Living with a German

Amy was reminded at Christmas that "Living with a German builds character." But that refrigerator magnet did not come from me. :-)

Rawhide

Pete was not forgotten at Christmas time and he got some nice rawhide from his grandma Cheryl. He inspected it for a little while and then he went to work, but it took him quite some time to eat one of of those. He'll get another one tomorrow.

Merry Christmas

Wishing everybody a very merry Christmas or as we in Germany would say "Froehliche Weihnachten."

Snow, snow and more snow

It snowed quite a bit here yesterday and the amount wouldn't be a big deal in any of the Northern states or in the part of Germany where I grew up. But here in the Southeast of the USA it is always big news and source for trouble. In some parts of town traffic came to a halt and there were lots of accidents. Plus 24 hours later our street still has not been cleared.

We got up early and cleared a path



The MINI Cooper looked a bit sad and lonely



Amy's Subaru required quite a bit of time before we could use it

Ironman Hawaii this weekend

Watch it as the most amazing race unfolds

The great Threadless t-shirt sale

Just in time for the holidays you can get all kinds of great t-shirts from threadless.com for just $10. What is not to like? We must have at least 8 of their shirts in our home already.

Christmas tree

Amy and I set up our very first Christmas tree together and we think it looks pretty good. We worked quite well together on the decoration but I guess it is easy when you have the same taste anyway.

My name is Pete and I am cool

Pete is looking very stylish in his limited edition blueseventy goggles as he is heading to the Central YMCA pool here in Winston-Salem.

Crepes

We had registered for a crepes pan and it took me until now to finally come through with making some crepes. I learned quite a bit with this batch of raspberry cream ones and the next time it'll be easier. By the time I made the last crepe I even managed to flip it.

Thanksgiving in Philadelphia

Amy and I drove to Philadelphia to spend Thanksgiving with my "American family" and to check out the area I used to live in for 10 years. Unfortunately I realized to late that I did not get any pics of my American family, but here are some other pics from that trip.

On the road to Philadelphia



The view towards the art museum



In Vinnie and Beverly's kitchen



The very cute shortstop



One Friday we enjoyed lunch at the farmer market



The Reading Terminal Market is amazing in terms of the food choices



In front of the Franklin Institute



Amy can not get away from medical items. Here she is in front of a huge heart.



We did not take flight in the museum



We truly had a trains, planes and automobiles weekend



I wanted to ride that bike, but it was only available for kids



Amy got friendly with Ben Franklin



On Saturday morning we ran 12 miles on the River Drives and brrr it was cold and windy



After the run we had brunch with Debbie and Olivia



We then watched Vinnie and Beverly's son Stevie (right) play squash



The canal in Manayunk



We enjoyed lunch at Jake's in Manayunk

It is on

Well, the new SRAM Red group is on my Ghisallo now, plus with the new Fizik bartape I am ready to ride it "like I stole it."

Congratulations Jordan and Jill

Congratulations to Jordan Rapp and Jill Savege on getting married yesterday. You guys look spectacular and very happy.

Ready for December 1

With our Advent Calendar Wreath up in our hallway we are ready for December 1. Good thing is that we'll be busy with Thanksgiving the next few days and won't be tempted to eat the chocolates early.

Late Fall in the West End

It is late Fall and I took a few images what the house and the neighborhood looks like with most of the leaves now off the trees.

The leaves are also mostly out the front yard too and the landscaping still looks good



The back of the house with the patio umbrella and the seat cushions tucked safely away.



The clock in Grace Court Park just up the street.



The landscaping still look quite nice in the park too.



Yes, we are in the West End of Winston-Salem

It is all about Red

Yesterday my highly anticipated SRAM Red group arrived and somehow it felt just like Christmas. Each individual item slowly unwrapped from the packaging and then caressed for a while. But unlike Christmas you know before that it is exactly what you want. I already have been very, very happy with SRAM Red on my TT bike and have been looking forward to the same smooth performance on my road bike. Plus that will allow me to easily swap the Quarq powermeter (still to come) between the 2 bikes.

Dead right poem

Read the poem below in a Charles Pelkey story about road rage.

Here lies the body of George O'Day.
He died maintaining his right of way.
He was right, dead right as he rode along,
But he is just as dead as if he were wrong.

Images from Abu Dhabi

I just came back from a trip to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates where I checked out the new Abu Dhabi Triathlon with its unique distance 3km swim, 200km bike and 20km run. Prize money for the event is $230,000 for the Pros and $20,000 for the amateurs ($1,000 for each age group winner.) Wow.

Below are a few images from the trip:

The Check-In counter at Etihad Airlines



I was very comfortable on the flight



Reading Trizophrenia by Jef Mallett on the trip



We stayed in the Shangri La hotel



The view over the pool



The Grand Mosque is just across the river



Returning from a run along the river



One night this car was parked in front of our hotel



We got to visit the stunning Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque



Beautiful from every angle indeed



As most of us wore shorts we were given a Kandura to wear



Stunning colors and artwork everywhere



Lots of Italian marble was used in the creation of the mosque



Our tour guide took us also to Heritage Village



James from 220 Triathlon in the UK makes a friend



The view from Heritage Village to modern Abu Dhabi and all its construction



The very luxurious Emirates Palace Hotel is quite a landmark



The swim course behind the Emirates Palace Hotel



Part of the race will be on this 5 Lane highway which will be shut down for the triathlon



Here is the run turnaround of the event



Amazing local food offerings



We also visited the Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital



A variety of feathers are available to repair broken wings



Putting this patient from Pakistan to sleep



A broken wing feather had caused imbalance



This Falcon is almost good to go



About 5 minutes after the operation the patient is good to go



With an Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital resident on my arm



The trip to Abu Dhabi was fantastic, but now it is time to go home