It snowed yesterday. It did not accumulate and did melt once it hit the ground, but there were undeniable flakes in the air.

This is probably because I washed the cars on Saturday.

It's over, man. Here comes winter.

The rides to Eagle River are getting chillier, the leaves are giving up the ghost, and in another 4 weeks or so there will be some snow. When things begin fading away I gravitate to appropriate music and llately I cannot get The Band's "The Night they Drove Old Dixie Down" out of my head. It's a great song, and perfectly sorrowful for the death of summer.

The moose has the right of way

I still have thankfully not been charged by a moose, but this is a little too close to that distinction for my taste. Riding down the bike path pre-dusk last night (9:30 pm), I made a 90 degree turn to head back to Muldoon Road. This is a narrow stretch of the path, bounded by a ridge to the Glenn Highway and a long chain link fence. It's a corridor or a shoot of sorts.

I realized quickly that there was a large Moose 10 yards ahead in the middle of the path. It started to trot away from me once it heard my brakes chirp. However, the group of kids 20 yards ahead quickly let out a cackle and started to run away from the moose. The moose, now finding its avenue closed, promptly turned back towards me and started running again (though thankfully not with its ears pulled back). As fast as I could I picked up my bike and hiked up the highway embankment, careful to keep the bike on the moose side of my body. He passed at a distance of 6-7 feet away and kept trotting down towards the large park. All in about 2 seconds.

Man, how do you try and get your brand new bike warrantied because of a moose conflict?