Pretty bikes and leaves.

I agree with Brendan.  Fall in CT is a short, but beautiful time for riding - when it happens to stop raining.

Friday I tagged along with Patrick from Hartford Bicycle Studio to Providence Rhode Island for the Builder's Ball, a regional custom bike builder show.   The Builder's Ball is the nearby, accessible, and cheap ($3 entry) alternative to the annual North American Handmade Bicycle Show.  Lots of expensive eye candy about.  I was particularly taken by the Connecticut builder, Watson Cycles.  Photos of their commuter bike and a monster Iditarod bike included below. The snow bike included not one, but two flask holders.  I was fantasizing about rolling in to work or to the coffee shop with that beast.  What an over the top, yet still functional, bike!

Patrick had kindly tied my road bike to his roof.  Yes. No roof rack needed, just some ratchet straps.  My plan was to see if I could drum up a couch surf arrangement for the evening.  That didn't pan out.   After checking the weather forecast I headed out into the clear, cool Providence evening and followed the Washington Secondary Bike Path Southwest out of the city.  Smooth rolling to West Warwick, RI where I found a quiet city park where I rolled out the sleeping bag and air mattress.  Under the stars, as I didn't bring my tent or hammock.

The ride back today was quite nice.  Very quiet, rolling terrain leaving RI and I haven't done much riding in the far Eastern parts of CT so those were fresh tracks for me.  Took a pretty swamp photo, but it looks kinda creepy.  Maybe it was the ghoulish month of October that fouled it up?