To the edge...

...of daylight, that is!

Although it may appear that I have been overly focused on getting in a ride after work, there is a very good reason for my two-wheeled obsession. The days continue to shorten by minutes each day; today's sunset was just before 6 o'clock. It will move an hour (plus several minutes) earlier in just ten more days, so my ability to squeeze in a ride after work is about to come to an end (until spring).

Today's weather was a real gift, especially considering that the weather forecast called for several days of rain. We had heavy rain last night and very wet roads this morning, but by the middle of the afternoon the sun was shining brightly and the roads were dry. Home after work... there was still enough daylight to support heading out on my bike for a quick ride of short loops. Why loops? If I misjudged the time that the sun would dip below the horizon, or if the clouds spread and darkened the sky, I could get off of the (unexpectedly dark) road relatively quickly. The temperature? A balmy 67 degrees, unexpected warmth in the late afternoon of an October day, supported my riding in shorts without knee warmers.

The sun played hide and seek, shooting rays through the clouds, and then dropping quickly. It was still barely above the horizon when I rolled home.

Sunshine highlights trees clad in yellow

A quick capture of the sun's rays highlighting the clouds, not too many minutes before it dropped below the horizon.