Brand New Year

So, I've officially put a stop on my self-imposed ban from any cycling-related news.  I took about a 2 month vacation from all that drama.  As you may have noticed, I got a little caught up in the fracas so had to just step away.  It was a nice break but I recently caught up on all the transfer news, latest scandals, and injury reports, etc.  I noticed a lot of car/cyclist crashes in my absence!  That's no good.  As cyclists, we are so vulnerable to any mistakes made by motorists and it would be scary to think that as drivers we're becoming less attentive at the wheel rather than more aware of cyclists and other cars on the road.  Thankfully, I've had very few incidents to speak of riding around Boulder County, but even we as a county have too many cyclists being injured or even killed by inattentive motorists.  Obviously, there need to be steps taken to help ensure the safety of cyclists riding on the shoulders/roads, but we as cyclists also need to be riding as safely and as courteous as possible to try and alleviate these types of run ins with motorists.  Not sure where I'm going with this, other than to say I've come across too many cyclists riding like A-holes and hurting the perception of cyclists.  We are in the minority and motorists hold all of the power, so it behooves us to 'make nice.'  Both motorists and cyclists in general have much to work on in order to exist in harmony.  Much like our Congress!
In a more positive 'light', the days are getting longer!  I took this pic from our driveway at 3:06p in mid-December. 

That bright spot is the sun retiring behind the mountain for the day.  There's no excuse for that, Sun!  Even government employees work past 3p!  A little work ethic is all we're asking for.  Despite the short days, I've managed to get some good riding and running in.  I'm feeling fit and ready for the season....only 2.5 months to go before our first race!  (groan)

And even though the holidays are over, I wanted to share this picture that captures the Christmas spirit.

It's a pic of my mom in complete awe over the intense beauty of our giant Christmas tree.  And yes, that is a life-sized angel on the top.  I hope everyone had a great holiday!