cycles: an early morning ride

the summer has been filled with gorgeous day after gorgeous day.

some maybe too hot

but i remember last summer when almost every day was punctuated by rain -

which for me is not a problem at all - but for me as a cyclist,

well it's not my fave way to spend time outdoors.

so i'm really enjoying the chance to step out the door at any time and

know that i can go as far and wherever i wish.

this was a special ride as i got to share it with pro rider chloe black and

africycle bike buddy ben tyne.

ben's usually slinging americano's and yummy sandwiches at the silver bean

but this was a day off for him, and so he and chloe and i met up at the silver bean at 8 a.m.

chloe splits her time between racing, coaching, and training in arizona

and doing much the same up here in peterborough.

heading north through peterborough along the rail trail, we passed bushes

loaded up with shiny, little red berries.

some sumac thinking early autumn sumac thoughts.

and big summer clouds massing but not threatening. right?!

then we turned through trent university, exiting through the northwest driveway and

off into the fields and long open roads that lead to ennismore.

look up.

look down.

it's beautiful wherever you look.

eventually you round a corner, crest a hill and there before you

are tantalizing little glimpses of chemong lake.

but on this ride, this is about as close as you get. unless you decide

to not apply your brakes and turn the corner at the bottom of the hill!

from this point the ride between ennismore and lakefield becomes circuitous and you need to be with someone who has a very good memory or a strong visual sense for landmarks.

i navigate using landmarks which occasionally fails me as i reach the landmark and then can't see the next pointer. the result? well i ride further. no big loss!

here are ben and chloe.