Another Birthday Ride with Mark

It was darned cold Friday. It was October 16 and the leaves had a good start on their fall wardrobe. But the clouds were heavy and low. And there was a strong, penetrating wind out of the north. Jim and Mark, Marilyn and I started out a little after 9:15 thinking we'd go to Eaton and stop for some of that delicious pie up there.

But early on, we decided maybe a shorter ride would fit the day better. That wind was cold, and the clouds would spit a bit of rain now and again. So we settled on a ride up to Watt Road in Preble County and the ancient blue trestle bridge over Paint Creek. It is one of my all-time favorite rides.

We'd forgotten that October 16 was Mark's birthday. We'd celebrated with him last year on this day with a sixty-mile ride, but that would have been a lot in this wind and cold. So we stopped a while over Paint Creek and admired the brilliant leaves against the dark clouds and watched the waters flow under the bridge. I thought of our friend Joe, who passed away just recently. I wished he was with us on this ride today like in earlier times. And perhaps he was.

Jim snapped a few pictures. Then after a while we headed out again, south on Concord-Fairhaven Road and made our way back toward College Corner. We stopped for lunch at the new diner there; Holly's. Walleye sandwiches, hot chocolate, and homemade cherry pie. Pretty nice. We wished Mark another happy birthday and celebrated just being with good friends.