Today...

I did something crazy.

I had a nice plastic sled -- two of 'em actually: a red and a black -- in the storage locker. Pulled out the black one, and walked far enough down the Tuscobia Trail to the big hill, where the sign warns: "Dip".

Three times I went down the far hill. The third time, naturally, the fastest. The bottom of the hill takes you over a narrow (enough) bridge, over (what we would call in my hometown...) a crick.

I learned, after only three, that indeed, I gained the fastest speed "luging", with my head and body back, looking up, shifting my knees to guide me...

It was great! Been a long time since I've been sledding, and with the fresh powder this morning, something just told me it was the time to go.

But after only three, I felt the winds kick in, and started back down the trail using the black sled as a wind shield. Got my cardio in after only three trips up; and being alone, and achieving higher speeds each run, I didn't want to chance losing control at the bottom, and breaking my neck rolling off, while steering me down.
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Last night,
in a comeback OT win, our Rice Lake Warriors beat Menomonie, 6-5. For $5 and a 10-minute walk down the street, it was well worth it.

Though I like to sit out in the cold, preferring not to mix it up -- even between periods -- in what I like to call the heated "Germ Exchange", you see familar faces from about town, and other sports, and it's good to be amongst community.

Not being an integral part of the small town is good -- you don't know or care about the town dramas, if any -- yet you can still support and enjoy the local team. It's healthy, I think, watching these prep games at such a close level. In Madison, I always treated myself to a state tourney ticket in March, just to watch the games at the highest level.

Makes the winter pass more quickly.