the cat was NOT on my mario kart team

he jumped up on the TV stand and laid down in front of my part of the screen in the deciding race of the tie breaking grand Prix.

nine-below selfies

-9° F bleh

Christmas sledding

imperial stout, another celebration-worthy brew

while the Nerf we're rages on around him, a lagunitas imperial stout goes smoothly down.

brunhilder's gift, the perfect christmas ale

really nice farmhouse ale with a hint of berry. olvade did a great job on this one.

watering the tree

seems right to give it a little celebration ale--hoppy stuff, to boot.

what's that in the laundry basket?

oh, phew, it's the cat.

yesterday's commute was a little...

bleh, bleh, blechy

holiday makis

family celebration, tonight, and my oldest daughter volunteered us to bring sushi. she and i spent the morning making makis. some regular rolls in the first layer and ura makis on top--some with smoked salmon, some with mock crab, lots with carrot and cukes. we also added some avocado and cream cheese to the mix. mmm...

snowmobiles really really ready

i'd been riding the surly with drop bars this winter and it always felt a bit less stable than i feel on the peugeot with moustache bars, so i picked up a new bar this weekend that i'm going to try out. it's not really a moustache but it should give me the leverage i seek.

the peugeot also got set up. i installed the new wheels i just bought from dave at the bicycle chain. wasn't looking for deep-v rims but the price was right.

feels great to have 2 bikes running this winter. the peugeot has only a front studded tire and is running a 42x16 gear. that'll be for slightly clearer roads. the cross-check will be for snowier days--running a slightly easier 42x18 to push two studded tires. the surly also has better fender clearance, which is GREATLY appreciated when the snow is thick.

winter cycle commuting can be a ton of fun if you have the right equipment. and... no, it's not safe, but neither is walking nor driving in the winter. pick your poison.

below 0 fahrenheit, let's fire up the grill

wow, just had a rim sidewall fail on me

crazy! bought a new set of commuting wheels a couple of weeks back and falsely believed I had 2 wheelsets for commuting. not so. this friggin sidewall just blew (on my old wheel).

friggin photobombers

the family went hunting for our christmas tree, and somebody kept hopping into photos!

jerk!