Monthly Archive: January 2010

Wickett says it's too cold

I couldn’t find Wickett this morning…

After being completely or partially incapacitated for nearly two months, it felt great to do something last night. Two somethings, actually… I changed the oil in the RX-8 and I replaced the ignition element in my upstairs furnace. The oil change went Exxon Valdez when the cold temps apparently took their toll on my catch pan and caused it to spring a small leak. Even after the impressive spill in part...

Gotta get the ball!

Life with the WMD: Keeping it classy

Within 24 hours of Fiona coming to live with us, I had her enrolled in obedience school. I wasn’t given a choice in this matter — neither by Amanda, nor by Fiona. Fiona was brilliant at obedience school. Well… mostly… There were two very small issues. One stemmed from her insane drive. She loves to play. She wants to play. More. More. More! The other, I suspect, stems from her separation anxiety....

Fuji at rest on a cold winter's day in Dallas

38… Riding the thermometer

  We year-round cyclists have a way of rationalizing really cold days. Once the mercury starts to dip below 50, we “ride the thermometer.” 45 degrees? 45 miles. Last night at dinner we were discussing what/where to ride today. At the time, I wasn’t really keen on another ride downtown, but I knew it was the prudent choice. One of the mysteries of living near a big city is that said big...

Posing before the ride with my buddy, Anne. I'm still trying to figure out how anyone can tell who's who when it's cold outside...

2010 – Finding balance

  Yesterday was the first day of 2010. So, of course, it was the first bike ride of 2010. I stayed with the group for about 6 miles before getting scared off by shaky riders and a very unsettled pace. We seemed to speed up on the ascents and slow down on the descents. In the end, I had a great 46 miles of riding through Allen, McKinney and Frisco with only...