It was time for another bike ride Friday afternoon. After a couple of weeks of abbreviated rides, I did my full 90-minute course out the Greater Memphis Greenline to Shelby Farms, around Patriot Lake, and back home via the Greenline. While it was mostly a nice not-so-humid day, it was sunny and hot: I think the temperature was about 91 degrees Fahrenheit. Most of the Greenline is shaded by a nice tree canopy, but out at Shelby Farms I was fully exposed to the sun for about a half-hour. I was reasonably well hydrated and I don't think heat exhaustion was the issue, exactly, but I was feeling quite fatigued during the ride back and the heat probably had something to do with that. I continued to feel worn out for the rest of the day back home.
Indeed, a higher level of heat is moving into the Mid South. Out on the river yesterday morning it looked like the sort of summer day lifelong Memphians like me know all too well: sunny, humid, temperature already approaching 90 degrees at 9 AM, and a thick haze hanging over the landscape. I paddled on my home water for one last time, and while I needed some recovery from Thursday's workout and Friday's bike ride, I didn't want to do absolutely nothing because it'll probably be Tuesday or Wednesday before I paddle again. I did a medium-intensity loop out on the Mississippi, and I could feel the fatigue in my legs from Friday's ride. A northbound barge rig was well upriver as I left the harbor, but up around the Hernando DeSoto Bridge there were some lingering waves that I played around on. They were small, but just barely big enough to get several good rides on. If nothing else, it prompted me to rev my engines a little bit.
And today? I hit the road. I made it as far as Effingham, Illinois, which proudly calls itself "The Crossroads" because it's at the junction of Interstates 57 and 70. I understand cooler weather awaits me farther north, but right now I have yet to outrun the heat.
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