Elicit Substance

It's taken quite some time to get the bad taste out of my mouth from the Hotter 'n Hell Hundred. Getting back to work has helped divert my attention from what happened. Working in a gym, you get to know all of the members with all of their injuries and traumas and it's a little more difficult to feel sorry for myself when someone is talking about their back fusion surgery or shattered ankle. So, onward we go.

I received a comment on my HH100 report from my pal Roy from the Pedal-Pushers which said in part,"...I am already thinking about trying it again next year."

Eh, not so much yet. I'm still reticent about what I'll be doing next year. I didn't even finish putting my bike back together until Labor Day and I still haven't put any air in the tires. In the meantime, it's been raining steadily around here over the past couple of days. In fact, there are flash flood warnings just south of here as some of the local towns have recorded rainfall today of around 3 inches. We've also had high surf warnings in the same area as tropical storm Leslie moves northward.

So, rain on the roads, high surf at the beaches (I wonder if we'll wind up with more beached great white sharks)... I'm getting the feeling that it's a good time to go for a walk. I'm going to head on over to one of the local state parks and tackle a short hiking trail tomorrow. The parks offer scheduled guided hikes and since I know people that have gotten lost in those woods, I figure that a guided hike would be a good way to get acquainted with the local flora and fauna (which is usually nocturnal so it will be mostly flora). The skies are already clearing up and I have a Honey Stinger Waffle and Power Bar to easily get me through the 3 to 4 mile jaunt.

I've been told that this particular park is good for beginner mountain bikers as well so it should be a good scouting expedition.

It would appear that all I'll have to worry about Lyme ticks, EEE, and West Nile.

Ah, the Great Outdoors. I think I'm ready for some football.