Fall 2022

It’s 8:03 p.m. Central Daylight Time, the moment autumn officially begins. And today certainly feels like the start of a new season. West Bend touched 60° for only a few minutes today and we will struggle to reach that modest plateau for at least the next week. We should still be averaging 70° for an afternoon high, so I’m not wrong to be disappointed. But again I’m left to wonder whether our historical averages are accurate. They must be inflated: we almost always seem to be below them.

Adding to the sense of change, this evening I hosted the final Royal Oaks Park cyclocross practice of 2022. My still sore, still tight left calf kept me off the bike. I directed the setup and teardown of the course … not a big job, but it’s still a job. Much like Cheesehead Roubaix, cyclocross practice at Royal Oaks is my show. I’m the one person who has to be there, no matter what. Today’s practice was number 8 this season and number 64 since the series began in 2012. I didn’t run the series during the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, so it was nice to come back this year for Season 9. Attendance wasn’t great—our best turnout was 10 racers—but this season was notable for its appeal to first-time participants. The newbies learned a lot, progressed quickly, and now can look forward to success in actual races.

I’m looking forward to vacation, starting one week from today. On Sunday, three of my favorite TV shows will have their season premieres. Two weeks from tomorrow, the new NHL season will begin. So, there are some good things coming my way this fall, but the clock is definitely winding down on my outdoor cycling season. In addition to the falling temperatures, we’re losing about three minutes of daylight per day. Soon I will be riding more inside than outside. But watch out for Thanksgiving, nine weeks from today. After my upcoming week-long vacation, I still will have a four-day block of time off to spend before the end of November. Don’t be surprised if I skip the turkey and head south in search of warm weather and big miles.