Saturday, November 3, 2007

Fall Colors

That's what she liked the best, the Meteor Maroon Pearl that she had selected after spending a few weeks with the House of Kolor chip charts. Nice, but not a color that really jumped out and grabbed me like others do. But that was when the forest still was green.

By the time that this Low-Trail All-Rounder frame returned from the painter, the light here in northern New Hampshire had undergone the seasonal shift from green to golden. When I carried the frame outside to view it in natural light, I was stunned by how elegant the color appeared in the Fall colors.

Standing there, staring at that lustrous Maroon, I was conflicted …. Should I build it up as promised for the next day’s inaugural ride, or should I just keep it as a centerpiece for the Thanksgiving table? Better judgement always seems to prevail, and I realized that our dining table isn’t large enough to hold both frame and food. What a shame.

The next morning dawned clear and cold, and Jackie arrived early for the first ride on her new dream bike. We picked a route to exercise this bike's great versatility, starting with mixed-surface backroads, then later heading for Crawford Notch as the day warmed. Watching her spinning along in the Fall colors made me realize that Meteor Maroon is one of those colors which looks so much better in real life.