Mette (6) just sang a festive holiday song, to the tune of Joy to the World

Joy to the world
the phantom's dead
we barbequed his head!

And don't forget the body
We flushed it down the potty

And round and round it goes
And round and round it goes

And round and round and round it goes

Annelis helped her work out that last part.  She claims to have just made it up, but I'm not so sure I believe that.

My mom gave me a report card from Kindergarten.  Most of the proficiencies listed had check marks, with a few exceptions.

My favorite teacher remark:

Sometimes likes to aggravate others - trips them.

Another problem area was the use of scissors:

Needs improvement, cuts things apart

Yes, I can see now that scissors are not for cutting things apart.  What was I thinking?

Dear Readers,

In the holiday hustle and bustle, I neglected to give you anything for Christmas.  For this, I apologize.  However, for what I lack in timeliness, I can hopefully make up for with awesomeness.  From the bounty of the internets, I have found a true gem amoung gems.

Behold, the Hasslehoff activity book!  Just print this baby out, and it's full steam ahead for hours of exceedingly attractive fun time.

I'm printing out a set for the kids as we speak.

Enjoy!

Wishing you all happy holidays.  Thanks for reading this year.

I just heard Bend got the official nod from USA Cycling. 

For you out of towners, Bend is about 160 miles from Portland.  It's about a four hour drive.  I'm not sure what the optimal travel plan would be, but I'd imagine you'd fly into Redmond (airport code RDM). 

Bend is a very cool town, filled with lots of outdoorsy people and lots of outdoor activities for them to do.  It's a great place to vacation for the whole family.  And if you like skiing, bring your stuff and ski Mt. Batchelor after Nats are over.

The climate is different from Portland, so don't expect any epic mud fests.  People in Denver should feel right at home.  People from Portland will be wondering where the mud is.

A little more info is here.

I guess I get to go to Nationals next year!  I'd better get in shape.

You may not have noticed, but it's been snowing outside.

I was able to get into our beloved Forest Park today.  I decided to drop down firelane 5, ride Leif Erickson to Germantown and back, and go up Saltzman back to Skyline. 

There is plenty of snow, but it was all frozen today.  Frozen ruts are not super fun to ride in.  The ride was fairly slow, and rough.  The view, however, was fantastic.  I took some pictures, because it's simply beautiful down there.

Firelane 5 is frozen, and kind of sketchy to ride on a cross bike (I do not recommend it).  This was the first tree I found down on my adventure:

I slid my way down to Leif Erickson, which looked mostly like this:

A couple sets of those tracks are mine, but as you can see, people have been riding there.  The surface was mostly frozen bumpy snow, with a few ice patches every now and then.  No crashes today, thankfully, but I got very close several times.  I never realized how steep Leif Erickson drops off in some places, but I almost rode off a particularly high one today after bouncing out of a nasty frozen hole.  Don't tell my wife.

If you decide to try it, watch out for a few fallen trees.  Here's a couple I encountered en route to Germantown:

And finally, if you're wondering what Germantown road is looking like these days:

Happy trails!

Holy Crap.  Dave Z is a lunatic.  A hilarious lunatic.

The USGP was a blast, and now it's over.  Time to reset the cyclocross counter.  The season is done.

My bike is still kinda dirty, hanging in the garage and sulking from neglect.  I plan on rebuilding it this winter nice and slow, overhauling everything.

I was not too happy with my results this year, but I had a lot of fun.  Now that's it's over, I've a long list of things I should do to improve.  Will I?  Maybe!

Now is a wonderful time of year - time to rebuild and refocus.  The fixed gear bike is now my rig of choice, and I hope to see you out on the road...as soon as all this snow and ice melts.

photo: sosovelo