Turning

 Soon, or later, it happens - the inevitable change. For a few weeks now, we've been watching the sun sink below the horizon earlier and earlier, with the knowledge that sooner or later the after-work-day dirt rides were drawing down, coming to an end. If it has not done so already, the Rose Bowl ride will be shifting its start up a half-hour in an attempt to prolong the season another few weeks, while those who do the Bud's ride will have seen the writing on the wall as well, painted in big letters on a fire orange sky. It is inevitable. I think I have turned my back on another season of after work dirt and, truth be told, am actually looking forward to finishing out the year's evening rides on the road; road means more miles, faster times, shorter duration. These are subtle adjustments, I know. Switching from riding a mountain or gravel bike to riding a road bike is still riding after all, separated only by a few degrees. There are people, in other places, who are now contemplating more drastic changes that arrive with a new season this time of year.