Yesterday was a literal freak of nature: 64° on December 15 in West Bend! It was our first 50° day since November 17 and our first 60° day since November 8. It was a record-breaking day, beating the high temperature of 50° set in 1998. The high temperature is only 33° on a typical December 15. We probably won’t see anything to rival Wednesday until at least March, so I felt compelled to get outside and enjoy it.
On Monday I took my first ride on my new mountain bike and yesterday afternoon I took my second. But I wasn’t mountain biking; these were slow rides on city streets and park paths. I just wanted to get to know the bike a little bit before winter. Outdoor rides in cold temperatures aren’t in my plans anymore, especially now that I have Zwift. My winter rides almost never met any real training objectives anyway. As I have said many times, they were mostly about fighting cabin fever. I can accomplish the same thing with an occasional hiking or snowshoeing adventure.
The steady breeze from the south that brought us yesterday’s warmth turned into a dangerous windstorm overnight. That kept us above 60° until about 2 a.m. … for what it was worth. By 6 a.m. the temperature had dropped below 40° and now we’re at only 32° … which feels like 21° with the wind chill. The forecast says we’ll stay below freezing until at least next Monday, and you won’t catch me fighting it.
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