So, about a month ago, Ali and I took a pleasant ride out to Appleberry Farms for some gathering. Windy, but the leaves were just turning, and I think I now have a new favorite cycling road. Midtown had plenty of rolling terrain, good vistas, and clearly is popular among other cyclists (the bulk of the traffic was spandex clad). For the record, apple picking is way nicer in a cold clime. I think this was the first time I've been around apples at harvest where there weren't as many yellow jackets as apples.
A few weeks later, we were having an awesome weekend w/ Ali's little brother, and I discovered that (a) Blue Mound's trail system is way longer than I thought (b) Wisconsin does, in fact, have snakes. While I'm pretty sure we were just doing overlapping circles through the woods, the mountain bike trail we hopped on took a couple hours to loop back toward the parking lot. The longest hiking trail advertised is 2 miles. Apparently the mountain bike system is about 15 miles total. It was another really nice fall day, but after the first snake got kicked up, I was watching my feet more than enjoying the views. They were tiny brown/tan guys, about the size and color of a twig, and they were impossible to see in the underbrush (at least until you scared them).
Chi-town this past weekend was super-awesome as well (even if I was a tad under the weather). Did the whole museum/pizza/etc, and found/used the wonder that is the CTA pass.
Anyhow. Next adventure: using my food grinder for its inaugural cranberry salad. Woo!
