Leaves from an Autumn Cycling Album

Upright Cycling is about far more than the bike, or even the destination. It is also very much about the journey. Each season presents its gifts, and I enjoy savoring them via bike a great deal. It is one of the truest gifts of utility cycling—experiencing the people and places we would miss otherwise.

Oh, there are times when it isn’t so cool out there, of course. We must take the good with the bad, I guess. But when I am out on my bike, I find a great many reasons to be thankful for the succession of seasons, encounters, and impressions along the way. Here are few recent ones.

Quite a year for acorns…

Perhaps I’m just noticing things more, but does anyone else think we have a bumper-crop of acorns here in Salem this year? They present quite a cycling challenge in some parts of town. I’ve begun to think of them as “nature’s ball bearings.” Various people report being bombarded by a fusillade of acorns on recent windy days, and I know I've hit several squirrels and passers-by with random barrages shot out from my tires.

Short-lived exhibit

A few weeks back, I came upon this spontaneous outdoor “sculpture” near the City View Cemetery. I couldn’t help but enjoy it.

A few days later, it looked like this…

Ah, well; it was probably a temporary installation in any event. I'll miss it, though. It certainly didn’t do anyone any harm and likely didn’t cost the taxpayer anything, either. A win-win!

Cool shades, one and all…

Near church I came upon a couple and their dog (Cobie, if memory serves). They were out for a walk on one of these lovely, warm and sunny autumn days we have been having. They allowed me to take their photo. The dog seemed absolutely determined to wear its shades and get on the move. This was the only photo that came out from the series, as he was getting quite impatient. This was clearly a case of the dog taking the people out for a walk.

Shadows…

This time of year the sun casts increasingly long shadows. This picture came from one late afternoon’s journey to church for a Bible study.  I was preparing to cross one of the more hidden pedestrian bridges in town and snapped this shot (thus, the blurriness). 

The dry grass became the canvas for my elongated silhouette as the sun made its late-day course into evening. Though close to a major street, the impression that stays with me is one of intense quiet. 

There is poetry in many hidden places through life; it is great to savor the experience. That's part of what makes us truly human.