Donna discovered the joys of 30-calorie, fat-free ReadyWhip on top of sugar-free pudding. She gets quite creative when the sweet tooth kicks in and there's no dessert in the house.

Nothing says love like a $60 hollow-pin Sram bike chain - picked this up for Donna and now I'm wishing I had one!

Oohhh, shiny new bike parts... on Donna's bike, that is.

Sunday's road ride to the beach

Thanks to all the holiday food I haven't felt too motivated to get out on the bike. Donna helped tremendously with the whole motivation thing and we got out for a great ride to the coast.

Me and my OWLE Bubo

Donna got me the OWLE Bubo for Christmas this year (it's an accessory for the iPhone 3Gs) so I took it to the beach tonight for a test drive. So far, so good. I love how it expands the video capabilities of the phone.

CHRISTMAS 2009

We had a good Christmas this year... maybe not as good as the last one which we were able to spend with family, but we're very blessed. The video tells the rest of the story, except for the awesome prime rib with au jus and creamy horseradish sauce that Donna made for dinner, along with the mashed potatoes with sour cream and cheese and the asparagus. Dinner was fantastic!

Am I the only one who still does this?

REALLY, I hate ruining surprises and I love just waiting til Christmas morning. Hopefully I'll sleep in tomorrow morning and not wake up at the crack of dawn.

Great day for a H1N1 vaccination!

Found a great Jewish deli in Newbury Park. After I saw this monster half-sandwich, I was glad I hadn't ordered one of their triple deckers!

I just realized I never posted a photo of my first solo turkey!

We managed to get all the lights on our Christmas tree in less than 30 seconds. Part way into it, we changed tactics... spinning the tree... which worked quite well.

After a long week of work, we managed to get out for a Sunday morning mountain bike ride at nearby Wildwood Park.

Donna's reaction to the surprise Thanksgiving dinner awaiting her return home from New Hampshire

Donna Appreciation Day - in her absence, I'm realizing what a pain it is to do dishes, laundry, house cleaning and grocery shopping. This is NOT fun.

Donna Appreciation Day - in her absence, I'm realizing what a pain it is to do dishes, laundry, house cleaning and grocery shopping. This is NOT fun.

Donna Appreciation Day - in her absence, I'm realizing what a pain it is to do dishes, laundry, house cleaning and grocery shopping. This is NOT fun.

Donna Appreciation Day - in her absence, I'm realizing what a pain it is to do dishes, laundry, house cleaning and grocery shopping. This is NOT fun.

Hangin' at the coast while talking to Donna who has experienced two flight delays in one day.

Donna apparently made the most of her layover at Chicago O'Hare.

Camarillo to Wildwood to Sycamore to PCH to Camarillo

DONNA, IN HER WEIRDNESS, PREFERS GOING UP MOUNTAINS OVER COMING DOWN THEM

ONE SMALL STEP FOR MAN. ONE, GIANT LEAP, FOR MANKIND.

DONNA TOOK THE QUICK WAY DOWN THE MOUNTAIN TODAY DURING OUR HIKE AT MUGU

FINALLY! NOW I CAN GET THE CAR I'VE ALWAYS WANTED!

Every time Donna breaks out the coffee, I get jealous, wishing I could do caffeine

Our last day of vacation... abbreviated.

Don't let the white hat and white shirt fool you... underneath she's super cruddy thanks to two hours on the trails of Sycamore Canyon.

I've been playing around with AutoStitch for the iPhone - it automatically stitched together nine different images to create this 'collage'. Pretty sweet.

One last shot of Donna at The Getty. Tomorrow it's back to the trails and a beach-side picnic. What I wouldn't give to be able to retire early and enjoy my days like this.

See, I told you I was a sucker for flowers.

Donna, soaking up some sun and enjoying the next-to-the-last day of vacation.

Fall color... or at least as close as we get to it around here.

Donna, overlooking the beautiful LA smog during an afternoon at The Getty.

I'm such a sucker for flowers. Seriously, you have to appreciate how intricate they are... much like all living things I suppose.

One last shot of Donna during a break at the top of our first 70-minute climb.

The sun was just dropping behind the furthest ridge to the west as we concluded Friday's ride.

Another panoramic from Friday's ride around Jameson Lake between Ojai and Santa Barbara.

We pushed too hard for too long... something was bound to give.

Rides that last late into the day are great if for no other reason than the nice light.

Friday's ride was terribly painful but incredibly beautiful. The legs are simply fried... won't even be looking at a bike until Monday at the earliest.

Hittin' the trail in about 20 minutes

Friday's ride

Thursday was awesome starting with a short road ride around Camarillo then a great lunch near Santa Barbara and a trip to the Santa Barbara Zoo.

Wednesday morning... the day after

The return ride from Solvang to Santa Barbara was more bearable than Monday's ride. Less mileage, less vertical gain and cooler temps... still, my favorite ride was Monday's. All in all it was two great days of scenery, company and riding.

46 miles • 6,450 feet of climbing

We had an awesome day on the bikes Monday. Now we have to gather the energy to get back! We spent 6.5 hours in the saddle Monday... hopefully less today.

I love my Karate Monkey... today was the first real day on dirt since the re-build and she handled beautifully.

Donna is a rock star on any bike, but put her on a 'cross bike and... watch out!

Got in a short 20-mile ride at Sycamore Canyon today... warming up for tomorrow's 50-mile ride from Santa Barbara to Solvang.

The Karate Monkey with drop bars is my weapon of choice for the ride to Solvang. She's all gussied up and ready to roll.

Mapped the elevation gain for Monday's ride from Santa Barbara to Solvang, excluding the road portion into town. The legs will be burning! Then we ride the route backwards on Tuesday.

We decided to head back out for some more riding today... enough to push us over the 100-mile mark for the weekend. It was an awesome day out on the trail.

Beautiful sunset Sunday night at Surfer's Point

Set out on a 70 mile ride Sunday. Ended up riding 75. Good times! It felt great to spend the morning on the bike.

Sitting in the office today wishing I was still out on this morning's road ride with Donna.

It's been a while since I got my hands this dirty. Almost four hours in the garage and the bikes still aren't ready to roll.

Wednesday evening and I'm committed to spending an evening in the garage workin' on the bikes

The anniversary weekend is over and it couldn't have been more perfect. Weather, traveling, lodging, food & the company of the world's number one wife!

Before leaving Solvang we decided to drive a route we're hoping to ride in two weeks. According to the bike shop map, it was all paved except for 1/2 mile. I had a feeling otherwise after driving around a 'Road Closed' sign. This video was shot at the most mellow, but scenic stretch. It got a little gnarly at times but it was loads of fun (for me) and very stressful (for Donna).

Donna & I, just after having some Dutch pancakes for breakfast. 5:30pm and we're STILL full.

I was thrilled the clock tower at Wine Valley Inn, where we stayed in Solvang, didn't chime every hour through the night.

At last, time to rest the tired legs. Today was PERFECT! Awesome weather. Great scenery. Bikes worked great. Good food. Best of all was getting to spend the day together.

Started off dinner with a variety of cheese and fruit... followed by the best fish & chips I've had in years.

We're not big beer fans, but we tried a sampler of brews in Buellton. Two tasted like liquid potpourri. Yuck!

Smoochin' in the woods. Hey, it's our anniversary weekend.

The path to the waterfall - never knew there was such thick forested area so close to Ventura County

Took a short drive to Nojoqui Falls to polish off the last bit of daylight Sunday