2018: Off To A Good Start

I do some goofy-looking routes at this time of year, but they get the job done.

I’m exiting January with 8 rides and 150 miles to my credit. That’s an improvement over last January, when I rode 5 times for 120 miles. My all-time best January was in 2015, when I rode 11 times for 241 miles. Any miles at this time of year are a bonus.

The Northern Kettle Moraine region is exiting January with almost no trace of snow. That’s bad if you’re a skier but it’s awesome if you’re almost anyone else. If we keep melting off every snowfall before the next one can add to it, then we should see an early opening for the mountain bike trails. Whether early access to those trails alters my racing schedule seems doubtful though, as this year’s WORS and WEMS calendars don’t align very well with my other objectives.

There’s already a change to my plans for 2018. The “Jack Lake” race on the WEMS calendar isn’t in Kenosha County after all. I wondered about that when it first appeared, and it turned out to be an error. The actual site of the race is in Langlade County, a 3-hour drive north of West Bend. That’s pretty close to impossible to accommodate when work keeps me in Brookfield until 7 a.m. on a Saturday. And September 15 is probably going to be a cyclocross date anyway. After doing 11 mountain bike races in 2017, I might be down to only 2-3 this year.