I’ve done it again. Pulled a muscle in my back. Maybe three or four times a year, I make a bone head play and end up communing with a heating pad and an ice pack for a while. It’s going to be a beautiful day today. Sunny and in the 70’s. I don’t imagine there will be that many Fall days this warm, so I feel like I’m really missing out on something. I was planning on going for a bike ride this afternoon, but I’ll be happy if I’ll be able to walk up and down the street this afternoon.
The change of seasons is the best time to ride a bike, especially by the Delaware River here in Bucks County. I imagine the river has cooled off, but the sun will be warm. You feel the heat from the sun above, but the cold from the river below can hit you in waves.
You smell the Fall in the air. If you’re in a car, unless the windows are rolled down or you’ve dropped the convertible’s top down, you smell whatever’s in the car.
When you’re on a bike, you smell dead and dying leaves on the ground. If it’s been raining, there’s also a dank humidity in the air. It’s also rutting season for the countless numbers of deer in the area. The deer are much more active and it seems many more get killed crossing roads when they shouldn’t have. One of the smells that comes with bike riding is the occasional smell of death. Dying leaves, dead deer, sounds depressing, but as those of us who’ve dealt with cancer know, death is part of the deal. Despite all that, I love the smell of Fall (I can do without the carcass smell, though).
The leaves have started to change color, but it’s not peak season yet. If you can bike on a warm, sunny Fall day with the leaves in peak color, it feels like magic. Everything comes together, you just want time to stop so you can just soak it all in. It’s like one of those unforgettable meals where all the ingredients perfectly match, everything’s cooked just right and you just want the food to roll around in your mouth and you breathe in the aromas. You don’t want to talk or think, you just want to focus on the flavors.
You just can’t look at the leaves though. There are plenty of cars and trucks on the roads. People going to work, families enjoying the day, getting apples and pumpkins. Everyone knows the leaves, color and warmth won’t last forever, so all the more reason to go out. It’s only a matter of time before the cold comes like an unwelcome guest, staying way too long. Now’s the time to enjoy the outdoors and everyone should know it.
Today, I’ll just be enjoying the heating pad.