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1970′s gym teacher seemed the only appropriate look. Stowaway jacket by Rapha, shorts by Gap, old ass Chucks by Converse and socks by my awesome sister who knows me well. By 9am I had lost the jacket and socks and was cool and comfortable.

Fashion crisis averted. Those kids did not mess with this. Nor did cars.

This was a real feat for my dad. Before this ride his longest was 40 miles, on the flat as a pancake beachfront road in Pensacola. Add to that the fact that he’s only really been riding seriously for about two or three months, and you have yourself a real challenge.  By the end he was hurting, but he made it and was pleased as punch once we got back to my grandparent’s house, showered, ate a pile of food, and hobbled to the loungers to watch the USM game.

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The weather couldn’t have been better! There was no wind to speak of, nice sun, and a little bit of a chill to keep us from dripping sweat the entire time. The trail was nicely paved and flat (although poppa would disagree), and the scenery was mostly woods, peppered with open farm land, country homes, and little forgotten towns. Once we made it into Prentiss we were ready for lunch; unfortunately Prentiss isn’t exactly a booming metropolis – the downtown was basically abandoned and empty – but we were lucky enough to find a Subway that met our nutritional needs just fine.

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Then it was back the way we came! A little slower sure, but we were still managing to enjoy ourselves. The sign they used to warn of road crossings made me laugh, especially considering most of these were dirt roads through farm land. “BEWARE THE COUPE”!

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I was impressed by the amount of people that used the trail. When we drove up that morning there was a marathon finishing up, and we saw a fair few people walking as well as a few dozen riders along the way. Mississippians, as you all well know, are not known for having particularly healthy lifestyles, but the number of people we say made me happy to be a part of an alternative type of southern lifestyle. We still eat our fried chicken and apple pie, sit on the porch with a glass of iced tea telling stories to and about each other, and live not too far removed from the family farm, but we also know the joy that comes from a day full of fresh air and bike riding.

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Every Wednesday night in the Fall, New Orleans has Harvest the Music. This is a free concert in Lafayette Square to raise money and awareness for Second Harvest Food Bank of New Orleans. The concerts feature great musicians (Irma Thomas, Blind Boys of Alabama, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and more) and this week was no exception. I had been looking forward to it since they made the announcement: Trombone Shorty! For those who don’t know, Trombone Shorty is a local star who is good looking, a great singer and a killer brass player.He in gaining recognition and fame far from New Orleans as well. A free show with him is a gift.

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Clearly, I rode my bike to the concert as parking is a total bitch downtown. Riding home in the night air, a bit cool and windy, was the perfect end to the evening. Finding friends at the concert and dancing outside was the perfect way to spend a Wednesday night.

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New Orleans, if you haven’t come out to Harvest the Music yet this season, hurry! There are a few left and it is the best thing in this city right now.

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I love Fall. Riding in the fall means wearing fun things like tights and boots and hats and sweaters.  I love the crunch of leaves (but not the sliding that comes with wet leaves!).  It is about 25-35 degrees and night and 50-60 during the day, my absolute favorite weather.

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Are you enjoying fall? Or is it winter where you are?

Thanksgiving eve, my date and I decided that maybe we should ride the 23ish miles to his families Thanksgiving dinner. We were pretty excited, as we are hoping to ride to NOLA in the Spring.  The day of, it was rainy and gross all day…up until about 20 min before we wanted to leave.  We hurriedly got ready and hit the road 35 min later than we hoped.  We have 1.15 hours to get there.  The ride got really pretty once we were out of the city, but we were mainly on big, busy roads.  A little stressful but luckily the traffic was light.   It was a beautiful, fun way to spend the day.

The residential area was my favorite part of the ride.  Families out walking off their lunch and leaves falling everywhere.

That speck up front?  That is J, crushing it up the hill and I struggle to stay upright and not die.

After being off the bike for 8 weeks, I was weak.  3 hills, 2 which were longer than 1.5 miles long, about killed me and toward the end I freaked out on J with a bit of frustrated yelling (I later apologized). I crawled up one of them and cried going up another, but refused to give up!  I stayed on the bike and we made pretty good time, considering. We arrived just as the sun was setting and the entire family was there…to see me walk in red faced, sweaty and gross.  They applauded us, and we ate plentifully.

Then we got a ride home. It was a great day and I am ready to do that ride again.  Next year!

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Weekends are made for straight cruisin. Cruisin to listen to people’s stories about their relationship with food, transitioning to night time parties, leading early morning community garden tours (which again required much more effort than they were expecting), exploration of historic old neighborhoods, parks. All the while waving at passing stangers, laughing at their confusion and comments, finally having our turn with overcast skies and chilly air. Lots of beer, lots of love.

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This past weekend was full of bikes and completely great.

my lovely office view

However, my little desk overlooks the street and I have seen a great many more people on bikes this week.  That is something to smile about!

Have you been riding more this week?  Has fall finally shown up for you?

What are you wearing these cozy fall days?