In hindsight I may have a tendency to declare too many rides a "perfect day on the bike." I almost certainly used that term somewhere in recapping our riding in Italy. And I'll almost certainly use it when describing our journey through France.  And it has without a doubt come into play during more local explorations.

But therein lies the beauty of the bike - it's ability to provide solace from the real world, it's ability to foster friendships formed over miles in the saddle and of course it's ability to allow you to consume inordinate quantities of food with teammates. By these measures Sunday was another perfect day on the bike as election and day job and other stress faded into the background amidst a sea of blazing fall colors, all with the prerequisite coffee stop with the team for a round of laughs over a variety of baked goods (See Men of Leisure Ride Rule #7).

So I'll mark down as yet another perfect day on the bike and hope that we can sneak in a few more days of similar caliber before it's back to the frozen tundra of winter in NYC.