Undeniably Summer

It can’t last much longer, but this is what I want. I’m reveling in this summer weather. Thursday was the first 90° day in West Bend since August 14, 2015. We got to 90° again on Friday, almost got there on Saturday, and made it 3-of-4 today. Throw in high humidity and we’ve had heat index numbers around 100° and I couldn’t be happier. I finished the week with more than 12 hours in the saddle and 211 miles, critical preparation for next month’s Race The Lake.

What does the National Weather Service have to say about the current situation?

“A heat advisory means that a period of hot temperatures is expected. The combination of hot temperatures and high humidity will combine to create a situation in which heat illnesses are possible. Drink plenty of fluids. Stay in an air-conditioned room. Stay out of the sun. Check up on relatives and neighbors.”

Reasonable advice. I have been drinking plenty of fluids. In fact, I have been downing an electrolyte drink before rides, not just during. Stay in an air-conditioned room? Sure … when the ride is done. Stay out of the sun? Nonsense. Check up on relatives and neighbors? Actually, I have. This morning I enjoyed a ride with a family member who was visiting from California, and this afternoon I would have enjoyed a second ride with a friend from West Bend if not for a mechanical problem with his bike that cut our plans short.

If there’s a downside to this recent weather streak, then it’s the nearly constant threat of thunderstorms. (The threat is only “nearly constant” because sometimes there are thunderstorms.) Small price to pay, I say. Tomorrow I will be out there again, getting started on another 200-mile week. I did two metric centuries this week but I still haven’t gone past 69 miles this year. I’d really like to bang out at least one ride of 100 miles or more before I take on the 90-mile Race The Lake, and the upcoming week might be the best time for that sort of effort.