Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

Our version of a tree! Cheers and Happy Holidays!

Being Thankful

I have been keeping on the DL for the better part of the fall. Still riding a little but I am also dabbling in other activities that I find refreshing after a long season on the bike. Trail running and hiking seem to be the go to activities currently and it feels really good on the legs to work the muscles differently. Going on a long trail run or a solid hike forces you to take notice of how weak your ankles get from only cycling or how much of a workout you can get from an hr run. True that it helps with conditioning and keeps me sane but more importantly, it motivates me to get back on the bike.

Speaking of riding or intentions there of, we had to change Thanksgiving plans last minute due to poor weather so we ended up staying in CO and making our own T-day dinner. Jessica did a great job and made one of the best turkeys I have ever had! In fact, everything was excellent and it took the sting out of not getting to Moab. We had a great time eating and drinking the day away and talking about our upcoming move.

We begin moving into our new place on Wednesday which is exciting albeit an adjustment on many levels. I am just hoping that Sam can handle not having her own little wild kingdom just on the other side of the cat door. I am also hoping that amidst the chaos of the move, I can sneak in a ride or two. Enjoy your week!

breaking

break your routines once in a while, whatever they may be

riding tomorrow

9/26 is good to start with (if you like reggae that is)

time to move forward

Like an out of control descent, sometimes all you can do is just hold on through the rough spots and hope that you eventually pull out or at the very least, die trying.

I hope that the next president is good because our other wing snapped off a long time ago.

a little something

friday afternoon ride


saturday afternoon ride with jessica


i passed this couple as they were approaching a fairly technical downhill, much respect


peruvian purples from the garden


currently listening to my talented cousin, Mike Melito, ripping drums on his new CD In The Tradition. Hard Bop Jazz in the tradition of the greats!
Mike's myspace page
Website

cycling in the news

Great to see legend Davis Phinney riding again!

and i may be out of town for this one but it looks like a swell time

Oct.

The mystery ailment that sets in for a few weeks every autumn, is beginning to lift. Mired in the residual effects that come from a summer of riding and the weather change, I ease up on the consistent riding and take up other activities for a short while. It feels good around now to wait for the cycling fire to start back up on it's own. I have learned that this perennial change in motivation is best ridden like a wave rather than wrestled with. For this reason, riding has been a bit spotty and less than adventurous the past few weeks.

Like Ace Ventura pseudo birthing out of the mechanical rhino in pet detective 2, I have inevitably begun to push through this precipitous frame of mind and have started to savor the feeling of spinning into winter. I now find myself excited for the coming of cold snowy evenings that see me pulling on the layers and mounting my light before heading out into the quiet white nights. This will be the two wheeled meditation that helps fuel the soul during the winter.

Ironically, I had plans for a nice MTB ride this afternoon but the rain beat me to the trail so the mtb waits another day. This coming weekend looks nice for getting outside and Fruita is in the plans for this weekend or next. Another motivator for me, is the fact that our surf trip plans have been shored up and we will be ringing in the new year on the beach, Mexico this time around! I am really excited to hit the water for a couple weeks and the timing will be perfect.

A late congratulations out to Josh Tostado from the Bach team for scoring big at 24 hrs of Moab. Josh won the men's solo class and is making a name for himself on the endurance mtb scene. I am guessing we will not wearing the same jersey next year. After 2nd at the 24hr nationals and another crushing win at the brek 100 this year, Josh deserves something more substantial in terms of sponsorship and I am sure some bike company is thinking the same thing. We only met once at Firecracker 50 but he was super easygoing and rode up the trail and cheered us on even though he wasn't racing, nice guy for sure and clearly a devout endurance racer. We just ned to get him on an singlespeed!

Just one, is it not crazy that OPEC wants to cut crude production in order to drive, excuse me, "prop" oil prices back up?! Like we are going to stop burning oil.

in the spirit of others...in my audio player right now, Hint - portakabin fever (note, not THE hint, just hint)

peace