Fall is my absolute favorite season. Crisp mornings leading to sunny afternoons, crunchy leaves, vibrant colors all around. This year, it feels like it came on all of a sudden. I don't know if it's because of the drought, but seems like I got back from my solo tour on Labor Day weekend and boom!, fall is here! All the trees are suddenly in full on autumn, it's COLD in the mornings, and wool sweaters are a must on night time rides.
Cliche as it is, the lyrics to Green Day's stupid song, "Wake Me Up When September Ends" keep running through my head:
"Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
Wake me up when September ends"
Well, either I slept through the whole month of September, or it flew by in a total flash. I think it was the latter, because I definitely did some serious riding. In fact, I think I did more miles than ever before (except maybe in May for Bike to Work month...not really sure, because I don't really keep track anymore.) Anyway, it was a bonus #30daysofbiking month. I'm not entirely sure who is the official issuer of this challenge, but I saw it come across Twitter a number of times, and thought, "Yep, it's happening." With a multi-day solo tour and BikeMS happening during September, it was a perfect month to be intentional about riding for 30 straight days. Both of my previous efforts to participate in #30daysofbiking were derailed by injuries, so I was pretty excited about another attempt.
Day 3 of my solo bike tour found things to be a bit soggy.
I had so many intentions about writing up my adventures, including my tour (I swear, it's coming someday), but seriously, the month ran away from me. My weekends have been spent at The Bikery, a non-profit bike kitchen where I've been wrenching and doing social media and week nights have been a flurry of riding and dating and all sorts of good things!
But, September is over, and success! I rode all month long, completed my first solo tour, my longest 1 day ride, and rode all 30 days! Here are my non-profound thoughts now that it's over:
- Fenders: A+. We all need them. Yes, you too dude in front of me riding down Capitol Hill.
- I don't have a need for speed anymore. I'm perfectly content letting the Cat 6 racers battle the cars in the morning (and each other) just to get to the next red light.
- There's a police officer at 2nd/Union in the afternoons who helps cars exit the parking garage so they don't hit cyclists in the bike lane. I love this guy. Thanks for being there and always giving us the right of way.
- The sound of a car going over a center lane rumble strip is the best sound you can hear while riding down a highway. It means somebody is giving you lots of passing room.
- It's ok to ride an 80 mile charity ride on 42mm tires and a touring bike with a front basket. It just means you'll be the most comfortable one out there all day.
And now it's time for #coffeeneuring. #rideallthebikes
Dinner with a view on Night 1 of my tour.