Finally Fall?

Note: I've been preloading blog entries a bit in case I have another "setback", so this one's about a week old. Still pretty much sums up where I was at that moment in my recovery.

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Fall in south central Alaska is usually a dry and progressively chillier affair.
 
The rainy season is over by mid-August, and the skies clear as the temperatures drop.
 
Not this year.
 
This year September has been rainy. Excessively so. Chilly, miserable rain that kills your enthusiasm. Even the mountain bike guys are feeling it, as the trails turn in bottomless muck. The 'cross guys are loving it, but they're all drunk.
 
Today I walked out into blue skies. I jumped on the bike and had my longest ride since I started riding again. I would have ridden longer, but my schedule wouldn't permit it. I was having a blast, or as much of a blast as my body would tolerate in its current condition.
 
It was glorious.
 
For the first time in a while, I felt like a cyclist again. I tucked low into the descents, trying to eke out as much speed as I could. I dove into corners. Actions that were automatic a couple months ago came back to me. I was a new man (just slightly crumpled).
 
Amazing what a little dry pavement will do for you.