I love fall. To me, while growing up in Iowa, fall meant... bright foliage and burning leaves, cold noses and sweatshirts, football games with blankets, and the anticipation of... snow days! It seemed like a nice transition from the warm and sunny summer to the long cold winter that allowed us to linger in between that change of season. But now that I live in Alabama, fall for me just isn't the same. Believe it or not, we can get pretty cold here, but it usually goes from warm to cold without much in between. While I've been reading about everyone else's dropping temperatures and winterizing their bikes, I'm thinking... WTF! It's still hot here!
I've been belly aching for weeks that I was ready for cooler weather and the brilliance of fall to show itself. The lingering summer heat was beginning to wear out its welcome as far as I was concerned.
Two weekends ago on the day we rode up to
Mt. Cheaha State Park, we finally got our cold snap. The temperatures dropped to the low 50's with an overcast sky, so it was quite chilly during our ride. It was nice to feel cold air around me for a change. Hell, the weekend before this one we were still riding around in nothing but a long sleeve t-shirt with sunny 70's! (oh... I guess I had my jeans and boots on too!) But the point is... we in the south finally got that cool blast from the north we so desperately needed. Thank you Mother Nature!
Riding north for 85 miles made such a difference in the color we saw that I felt priviledged to be so close to such a pretty area. I put together a slide show of our wonderful scenery while we were on our peeping expedition. The great road shots you are about to see were taken by Harley while we were on the move. Who needs a helmet cam??!!
Mt. Cheaha is the highest point in Alabama at 2407 feet and we love to come up here when we're riding. I
highly recommend a visit here to anyone who finds themselves near the area.
There's a small lake that borders the camping and picnic area and while we were snapping pics of the view, we noticed this poor chap pushing his bike to the camping area where we were parked.
By the time he made his way by us, I spoke a sympathetic hello in his direction and he managed to mumble out a return greeting. I felt a little guilty that right at that moment, that he was not sharing my jubilant attitude... understandably so.
We had a great rest of the day, and I really enjoyed our "cool" ride through the park. Our afternoons still like to heat up to the high 60's and low 70's, but the crispy 42 degree mornings are a promise of what's to come.
HAPPY FALL YA'LL !!
Lady R
It was a great weekend! I hope you all can say the same. Have a great week everybody and remember...
I looked up the word tranquility in the dictionary. It said... the stage or quality of being tranquil. 
So there we were, surrounded by beautiful autumn colors...
I stood in awe for a few seconds before I had the presence of mind to grab the camera and try to capture these awesome riders before they were all gone. There must have been 30 or more, smiling and waving at us as they went by. I could feel the vibration of their bikes in my stomach as I watched them pass and I was thinking... "how cool is this!" Unfortunately, the only front shot I was able to (successfully) capture was the Spyder bike bringing up the rear.
Once they were gone and out of sight... the returning quietness of the fall colored country side fell eerily around us. We stood there for a moment and didn't speak, then Harley said... "Let's go catch 'em!" That's why I love that man... he knows how I think! LOL!
Harley and I like to ride our Glides up to Sylacauga to visit with his mom, so we find ourselves cruising along the Bill Nicholls (Hwy. 148) scenic highway often. Some of you may recognize this spot... I've posted Spring pics of this very same curve. It's a nice little drive with some great views from time to time as you travel through the southern edge of the Talladega National Forest. We were standing here, taking a break this past Saturday around noon, when all of a sudden, the peaceful quiet of the autumn country side was gone and it sounded like all hell was breaking loose.
You never know what may come around the bend... come back tomorrow, and you'll find out!!
A Jurassic sized praying mantis getting ready to take us out as we passed by! Luckily, we were on our toes and we were able to avoid any incident.
... and I was!
While we stretched and drank our Sonic Sweet Teas (yes, we have made up a way to carry Route 44 drinks in our saddle bags) I took some shots of this beautiful road, I'll just call Fall Lane.
I love riding on roads like these. They almost seem surreal. The gauntlet of shade and color transforms into a secret path from your favorite childhood storybook, and allows your imagination to take you far, far away.
It was a great day Saturday. Riding our Glides... listening to Auburn football on the radio... beating LSU and making the Auburn Tigers #1 in the SEC... just puts icing on the cake.
I love fall. To me, while growing up in Iowa, fall meant... bright foliage and burning leaves, cold noses and sweatshirts, football games with blankets, and the anticipation of... snow days! It seemed like a nice transition from the warm and sunny summer to the long cold winter that allowed us to linger in between that change of season. But now that I live in Alabama, fall for me just isn't the same. Believe it or not, we can get pretty cold here, but it usually goes from warm to cold without much in between. While I've been reading about everyone else's dropping temperatures and winterizing their bikes, I'm thinking... WTF! It's still hot here!
Two weekends ago on the day we rode up to Mt. Cheaha State Park, we finally got our cold snap. The temperatures dropped to the low 50's with an overcast sky, so it was quite chilly during our ride. It was nice to feel cold air around me for a change. Hell, the weekend before this one we were still riding around in nothing but a long sleeve t-shirt with sunny 70's! (oh... I guess I had my jeans and boots on too!) But the point is... we in the south finally got that cool blast from the north we so desperately needed. Thank you Mother Nature!
By the time he made his way by us, I spoke a sympathetic hello in his direction and he managed to mumble out a return greeting. I felt a little guilty that right at that moment, that he was not sharing my jubilant attitude... understandably so.
Smooth lake water shines a reflective image of the colorful trees along these banks.
He's really quite good at it and I'll be putting together a slide show of other fantastic shots he got during our chilly Saturday ride.
Bald Rock on top of Mt. Cheaha State Park.
The weatherman promised a nice fall day with plenty of sunshine and temps in the upper 60's. A great day for riding! When we left the house at 9:30 a.m., it was 53 degrees and overcast! Brrrrrrr!
