Buzz kill alert

I mentioned back in late September that BeanSS and I were emerging from an epic shit storm. Well, recent events have necessitated that I take the metaphor a bit further. It turns out, we were only in the eye of said shit storm, and it has started raging once again.

The short version, the only version I'll share here, is that just as I was dealing with the tragic deaths of two stray dogs (not ours), out of the blue, I learned of the untimely death of a sibling. This was all on top of a bunch more stuff running in the background, mostly left over from the summer from hell. Dammit, I think we've been through enough.

I've kept right on riding, lifting and hiking because the exertion somewhat helps keep my mind off it all. I very badly want to get back to a time when everything wasn't so difficult, so heavy. To that end, I dusted off the singlespeed, which hadn't seen a trail since May. I rode down to the regional park and did lap after lap on the myriad loops. I'd been commuting like mad all month on a road bike and riding in the dirt was liberating. The weather was absolutely perfect and the desert was beautiful. I rode strong and downed a beer when it was over. The pain of having ridden so hard very briefly displaced the pain of recent events. It'll be back, but I'll keep on trying to overcome it, riding the wheels right off my bike if I have to.

This is autumn, right?

It was 98° yesterday afternoon. That's right boys and girls, just shy of the century mark. I checked the calendar and sure enough, yesterday was October 17th. It was 94° today. WTF? I know, I know, desert dwellers aren't allowed to complain about heat but dammit, it's fall. Halloween is two weeks away. Enough already!

It's not like I was going to go riding or anything. I'd kinda' sorta' hoped to, but I cut my left thumb so badly with a new knife I thought I was going to need stitches. I probably did need stitches, but I envisioned sitting in an overcrowded emergency room through two or three shift changes, surrounded by people infected with the H1N1 flu strain, only to be informed that too much time had passed for sutures. The laceration seems O.K. for now, but the need to let it heal up a bit (having spontaneously spurted blood all over the place on two occasions yesterday) will keep me off my bike and away from weight lifting for a few days. And since I've already spent the last week with a constant dull ache in every muscle and joint from cumulative overexertion, a little R&R could be nice.

Bike commuting update: I clocked my 1,000th mile of 2009 a week or two ago. So that was cool. I've reached all my frequency and mileage goals for the year, so everything else is just statistical gravy. I probably also need to ride my motorcycle more than once or twice a month, as disuse is often worse than overuse. I'm very much looking forward to bitching about riding in the cold.

OK then, it's time for a dinnertime bowl of cereal, a change of bandages, and some sleep.