Today is Rio hot. It is also the day Mme Awesome left for South Dakota with Mme L to participate in a Lakota Sun Dance. At the mundane, physical level, a Sun Dancer spends four days with no food or water, sleeping in a shared tee pee, participating in a sweat and then dancing all day. There are two other groups of people too: the drummers and the supporters. Mme L is going to provide support. How does that work? She will eat and drink for Mme Awesome and give energy and support from the ring which encloses the dancers. Understand, we can all be supporters. It starts Tuesday at sunrise and ends at Friday sundown. Please take time during these days to check in with Mme Awesome, eat for her and drink for her.

With the hydration-related vertigo I experienced earlier in the year, I am extra concerned for our Mme Awesome. Thankfully the forecast is not for such intense heat during the Sun Dance. There is even a good chance of rain, which I most certainly hope comes to pass. One year, Chief Izzy told us, it was above 110 for the four days. Wow.

M K, a few weeks ago back in Wyoming, suggested get these rubber blocks to raise the back of the truck a few inches to counter the sag when as little as our bikes are on the rack. Alas, I read the extra distance created by the blocks would cause premature failure of our new, costly, heavy duty shocks. Not good and so, unfortunately, not going to happen. As it stands now, with our things in the truck it is not too unlikely to find that a commonplace driveway that’ll makes the rack drag. And when on forest roads, which have greater dips to negotiate, rack drag potential is upgraded to probable.

I spent more time on the websites today and did some things around the house. I’m beat to be honest and am glad to sit on my behind. I put a chocolate bar out on the porch to warm up a bit 15 minutes ago. Though not quite 8PM, the wrapper was straight up sweating. That’s Rio hot.