Thinking about the consequences of a dry autumn

Autumn has been very dry here in Colorado. Traditionally it's the time of year where the weather most closely matches the cool and drizzly days of home. But this year the temperature has hardly budged below 20 celsius.While it's nice to have access to the high country mountain bike trails that are normally buried by now, it's a shame to see them getting more and more tired with the passing of extra tires. There comes a point where I'd sacrifice the extra rides in favour of a protective blanket to rejuvenate the forest and deliver them back to us in good shape come April. Wildfire is always front and centre in my mind when I see such dry weather. Will this batch of warmth mean more danger next year?It has also been a tough year to race cyclocross. Although there's a lazy ease in packing no spare clothes for a race, I'd rather it be cold and damp for our race days. I've been racing with a water bottle on my bike all year so far, and it doesn't seem like that will change any time soon. We're far past due a introductory storm to get the winter rolling.A positive on the snow front is that this warmth will likely lead to a bit of a safer snow pack. Rather than an early season storm sitting on the slopes and baking in the sun, I'm hoping that when the weather finally turns, the temperature will stay low and the snowpack will be a nice consistent depth of small layers. It would make the skiing much safer, that's for sure.