High Water And Low Miles

The swollen Milwaukee River has overrun the boardwalk at Quaas Creek Park.

I saw a break in the rain today, so I hopped aboard the cyclocross bike and explored the park paths and trails of West Bend.  I visited a few places I hadn’t been able to reach for a long time due to snow cover.  But now that almost all of the snow is gone, flooding is a big problem.  In Quaas Creek Park, both bridges are impassible.  Much of the trail system in Riverside Park is submerged.  The Riverfront Parkway is flooded beneath the Eisenbahn State Trail bridge.  More rain—and maybe a little snow—is coming, so it will be a while before these areas become accessible again.

An already ridiculous sign is made ironic by Quaas Creek.

I cut through Glacial Blue Hills Recreation Area for the first time this year, but I stayed away from the singletrack.  Not only did I have the wrong bike for that kind of riding, but also I expected the trails to be too soft to ride.  On the two-track park road the surface was nice and firm.  A couple of fallen trees gave me a little ’cross practice.  Otherwise the trail was an easy ride from County Highway D all the way down to Beaver Dam Road.

Miles are coming hard.  Today’s ride was just my second this month.  (I don’t count the indoor trainer sessions.)  On April 14, 2012, I did my 40th ride of the year and reached 1,000 miles.  This year I have done 20 rides for a total of 460 miles, so I need 40 miles this weekend just to have half of my total from a year ago!  My legs don’t feel like they switch on until about the 1,000-mile mark, so I’m anxious to get there.  But that won’t happen this month.