Not much winter in November

It hardly feels like winter and we're almost done with November. Craig and I rode about four and a quarter hours both days this weekend, with Devin and Keith joining us on Sunday. Are we out training at this time of year? Not really. We're just using our fitness to ride around an have fun on our all terrain vehicles, otherwise known as cyclocross bikes (or as Carl Strong says, a Montana road bike).

Saturday we rode out Airport road into a fairly stiff but random wind, then continued west past 22 out into some nice valleys that aren't ridden as often as the rest of Calgary's cycling routes. Too bad really, as they're hilly, peaceful, beautiful, all around good riding. From there it was Cochrane Coffee Traders which supplied us with caffeine, and me with my new cycling powerfood, day old muffins. Homeward bound along Retreat road and TWP 262, I started thinking about mom's Thanksgiving dinner. Doesn't get much better than that for a day.

Since Saturday was so fun, our natural inclination was to repeat the experience on Sunday. Some other plans fell by the wayside, but what didn't change was meeting at 10am at Cadence Cafe on bikes. We decided to ride the Calgary bike paths south until that didn't seem prudent anymore, eventually finding ourselves further south than I'd been on our path system. We cut through Fish Creek and tackled some technical single track on the 'cross bikes to work on our skills, then stopped for coffee at Java Jungle for a refuel. The way home wound through the south Calgary path system, then veered onto Princess Island for as much single track as us and our bikes could handle. There were a few hills that required some effort, but all in it was a less taxing day physically than battling the winds Saturday.

Enjoyable on all fronts. Other than the last few minutes of each day as the sun set, I didn't feel a chill all weekend, the weather has been so mild so far this fall. Riding more and eating reasonably is what I'm looking for this time of year!