I survived! I made it through the week; and I survived Friday the Thirteenth. Now I feel ready for a good rest!

The weather continues to be oppressively hot and humid. It got thundery again this afternoon; and even though it rained very little where I work, the clouds helped keep the temperature down.

Plan for tomorrow: ride out to the salvage store. I want to use the trailer so I can bring along the cooler. I want to look for hummus and cheddar cheese; and it\’s too hot to hot ride home with such foods and not have \”refrigeration\”. The temperature will be in the mid-80s by the time I get back home; and many days I wish I could refrigerate myself when I\’m out there on a bicycle!

Sunday\’s forecast says, partly cloudy from 8:00 am. I hope it will be enough to keep me a little cooler than my last two Sunday rides! This time I plan to do a shorter ride; 40 miles or so. The following Sunday, it\’s time to push for 55-60 miles again.

Plans

I\’ve been making some plans. I think I\’ll take some vacation the second half of September; and I hope it\’s cooled off slightly by then! My reason for wanting to take time off then is Cycle September; and it would be great if I can do my century ride during that time. I have to exercise some common sense, though. No matter how much I want to do that 100 miler, it isn\’t wise to attempt it if the heat index will be in the triple digits! I survived Sunday rides in such temperatures; but they weren\’t 100 miles long!

I also hope that we won\’t be in the crosshairs of a hurricane during that time! Meanwhile, I have to think about century-ride food. I don\’t think I want to eat FitCrunch bars all day long. The same flavor for hours on end is very tiresome; but bologna sandwiches aren\’t a great idea, either. Sandwiches are too bulky to pack along easily; and if I do take bologna, I\’d better eat it early. And no mayonnaise! It spoils too easily; and why risk food poisoning?

But am I really ready ride 100 miles? It might have to be a much slower trek than I hope for; but when I finish I can proudly say, I survived!