Cycling in the fall

Last week I was camping and with several other activity choices, I scaled back the cycling. I have to adjust my training over the next little while. Summer is ending, fall is here and like life, adjustments are needed to accommodate the seasons.
I LOVE fall. Actually, I'm a seasons girl in general. For someone so set in her ways, it's amazing how much I love the transitions between the seasons. Maybe because it's a signal of a beginning of a new favourite. Maybe it's the reminder and thankfulness that I made it to one more. Maybe both. I love the crisp air the squeezes my lungs in the morning as I step out to start the day. The selection of jackets I can slide on, knowing that I can shed it by noon. I love the smell of the drying leaves and corn in the air. The vibrant colours of the foliage surrounding me as I hike. Changing the accessories in my apartment to match the season's colours. The chance to wear my favourite fall/winter clothes again. And of course, the onset of Halloween-celebration and imagination.
Cycling in the fall will give me a continuing vista of change on my route. I will have seen it through spring, summer and fall. But other things are changing. When I start my morning rides it is dark now and the darkness surrounds me for longer each day. Six weeks from today I will be recovering from the removal of the plate in my leg. So I look at these six weeks as the end of my first cycle(love that pun) and the start of the next. A time to let my body adjust to a new change and to focus on other areas of the Sea To Sea challenge-building community and fund-raising.
When I started this training last May I wasn't sure where I would end up. Whether what I was hoping would even be possible. I am truly grateful for the progress and support that has happened so far. Last May, 10kms seemed like forever, last week it was just a quick and easy jaunt to start my day. Four months ago, I just wanted to see if it was even reasonable to attempt going Sea To Sea. Now, I can't wait to get started. But like the world around me, I need to step back, settle, regain and renew my energy during the rest of winter so that in the spring I come forth with new life. A good cycle to be going through.