Garmin Data: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/50610131

I know, it’s a bit out of my normal pattern – but, I had planned to work a little extra today so when I had the opportunity to ride home yesterday I took it knowing that I’d be able to ride back in (at a leisurely pace) today.

Being a weekend though, I helped feed the ponies (all 35-40 of them) and move the irrigation equipment around before heading out. That meant my departure time was about 3 hours later than when I commute during the week. I left at 10:00 am!

Fall was definitely in the air. Temperatures in the low 50’s when I left home and as I rode along there would be short sections of really chilly air. The cooler stretches didn’t last long but the got my attention! Brrrrr. The grasses are dry and mostly brown and the leaves have just started to turn. Mostly I notice how different the air smells. I just smells like fall.

There was a slight (8-10 mph) headwind most of the way which also served to keep me cool. I wore a light wind shirt for the first hour and a half of the commute. It was nice not having to worry about how long the ride was taking me. It felt like I was still moving along at a fairly good clip though and as I’d pass my normal time-check points I noticed that I was actually pretty close to my weekday commute pace.

I stopped to pick up some tie-downs that I saw yesterday on my way home. Unfortunately, the ratchet piece of one of them was pretty much destroyed. I stowed it in my backpack anyway and will take a closer look at it later. It may end up in the trash anyway.

By the time I got to work and showered it was already 1:00 pm. Made for a short day since I had to be back home by 6:30 pm to feed the ponies again!