Driving home today into NH after three days to the south it all finally felt real. Yes, I’ve been making plans for holidays Halloween and beyond and gorging on fresh winter squash, but accepting that the trees are changing means there’s no turning back. I’ve enjoyed some exceptional late season weather and I’m ready for winter now. Before it comes, I need to record some of fall’s best rides.
In mid September, I made my second appearence at the Maine lighthouse ride. This century was a landmark event for me last summmer and it meant a lot to return. It was another of the beautiful late season days and that put the experience and landscape in opposition to last year’s rainstorm! One couldn’t ask for a more picturesque course. One hundred miles, by the way, is a long ways to ride! I’ve become accustom to this sorts of events, but the fatigue of bringing in the last few miles reminded me that such an activity can’t be taken lightly. They improved the amenities for this ride, and I fully enjoyed the post-race chili and hot showers! I still haven’t paid enough attention to actively observe the 8 or so lighthouses that are alleged to be visible from the course. :p Debbie also came up to Portland and completed the 40 mile route, which she reported as not quite being enough riding. I understand the sentiment.
The lighthouse ride was followed the next day be a volunteer shift on the half-ironman length bike course of South Berwick, ME’s “Pumpkinman” triathlon. I figured it was about time to give something back to a race and I wanted a different perspective on the race day activities. This I got! I stood about 100 feet ahead of a sharp turn and verbally warned cyclists of its approach. Watching the leaders come through was fun, and provided a glimpse of something I never get to see. Later, it was equally fulfilling to watch the rest of the pack push through to finish. Many of the riders were very appreciative of the volunteers and I left with a greater sense of the triathlon community.
Next on the calendar was commuting to the common ground fair. Another repeat of an event from last year, I rode from a campground in Newport, ME to the fairground site in Unity, ME, enjoyed a day a the fair, and rode home. This is only a 50 mile round trip, but I was apprehensive after last year’s freezing temperatures and multiple flats prevented me from completing the return trip. Again, this season came through. A smooth ride, downright hot weather, and a great day at the fair changed my outlook for next year’s common ground commute to pure optimism.
Most recently, I spent Columbus Day weekend with the bike on Martha’s Vineyard. Going over there with a bike makes a lot of sense. It’s much cheaper than bringing a car on the ferry and everything on the island is 20 miles or less apart. In two days I saw every lighthouse and most townships. The coastal routes provide storybook quality views. A great cycling weekend, but staying much longer than that would induce significant repetition of activities. This island is setup perfectly for a strong bike culture. In a warmer climate, I think a place like this would be entirely bike centric. Unfortunately, I think excellent bike awareness has been mixed with questionable bike knowledge to create a mixed environment for cycling. In several places bike paths are built next to the road as if they were oversized sidewalks. This creates the same traffic conflicts as riding on the actual sidewalk and none of the benefits of a bike path, in my opinion. Unless you can reduce road and driveway crossings, I would feel much safer riding on the road where cars must acknowledge me. Spend the extra cash on a little more shoulder. In another example, a busy narrow road that was the site of a recent bicycle accident (involving a rider on the sidewalk) had resident signs posted instructing “walk your bike”. Again, it was clearly safer riding with traffic than walking with a bike on a busy road with no shoulder. Good intentions, just misplaced.
With the season approaching a close it is clear this year’s mileage won’t meet last year, but there has been a lot of other activity to explain that, and it’s not over till it’s over!