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.