Updated - Colorful Leaves & Spooky Sights Along The River

// Note: Updated and reposted due to being “flagged” for a “Copywrite Violation” //
Welcome To Our Ride!
I live and ride my bike primarily in southern Connecticut so, in the fall, I watch as the colorful leaf change progresses from Canada, down through Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and finally into Connecticut. I moved back to my home state from being 18 years away in the “almost” southern State of Virginia. What I enjoyed about Virginia was the comparatively long spring and fall seasons… spring flowers emerged and the temperatures were mild as we marched into an always hot and humid summer. The fall was similar with beautiful weather and we even had a fall color… mostly yellow. And that is where I missed my New England color-show. In Williamsburg, Virginia, we actually had a nearby large maple tree that was well photographed by hundreds. Why? It seems that this single tree had the normal yellow coloration but it also had splotches of red, burnt orange, and green. It was like an art masterpiece sitting in a bargain basement art store and was a rare sight in Virginia.
And so I moved back to Connecticut - a land where the spring was short, wet, and muddy. But the fall… still too short but the potential for a colorful show dancing across the hills was high. I must say, I have been disappointed. Last year, as the colorful leaf-show was about to break out we had a few days of high winds that brought it all to the ground. And, this year, with the drought, expectations were equally low for a display of vibrant color. Well all of us were fooled and the colors of our hills have been magnificent.
As the leaf change moved south across my state, we in the shoreline area began getting quite a show. At the same time, the weather forecast has unsettled rainy weather moving in so I had to capture and preserve the colors of my hometown of Essex, Connecticut with a “video bike ride.” This was a short tour that focused on the tree color and homes along River Road, the downtown sights of Essex, as well as some local Halloween decorations to die for. The foliage was a day or two last peak but was lovely never-the-less. There were lots of yellows and gold with occasional burnt oranges and reds mixed in. The multi-colored sugar maples are common in this area and really add some zest to my leaf peeping.
Truly one of the best ways to view this autumn show is from the seat of a bicycle… a fun ride with great scenery. I am so glad I had the chance to bring you along.
Enjoy!

[@irish223]

Enjoy your videos. I have ridden and still ride some of the same roads and trails that you have had in your videos. The Farmington Heritage Trail is my one of my favorite places to ride ... both South and North. Essex, Deep River and Saybrook are beautiful rides in both Summer and Fall. So thanks for the videos from another Old Man on a Bike from CT.

[@kathleenclarke828]

you go bro!

[@leonfisher]

I was introduced to your channel whist looking for 600 videos. After watching many I've noticed your editing skills have much improved from your earlier videos. What bike were you riding in this episode?

[@cc103acs]

Thanks for watching. I will answer your bike question first. It is a Specialized Roubaix that I bought when I moved from the smooth roads of Virginia to the poor roads of Connecticut. It has a small shock spring in the headset to dampen the bumps. I had plans on using this bike for touring but it only works for what I call “credit card touring” - staying in hotels and commercial lodging. That is why I purchased the Priority 600 - a spectacular Pinion Gear based bike that serves as a commuting bike, a credit card touring bike, and a long distance touring bike. My first long tour with it was a 300 mile trek to the mountains of Vermont. Then last year I did a 600 mile loop in Maine and camped all but one night. It suits me just fine.
As for my video skills, thank you for the compliment. The 3 components are good audio, a good camera, and mastering the editing process. As an old guy I like to challenge myself and continue to learn. The early camera I was using was actually an iPhone and a 360 degree action camera (Insta360). I have since bought a GoPro Hero 10 and use all 3 with GoPro my main camera. My early Audio was using the internal camera microphone which would be fine if inside of a building but the wind blowing caused horrible audio issues. And audio while riding was impossible. With the GoPro I can now use an external mic. As for editing, I switched from Apple iMovie to LumaFusion which is a powerful but simple editing software that uses and iPad as the host device.
So this is likely much more than you asked for. Thanks for watching!

[@leonfisher]

@@cc103acs Thanks for taking the time with a detailed response.