Autumn

Claire Petersky said:

You know its coming, faster and faster every day.

It starts by just wearing a light jacket in the morning. Riding in the first
fall rains. Putting the fenders and lights back on the bike. The last
official club event of the year. The first ride where your fingers turn numb
and you realize you need to go to the full-finger gloves. The first ride
where your legs are really, really cold, and you realize it's time to get
out the tights. Wearing a wool shirt as an outer layer -- then a wool shirt
with a fleece vest. The first day where you ride to work the entire ride in
the dark -- and all the way home in the dark, too. Booties on the day it
rains hard.

Then it's November. It rains, and rains, and rains. High of 43, low of 41,
the paper says, day after day. Endless rain, darkness, and a little voice in
your head says, "Mexico...Mexico...Mexico..."

Dang it, Claire, I already want to move to New Mexico and it's only
September! :-D

-km

--
Only cowards fight kids -- unidentified Moscow protester
the black rose
proud to be owned by a yorkie
http://community.webshots.com/user/blackrosequilts

Claire Petersky said:

You know its coming, faster and faster every day.

It starts by just wearing a light jacket in the morning. Riding in
the first fall rains. Putting the fenders and lights back on the
bike. The last official club event of the year. The first ride where
your fingers turn numb and you realize you need to go to the
full-finger gloves. The first ride where your legs are really, really
cold, and you realize it's time to get out the tights. Wearing a wool
shirt as an outer layer -- then a wool shirt with a fleece vest. The
first day where you ride to work the entire ride in the dark -- and
all the way home in the dark, too. Booties on the day it rains hard.

Then it's November. It rains, and rains, and rains. High of 43, low
of 41, the paper says, day after day. Endless rain, darkness, and a
little voice in your head says, "Mexico...Mexico...Mexico..."

We don't get the rain issue often here in San Diego, but on my solo night
mountain bike rides on Wednesdays the light goes on sooner and sooner.
Alas, two nights ago the light was turned on before I left the parking lot.

Bill "then we'll turn the clocks back and then will come knee and arm
warmers and vests and...well, SD still rocks" S.

"S o r n i" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]

[...]

Quoted message said:

Bill "then we'll turn the clocks back and then will come knee and arm
warmers and vests and...well, SD still rocks" S.

Yes, well. It's supposedly spring and we just had our second coldest day of
the year. Guess who got caught in the hail.

--

A: Top-posters.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on Usenet?

In article <[email hidden]>,

Claire Petersky said:

Then it's November. It rains, and rains, and rains. High of 43, low of 41,
the paper says, day after day. Endless rain, darkness, and a little voice in
your head says, "Mexico...Mexico...Mexico..."

"Weekend, weekend, weekend," anyways. I've gotta go up to my
brother's ranch in the BC Interior for Canadian Thanksgiving.

The turkey will be one he raised & killed, himself.
Probably a gimped one, because his good ones go to market.
I hope I get the sole drumstick. I like turkey dark meat.

Anyhow, I find bakery confections with flakey pastry are
especially wonderful in the autumn. I just hate the fog.

But, hey -- mushrooms!

cheers,
Tom

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Above address is just a spam midden.
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"Claire Petersky" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

You know its coming, faster and faster every day.

It starts by just wearing a light jacket in the morning. Riding in the first
fall rains. Putting the fenders and lights back on the bike. The last
official club event of the year. The first ride where your fingers turn numb
and you realize you need to go to the full-finger gloves. The first ride
where your legs are really, really cold, and you realize it's time to get
out the tights. Wearing a wool shirt as an outer layer -- then a wool shirt
with a fleece vest. The first day where you ride to work the entire ride in
the dark -- and all the way home in the dark, too. Booties on the day it
rains hard.

Then it's November. It rains, and rains, and rains. High of 43, low of 41,
the paper says, day after day. Endless rain, darkness, and a little voice in
your head says, "Mexico...Mexico...Mexico..."

Hey, living in Seattle & complaining about rain doesn't add up, didn't anybody
tell you before you moved? Personally, I hate cold rain more than any other
conditions, I'll take the single digit winter rides we get in Boston first.
Fortunately, our autumn tends to be dry (usual disclaimers about NE weather),
that, and the foliage, make it arguably the best cycling season. It *almost*
compensates for the shortening days. To me, the real end of the season is when
the clocks fall back. I don't grumble about the weather so much as the
latitude. Oh well, London is worse...

