It’s Halloween, and I look up from my ride at burnt umber hills tufted in deep flat red—the only remaining leaves hanging on oak skeletons. For the first time in a year, the cold is biting my toes. Grey skies filter precious sunlight and long shadows. Winter is barely more than a month away, and I’m thinking of what was accomplished around our family during this cycling season.
The season began with our two grandsons, Luca and Massi (short for Massimo) learning to ride on two wheels. Massi was first—the personification of fearlessness. A week later, Luca ditched his training wheels. Our older grandson is more cautious but still fiercely competitive.
In mid-June, I picked up a vintage Trek 760 in Denver. “Back in the day,” the only feel was steel, and all were made in Waterloo, Wisconsin USofA. Joe Dadez and I overhauled it at the bike shop, and I’ve been riding it joyfully since.
In late-June, we held our Tour for Cancer and netted over $2 Grand. Abbracci to our riders from Freeport’s ChainLinkCyclists; our GOATS neighbors to the west; and the super folks with Robbie Ventura’s Vision Quest organization who again drove all the way out from Chicago to ride with us and support our Cancer Center.
November 1, 2011 – Indian Summer is back for a day. We’re in the 60s and our sunlight has returned. I soak up the vitamin D dazzled to see yesterday’s drab oak leaves sparkle like rubies.
Summer flooding in Pleasant Valley obliged us to be dazzled by gravel along new roads between Route 78 and Massbach Ridge. Yesterday, Bill Leibman joined me in another ride of discovery. We rolled north off Elizabeth Road on Route 78 and flew with the wind down the hill. At the bottom, we turned left on Old Galena Trail and continued north eight miles on this beautiful scenic road.
Neither Bill nor I had been on Old Galena Road. Thanks to the flood that closed the Plum River bridge at Bethel Road and Hwy 78, we now have a new loop in our repertoire. So far so good for November 2011.
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