With the arrival of November comes the usual end to the biking season here in western New England. I took my 1940 Raleigh Model 35 out for a ride last evening, which certainly was a chilly one. But with some additional layers, it wasn't a bad ride at all.
This season was a tough one in terms of weather. I lost probably 30% of my usual ride time to rain. There were also a couple nights lost to extreme wild fire smoke, but the big problem certainly was the rain. We had a cool, rainy summer to say the least. This held true into the early fall.
One saving grace was that we had a couple weeks of warm, dry weather in October, which helped redeem the season to some degree. I was able to ride right up through the first week of November. The turning back of the clocks that we have every year in early November usually puts an end to the season. I might be able to slip a ride in on a warm afternoon or two later this month, but we're basically done here for those after-work rides I take 3 times per week.
Road conditions were probably "average" this season. Car traffic was up somewhat, and some of the roads I ride continued to decline in condition. One local road was totally repaved, which improved things there a bit. But the main roads around here certainly need some repair.
Pedestrian usage seemed about average. I saw a fair number of pedestrians and other bikes on the road. The number of group rides and organized training rides I encounter was down this summer compared to the last two summers. The rainy weather probably had a lot to do with that.
Overall, I would rate the riding season as below average in quality. The rain was a problem, and the main roads need repair. I always enjoy riding season, but some are better than others. This one wasn't the worst, but I'd rate it as slightly below average. It would have been worse, had we not had some better weather by the time October arrived.
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