Last night, after plans to go to the corn maze with a really cute redhead friend fell through, I decided to make the most of my free evening and go mountain biking, one last time.
It may not be the last time for the year, though that will inevitably come soon. Maybe if it's nice this weekend or next, I'll be able to delay mothballing the bike for a bit. But it was certainly the last time I will be able to do so in the evenings after work, until next Spring.
After tomorrow, The time change happens (in North America) and winter time will begin. There will be no evenings. You go to work in the dark, come home in the dark, and the rest of the time, you wait till the weekend for any kind of outdoor activity. It's still too early for snowboarding though. I may have said it before, but November is my least favorite month. All the activities of the summer and fall wind down, and everyone just kind of hunkers down indoors and waits for the holiday season to begin. I usually turn inward myself, focusing on my "indoor" hobbies.
So it was a fun ride. Once I left the pavement, I started pumping uphill, then rode along the bluffs, enjoying the fall colors, and the first decent into a narrow, creek-fed valley. Crossed the creek, then there was a long, winding uphill grind to the top of another ridge line, followed by a nice, fast, fun downhill blast down the ridge trail. The fall colors are still vivid and bright here, but by now the sun was setting. I had time for the last extension, up to a short ridge, followed by one more downhill section on a tight, twisty fun little single track, that dumped me out onto the streets near the co-op grocery store. The chill was in the air by now, and twilight was setting in. It would be completely dark when I got home. Last after-work ride till Spring, and I was happy that was a good one.
For those of you in penis captivity, this is your last day of Locktober. May your blessed release be a good one. And may it hopefully brighten your dark, dreary November days. I was reading someone else's blog, and the gist of it was how he realized that chastity basically made him more attentive and a better partner, while emphasizing the power and sexuality of his wife. It's the kind of thing more couples should be open to trying. But at the same time, it's clearly not for everyone. And perhaps I am in wishful thinking mode here, wishing I had a cute redhead friend who was willing to give it a try with me. That does not mean that I shouldn't still try to be more attentive and a better friend (and hopefully, future long-term partner) to her.