Fall colors
Sugar beet harvest
Dressing warm for November ridesSeveral weeks ago we thought that our bike riding days on this trip were pretty much finished. I had mentally set 50 degrees as the reasonable cutoff point and it was getting colder than that and had started raining every few days. But when we got back from Paris this week, I think we both decided that we wanted to ride some more, so we started pushing the weather limits, finding ways to dress warmer and limiting the total time we were out. I know that most of you think we are completely nutso about riding and, frankly, I wonder sometimes myself. However, the riding in this area is so spectacular we keep wanting to do more.
Over the time we’ve been here, the countryside has been changing with the fall colors. The colors have been so beautiful and even now, when the leaves are off many of the trees, there are still picturesque scenes in every direction. We often ride through open farm fields—corn, potatoes, and the prevailing crop right now, sugar beets. For the last three weeks they have been harvesting them like mad and when they are pulled out of the ground, they clump them by the side of the field to be picked up weeks and even months later. I was puzzled at first, wondering if there was a risk they would start rotting, but I went on line and learned that the large clump piles were a standard practice. Turns out the beets did not have to be picked up before the wet and rainy season. The farmers deliver the beets to the processor over time to allow the processor to keep up with the huge harvest. More recently, there are a large number of fields planted in winter wheat and the fields are just starting to shoot up. So everywhere you turn, you will see these large expanses of light green with the wheat from four to six inches high.
I mentioned in an earlier blog that no matter what direction we headed in, the ride turned out to be beautiful and scenic. We’ve probably been on close to 30 rides now and not one has been disappointing. Today was a typical example. Because the weather was less than ideal—low forties, winds of 10 to 12 miles an hour, and mixed sun and clouds, we picked a loop that started in Soucy and went out about ten miles in one direction, building on a ride we had done recently, but adding another 10 mile loop, so that the total was about 27 miles. We wound through colorful forest, picturesque small villages, and rolling hills. With the wind up, we generally tried to stay away from the open fields, but there was a 45 minute section of open farm land and strong wind. Nevertheless, we both thoroughly enjoyed the ride, our picnic lunch, and the time together. While riding today, I was reminded of why I wanted the time to do things like this while I was still young enough to really enjoy them. All in all, our riding here has been better than we ever imagined it would be and we started with pretty high expectations from our previous trips here. But having this much time to settle in and explore all the surrounding area has made it really special. Ken
Over the time we’ve been here, the countryside has been changing with the fall colors. The colors have been so beautiful and even now, when the leaves are off many of the trees, there are still picturesque scenes in every direction. We often ride through open farm fields—corn, potatoes, and the prevailing crop right now, sugar beets. For the last three weeks they have been harvesting them like mad and when they are pulled out of the ground, they clump them by the side of the field to be picked up weeks and even months later. I was puzzled at first, wondering if there was a risk they would start rotting, but I went on line and learned that the large clump piles were a standard practice. Turns out the beets did not have to be picked up before the wet and rainy season. The farmers deliver the beets to the processor over time to allow the processor to keep up with the huge harvest. More recently, there are a large number of fields planted in winter wheat and the fields are just starting to shoot up. So everywhere you turn, you will see these large expanses of light green with the wheat from four to six inches high.
I mentioned in an earlier blog that no matter what direction we headed in, the ride turned out to be beautiful and scenic. We’ve probably been on close to 30 rides now and not one has been disappointing. Today was a typical example. Because the weather was less than ideal—low forties, winds of 10 to 12 miles an hour, and mixed sun and clouds, we picked a loop that started in Soucy and went out about ten miles in one direction, building on a ride we had done recently, but adding another 10 mile loop, so that the total was about 27 miles. We wound through colorful forest, picturesque small villages, and rolling hills. With the wind up, we generally tried to stay away from the open fields, but there was a 45 minute section of open farm land and strong wind. Nevertheless, we both thoroughly enjoyed the ride, our picnic lunch, and the time together. While riding today, I was reminded of why I wanted the time to do things like this while I was still young enough to really enjoy them. All in all, our riding here has been better than we ever imagined it would be and we started with pretty high expectations from our previous trips here. But having this much time to settle in and explore all the surrounding area has made it really special. Ken
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