Fall Cycling on the Palouse and a Taste of Winter

With weather cool but clear, cycling outdoors continued into early November.  While I much prefer cycling when temperatures are in the 70s and 80s F, a sunny day in the 40s F is tolerable once one dresses appropriately and keeps moving.

As seen from the photos, the afternoon route had little traffic and mostly sunny skies.  Nearly perfect for a two-hour, late fall ride.  Even though a bit chilly to start, this is a far superior solution than cycling indoors.

Occasionally, the first, fleeting snowfall coincides with Halloween but almost never sticks around for long.  Not the situation experienced this week.  From sunny skies and the brilliant colors of fall to a winter wonderland overnight.  With daytime temperatures hovering around freezing, these two inches of snow may linger.  Still, it may be too soon to give up outdoor cycling for the season just yet.   

One benefit of the unseasonably, early snowfall is that the winter weather and snowy ground cover nudged me in the direction of settling on a subject for the next group game.  Surrounded by a blanket of snow, a clash situated in a similarly, snowy battlefield seemed appropriate.  With encouragements to wheel out Honours of War for another game or two, Frederick's first battle on the snow-covered landscape near Mollwitz will be the focus of study.

Battle deployments- Mollwitz

I have some research and scenario design to work through but resources and help from other wargamers are at hand.  Having built an OB and laid out the troops in a preliminary deployment, details can be refined.  From the initial deployments and troop strengths, looks like the Austrians must overwhelm the inferior Prussian cavalry wings and then turn the Prussian flanks before the superior Prussian infantry can close.  This may be a good challenge for both.  On a field of white, battlefield photos will be a challenge as seen below.

Prussian right