The weather this weekend is absolutely amazing.  It is over 70’F and sunny, which is unseasonably warm for Pittsburgh in November.  I took full advantage and went on a nice, relaxed bike ride.

With no immediate need to train hard for a race, I was able to just go ride.  No hard effort intervals.  No pushing hard up the hills.  No all-out efforts on the flats.  Just a nice easy ride.

I chose a route to that took me past some of the new places, that I had discovered during my rides in the summer.  I went back to see some of the fabulous old barns that I had found.  I stopped at Butler airport, because I always stop there to have a mid-ride snack.  I also finished my ride, by choosing the route with a steep hill, just before getting home.

There was however, one place that I wanted to visit that I had not discovered during my summer rides.  I wanted to go see a local alpaca farm called Cotacachi Alpacas.  I found the farm and was surprised to realize, that I had actually passed it many times this summer, without even realizing it.  This was because the farm was located half way down a large hill and all summer long, I had bombed down that hill and missed the farm.

When I got to the alpaca farm, I found the main barn but was disappointed that there were no alpacas in sight.  Then, one by one, all the alpacas came out of the barn to see me.  It was such a cool experience. It was a perfect way to enjoy a beautiful November day.