Warm, Fall Afternoon Ride

The landscape is starting to look more fall-ish.  The colors aren't spectacular this year, but they are at that pleasing point of some leaves lacking chlorophyll and others still having it.  The sky was overcast today.  It was warm for fall - highs in the mid 70s.  If we have to give up summer for fall, I'll take this.

Today was my first ride on my Trek Domane since PBP.  It took a few weeks for it to get home from France.  Although it arrived right before my October brevet, I opted not to ride it then because I hadn't taken in on a test ride since it got home.  I was going to ride it once or twice since then, but it still needed a Wahoo mount put back on it.  Robert took care of that in time for me to take out the Trek today.  It was like buttah.

I was up for a longish ride and selected a route that would take me to Eatonton, about 50 miles total.  I headed south toward Hillsboro.

Yesterday I drove through Hillsboro and saw a great Halloween display at the Ben Hen School, which now is Hillsboro's civic center.  Today I rode an extra mile to get a photo.  You can't really tell here, but there are orange lights all over the logs - totally cute.

I backtracked a short distance to Fullerton-Phillips Road.  This is a great paved road that has little traffic.  A few miles later, a deer crossed my path about 18 inches from my front wheel!  It all happened so fast.  I heard some rustling in the woods to my right.  I had just picked up significant speed on a downhill.  A young buck darted in front of me.  Our eyes locked.  He practically tumbled across the road.  Neither of us intended such a close encounter.

A little more than halfway into my ride, Robert passed me.  He had ridden the route backwards, planning to turn around and join me when we met on the route.  I had in uptick in average speed for the rest of my ride as I drafted him.

Robert asked my how my Trek felt.  I told him it was so smooth!  He said no wonder - it was only my second ride on it since the super-duper tune-up before PBP.  I guffawed.

As we headed back toward Monticello on Glades Road, we passed a hunter on the side of the road.  He was applying camouflage paint to his face, using the side-view mirror of his truck.  Robert and I greeted him as we rode by.  Then, Robert commented that he didn't understand why the guy was using face paint for deer hunting.  (Firearm season for deer hunting opened last weekend.)  Face painting is more common for turkey hunting in the spring.  Also, this guy had a bright orange vest, which seemed to negate face paint.  Oh, well.  Robert said it was one of those things that doesn't do anything but is part of the tradition, like guys shaving their legs for cycling.  It made me think of congealed salad at Thanksgiving dinner.

Name something that doesn't do anything but is part of the tradition.

When we got home, I had ridden just over 53 miles.  Robert was at 49.9 miles.  He refused to ride his bicycle around our driveway for a lap or two to make it turn over to 50 miles.  However, he said I could ride his bike for him.  So, of course I did.  I wouldn't have been able to sleep tonight knowing we left him at 49.9 miles.