october beauty in the ontario highlands
It was a perfect October day for a ride-the-highlands loop: crisp air, blue skies and vibrant fall colours. And, because it was a Tuesday, there was little traffic.
I was up early for an interview at Valley Heritage Radio on the Burnstown Road near Renfrew. My favourite morning man of all time – Andrew Cartwright – would interview Kris and Rob Riendeau, co-producers of the musical I was promoting for them. The interview went well and we were done by about 9:45.
As I would already be on the road and the weather forecast was promising, I had decided the night before to do a loop through Griffith, Vennachar, Arden, Tamworth and Perth.
I love riding in autumn when the air is cool. As long as one has the right gear, it can be as enjoyable, perhaps even more so than spring and summer when the heat is sometimes unbearable. The downside is autumn means it will soon be winter, which in turn means several months of no riding in Eastern Ontario. Boo. Autumn rides are a little bittersweet.
The only hitch on this particular loop came just the other side of Vennachar when I stopped to take some photographs of the marshes on either side of the road. The shoulder was unexpectedly soft. My front tire sank into the sandy gravel and over Blue and I went. Gently.
The photo shoot became longer than expected 😛
I waved down several cars, but the drivers all turned out to be elderly women, who, despite being willing, didn’t have the physical wherewithal to help us out. I had been there for about forty-five minutes when a farmer from several kilometres down the road stopped to give me a hand. He walked Blue out of the soft shoulder with little effort and I was on my way again.
Nice to revisit the Relive pics when it’s a frosty – 10 C outside.
© 2024 Susan Macaulay. I invite you to share my poetry and posts widely, but please do not reprint, reblog or copy and paste them in their entirety without my permission. Thank you.
