If This Is Winter, Then Bring It On!

Taking it all in at Glacial Blue Hills! (Nathan Patton photo)

In West Bend, today’s high of 53° broke the old record for this date: 52° on December 22, 1957. The average high for this date is only 29°. Today was the first 50° day since November 21, and that was the only 50° day in November. Today may prove to be the only 50° day in December; we’ll see what Thursday brings.

As I hope you would expect of me, I spent the day outdoors. In the morning I hiked the Ice Age Trail from Washington Street to Glacial Blue Hills and back, covering almost 4 miles in about 1.5 hours. That’s not a bad effort on rocky, up-and-down terrain that still wasn’t completely free of ice and snow. In the afternoon I rode my cyclocross bike around town … not fast, not far, but as much as I felt like doing. I would have been more ambitious if not for the brisk wind that always seemed to be holding me back.

Above-average daytime highs are in the forecast every day between now and next Sunday, so there should be additional opportunities for outdoor adventure. I’m going to soak it up, but I’m not going to do structured workouts. I will ride if I want to ride, hike if I want to hike, and not worry too much about my statistics. It’s just nice to be outside this late in the year.