Thanksgiving Weekend

A section of boardwalk winds through a wetlands area at Lac Lawrann Conservancy.

I couldn’t talk myself into getting on the bike today.  With the mid-afternoon “feels like” temperature hovering around 30 degrees, it was a little too cold.  I opted instead for a 90-minute hike through Lac Lawrann Conservancy and Royal Oaks Park.  Somebody’s going to have to explain to me why West Bend isn’t a nationally-recognized haven for trail running.  Is the sport just not that popular?  Lac Lawrann, Ridge Run, Glacial Blue Hills, the Ice Age Trail … we’ve got miles and miles of amazing trails within the city limits.  It’s extraordinary how often I have them all to myself, as was the case today.  As hiking trails they’re on the tame side, but for running they would be sublime.

Today is the end of a four-day weekend that began with a 32-mile road ride early in the afternoon on Thanksgiving.  It was 63 degrees and sunny and there was no way I was going to miss a chance to ride in those conditions.  I’ve set a new personal record for miles in November (309) and year-to-date I’m at 4,809, which is my second-highest total ever.  Last year I rode 5,113 miles and I’m not very likely to surpass that total this year.  Weekday rides are almost out of the question due to limited daylight, and there are only five weekends left before the new year begins.

Black Friday once again failed to tempt me but early today I took advantage of an online deal that was too good to ignore: two brand new 10-speed Shimano cassettes for $30 apiece with free shipping.  I damaged the cassette on my 29er during the WORS season finale, so one of the new cassettes will be its replacement and the other will be a spare.  I’m thinking about a couple of additional equipment changes between now and next spring, but there’s no reason to rush.  My big purchase probably will be a better set of 29er wheels for competition and that’s too big an expense not to consider carefully.