That meteorological puta, La Niña, is having her way with our winter here in Bibleburg.
Strictly speaking, it’s not actually winter — the solstice doesn’t arrive until the 22nd — but I mark the arrival of winter not by the calendar, but by when I start wearing long pants both indoors and out. Thus it’s winter here and has been for some time now.
We’ve had next to no snow and only a few wickedly cold days, just one of which forced me aboard the stationary trainer. Yesterday I went for a short trail ride in Palmer Park, and today I took a whack at Sondermann Park, which is a little closer and a lot less crowded on a sunny December day.
In both cases I was aboard my trusty Voodoo Nakisi MonsterCrosser®. But I spent more time in its saddle in Palmer Park than in Sondermann. That sonofabitch has some steep climbs, too steep for even the Nakisi’s triple-chainring setup.
I nearly came to grief on one gravelly stairway to Heaven after the rear wheel came unhitched in its dropouts and jammed against the left chainstay while I was in the lowest of the low gears, my nose practically touching the stem. That I did not go ass-backwards down the hill was pure luck.
Either that or Heaven is full and Hell is afraid I’ll take over.
• Late update: Meanwhile, if you require further proof that it is already winter, I made this Spanish vegetable soup the other day and we’re about to get our third meal out of it. There may be a fourth. Talk about your bang for the buck, even considering that all the ingredients are organic. …
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I saw that things were fairly temperate up your way. It’s been colder here in Santa Fe and Albuquerque that in Denver. We haven’t broken 40 degrees all week. Clouds rolled in today and we could have another few inches of snow soon. If it’s going to be cold it’s always better to have snow to play in.
Sonderman is a great hidden gem. Try the south side.
Weather report from Siracusa, Italy. Woke up Sunday morning to cloudy skies but by the time my lazy a__ actually got out of the bed it was sunny and warm. While frying up some “French” toast for breakfast I watched a few sailboats glide by. No maple syrup here but as a former child I made do by smearing some Nutella on the slabs of bread to go with the butter and powdered sugar, called Zucchero di Velo here. Once that settles in we’ll suit up (maybe long sleeves and knickers, maybe not) and take the bikes out for a little spin before a Sunday dinner of spaghetti (no word yet on antipasti) with spicy tomato sauce followed by chicken cacciatore and insalata mista washed down with some Nero d’Avola. Later this evening we’ll probably take a passegiata (stroll) around the island looking for a new ice cream (gelateria) place to try.
Remember, YOU guys brought up the weather, not me! Next we should have Dave R. chiming in from SoCal –as long as his sunshine taxes are up to date that is.
In Carson City, NV it is clear, beautiful and Cold. Lows in single digita, highs sometimes get into the 40’s. Damn work anyway- I just cannot get the time to get out- yet.
We are hoping for snow soon. The skiers are just chomping at the bit.
Guess i am behind, haven’t broken out the long pants yet.
Fully paid up Larry – and just out the door for a ride this a.m. in 60 degree temps and no wind. To be fair, the winds have been howling the past few days and it was actually 27 degrees the other morning, so we ARE having some “weather” here in SoCal…
22 degrees F here today — that’s -6 C for you civilized folks — but sunny. Dragged out the road bike, got fully insulated, and did a short ride, to finally push the annual total over 3000 miles. Now it can snow, please.
I just shoveled out about eight inches of heavy white stuff off the sidewalk, driveway and deck. Probably as good as a Jemez climb as far as heart rate. And its still coming down.
The soup looks delicious OG, but if I was to consume that much cabbage and turnip 3 days in a row, the wife would leave me and I’d have to get the dog fitted for a gas mask.
Ira — the final quodlibet (baroque for “mashup”) of Bach’s Goldberg Variation contains a melody from a popular song of the day, which goes roughly “I have not been with you for so long, cabbages and turnips have driven me away, if my mom had cooked some meat, maybe I would have hung around.”
This is interwoven with other stuff into a contrapuntal texture of almost unbelievable complexity. He was like that.
Gents, you don’t know the half of it. I followed that Spanish stew with a pot of posole and some chicken-and-jalapeño quesadillas. We’re still trying to peel the bedclothes off the ceiling.
Sounds like you’re ready for some pasta fagioli or zuppa di ceci….we’ve had both in the last week. Good thing there are plenty of drafts in our apartment! I think recipes for both can be found in the La Gazzetta dello CycleItalia archives.
Umm perhaps a renewable alternative to frac’ing North Dakota?