pavement, gravel, sand or smooth trails. In our low traffic area with decently wide roads, road biking is about as safe as road biking gets. Our MTB trails, though, can be very challenging.

A friend of my hubby is coming for a visit, today, and then my in-laws, next week, so lots of housework to do. Will get out and ride when I can.