DAY 16

Ghost leaves for Halloween.


Maple leaves (full of tannic acid) + heavy rains + new concrete sidewalk = amazingly detailed prints. While looking this up online, I noticed someone named "Terminal Verbosity" had suggested the term Foliagraph (damnit, that's brilliant).

DAY 15

Ginkgo biloba is considered a living fossil. You gotta love a tree that has been around since dinosaurs stomped the earth.

DAY 14

Sometimes on the trail I can't shake the feeling that someone is watching me.

DAY 13

Hips don't lie.

Or so the old timers would have us believe. The size of the hips on this rosa rugosa indicate that Mother Nature thinks we're in for an intense winter.

DAY 12

This is not a usual sight along the trail, but here's hoping it becomes one!


http://www.facebook.com/TwoBlokesAndABus

DAY 11

The moon, practicing for Halloween.

DAY 10

Evidence of the giant arachnids rumored to roam the trail this time of year. Beware.

"Spiders are relatively high in protein, but they tickle."

—Kehlog Albran*


*Fictitious author of The Profit, a parody of Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet

DAY 9

Shorter days and longer work hours means another night ride.

Kerrick Elevator under the misty moon.

DAY 8

Ride the trail at night—
Despite the recent assaults.*
Soft, mysterious.


*I've always felt very safe,
but I needed the syllables
[and there have been two 
incidents this past year
so exercise care]

[PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT]

I had always been given to understand that there is nothing slicker than snot on a doorknob. It was the ne plus ultra of slippery. But I'm here (barely) to tell you that rain-soaked leaves piled on rain-soaked wood is a strong contender for the title.

The wonky angle of my beloved Brooks saddle in the foreground resulted from a spill while crossing the bridge in the background.

There's a reason they call this season "fall" . . .

DAY 7

Deciduously Coniferous.
Coniferously Deciduous.

There are a few species of trees that bear cones and appear to be "evergreens." But their leaves turn colors and fall in Fall. I believe this particular tree is a larch [Larix laricina (Tamarack larch)] but I'm not absolutely certain of that. There are quite a few planted along the trail.

DAY 6

This is the northern terminus of the Constitution Trail. Now, you must understand that I cycle to this point at least once per week, and generally even more often. I know perfectly well that the trail used to be a railroad track, but it's never entered my mind to wonder why the track just ends here.

It doesn't. It continues on. What looks like a row of hedge trees at the end of the trail is actually the overgrown tracks.The rails have been removed and there is now some excellent singletrack for riding. I can't believe I've never thought about this. However, it's hard to see because the grain elevator on the side of the trail — the Kerrick Elevator — must have purchased some of the railroad easement and moved the path over. So you don't see the straight line of the tracks so easily.





Once you look, though, you can see where trains once pulled up to the grain spigot to load. And in fact, I've always noticed that spigot because of its design. The portion hanging down consists of iron cones chained one to another. So it's flexible, but made out of metal. Obviously, the thing has lasted decades.

Needless to say, all of this pondering about history makes one thirsty. So it seemed like a good idea to stop at a pub called Maggie Miley's. Ms. Miley came here in 1846 with her husband, who helped build the very railroad that used to run by the grain elevator.

Cheers.

DAY 5

I've been watching this happen for 55 years and it never ceases to amaze me.

What you can't see in this picture is that someone was burning leaves in the vicinity. I know, I know . . . it has been deemed a pollution hazard and ordinances have been enacted. But I have to admit that at least once every Fall it's wonderful to catch that scent and all the memories it holds.

Day 4

Irrational exuberance along the trail. This sign has the steepest slope you'll find.

Day 3

The "trail" is the Constitution Trail. 24 paved miles in Bloomington/Normal, Illinois. And about 1/10 of a mile of secret singletrack to clear your head.

Day 2

I love cold, gray days. The forbidding sky looked all the more so with spiny teasel silhouettes. The weird thing about these seed heads is that until this century, they were used to card (or "tease") wool.

Day 1

No really, it's flat. I believe someone compared the surface of a pancake to the topography of Kansas and found that Kansas was actually flatter than a pancake, if one makes allowances for scale.