Anyone For Hiking?

This is my first weekend off the bike since August 14-15 when I was recovering from a separated shoulder.  I was a bit of a slug yesterday, napping early in the afternoon and then watching the USGP cyclocross webcast from Ft. Collins CO.  (It’s a two-day event, and if you’re reading this early enough you can watch today’s webcast here.)

Getting outside is important to me but getting on the bike when the “feels like” temperature is only 28 degrees is just not going to happen.  So today I opted for a hike through Ridge Run County Park.  Ridge Run, Glacial Blue Hills and the sections of Ice Age Trail that run between them provide miles of excellent hiking right here in West Bend.  It’s easy to forget that you’re still within city limits.

Done at a brisk pace, hiking is a terrific cross-training workout.  I do it throughout the winter, undeterred by snow.  Some people ride their bikes outdoors all year, but I’m not one of them.  In a couple of weeks I’ll be back on the bike trainer while I continue with stair climbing and weightlifting.  That’s a lot of indoor exercise and at times it will seem like a grind.  But hiking resets my Frustration Meter: it’s at least as useful psychologically as it is physiologically.

If you’d like to join me for a hike this winter, just let me know.  Sometimes it’s nice to be alone to clear out the head, but most of the time it would be nice to have company.