Signs of Fall, the Caveman and the Run-Flat Tire

Last Saturday, if you were blindfolded and placed in Hunt Valley, you could have mistaken your location for the southern California coast.  Its November and the early-morning thermometer registered in the 50’s.  However, if one looked at the trees and looked even closer at many of the over 120 automobiles that arrived, we were surrounded by ample evidence of Maryland’s standing in the fall season.  One of those signs was a selection of fallen leaves that were lucky enough to hitch a ride in a Grigio Silverstone Ferrari 458 Italia [pictured below].  

My last detail day featured the surgical removal of dry pine needles that found their way into the most improbable engine bay crevices.  Today, while typing and sitting at my desk – in what is typically a very quiet neighborhood – the endless buzz of leaf blowers made it sound like I’m living next to a model airplane test site.  

We’re in the buffer zone between top-down cruising and the first road salt application.  Its time to do the pre-winter safety checks, check the stock in the road emergency bag and possibly pick the date for the wheel and tire swap.  

To honor ‘No-Shave November’ and ‘Movember’, many men in our community will be testing the month-long limits of mustache and beard growth in the name of cancer awareness.  7 days into the process, I’m already combing my face.  By month’s end, we may look more like cavemen.  Maybe we can also consider this month’s hair follicle challenge an homage to the original cave crew that carved a rolling rock…otherwise known as the inspiration for the early versions of the run-flat tire.