I love autumn. I love the smell of the earth being tilled in the fields. I love the sound of the leaves scattering in the wind or crunching underfoot. I love the way that the sun hits the forests and illuminates the turning leaves as though they were on fire.

This fall we’ve had excellent weather. A little warm, but the trees are doing their thing and the dryness meant that I could get out and fully enjoy the last days before winter. Two of those days are captured here: one is a short ride to St Ursanne with a friend who wants to learn to ride, and the other is an indirect ride to drop off my motorcycle for service. I’ve combined them into one page, because they are basically the same thing spread across two days. I hope that you enjoy the photos!

Day 1: Basel to St Ursanne

Potatoes!

Or are they? Nope! They are sugar beets

Approaching Metzerlen

We ended up following this guy for a while

St Ursanne


Looking for the shifter

Lucelle

“Just following the GPS, officer!

Day 2: Basel to Oberentfelden

Hiking group gathered to enjoy the day

It was a little hazy this morning

Fog in a distant valley

I love the roads in the Jura! Empty and smooth

Traipsing through the farmland

Came around the bend to this sight: the Alps!

Too bad I didn’t have my good camera with me

Free range chickens!

The horses were all lined up along one fence – the grass must truly be greener on the other side!

I left the F800 GSA at the shop for its 30,000 km service and rode home on this little gem: a new 1200 GS. I have been very curious about how it would compare to my 800, so I retraced my route on the same roads and through the same mountains and fields.

The sun came out for the return ride

I think that’s the last of the fall photo opportunities. They are forecasting rain, but we’ll see if they know what they’re talking about, as the forecast keeps changing. It was fun to show my friend more about motorcycles, and it was fun to try a new bike. Oh, and as for the 1200 – it really pulls when I roll on throttle! But I don’t think that it is anything that I “need” to have any time soon. I still love my F800…

File photo

Day 3: Oberentfelden to Basel

When one borrows a service loaner bike, one must also return it. The day’s forecast was for rain but it was drier than I expected. I also did not expect to take any photos, so I missed a really cool section of road on the return before I finally got around to getting out the camera. Here’s what I did see along the way…