October's bright blue weather

  

O suns and skies and clouds of June,
And flowers of June together,
Ye cannot rival for one hour
October's bright blue weather.

(Helen Hunt Jackson)

Today was another bright blue day -- interspersed with cloudy periods and even a light sprinkle of rain at one point. Hubby had a job west of Wabamun, so I decided to ride Milly out and meet him. I rode along the quiet and beautiful Parkland Drive, enjoying the colourful trees lining the road. My ride was about 45 km, not one of my longer rides, but I have a bit of a cold, so I felt like that was enough.

I did have to ride on the Yellowhead about about 12 km. That was less than enjoyable, as there is construction right now and of course the traffic is fairly heavy. But the shoulders are nice and wide, so it is easy riding. 

The temperature was about 14 C, which is ideal riding weather, and there was a light but steady west wind to offer a bit of challenge. I can't say this was my favourite ride ever, but it was kind of fun and something different.

Yesterday morning I tried to go for a ride -- got all ready to go and started off, but I was way too cold and ended up coming back. Then in the afternoon, the wind picked up (about 40 km/hr) so I didn't end up riding much -- just to Superstore and the bike shop in search of some warmer but still slim-fitting gloves. We did go for a nice long walk in the evening, after the wind had calmed down a bit, so at least I wasn't completely idle, but I did miss riding. So I was glad to get out for a ride today.