Early start

We had hockey this afternoon so if we were going to ride we had to get out the door early. We started at 11am, which at this time of year is too early in the day for the sun to have warmed the air very much.

But it wasn't too bad, 58 or so when we started and warming thoughout. The problem today was, again, strong wind.

But we did ride. I was leading a sneak around to avoid an early face down of the north wind. We ended up passing through the Farm campus and got a good look at the cows in fall.But eventually we got headed into the wind and it WAS strong. We rode out to the Shoreview water tower but it was HARD. Along the way we passed this display which seems to me to be all three food groups.You got your reddish oak, your turning to orange maple, and your green spruce. The only thing missing is chocolate.

There are a couple of places along the route where people have planted exotic grasses. This is the time of year when that investment pays off with spectacular displays.GRider for scale.

I was checking my bike log for something or another and noticed a couple of reasons why last October I rode so few miles. It snowed on October 10, again on October 12, and yet again on October 15. None of those snows stayed more than a few hours and permanent snow cover did not come until December 1.