"Peter Cole" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:rOW0d.162378$9d6.84718@attbi_s54...

Quoted message said:

Hey, living in Seattle & complaining about rain doesn't add up, didn't

anybody

Quoted message said:

tell you before you moved?

You mean, before my great-grandparents came here 114 years ago? Me, I didn't
have much say in the matter. Popped out of my mother, and here I was.

Quoted message said:

To me, the real end of the season is when
the clocks fall back.

Yes, and it's dark, dark, dark.

Sorry, it's just been such a lovely summer, I'm having problems letting it
go.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
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Claire Petersky said:

Sorry, it's just been such a lovely summer, I'm having problems letting it
go.

I can relate to that.

Up here in upstate NY, we didn't really have a summer. More like an
extended spring. A very wet, extended spring. Our July was the second
wettest on record by only a few hundredths of an inch. But the fall is
turning lovely, and it's warmer than the summer was. That's gonna be
hard to let go of. I'm a weenie who doesn't like to be cold.

-km

--
Only cowards fight kids -- unidentified Moscow protester
the black rose
proud to be owned by a yorkie
http://community.webshots.com/user/blackrosequilts

Quoted message said:

"Claire Petersky" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden].\

snip- Riding in the first fall rains. Putting the fenders and lights back on
the bike. The last
official club event of the year.

no club events in the winter? do they not ride in the rain? i was thinking
about joining a club ride for the first time. am i too late? the weather
here isn't that bad. i grew up in phenix and i love it in seattle, like the
winter better than hot weather and the fall is the best. BTW the atmospheric
scientist on the radio said last week that this year is shaping up to be an
el nino because the southern pacific temps are warmer than normal. for us in
seattle that means drier and warmer than normal...
-alan

"dreaded" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

"Claire Petersky" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden].\

snip- Riding in the first fall rains. Putting the fenders and lights back

on

Quoted message said:

the bike. The last
official club event of the year.

no club events in the winter?

Club rides, yes, every day, and multiple choices at different levels on the
weekends. But events? Once we have the Kitsap Color Classic October 3, 2004,
that's it, until the Chilly Hilly in February.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
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"Claire Petersky" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"dreaded" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

"Claire Petersky" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden].\

snip- Riding in the first fall rains. Putting the fenders and lights

back

Quoted message said:

on

Quoted message said:

the bike. The last
official club event of the year.

no club events in the winter?

Club rides, yes, every day, and multiple choices at different levels on

the

Quoted message said:

weekends. But events? Once we have the Kitsap Color Classic October 3,

2004,

Quoted message said:

that's it, until the Chilly Hilly in February.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
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OK thx. i'm so novice at the social stuff...is the chilly hilly the one on
Bainbridge Is?

In article <[email hidden]>, "Claire

Petersky said:

You mean, before my great-grandparents came here 114 years ago? Me, I didn't
have much say in the matter. Popped out of my mother, and here I was.

Quoted message said:

To me, the real end of the season is when
the clocks fall back.

Yes, and it's dark, dark, dark.

Sorry, it's just been such a lovely summer, I'm having problems letting it
go.

Hmm, maybe there should be some kind of bike org where riders migrate to better
ride areas. Here in Orange County CA its the heat, But I ride my long rides in
the early, cool AM to the beach and wait and then ride back in the late
afternoon when the heat is breaking back into the 80's On the hill climb and
sprint days its been murder. Were cooling off now, peaking in the 80's this
week. Claire, send some of your rain down here. Even the ducks here are getting
chapped lips.

"dreaded" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

no club events in the winter?

Club rides, yes, every day, and multiple choices at different levels on
the weekends. But events? Once we have the Kitsap Color Classic October

3,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

2004, that's it, until the Chilly Hilly in February.

OK thx. i'm so novice at the social stuff...is the chilly hilly the one on
Bainbridge Is?

All you needed to know on this topic can be found here and its linked pages:

http://www.cascade.org/EandR/

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
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Just to follow up on my own post...

