Following a round of my gym routine, I went downtown and paddled with Joe on a lovely Tuesday morning--the fourth or fifth Tuesday in a row with sunny, mild weather.
Much colder air was in the forecast for Thursday and Friday, so I returned to the river Wednesday. There was a stiff south wind blowing and rain was on its way, but the temperature was warm, headed for a high around 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Out on the Mississippi there were some small waves that I tried to ride, and I was reminded that paddling out there in the wind means getting very wet. After being splashed with frigid water a few times I was disinclined to stay out there more than 15 minutes or so. I returned to the harbor and paddled a strong aerobic pace for the remainder of the hour.
Thursday and Friday were indeed unpleasantly cold, the temperature barely exceeding the freezing point. Though the skies were sunny, a howling north wind discouraged me from leaving the house. I filled my days with indoor activities, including a gym session Friday morning.
By yesterday the wind had shifted to the south and the high was supposed to be around 50 degrees. It had warmed up to 41 degrees by the time I got to the dock a little before ten o'clock. But that south wind made it feel quite a bit colder, and once again I got soaking wet in a hurry.
This morning I did another gym session and then headed out to paddle on yet another windy day. At least the warming trend was continuing, nearing 60 degrees by the time my 60 minutes in the boat was finished.
By the end of the week I plan to be paddling on the Rainbow River in Florida, and I expect I won't be quite so exposed to the wind there. As for the forecast, it looks just fine, though maybe not quite as warm as I tend to imagine when I think of sunny Florida. Right now the daytime highs are predicted to be in the 60s and low 70s, with overnight lows dipping below 40 a few times. Oh well, it's not like this is supposed to be a vacation--I'm going there to WORK!!!!
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