Winter's here

shot this with the dusk/dawn preset. it's as cold as it looks

oh well. it was inevitable. the snow's finally come down and might stick around for a while. a warming trend's coming monday. we'll see how much of this stuff sticks around.

Riding and Papa'ing

preparing for the col de la croix de fer
went for a pre-thanksgiving ride with my kids (with the moose in tow) today. probably went only for an hour and change but boy was it fun.
here they are smilin' and downhillin'

ridin', talkin', and being proud of my kids; that's pretty much it. the weather was in the 60s for late november. twas a great day for riding and being a dad...
here's the moose preparing after preparing for the col de la croix de fer

Score!

got paid today kids so on rare occasions i peruse the goods at a used cd joint named angelo's near the high school where i teach. it started as a looky-lou session. purchased two, used cds. purchased a steely dan cd called two against nature-nothing really to write home about; but, the score-o-matic was hank mobley's no room for squares. oh shnap kids! not only is it arguably his best work (with a supporting cast of lee morgan, philly joe jones, and herbie hancock-to name some heavy hitters), but it's a rudy van gelder edition (blue note kids...c'mon). yeah. tell me you purchased your edition for the low, low price of $6.99. didn't think so. long live bop and long live angelo's cds. for those of y'all who can empathize with this aural sublimity (i don't think that's a real word y'all), aren't you happy that jazz like this exists? for those who cannot, i can start you on your way with a few recommendations. leave a comment if you'd like some suggestions for your foray into the world of bop. i might be looking too much into the cover art but don't you think the circle surrounding ole hank looks like the symbol for the roman god of war-mars (albeit the arrow's at the 12:00 position rather than the conventional 1:00)? what a great way to start the thanksgiving break. speaking of which, hope all of y'alls giving of tanks is truly exquisite in such a way you have to unbutton the top button of your pantaloons because y'all have no self-control in turkey feasting-o-rama (aka experiencing personal growth-especially near your tum-tum). if you're smart, you'll have a special pair of eating pantaloons (or sweats).

Night Ridin' with the Coyotes

here's me in the night, with no lights.
hey kids. nothing happening that was worth mentioning for the past couple of weeks. global warming's keeping our property snow-free whereas in years past it would've been insulating the ground at least a foot thick by now. crazy. one good thing from the melting of the polar icecaps is i can get an occasional night ride in. i went for a night ride about a week ago with my boy alec after not riding for months. the volume of traffic that evening was unusually high. all manner of people were out there either hiking or biking. on the second lap at green mountain we had to cut it short due to a cold front coming in and getting the temperature near freezing. it's always a deal breaker when the feet get numb. i ditched the helmet in favor of an ear covering beanie. man it got cold...
anyhoo, i did it again. parked at a different trailhead parking lot than last. as i got there and started putting all the cold-weather gear on i hear a bunch of coyotes hootin' and hollerin' pretty close by in the nearby field. it's pitch black out here in the foothills by this time. it always inspires confidence when you see a posted sign near the trailhead saying there has been an unusually high number of break-ins. please keep valuables out of sight.
the trail has less intense climbing if you go a certain way. tonight i wanted to do some intensity so i climb a super steep fire road (when back in the day when i used to own a dual suspension rig, i hit 50 miles/hour on the descent). it's that steep and long. nocturnal activity hits the sensory organs in not quite the same way it would if it were diurnal. your senses are heightened just a smidge and the lack of sunlight and crisp, night air make it seem like a novelty. i like the way it works on my brain and legs. it's almost a distraction from the lactic acid creeping in when i'm attempting to climb with some intensity.
the mind also has a tendency to wander to the morbid. my mind for some reason or another has the knack of squirreling away nutty factoids like mountain lion attacks. so, whenever i'm climbing in shoulder high brush i'm always thinking is there a mountain lion waiting to sink his/her canines in the most vulnerable of human structures (i.e. the neck)?? needless to say the adrenaline kicks in and i'm doing my impersonation of il pirato (r.i.p.). i'm getting tired so i roll back on the road, trying to tap out a tt-like pace on my hardtail. i can't maintain the pace so i ease up and ride at tempo back to the car.
i'm the only car in the lot and as i get nearer the coyotes sense me coming and they start to hoot and holler again. again, it freaks me out because they are soooo close. if you've never heard a pack of coyotes hootin' and hollerin' they sound like teenage boys on acid trying to imitate a five-year old imitating a siren on a police car. very surreal. i throw the yeti in the back of the truck and hop in the cab to change. once i turn on the truck lights they quiet down and so does my mind. i change in relative quietness and strip in the parking lot. it's amazingly liberating being in your birthday suit and leisurely changing back into your civies. on the way back i hit the cheapest gas station in town and fill 'er up at $1.59/gallon. yeah good night too the weather was in the mid-40s so rather comfy except when it wasn't.

Couple'a Things

Obama will now be our 44th president-elect as of last tuesday. ah yeauh! people are going nutty now here, especially gun owners. gun owners are thinking a democratic majority for the powers-that-be'll start cracking down on gun owner's rights and their snarfing up guns. awesome y'all, because you know more guns is always the answer...
AND, amendments 3A and 3B are pretty close to my heart because it allows individual school districts to do their thing and to keep their teachers happy at least technologically and financially...and they both passed!!! We're asking for $215 for remodels, for some new schools, funding a full-day kindergarten program, and a summer school program. this was 3A, a mll-levy so if you owned a $200k house it'd run you $10/month. not bad if you value education. it would also give teachers a much needed raise retroactive this january. yeah! the fuc*ed up thing about this, is that since it's by individual districts across this glorious state, some homeowners oppose any raising of new property taxes. consequently they didn't pass their 3As and 3Bs like my district, which is pretty diverse and urban. i guess these lame districts don't value their children's education. that's boosheet y'all.
one of these lame districts is jefferson county (another is douglas county), where i reside but don't teach. oh well, thought about switching districts; but for now, i think i'll stay put. getting paid is a great incentive in staying professional. people i know are getting effected by this, in addition to our economic recession we're currently in...