A Whole Bushel of Nope
Last night my wife asked me if I wanted to a group ride at night instead of riding early in the morning. A quick check of the weather put an end to that idea. 90F and humidity just aren't my favorite riding conditions.
As it turned out, I wasn't going to be doing any riding today.
At 3:00AM, my wife woke me.
"Feel the baby's forehead. I think he's running a fever".
Despite wanting nothing more than to roll back over and go to sleep, the parent in me dutifully felt the child's head. I didn't need to actually touch it, because I could have sensed that heat from across the room. He's normally a sweaty mess when he sleeps, but this was a whole 'nother, surface of the sun heat. The kid was sick.
We doped him up with acetaminophen and tried to get him to sleep with limited success. Nobody got any sleep. In the morning his temperature was around 104F, and we switched out to ibuprofen. By noon his fever hadn't broken, and we took him to the emergency room.
He spent 3 days in the hospital last time we were here, so I am far too familiar with southwestern Virginia medical facilities. This time it's an ear infection, and with the proper amount of NSAIDs and antibiotics got his fever under control and replaced the fussy heat zombie with our more-familiar rotten little boy.
I didn't ride. I napped. I stayed in climate-controlled buildings or otherwise in the shade.
I give people who don't ride in the rain a lot of crap, but I can be the same way about the combination of heat and humidity. It kills any motivation I have. I guess we all have our limits, and mine is right around the point where the air feels like you just took a bath in a vat of WalMart hand lotion. Just not my idea of fun. Coupled with the lack of sleep, this looked like a fine chance to call this a rest day.
Now if you'll excuse me, this dedicated athlete needs to go take a nap.
As it turned out, I wasn't going to be doing any riding today.
At 3:00AM, my wife woke me.
"Feel the baby's forehead. I think he's running a fever".
Despite wanting nothing more than to roll back over and go to sleep, the parent in me dutifully felt the child's head. I didn't need to actually touch it, because I could have sensed that heat from across the room. He's normally a sweaty mess when he sleeps, but this was a whole 'nother, surface of the sun heat. The kid was sick.
We doped him up with acetaminophen and tried to get him to sleep with limited success. Nobody got any sleep. In the morning his temperature was around 104F, and we switched out to ibuprofen. By noon his fever hadn't broken, and we took him to the emergency room.
He spent 3 days in the hospital last time we were here, so I am far too familiar with southwestern Virginia medical facilities. This time it's an ear infection, and with the proper amount of NSAIDs and antibiotics got his fever under control and replaced the fussy heat zombie with our more-familiar rotten little boy.
I didn't ride. I napped. I stayed in climate-controlled buildings or otherwise in the shade.
I give people who don't ride in the rain a lot of crap, but I can be the same way about the combination of heat and humidity. It kills any motivation I have. I guess we all have our limits, and mine is right around the point where the air feels like you just took a bath in a vat of WalMart hand lotion. Just not my idea of fun. Coupled with the lack of sleep, this looked like a fine chance to call this a rest day.
Now if you'll excuse me, this dedicated athlete needs to go take a nap.
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