This morning, at 5:58 AM, two minutes before the alarm was to ring, I was
lying in bed. My husband kindly changed the sheets the night before, so I
had the new fluffy flannel sheets on the bed. Our geriatric cat was sitting
next to me, purring. The blinds were open, but it was still pitch black
outside. I could hear the rain pattering on the roof: tata-tata-tata-tat. I
was feeling nice and warm and cozy, and the whole notion of getting on bike,
when it was dark and pouring rain -- well, it's sort of the way I'm feeling
about autumn in general.

But the alarm rang, I got out of bed, and then immediately made it, so I
wouldn't be tempted to hop back in. I rummaged through my bike clothes
drawer and put on my shorts, jersey, kerchief, and wool socks. My husband
was done with his shower by then, and we had breakfast. Soon, the sun was up
and I was on the bike.

It wasn't so bad. The rain had slowed to a light drizzle. It was relatively
warm, in the mid-50s. I thought later that if it had been April I would have
worn tights, but I'm still resisting the onset of colder weather, so I was
still just in shorts. Yeah, my legs got a little wet, and since I didn't get
around to putting on the fenders this weekend like I was supposed to, my
feet got wet too. But it was okay.

And it will be okay, you know. The weather will continue to turn. It'll
slowly become more fall-y, and then it will be winter. But as my
(bicycle-commuter) co-worker reminded me, it's only 4 months before the days
start getting longer again.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
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Home of the meditative cyclist:
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In article <[email hidden]>,
"Claire Petersky" <[email hidden]> writes in part:

Quoted message said:

I could hear the rain pattering on the roof: tata-tata-tata-tat. I
was feeling nice and warm and cozy, and the whole notion of getting on bike,
when it was dark and pouring rain -- well, it's sort of the way I'm feeling
about autumn in general.

....

Quoted message said:

It wasn't so bad. The rain had slowed to a light drizzle. It was relatively
warm, in the mid-50s.

Yeah, that's the thing about Autumn -- the weather becomes so
mercurial that we've got to pack rain gear, wind shells etc
around so much, for just-in-case. This morning I rode to
work in opalescent cloudy sunshine; rode home in blustery
drizzle. At least during summer the weather patterns are
more stable, and easier to dress for. And I hear ya, about
thinking about soon switching to full-fingered gloves.

cheers,
Tom

--
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Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

"Claire Petersky" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

You know its coming, faster and faster every day.

It has become an annual ritual with me to plan one nice long
end-of-season ride just as the trees change. I'm usually still close
to my best aerobic conditioning and I go at an easy pace, so I can
enjoy the ride and the scenery. I usually choose a route away from
town with little traffic.

These have been some of my most memorable rides. They're memories to
savor once the days get short and the weather turns cold.

Hmm, maybe this weekend...

In article <[email hidden]>,

the black rose said:

Claire Petersky said:

Sorry, it's just been such a lovely summer, I'm having problems letting it
go.

I can relate to that.

Up here in upstate NY, we didn't really have a summer. More like an
extended spring. A very wet, extended spring. Our July was the second
wettest on record by only a few hundredths of an inch. But the fall is
turning lovely, and it's warmer than the summer was. That's gonna be
hard to let go of. I'm a weenie who doesn't like to be cold.

Today on the way to work, I rode through scotch mist.
It was a little unnerving, actually, because it was
the same grey colour as the urban streets on which
I usually ride. I looked ahead and saw a short but
verysteep-looking hill looming ahead where there
shouldn't have been one. It being so early in the
morning, ittook me a few seconds for me to clue-in
and realize I was looking at a bank of mist.

If you like collecting mushrooms of the epicurean
varieties (as opposed to the more head-onistic),
scotch mist is a very good sign. Claire likes her
chanterelles; I like my oyster mushrooms. And morels,
if they present themselves.

cheers,
Tom

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Above address is just a spam midden.
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"Tom Keats" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Today on the way to work, I rode through scotch mist.

I have this vision of atomized scotch whisky, you riding through it, and
slowly becoming inebriated. No wonder you confused a fog bank with a cliff.

Quoted message said:

Claire likes her
chanterelles;

I plan a little chanterelle collection today.

