The weather has nixed my riding plans the past two weeks. First, my big winter solstice ride was cancelled and now it looks like my New Years ride will be cancelled too. I always thought Gary Fisher’s tradition of doing a mountain bike century on the winter solstice was great and I had a dirt metric century planned, but that’s the way things go. I’ve also done something the past two weeks that I hardly ever do, and that’s go to spin class. Our instructor Pam is a cyclist, and she’s been giving us a darn good interval workout, so we’ll continue with that until we can ride again.

We got 10 inches of snow right before Christmas, then yesterday and today, another 18 to 20 inches fell at our house. It’s going to be a long time before even the foothills trails are in shape to ride. The weather folks are saying it's an all time record for Albuquerque. I think we’re going to have to hit up Cruces (link courtesy of Dave H)or somewhere south soon to get the fat tire fix. I know I’ll be going stir crazy for a ride soon.

Too, the snow shoeing has been excellent. Got out to the Manzanitas last weekend with a few folks from the FCA-E team. Beautiful day, and a nice workout. Also did a loop from the house today into the foothills with Ann and the pups. I’m still amazed at how much snow fell up there. The snow should be fantastic at the Sandia ski area, so I’m definitely going to haul my snowboard up the tram to play in this amazing powder while it lasts.

Have a safe and fun New Year everyone. Also, check out my buddy Hack’s blog. He’s shot some very professional video with a good soundtrack of some of his adventures in the pacific northwest where he lives. Everything from rainforest singletrack, northshore style stunts, and some cool footage from an awesome trail at Mount St. Helen’s. Greg’s wife Marla is sportin her Singlespeed (Bianchi?) for a lot of the footage. It takes a while to see the whole thing, but it’s worth the time.
Grace and Peace.

Moonrise over Bethlehem.

About 2,700 years ago the prophet Isaiah wrote:

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

About 2,000 years ago, this prophecy was fulfilled.

Have an awesome Christmas everyone! Hope to see you on the trails in 2007!!

Made the mistake of heading out to the east mountains Saturday and quickly found out there's too much snow and mud to ride. Headed back to town and just parked at Copper for a quick loop around the south foothills on the SS. It's really dry and loose out there now, making the SS all the more challenging. Not a long ride, but got a good leg burn from the climbing/spinning out/techy challenges. Also ran into Damian with a contingent of hammers as I was finishing up. Damian said he got an email from Matt saying the surgery went well and he’ll be back hammering before you know it.

Sunday we hit up my inlaws church to watch the kids Christmas play. They all did great! I was planning a longish ride after church, but those plans were changed after I got a bad dog bite on my hand. You see, one of the neighbors dogs attacked our pup and was trying to rip his ear off, when I interceded and got the worst of the altercation. So, with my hand all messed up, I decided to take in the State Cyclocross championships at Rio Bravo Park. While there, I tracked down Dr's Monique and Tim and asked them to check out my hand. They said mainly keep it clean and don't take any chances with infection. Anyway, got to the races in time for the Elite Men's race and watched FCA Endurance teammate Patrick M. take third place. A last lap flat and bike change cost him second, but man, he's a strong and fast rider. Super fast youngster Taylor L. spanked the field though, so the race was really for second. A good effort by everyone and congrats on a good season, and best wishes at Nationals in RI this weekend!!

The hand seems to be doing better, so I was able to get a road ride in both yesterday and today. I was able to keep my hand in a comfortable position but mostly used the front brake since I haven’t got much grip power in the right hand from the swelling. I’ll hit up a night ride later this week as long as the hand keeps improving.

Caught a great bluegrass show on KNME this evening by Rhonda Vincent and the Rage. KNME has been airing some excellent music this month, so check this show out if you get a chance.

Stayed close to home over the weekend and other than Sunday morning for 15 minutes, didn't set foot in the car. Took all last week off the bike which was the longest stretch I haven't ridden all year. It was actually a nice break. Strung together north/south foothills loops on the SS and had a lot of fun. Saturday morning my legs were noticeably dead on the initial climb up Cedar Hill to the water tanks. Haven't been doing enough climbing lately so I hit every little climb I could manage along the way. Climbed the BOMB trail after hitting the water tank climb and tried hard not to stand up, but had to for some sections. Then came over on Pearl's Dive and the Wombat trails and finished the climb up to Pino where I ran into Ann and her crew coming the other direction. Also ran into my old friend Kirby. I hate to ask Kirby his age anymore, but I know he's at least 62, and he can still hammer. Hope I can be hammering when I reach that age! Anyway, a pretty uneventful ride, though I didn't feel my best. Got out Sunday afternoon for a similar but shorter ride and though my legs were tired, I was able to ride a lot harder and the average speed was better too. I have noticed my average speed on the SS has tapered off slightly from the Spring, but I know my overall endurance has improved. Got lots to work on for the coming year when I begin my 7th year of mountain biking. Looking to increase both the speed and endurance. It will require a little pain, a little suffering, but it will all be good.

Say, whatever happened to Jennifer Knapp? That girl can sing, play amazing guitar, and write great lyrics. Hope she comes out of hibernation soon to bless us with her gift. The live album being released this year is stuff that was recorded years ago, so there's no new material there, even though it's a good compilation of her work.