It's not even been a full month since Sandy and I returned from Jamaica, yet—as always, it seems—it feels like half a year or more. People call it the "Holiday Season," but for most of December and January it didn't feel like that at all. Who has ever heard of temperatures approaching the low 80s on Christmas Eve in Lubbock? And that was not just a one-day fluke: On the bike, I wore my knickers exactly once so far this "winter" season. The rest of the time it was bib shorts and short sleeve jerseys. Insane.
During this time of the year, everybody is busy, and I was no exception, although it wasn't all holiday related. Just days after making it back from the Caribbean I loaded the steel Ritchey on the Z4's bike rack and headed south to the Kerrville area for a 5-night stay at the Ingram-based Stablewood Springs Resort, where I had stayed a few years ago. Much has changed since the deadly rain-induced floods on the Guadalupe River this past July 4. The devastation is still visible and real, less so in the form of destroyed buildings than a riverbed that has been totally altered.
It was my last stay in an RCI resort after my timeshare contract has now come to a close. I'll be fine going the "privateer" route—more choices and way less aggravation (such as having to pay another $108 cleaning fee since my stay was only five instead of seven nights [because RCI had claimed no vacancy] on top of the $379 exchange fee for the privilege to use my points). My advice: Stay away from any product that involves the letters R C I.
Sandwiched between our return from Jamaica and my eloping to the Hill Country was Sandy's younger son Thomas' graduation from Texas A&M in Canyon, just south of Amarillo. He deserved the family celebration after having muddled his way through years and years of studying and persevering while holding down a job and being a family father. Congrats, Thomas!
Suddenly it was Christmas, New Year's, and everything else in between. It was a real body blow when I found out that during my various absences thugs had made their way into my shed and stolen not only replaceable items such as a shop vac, a worthless lawnmower, and the power washer but also the almost one-of-a-kind Italian carbon Cinetica, all Campy equipped, that I had bought back in the 1990s. Oh, both duffle bags with our scuba gear were gone, too—quite likely now fairly worthless as the equipment hadn't been used in a dozen years. I spent hours and hours scouring all my digital and analog photos to find an image of the Cinetica to add to the police report, yet I couldn't find a single one. And so, I didn't even file an insurance claim. What for? More aggravation? The total loss in replacement terms is in the five figures, yet it's just things, I try to tell myself.
The interim period not only brought some fine home-prepared dinners, including a turkey that had spent the better part of six hours on the Kamado and several raclette evenings with Sandy, but also some nice get-togethers with friends. At the top of the list was undoubtedly the Feuerzangenbowle-centric celebration of Wes' 51st birthday, over at his and Susan's place, a relatively intimate affair with just about ten people. My oh my, how quickly the children have grown up, children who now are young adults.
I've managed to ride a total of 119 miles since the beginning of 2026, not stellar but OK for a geezer who no longer likes either wind or cold. I have spent quite a bit of time figuring out the details for my upcoming birthday trip, and with only two more days until I depart Lubbock things have started to fall in place. At noon today I'll get a haircut, and tonight our bike club will have its annual gourmet food extravaganza at the 5-star River Smith's fried fish and chicken joint; I will present the few mileage awards for 2025 to the six recipients who not only met their self-imposed goals but also elected to receive a faux crystal trinket commemorating the achievement. I managed to cover 3,393 miles, 2,000 fewer than in the year before. Oh well.
As I said, on Monday I will take off on my three-and-a-half-week birthday trip, and I will try to cover each one of the five major stops with a separate blog entry, if possible. We'll see how that is going to work out timewise, but you may want to tune in occasionally as this trip will, after two familiar places, take me to some new and exciting destinations. That's all I'll say for right now.
So, stay safe and remember: Winter is not done yet!
Jürgen
