Saturday it poured here in Portland for much of the day, and yesterday and today were both cool and overcast.  The Norway maples are just beginning to turn.  It's hard to believe that just about three weeks ago we had a hundred degree day here.

Autumn is probably my favorite cycling season.  By the end of summer (even a mild one, like we were blessed with here this year), I'm really ready for the season to turn, and anxious to see the fall colors again and the first fresh snow on the mountains.  On Sauvie Island the destination farms are gearing up for the pumpkin mania that clogs the roads before Halloween; and I'm starting to keep my ears cocked, hoping to hear the first croaking of our wintering sandhill cranes.  Not yet, but soon.

Heart

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Tempus fugit.  I remember learning this phrase in my high school Latin class fifty-five years ago - I must be one of the last students that studied Latin, in a secular school at least.  The phrase meant nothing to me at the time.  Now though, with my seventieth birthday coming up in just a few months, it feels quite close to my heart.  I'm almost shocked by the speed at which seasons pass by any more, and a part of me is starting to yearn to slow the clock down a bit.

Autumn has arrived but will move on before we know it, probably leaving in its wake an endless procession of cold, rainy, stormy days.  I'm doing better each year at getting out on the bike in the wet months, but it does require an attitude shift.  More and more as the years go on I begrudge the lack of opportunities for longer rides and short tours in the winter months.  What's to be done this year?

Oh, I know - we'll go to the southwest desert.  My thanks go to Wayne Estes, whose experience there earlier this year inspired us to check this region out for ourselves.

Here's the plan: we'll fly down to Tucson and bike from there to Silver City.   The first half, up until the Chiricahaua National Monument, generally follows Wayne's route.  At the end, we'll rent a car for a few days and drive back to Tucson, using it as an opportunity for some day rides that didn't fit well into the main itinerary.  If we're lucky with the weather and are feeling frisky, we'll take our best shot at climbing Mount Lemmon and Mount Graham.