The Last Leaves Of Fall

Reflections...

The end of one season and starting another. Changes are in the air again. Then there is that massive storm that left all sorts of destruction behind out East. Halloween was yesterday too.

And my Uncle Joe died this week.

I usually don't write about personal stuff here on this blog, trying to keep things bicycle related, but there are some things more important than bicycles.

I know. Hard to believe sometimes, right? But seriously, this has been a week full of reminders for me that cycling, while a great blessing to me and a lot of you, is not the most important thing. At least it isn't for me.

So, that said, I did use cycling to try and help myself navigate through some feelings I've had in the past few days. I hopped on The Snow Dog, and went out to the Green Belt, just tooling around and trying to enjoy the butt end of Fall.

The lake out there is pretty low, so I figured I would try to circumnavigate it on the beach that is exposed now. A couple small spots were technically challenging. A bit of spongy ground, a spot of mud, and some downed limbs and trash from trees piled up were really the only small challenges. The Big Fat Larrys made mincemeat of the task. It was too easy, really.

Fun, but easy. Any other bike would have struggled with that ride. Anyway, I got some thinking done, and being outside was good.

While cycling isn't everything, it sure is a great way, (for me), to process through life and my feelings. I am really grateful for that. I know some folks don't have a mechanism to work through things. Cycling is my way of resetting my mind sometimes, and other times it is a way for me to unwind from stress, while at other times I just have fun.

But like I say, cycling isn't everything. I'm still processing through it all, but the ride sure helped reset my compass a bit.

So, the days will go on and Fall is ending with Winter just around that corner up there. Will it bring snow for fun fat biking times, or will it be another winter of extended single speed and gravel travel? Who knows, but I'm just glad to have some cycling to look forward to at this point.