I’m not there yet. Well, I’ll soon plugin the Battery Tender but the weather isn’t cold enough yet.

Nope…covered and in the shed. Probably will just need topping off the tires and some serious running around to pep up the battery. I try to treat her reasonably well. 🙂

Depressing? I was thinking more of the dying of plants and such and the quiet that comes in the natural world.

I used to love winter for the reasons you highlight. But the medication I now take post heart attack has me feeling the cold differently. Maybe it’s just the aging process. The bigger concern is an autoimmune condition that affects my feet and toes. If they get too cold, they blister and get nasty. I don’t want to go through that again this season. Just charged by battery powered heated insoles. If I can keep my feet warm my whole outlook on the world changes!

I wonder as well if easy, year round riding would become boring. I suppose it would depend on where you are and how much time and motivation you have to ride.

Part of my year round riding was based on not wanting to winterize the scooter. I’ve never done that because I was riding throughout the year. But as the cold becomes a bigger barrier that could change.

Until then, I’ll keep riding.

Your Vespa in a pile of autumn leaves?

I’m getting there. At least with winter. Love the look but that’s about it.

We should have taken the dogs, or a dog, on that walk. Next time.

There are a lot of brilliant photographic options available now. While you may not be hauling a heavy camera and tripod, the micro 4/3 cameras, and even the iPhones make some outstanding images.

Autumn has swept through quickly. Faster than I like. After some near freezing mornings we have a reprieve. I’m not ready for the cold. The winter Vespa tires are in the garage. At some point I’ll have them mounted. They make a difference on cold pavement, wet pavement and loose snow.

I think there’s a lot of hot tea in my future.

Yes, I usually put more miles on from September to May than the rest of the year. I just don’t like the heat. Once the temperature gets to 85F it’s just kind of miserable.

That said, the cold has begun to get to me. I have to be more careful now because some medical issues make things dicey if I get too cold.

As my father often told me, “It’s hell to get old boy.”

Thanks for the kind words on the essay and photos Dave. Sometimes things just fall into place.

Others have shared their own sense of impending loss in autumn. Enough that it seems common if not universal.

I fear the cold weather will begin to take a toll on my riding because of arthritis and blood thinning medication. Over the past two years I can see how my willingness to fight the cold is diminishing. On the plus side — the winters haven’t been severe. So there are more reasonable days to ride.

Soon though, the Battery Tender will get plugged in.