With the last few rides occurring during temperatures in the low 40s, I’m starting to get used to riding in cooler conditions. But, Friday afternoon was a whole different story, as Mother Nature provided a switch in temperatures that brought them up and into the mid-80s.
Thus, it was an easy decision to take a few hours of PTO (paid time off) from work and head to home shortly after lunch. After a few basic chores around the house, I hit the road wearing a kit tailored for warm, summertime riding. Where I was starting to enjoy having cool water in my bottle, Friday’s conditions were warm enough to bring back the lousy tasting, lukewarm water.
Earlier in the day, my brother and I planned a Saturday morning extended ride (targeting about three hours of riding), so I didn’t want to put too many miles in my legs. They need to be fresh enough for the next morning to survive a few extra hours in the saddle. With that constraint in mind, the stats are as follows.
It is definitely a beautiful time of year to be enjoying the outdoors. I’ll let the pictures speak for the rest of the elements of the ride.
The fall colors are finally at their peak in the metro area and the entire route was encased in yellows, golds, and deep reds.
My route included the bike trail near Wayzata – which was coated in freshly fallen leaves making the trail a little hard to see at times.
With over 2,000 miles on the bike this season, I’m now just happy to get any miles that I can when the weather turns mild. The months of Nov, Dec, Jan, and Feb will mostly include indoor riding on the trainer. Thus, I will lose the joy of watching the pavement moving swiftly by my front wheel.
Zipper down and sunglasses on – this is probably the last ride where I’ll be this comfortable on the bike. But, as long as there isn’t snow on the road and the temperatures are above freezing, I’ll still find opportunities to ride the bike.
Great views – too bad that the season is so short. I’ll surely miss trying to take all of these pictures for the blog while pedaling a bike at 20 mph.
