Fall Riding

Fall is a great time of year to get out on bikes for a few last rides.  It's difficult to pass up days when the air is getting crisper, leaves are brilliantly colored, and there are far fewer people on the trails in the metro.
This morning was such a day - 45 degrees, with the expectation that it would warm to 65 or so.  Doug and I started out at Hopkins on the Minnesota River Bluffs trail, and with the exception of a couple of missed turns (like where the map shows the trail going under the road, but the trail actually goes up and across the 4 lane on an overpass), we had a great ride.  Easy "slow-roll" pace, good conversation, nice scenery - the perfect way to spend an October Sunday morning.
Riding the hard packed limestone trails of Minneapolis doesn't really require any sort of special tires.  You could do it just fine on 23mm road tires, but I can tell you without question that the wider tires like Clement MSOs, or [my favorite] Challenge Gravel Grinders are the cat's pajamas. The Challenge GGs are great at 45-48psi(3bar) - I had them pumped too high on my last ride, and they didn't feel nearly as smooth.  At 3bar, they absolutely float over gravel and bumps.
Fall riding is a time for easy distance, conversational speed, maybe a nice cup of coffee along the way.  It's too cold to paddle, too warm to ski, and too noisy to hike.  It's a great time of the year.