The Last Ride of Summer

This morning will be the last official ride of the summer. Oh, I know the season doesn’t actually end for another three weeks but for me it’s always been autumn once we hit September. No doubt this goes back to when I was in school and September was the end of summer vacation. Still, the signs are there. The fields are golden now and all too soon summer will be nothing more than a memory.

Autumn was always exciting on the university campus, a time of new beginnings and old friendships. The place was so full of people you could hardly move and yet by January the corridors were empty. Tomorrow I won’t be going back to school; those days are long gone. Instead it’s back to work, trying hard not to resent the fact that my wife is still on vacation.

I managed to end my holiday with a bang--enjoying the International Fireworks Festival held annually at Elliston Park. We have a pretty good view of the events from our front lawn except for the streetlights in the park. On the last night of the festival I went out into the field just south of where we live with a tripod and got some amazing shots. I say amazing because I don’t have one of those big expensive cameras with all the lenses. I just have this tiny little digital that fits in my pocket. Without the light pollution in the park and with the tripod to steady it, the auto function was using a full half second exposure as compared to the .002 seconds it uses for outdoor shots in the daytime. I learned this after the shots were taken by examining the properties file. I just point, click and trust in the technology.

We tried a new restaurant this summer with most pleasing results. Chestermere Landing Steak House has been around for a while but we'd never been there before. Trust me it was well worth the trip (all of 10 Km from our door). The food's great, the view from the patio is awesome and the people are friendly. We will be back!

It's been a great summer and the riding is by no means over. How long I'll be able to wear just bike shorts and a tee shirt--that's another question entirely. Sometimes winter comes early around here and some years we get an Indian summer, a phenomenon by the way that has nothing whatsoever to do with the First Nations. Here's hoping!