Good Fall Riding

Friday I got out for a quick 20 miler at the end of the day under a spectacular "big" Dutch sky: partly cloudy and a setting sun. The light is magical at those moments. Lots of poor commuters sitting in long lines at traffic lights as I spun by doing about 19 in the small ring, enjoying almost perfectly calm conditions. It's tights weather now, and Friday I was also glad I put on three long sleeve jerseys. Just made it home before dark, although I did have to turn on my flasher the last ten minutes or so. When daylight savings time ends, next week, these little rides won't be possible again until next March or so. Today, was another nice fall day. A little more wind, but also clearing skies half-way through the morning. The three of us had chosen to do the Nieuwkoop loop again, the same ride we did in foggy conditions a few weeks ago. Headwind going out, but really not bad. This time we could actually see the beautiful area surrounding Woerdense Verlaat, Meije, Zwammerdam, and Nieuwkoop, and for any visitors I think this will have to be a mandatory ride. Tailwind the whole way home, and even though it's fall, there were many sections where we happily did around 23. A strong wind at your back and nice road conditions can give you the feeling you're quite the rider, and there were several (short) sections where we succumbed to that feeling and took the speed up close to 30. I'm feeling all that now, but having this feeling (and needing a nap half-way through the Sunday afternoon) is a great privilege. Almost a metric century, almost 20 average.