You know those beetles that swarm like crazy in your home when it warms up? That was our bike club today: we had 35 members joining the fun today in what felt like the "last hurrah" of autumn! *Perhaps* we'll get another weekend with some decent, "bike-able" weather...but those odds are getting increasingly long!

So we all got out to savor the sun and the albeit gray terrain, tucked between brilliant blue skies and the deep, lapis lazuli hues of the lakes and ponds.

Here's the view overlooking the Whitney Point dam, lake and Dorchester Park, through which we'd ridden earlier.



Although the majority of the club members met in Whitney Point for the ride up to Willet (a teensy spot in the road to the north), a few club members joined me earlier in Chenango Forks to add another 20 miles or so to the formal ride which was only around 24 or so miles.

Both the SP Fitness Maps and RideWithGPS had trouble with our route through Dorchester Park...neither recognized the well-paved and defined path for some reason. So I have a 44 mile estimate and a 47 mile estimate. I'm thinking 44 is probably the more accurate, with a climb of around 2300:

ridewithgps.com/trips/44
1188

One of the club members posted her surprise over how taxing this ride seemed to her and I had to agree! Perhaps it was the strong headwind and the chill it brought on, or something else but this ride certainly knocked my socks off!

It felt great to be back on the road though! Even if it WAS getting dark already at 4 pm on my way home...ugh! This Daylight Savings Time fall back is going to knock me for a loop for a few days, as I don't use an alarm clock to wake up in the morning...hoping to head to bed shortly!

Just one more pic of a fun and oh-so-true poster shared by one of our club members:

The Benefits of Biking



Here's a few links to the poster:

josefinholgersson.com/#1
583830/Benefits-of-a-Bicycle
pinterest.com/pin/130288
120/
oldboychoi.tumblr.com/po
st/7595230263/benefits-of-
a-bicycle-cruiserdolly-i-need

Make it a SPARKED week ahead everyone!

Don