Look out shwammy!

My 2008 Giant Anthem Advanced has arrived. Luke has put the finishing touches on the setup, and it is ready for pick up tomorrow. Spy photos to follow.

As most of you know, I'm less than great on the dirt (heck, I'm less than great on the pavement). This baby instantly makes me a better MTBer because the wheels stay absolutely attached to the ground. It's not like the bike floats over the bumps like a '74 Lincoln Continental (my Dad had one of those, and it was smooth as silk), but there's no back wheel chatter like my hardtail has. DOC'S ADVICE: try one of these bad boys out, and you'll be begging your S.O. to pawn the station wagon.

The only way I talked my Soul Mate into this "investment" was that I promised her that, with this baby under me, I would no longer drag my wounded carcass out of the woods after taking another hard fall. SM made me solemnly swear that I would never again fall while MTBing; I promised with my mouth what my body may not be able to keep. I definitely feel more in control on the Anthem, and I can actually stay with Jim Bell (OK, not at race pace) in the woods.

I realize my timing isn't perfect, what with all the snow. Still, it's nice to think about pounding it out at Oar to Shore and Chequamegon next summer on this little baby. Tomorrow I'm going skiing at St. John's U trails with Matt Williams and some teammates. It'll be cold as hoo hoo out there, but better on skinny skis than on the bike. In the words of Mr. T: "I pity the foo..."

I just got back from our 4th major Christmas party in 2 weeks tonight, and last night I tipped the scale at my PR for 2007, so it's time to buckle down and get on with the training plan. It's nice to do most of my hours on the skis right now, and wait with the bike until after the New Year. Before you know it, Daylight Savings will hit (March 9--three weeks earlier this year!), and we'll be riding for 2 hours after work weeknights. Until then, it's either skinny skis at Quarry Park under the lights, or the Revmaster in my basement on weeknights. DOC'S ADVICE: for Doc, keeping it real usually means keeping it fun and interesting. Especially with the hollywood writers' strike, there just isn't much on the boob tube to hold my interest while spinning indoors.

Hope all of you have your Christmas shopping done by now. It's nice to kick back and actually enjoy the holiday season, rather than running frantically around getting stressed. It's funny that during the Christmas season, "peace, goodwill toward men" is in shorter supply than usual because of all the stress of buying presents and whatnot. If you do find yourself in a hostile environment such as the Mall, go to your happy place like Dr. Cox, and think about riding your Anthem Advanced or whatever.