Scenes of Autumn

I complain a lot about the cooler temperatures, the shorter days and the need to start thinking long tights and extra layers under the jersey. But then we get a couple of almost perfect days and I realize that fall is truly a dream come true for cyclists. And the last couple of days have been that way: hardly any wind, sun and puffy-white clouds, and temps right around 70. I remember that last year I had just been cleared to ride again at this time and was disconcerted by the loss of the summer - I felt like I missed all the warm weather and the snow would be flying momentarily. This year I have been able to segue right into the cooler weather and watch the leaves turn and see all the country roads doing their magic thing with the scenery. Yesterday the roads were filled with the leaf-peepers: folks with their convertible tops down, a million or so motorcycles out cruising and dozens of horse trailers looking for places to ride. It is truly a magic time and I'm going to enjoy every mile for as long as it lasts.....

A Perfect Fall Day

It could not have been a better day for a ride. It was cool - temps in the upper 30s - but clear and with a promise of sun and a warm-up. The bike club in Bucks County in Pennsylvania sponsors an annual event that is probably my favorite ride of the year. It starts at the edge of the Delaware River and covers 63 miles inland through the rolling and rural countryside of Bucks county. If we are lucky we get weather like yesterday: sunshine coming through the filters of the golden, reddish hues of the turning leaves, no wind, and just cool enough to stay comfortable with just a couple of layers. The ride is called the Covered Bridges ride in honor of the six historic covered bridges that the route follows - I looked for Clint Eastwood but apparently he never got out of Madison County. And the fall colors were truly spectacular. We had long roads of woods and turning leaves that were just about at peak color. And we had hills. I had forgotten how many and how long - lots of 14-16% grades and the final tally was something well over 5,000 feet of climbing for the day. A great day!

Days are shorter, shadows are longer...

It was truly an absolutely gorgeous fall day today. The sun was bright, no wind and temps of maybe 65 when I headed out the door. We are just starting to see real fall color - and I say "real" advisedly. Because of the drought in these parts that we experienced in July through September a lot of trees started shedding their leaves a month ago but it was not the usual fall thing - it was simply the lack of water. And so I suspect that our typical New Jersey autumn display is going to be a bit less spectacular this year. However, there are some signs of the season and I did take a few photos to prove it.

The lower angle of the sun changes the scenery in a dramatic fashion. The very long shadows of the trees and sun shining through the golden leaves makes even the familiar roads seem fresh and different. I did about 60 miles today and came home about 5:00 somewhat surprised to realize that there really was not much daylight left...I hate to think of five 0'clock street lights and, even worse, freezing temps, snow....already I'm looking forward to a couple weeks in Florida.

Role reversal...

Wow, what a long time since the last entry - time flies when you are doing stuff... Almost a year ago to the day I was placing a finis on my rehab and climbing back on my (brand new) bike for my first post-motorcycle ride. For the past couple of weeks I've been away from the bike for a different reason. Susan had her second knee replaced four weeks ago and I have gone into the caretaker mode that she did so well for me. She measures her rehab progress on a day to day basis - sometimes reverting to hour to hour - and is generally doing quite well for someone who has had a body part cut out and replaced with a man-made substitute. She folded up the walker this morning and is now using the cane exclusively - she can go up the stairs by herself and even did her own lunch yesterday.... I guess she is not yet tired of my cooking since she shows no signs of doing dinner yet. Actually, as my daughter pointed out yesterday, we are lucky to have each other for support - life is good. Meantime, I finally pulled the bike down from the hooks in the garage yesterday and went out to view the fall colors. I realized how quickly we are moving into autumn when I felt better in a long sleeved jersey and could forget the sunscreen I was still using my last trip out. I did 40 or so miles on a gorgeous day with no significant adventures other than waving to lots of other cyclists doing the same thing on a Sunday afternoon. Today I'm a bit stiff after the layoff but maybe another ride is in the offing this afternoon and I'll go out to find my legs again.