In Which I Praise the Fall Sky

Moon morning of Oct. 8--cool, nice morning for an eclipse.

Grotto at MMU. Can't really bike here, but it shows how nice a fall day midday can be. On a walk Oct. 8 at MMU, we took a bit of a detour just to pass through the grotto.

Fall is biking season, for sure. Crisp air, blue skies, no more summer heat—of course, parts of fall can be wet and dreary, which is not fun, but so far Fall 2014 has been textbook perfect for bike commuting.

There has been some rain and some winds, but frankly wind  is OK. It can be a problem on a long cross-country ride, but when your commute is only 4 miles, even a pretty stiff headwinds is not such a big deal.

It’s just a nice season to be outside.

On the MMU walk.

Most of these photos aren’t actually from biking. I did take the sunrise over the Rockwell-Collins pond this week—I know it’s not that different from an earlier picture, but I like it anyway. The moon is early (around 6 a.m.) from Oct. 8, when the moon passed through the Earth’s shadow. Otherwise, these are pictures of the Mount Mercy University Campus, several during a fitness walk Oct. 8.

Flag at MMU during walk.

There is something nice about the fall sky—interesting clouds, deep blues, a nice light angle from the southern journeying sun. Summer light can be more overwhelming, and winter is a bit too faded with long shadows midday.

Spring is nice, but your attention is more drawn down, to the first flowers. And in Iowa, fall is often dryer than spring, which makes it a bit more of a sky-viewing season.

So, welcome bikers, to the best commuting season of all.

The pond at Rockwell-Collins in the morning. Tuesday, I think.