A Beautiful Autumn For Biking

There's been lots in the news lately about wildfires in the West, and hurricanes in the South, but for the past few weeks here in Northeast Ohio, we've had just about the best weather for riding a person could ask for. We've had very little rain, mostly sunny days, cool temperatures overnight (down into the 40s typically) but up into the 50s and 60s by afternoon. I've been riding to work nearly every day. In fact, I've only driven my car once since Labor Day.

Early in the morning on my ride to work on Oct. 1st, the clear skies were lit by the harvest moon - seen here, just getting ready to dip below the horizon. It looked huge to my naked eyes, but I only had my phone for a camera, hampered by the limitations of that tiny wide-angle lens. This was one of those times where having my SLR camera with a telephoto lens would have given a much more impressive photo, but that's not something I normally carry with me on my ride to work. October this year will see a second full moon, the "blue moon," on Halloween.

At this point in the season, my rides are in darkness all the way to work, so I'm really relying on my lights for the morning commute.

Our weekends have also been beautiful, and the roads, paths, and other facilities of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park have been booming with cyclists. This morning, which was perfect and clear, with temps in the low 60s, I got up fairly early and suited up for a ride into the valley. The Saturday morning farmers market is still going on in the middle of the national park, and I made a stop for some goodies. There are only a couple more "outdoor" farmers markets scheduled for this year before they move to an indoor venue for the winter. I brought my orange Mercian, which has an assortment of small bags (most of them made by Berthoud of France) which would be useful for carrying my purchases from the market. Vendors have a lot of nice produce to offer, as well as meats, fresh pasta, and bread and other baked goods.

I stopped at the train depot near the historic Botzum farm for a photo on my way through the valley.

The "orange pearl" on the Mercian is a great color for a fall ride. The headtube is done in a cream color that looks very similar to the paint on the train depot. Coming back from the market, those bags will all be full.

Our leaves are only just beginning to turn color for autumn, but I anticipate they will be spectacular in another week. Hopefully our excellent riding conditions continue through that peak of color. 

That's all for now . . .