Well, before I discourse about bicycling, let me just post this picture in honor of BlogACatMas. (I know that some of you are dog people and some of you are allergic, but others will want to know, I'm sure):



That's Freddy when he's about six months old, which was about a year ago. (My, how time flies . . . )

Okay, bicycling. I went out in the waning light this evening . . . I took a short spin around Gallup but I got forced home with the darkness; it's too hard to ride those trails even with a light, so I have to be back on city streets when darkness truly falls. And tonight, I hit a rut on the path in the park, which jolted my handlebars so badly, my light went off. I don't yet know whether it's broken - but in any event, I had to ride home very slowly and carefully.

I'm trying to be sanguine about the functional end of bicycling season. I just don't have energy for more than a short ride every couple of days, and so that's just going to have to be enough riding. Fortunately, I realize, those years of bike commuting have taught me a lot about dressing for the cold (and left me with a nifty stockpile of all-weather biking gear), so as long as there isn't snow on the ground, I should be all set. And come to think of it, I do, as a matter of fact, have a pair of studded snow tires for my mountain bike lying around the basement somewhere . . . (I am the only person I know with a pair of studded snow tires for their bike, and I get an enormous kick out of this . . . )

Nonetheless, the ride was really nice. I'm hoping for another tomorrow; it's supposed to be rainy and nasty in the morning but get nice by the afternoon. So, we'll see . . . I think it'll have to be a short one because I have a lot of work to do this weekend. I don't mind, though, because come May 15 I'll be getting in all the riding I want . . .