Escape From Wisconsin

An extraordinary Wednesday in West Bend would have been just another January day in Atlanta.

I rode 20 miles on Tuesday and another 20 on Wednesday, taking advantage of weather too beautiful to ignore.  This has been the nicest January I have ever spent in Wisconsin, but we haven’t even reached the midpoint yet.  If the weather forecast is correct, then the situation is about to change dramatically.  As I type, the first tentative snowflakes are falling.  For me, this is not a change for the better.  I didn’t want snow in any event, but I especially hoped to avoid it this week.  On Saturday morning I will begin my two-day drive to Atlanta.  I need dry, safe roads.

I will stay overnight in Louisville KY on Saturday.  Louisville is hosting this year’s UCI Masters Cyclocross World Championships, today through Sunday.  I could check out some of the late races on Saturday or the early ones on Sunday before I continue my drive, but I probably won’t.  There are some familiar names on the start list—even a few from Wisconsin—but my experience as a spectator is more about the people I’m with than the people I’m watching.  And it should be a nice 50-degree afternoon in Atlanta.  I might get there in time to ride for an hour or two before sunset.

During my three weeks in Atlanta I’m sure I will have a mix of good days and bad.  But whatever I get, it’s got to be better than what appears to be heading into southeastern Wisconsin.  My workout plan for today and tomorrow?  Shovel.