This has actually been one of my better seasons yet. I've only really been serious about cycling for the last 5 years or so, and each year I try to do something new or different than the previous season.

I really crave novelty with regards to bike routes, so each year I try to come up with a few new places to ride. This year was a camping trip from La Crosse, WI to Chicago, a Door County ride, some back-roads in Iowa, a gravel metric in rural Illinois, and multiple new routes in Southern Wisconsin.

WRT bikes themselves, I have a great new Gugie bike to ride, a new-to-me '83 620 which is receiving a low-key 650B treatment, and I'm building up a mid-80's Schwinn Cimarron drop-bar commuter for the upcoming winter.

Funny how by the end of a riding season, you find yourself cruising regularly in gears you struggled with early in the season. Wish I could keep that fitness level up throughout winter....

Yeah, same here. That's what I hate about living in Chicago. By September/October, I'm flying, then winter hits. Might try doing a weekly spin class again. I seem to get bronchial issues if I ride in temps below 40.

I had an excellent riding year and logged the most mile ever for me. Free time is a little more available now that the kids are in their latter teens.

I ride for fun\fitness and anything under 35 degrees is just not fun for me (I know, wuss). It gets that cold and I would prefer putting the bike on the trainer and watching old Soprano episodes in my shorts than bundling up. So mid December to February outdoor riding is only on nicer days.

We sometimes complain about all the rain we get in the PNW, but in reality, it's a reasonably mild climate, especially when one compares it to the heat and humidity of the south, and the bitter cold of the northern part of the country.

Fenders, good rain gear, and you're good to go here pretty much year round.

When I get holiday pics from my sister, I'm always surprised how green it is in PDX over Dec/Jan.

I am at 1250 km for the year sofar, had a poor hot season(Mar-jun) and a poor mid rainy season (Aug-mid sept), next few months look like a good time to ride as it will get cooler and stop raining mid Oct until beginning of Feb.

That kind of news can make any season sparkle!
Toutes nos felicitaciones!
Brent