a break in the weather

 

Today started out gloomy. Cloudy and cool with light rain.Windy, too. We rode our bikes to church at 9:00, and for a while I thought that was it for the day.

But by 3:00 p.m. the clouds were gone, the sun was shining and the temperature was up to 15. I knew that if I didn't go for a ride, I'd regret it.

So I set off, heading north up the hill.

I rode the first 5 km or so with a big fat "0" on the speed readout of my computer. I thought maybe when I changed the tube in the back tire I'd knocked the magnet off the spoke. But when I stopped to check, I found the magnet still firmly attached, just facing away from the sensor. So, I fixed that and set off riding again, happy to see a 29 where the 0 had been.

The trees are looking more and more beautiful these days, wearing their party dresses of yellow and red and brown. When the sun angles down on them from the west, they literally glow, making me feel lucky to be alive.

One of my ESL students commented on how she misses the colourful trees in Ukraine -- here, she says, all the trees are yellow. I know what she means, having lived in Southern Ontario and the Lower Mainland for quite a few years. The maples and the sumacs, the horse chestnuts and the oaks, with their dramatic displays of colour, are truly spectacular. 
But I assured Halyna that when the mountain ash trees change colour, she will have something to feast her eyes on. 

And there are splashes of red and orange among the yellow even now, all the more delightful and welcome because of their scarcity.

 This is the high point of my ride, looking east toward St. Albert. Today it was a challenge to reach this spot -- the wind was from the northwest at 20-40 km/hour, and after turning around at the seniors' home, I was riding west and had to fight my way up to the pond and then up some more to the top of the hill.

the high ground

I always say I'd rather have the wind against me on the uphill stretches than when I'm riding downhill. After all, uphill is already work -- the wind just makes it a little more so. But when the wind is against me on the downhill, I can't help but feel I am being cheated, missing out on something. Today I didn't miss out and saw my top speed reach 52 km/hour. 

I rode about 48 km in all and saw quite a few other solitary cyclists, who obviously had the same desire to take advantage of the break in the weather.