Deep Fall Velo News

This space has been quiet the past few weeks for a variety of reasons that go under the general term life and some amount of procrastination.  I was happy to see the Democrats mostly sweep the Virginia elections but any expectations I have results are mixed.  Nothing to shout about, really.  Just a sigh of relief at a bullet dodged, knowing full well that it won't be the last. 

Better news is fall cycling here in Olympia.  Yesterday, my odometer clicked over 8000.  Shortly after that, it reached 900 miles for the year.  All in a 15 mile loop just ahead of incoming showers.  I felt a few drops now and then but not enough to cut my route short.  A wetter day would have been less fun. Those will come soon enough.  Olympia had some nice fall weather before finally shifting into the wet, damp and cold that is normal fall here.  The weather is something I've come to live with but the damp and cold always recall the feel of infantry training at nearby Fort Lewis in October-November 1970.

Back in the immediate past, my route passed through the Capitol Campus which was filled with activity on a Saturday afternoon.  The Legislature is in special session and several busloads of Asian tourists were walking throughout the campus.  Combined with the filled parking due to the special session, navigating the campus was trickier than normal.  The tourists were young and older adults, I saw more young than older, all seemingly photographing themselves with phones and tablets.  A few had actual cameras.

The rest of the ride was Olympia streets, Chehalis Western and Olympia-Woodland Trails.  Nothing hard.  Pleasant.  In before the rain.

Not cycle news but worth mentioning is a my Skyline Trail day hike in Mount Rainier NP.  You can read about it at my Speed of Foot blog.