Crunching through the leaves on my mountain bike in Abruzzo

I’ve written about it before, but it’s always a pleasure for me when I can make a weekend escape out to the mountains in Abruzzo.

With my busy work schedule and my kids’ insane sports programs, this luxury is becoming rarer and rarer.

With my older son off at a tennis tournament in Germany, my husband tied up with work and my younger son – miraculously – free from running commitments, my little sprinter and I headed up for our first weekend in the mountains since the summer.

I’m wise enough to know that 50% of the family is as good as it gets these days …

My agenda was to enjoy the beautiful fall foliage. My son’s was to strengthen his quadriceps before a series of cross-country races.

We both got our wishes when we spent most of our weekend out on our mountain bikes, with plenty of trails to call our own. We met a few hikers and plenty of cows on our rides, but otherwise it was pretty quiet and the woods felt as if they were there all for us.

That solitude may have been a tougher thing when we miscalculated new sunset times and had to race back before we couldn’t see a thing.

In exchange, we did get to enjoy the sky painted spectacular pinks, purples and blues, before the almost full moon came out. Luckily, the wolves in the area stayed in their cozy dens. : )

What can I say? Life looks pretty good on a crisp, mountain weekend perched atop a mountain bike.

Since I no longer live in that type of climate, every time fall rolls around, I feel I miss the crispness of the air, the sound of the leaves the bike makes as you crunch through them, the glorious colors of autumn foliage. Weekend escapes allow me to get my fix.

Truly an idyllic weekend for Rome dwellers like my son and me. Happy fall weekends to all – wherever you are.