The Autumn Days Swung Soft Around Me, Like Cotton on my Skin

This weekend was nice and mellow. Originally, we were going to go to Madison and stay with my brother and then do a cyclocross race, but I still wasn't over my cold, and John was just getting a cold of his very own, so we decided to stay home and rest and hopefully, get better faster.

Saturday was filled with me reading and nodding off and reading some more and nodding off some more, until I felt up for doing another cleaning project in my bedroom that involved me taking all of the books off of one of my bookshelves, wiping all of the books off with a vinegar, water and baking soda solution, vacuuming and cleaning the walls, floor and ceiling around said bookshelf and then putting everything back away. The only bad thing about this project, is that I start reading the backs of books I haven't read before, and it makes me want to go right back to the reading and nodding off stage of my day.

On Sunday we were both feeling a little better. John suggested we try to do a ride to Solon. I was a little worried, just because that route has one really big hill on it, and I hadn't ridden it since my surgery. I thought I was strong enough to ride it, I just wasn't sure how long it would take me - a day, two days, a week?

I actually did just fine on it. I had taken a couple of days off with this cold, and my time up it was maybe just a little slower than normal. Of course, usually when I ride up that hill, I've already been on a 5 mile run earlier in the day and ridden and run many times the week before. Apparently, not killing yourself before a harder effort, can make you stronger and faster. Hmmmmm, who knew?

We met some friends at Big Grove for an early dinner. Since it was in the 80's in the middle of October, we decided to eat outside. When it's warm this time of year, I keep thinking about every outdoor activity as "possible the last time" I'll be able to do that particular thing before the snow flies and it's 30 below zero. So much pressure!

I have to keep reminding myself, that I have chosen these people to be my friends...

Since it gets dark so much earlier than we're used to now, we decided to head for home, and hope we didn't encounter and deer leaping across the road, just as we were screaming down a hill.

The roads were beautiful and we had a great ride back.

We didn't see any deer, but we did meet a new friend. This poor, misguided creature thought it would be a great idea to warm himself on the asphalt to catch those last remaining rays of sunshine, but we thought he'd probably die doing it with all of the traffic on that road, so I used my bike tire to gently persuade him to move to safer ground, like the ditch.

We made it back in town just in time to see the sunset behind us light up one of my favorite Fall trees. I have to say, I will definitely miss October when its gone, especially since it's been so lovely and warm this month...