October 1st. Like we say every year, where does summer go? Though we’d had a fabulous year for riding, it’s never easy to accept that any given weekend or ride is likely the last one of the season. Today was Friday, a clear, brisk fall day, highs in the upper 60s. It was casual Friday at work, which makes it a bit easier to ride in to the office, not having to find and pack dress clothes to change into as I normally do when I ride in. An extra pair of shoes and I’m out the door. Riding to work on a Friday for me also tends to put me in the weekend mindset a bit early. Tonight was a planned dinner run out to the Carleton Hotel, off Grafton Rd. in Carleton, a bike friendly bar that holds a Steak Fry on the first Friday of every month.
Our route this sunny afternoon was down I-275 to the Will Carleton exit, and a quick left onto Grafton Rd., into Carleton. The Carleton Hotel is on Monroe St., a right turn off of Grafton Rd. and down a few blocks. We hadn’t been here since the summer, and the Hotel is on our list of possible places to stop when we are out riding in the area. They have a full menu, and also a DJ, Karaoake and live bands on the weekends. One place I’ll be returning is the old mill next door, which now houses a thrift store. A friend of mine and I walked over there tonight to check the hours of the store, me snapping pictures of the huge structure (I’m attracted for some reason to old mills and grain silos) while he peeked in through the dusty windows from the creaky wooden porch. From time to time, his son would bring over various rusty artifacts to show us that he’d found by the neighboring railroad tracks.
A very cool little gathering place, we stayed a bit longer before suiting up in the gravel parking lot for the cold ride back. I love this section of town, that has the small, rural town feel, just a few minutes from home. We rolled off into the darkness, and headed back north on Grafton Rd. to I-275. I wished I could package up today and keep some of the great fall weather for tomorrow’s venture into Onsted, for the Snowmobile Grass Drags. 50 degrees and rain is in the forecast for Saturday, the kind of cold that chills a rider to the bone and seems to remain even through all the coffee, hot chocolate and bonfires. We shall see.