It is that time of year to ride with extreme caution.
The fallen leaves tend to be slippery on the path corners and right angle turns.
Small twigs can cause a slide-out as well.
Some of our wooden bridges in our area have exposed and untreated wood fibers that now microbes that produce a thin slime when wet has caused a few of us cyclist to partake on a unwanted ambulance ride.
A lot of cyclist say that the silver dollar size rivets on some of the bridges can cause some slippage as well.

The leaves also do a good job of hiding some of the trail anomalies too.  For instance, just south of Morrow, many of the rough areas of trail have orange painted marks on them as a visual reminder to “loosen up and ride light” over them.  With the leaves covering many of them, most of these bumps came as a jarring surprise yesterday.

wb416 - 13 October 2008 10:20 AM

The leaves also do a good job of hiding some of the trail anomalies too.  For instance, just south of Morrow, many of the rough areas of trail have orange painted marks on them as a visual reminder to “loosen up and ride light” over them.  With the leaves covering many of them, most of these bumps came as a jarring surprise yesterday.

We were on this section of the trail Thursday and “found” some of those bumps   There were so many leaves down it was hard to tell if you were on the trail but the fall colors were great.  The squirrels were really busy and kept running across the trail ahead of us.  One just barely made it between the wheels of a rider in front of me.

We rode from Loveland to Oregonia with a stop at the Valley Vineyards for a light lunch of wine, cheese and breads.  Very good and the price was really reasonable.  I’ve been there on the weekend for their steak/salmon cookout but this is the first time I’ve visited during the week.  It’s definitely a place I’ll visit again.

Beverly - 18 October 2008 07:09 AM

wb416 - 13 October 2008 10:20 AM

The leaves also do a good job of hiding some of the trail anomalies too.  For instance, just south of Morrow, many of the rough areas of trail have orange painted marks on them as a visual reminder to “loosen up and ride light” over them.  With the leaves covering many of them, most of these bumps came as a jarring surprise yesterday.

We were on this section of the trail Thursday and “found” some of those bumps   There were so many leaves down it was hard to tell if you were on the trail but the fall colors were great.  The squirrels were really busy and kept running across the trail ahead of us.  One just barely made it between the wheels of a rider in front of me.

We rode from Loveland to Oregonia with a stop at the Valley Vineyards for a light lunch of wine, cheese and breads.  Very good and the price was really reasonable.  I’ve been there on the weekend for their steak/salmon cookout but this is the first time I’ve visited during the week.  It’s definitely a place I’ll visit again.

I did a night ride through this section last night and thought I knew about where the bumps were, but I found out differently.  Also, walnuts hidden under leaves can be a bit jarring too!  D’oh!!

Valley Vineyards?  We’ll have to look that one up! Approximately where is it? Thanks!

wb416 - 18 October 2008 07:34 AM

I did a night ride through this section last night and thought I knew about where the bumps were, but I found out differently.  Also, walnuts hidden under leaves can be a bit jarring too!  D’oh!!

Valley Vineyards?  We’ll have to look that one up! Approximately where is it? Thanks!

Here’s their website.  http://www.valleyvineyards.com/winery.html

They’re located on Route 22 south of Morrow.  We took the first turnoff just north of Stubbs Mills Road.  Stubbs Mills Road is okay but it’s pretty busy with trucks from the sand and gravel business.  The road just north of there is much less traveled.