Quoted message said:

I like my oyster mushrooms.

Yum. Someone over in rec.gardens.edible recently posted something about
cultivating them. The poster pulverized the mushrooms and then spread them
over a rotting log. I thought it was an intriguing concept.

Quoted message said:

And morels,
if they present themselves.

Alas, all my early morel hunting forests have been lost to housing
development.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
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Home of the meditative cyclist:
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In article <[email hidden]>,

Claire Petersky said:

"Tom Keats" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Today on the way to work, I rode through scotch mist.

I have this vision of atomized scotch whisky, you riding through it, and
slowly becoming inebriated. No wonder you confused a fog bank with a cliff.

I wish. But that would have been too early, even for me.
It was in a hoity-toity part of town (Arbutus, in the
low area below the 'million dollar view'.) Me 'n my
sweet tooth would prefer a blend rather than single malt.
Haig Pinch would be nice. Anyhow, I learned that ritzy
areas have fog that doesn't stink. Doesn't get ya off, tho'.
Doesn't even wake ya up. East End fog often carries a
combined fragrance of the local tallow-rendering plant and
low tide.

It was /almost/ one of those mornings where you stop riding,
get off your bike, see your reflection in a window and
notice long tendrils & streamers of vapour ascending like
incense smoke from your body.

Other harbingers of autumn I've noticed are run-over
remnants of horse chestnuts splattered like dropped
baked potatoes all over the streets, and fewer bugs
in the air. It's been a long time since I've seen
a bee. I guess the bees have cashed in their chips
'til next year. Next it'll be maple tree 'helicopter'
seeds spiraling earthward.

Those durn horse chestnuts. Often they land on
car roofs (rooves?) with a resounding 'splat!'
and then set the car alarms off.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Claire likes her
chanterelles;

I plan a little chanterelle collection today.

What a lovely way to dispel the cares of the past week!
It can be so refreshing to once-in-awhile switch from
agrarian/agoral/industrial mode to agaric hunter-gatherer.
Good hunting. And good gathering.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I like my oyster mushrooms.

Yum. Someone over in rec.gardens.edible recently posted something about
cultivating them. The poster pulverized the mushrooms and then spread them
over a rotting log. I thought it was an intriguing concept.

Kewl! I hope it works. Maybe I could create a market for
rotten logs <g>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

And morels,
if they present themselves.

Alas, all my early morel hunting forests have been lost to housing
development.

There was an incipient li'l forest fire up by Cypress Bowl
earlier this summer. I've an hunch that'll be a good place
to look for morels.

Anyhow, autumn has its virtues as well as its hassles.
But I suspect we both prefer summer. Summer is easier
to deal with. Bugs 'n all.

cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

"Tom Keats" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Claire Petersky said:

"Tom Keats" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Claire likes her
chanterelles;

I plan a little chanterelle collection today.

What a lovely way to dispel the cares of the past week!
It can be so refreshing to once-in-awhile switch from
agrarian/agoral/industrial mode to agaric hunter-gatherer.
Good hunting. And good gathering.

Unfortunately, most of the chanterelles had been gathered by others. I could
see the tell-tale cut stipes in the ground. It's the risk of looking in a
state park, rather than trespassing on other people's property. I did gather
a handful, which will be used in tonight's dinner.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I like my oyster mushrooms.

Yum. Someone over in rec.gardens.edible recently posted something about
cultivating them. The poster pulverized the mushrooms and then spread

them

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

over a rotting log. I thought it was an intriguing concept.

Kewl! I hope it works. Maybe I could create a market for
rotten logs <g>

I've seen these commercially sold -- rotten logs that the seller avers have
been smeared with mushroom bits. Caveat Emptor.

Actually, I found more oyster mushrooms on this expedition as chanterelles.
My parents came over in the evening, and I presented a bag to my mother.

Quoted message said:

Anyhow, autumn has its virtues as well as its hassles.
But I suspect we both prefer summer. Summer is easier
to deal with. Bugs 'n all.

I'm thinking of a short-ish ride this afternoon. It looks like it might be
showers with sun breaks today, so I'll pick a sunbreak to ride in -- and
take the jacket.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
please substitute yahoo for mousepotato to reply
Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky