Jamming On Red House, with Kyle on Bass

Just knocking around in the house...

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New Year's Day Ride Plans

Okay, the weather finally turned to Winter, but the NYDR is still on.  The high temp, tomorrow, is supposed to climb all the way up to 23 degrees, but it might be a bit chillier than that at the beginning of the ride, so dress accordingly if you come with us.  Looks like we might have some sun, though!

Meet at Kaladi Brothers Coffee (1730 East Evans Ave) between 9:00 and 11:00 (might as well wait for what little warming we'll get).  Plan to ride no more than 20 miles, or so.  I've got out-of-town company coming along (Kyle), and it's going to be a pretty extreme ride for him.

Again, this is just a nice little ride to ring in the New Year on two wheels.  So plan on fun, not training.

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Well, They Finally Got It Right...

The temperature has dropped, all day, and is sitting at 14 degrees F, with a light snow falling.  I guess the Endless Summer is finally over.

Kyle and I braved the slick roads, went over to the theater, and saw the new True Grit, tonight. The Coen Brothers have produced another great movie here, much leaner and more purposeful than the John Wayne vehicle of a few decades ago.

So, the weather forecast was finally done right, as was True Grit.  (See how I tied that all together, there?  That's good blogging, my friends, even if I do say so myself.  Hrrmph, humph, yes yes...)

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Mountain Man

Kyle and I went up into the mountains, today.  On the way up, we stopped in Idaho Sprinfgs and had some coffee.  Then we played some pinball at the pinball arcade.

I started out with the Elvira machine, and Kyle chose Star Trek TNG.  It's pretty nice to find a pinball hall, nowadays.

After that, we drove through the Eisenhower Tunnel, and passed under the Continental Divide.  From there, we drove back over the Divide via US 6.

Here's Kyle on top of Loveland Pass...

What a beautiful day!  The sky was blue, the roads were clear, and the views went on forever.

We ended up driving down to I-70, then over Squaw Pass past Mount Evans and down through Evergreen and Morrison, back to Denver.

Tonight, we went to Bastien's with Randy Caley.  Randy and I go to Bastien's for a Sugar Steak, every Christmas, and I was happy to share that with Kyle, this year. 

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Snowboarding at Eldora

Took Kyle up to Eldora for some snowboarding.  He had only ever been once before, back in New York, so getting on some good snow was a treat for him, I think.

We had a bit of a disorganized morning, and I managed to get up there without my jacket.  I had on two base layers, a vest and a thinnish wool sweater, and I was actually a bit warm, at times.

It was a gorgeous blue-sky day, and the temps on the mountain felt like the mid-50s.  We actually ate lunch on the outside picnic tables, at the lodge.  We had a pretty short day, but it was plenty of fun!

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Motorbike Mania

My nephew, Kyle, is visiting me for the holidays.  The couple of you who read, often, might recall that I picked up a Suzuki GS500 for him, a few months ago.  We spent a couple of hours in the back yard, over a couple of days, learning to work the clutch.

Today, we went to an empty parking lot, down the road, and did a bit of riding in circles. 

Check out the action, here.

I am hoping this little bit of experience will help him do well in the MSF class.  Now, to find the closest class to his home and get him signed up...

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Year-End Commute Numbers

I am through with work, until after New Year's Day.  My nephew, Kyle, is coming out to spend the holidays with me and do a little snowboarding, etc.

So, my commute numbers for the year are complete.

I commuted a total of 3356.2 miles, on 194 work days.

My overall total, since 05/01/07, is 12,822.4 miles over 741 consecutive work days.

So far, this Fall and Winter, we have gotten only 1.5 inches of snow, here in Denver.  And, the temps have been pretty mild.  I've only ridden the snow-bike once, and didn't really need it, then.

It is going to be a hard year on the grass and trees, if we don't start getting snow.  But, I have to admit that it doesn't bother me to keep the snow up in the mountains.

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First New Build In Ages

 Details are here.  Check it out, if you feel like it.

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Y'Know, It's The Middle of December...

 Flowers are blooming...

Temps in the 60s at 4:30 PM...

December.  In Denver, Colorado.

I'm loving it, but I'm also waiting for the other shoe to drop (if you know what I mean).

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Ho, Ho, Ho...

I did a little Christmas decorating, today.  It's the first time I've ever put lights in the yard, or anything.  I'm particularly fond of the swing, though.

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Busy Week, At Work

Been trying to catch up on the stuff that didn't get done while I had the flu, and keep up with what's coming through the door, as well.  It's been a week of get up-go to work-come home-eat-fall asleep at 9:00, so I haven't done anything particularly blog-worthy, nor have I had the time to blog much, anyway.  Plus, I think I was still sort of recovering from being sick, for the first half of the week.

So, I decided to take this weekend as a weekend off (no plumbing, no chores), and play my guitar, draw, etc.

I decorated my little Christmas tree:

Bikes, head-tube badges and, of course, Creepy Crow all say Christmas-time to me!

I worked on my cd cover art, in case I ever get anything recorded:

Yes, I blacked in the openings of the "B", after scanning this in.  Funny, the stuff you don't see in real life which are glaringly obvious on a screen...


And, I finished writing a song, and recorded a demo of it.  I link to the video over on the Hardrocking Jonny G blog, if you care to see it.  (Leave me a comment, and let me know what you think!)

I have a weird expression on my face, all the way through it.  Not sure why.

I was using my "drum board" (basically a 2x4 piece of lumber, with a pickup mounted under it, plugged into a guitar amp) for the percussion, so you can see me rock back and forth as I tap my feet on it.  Basically, I look like one of those guys in an asylum who sits and rocks back and forth, all day, in a catatonic haze.

Catatonic Haze would make an awesome band name...or maybe a song title.  (I call dibs on that, by the way.)

So, it's been a pretty good weekend, thus far.  I might end up seeing a movie, or something, this afternoon.  Big thrills and chills, my friends.  Such an exciting life!

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