Fall colors biking on Paint Creek Trail

Couldn’t ask for a better day

It was a sunny Sunday afternoon, 64 degrees, the sound of fall leaves crunching under the tires of my bicycle, the crisp smell of pine and autumn in the air, and my best friend alongside me.

The husband and I biked 16.5 miles on the Paint Creek Trail, wondering if this would be the last warm day before the weather turned too cold to bike.

We’d hoped to get donuts at the cider mill on the way back (because it’s really hard to pass by when you smell those fresh donuts), but the line wound outside the building! So we continued on our way, and once we were home, I baked an apple crisp to satisfy our sweet tooth.

Later, he cooked dinner. Pork chops with apples and sauerkraut.

Fall on Paint Creek Trail

Paint Creek Trail is an 8.9 mile linear park  converted from the former Penn Central Railroad. It connects Rochester to Lake Orion. What I love about biking this trail, besides being in the woods along a meandering creek, is the fact that it’s relatively flat. And even with 100,000 annual visitors– walkers, dogs, horses, and bicyclists– the trail never seems crowded.

The very best part is we can hop onto it less than a mile from our house!

Linda K. Sienkiewicz is the author of In the Context of Love, adult contemporary fiction
2016 ERIC HOFFER BOOK AWARD FINALIST
2016 READERS’ FAVORITE BOOK AWARD FINALIST