Come on over.

If you get to Illinois you went too far. I live in the flyover state next door to Hellinois.

Added some mesquite chips for some smoke.

Careful there! No overcooking allowed!!! I stop around 115 degrees at most. Then I wrap it in foil and old bath towels and put it in an ice chest for about a half hour. Eases it into the final medium rare and keeps it beautifully warm as the exterior heat balance out with the cooler interior.

I cook it a little higher than 115. My wife and I are the only two of the 22 people coming over who like it more towards rare. But when I get to my target temp., I do the same thing. Pull it off, wrap in foil and an old comforter and into the cooler for about a half hour.

That photo was after it had been on about 20 minutes.

Since we're too poor (until our house sells... which the ******* buyers terminated our contract on Xmas Eve) for presents I was gonna slam the stem on my synapse and pretend to be a l33t cyclist today.

I got the thing apart, and realized I have no idea what I'm doing. It seems like on this SI headset for the synapse you'd need to cut the steerer to get the stem down. Is that correct? I don't want to do that just to try out what is almost certainly a bad idea...

Christmas Eve coniglio en agrodolce over sage polenta:

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=495020

Essentially that's right, but not completely. For a permanent setup you don't want more than about 10 mm of spacers ABOVE the stem. But for a trial run, you can put all the spacers above the stem and leave the steerer uncut. You should just make up your mind how you want it going forward and not ride that way for very long. That protruding steerer above the stem is considered a hazard by some. Refer to the Park Tool website for instructions on adjusting a headset. You don't want to be leaving so important a safety aspect of the bike to chance.

did 2 hrs in the zone3 sweet spot this morning and i havent been on the road bike in weeks, feels ****ing weird man.

was hauling ass though, i forgot how easy that bike is

New slippers for Christmas. Love them. :)

http://i771.photobucket.com/albums/x...16FE167E11.jpg

I may try it this weekend for a bit. I was too wiped out on todays ride to have ever noticed any difference at all.

Merry Christmas everybody!

We rode tandem out to the lake and back, easy 10.

Now for Chinese food!!!

I bought some pork ribs yesterday but not gonna cook 'em 'til tomorrow probably.

Cornfield on the left was full of geese in parts. Also spotted a red-tailed hawk.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5672/2...b12294eb_k.jpg

Pretty quiet around the lake"

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5813/2...1e232574_k.jpg

Les killed the thread.

:shakes head:

****

The end is NOT here. Getting ready to ride.

Oh, we saw the new SW movie last night. Mrs datlas loved it. I thought it was ok.

We did the same. We often talk about going to a movie on Christmas, but the theaters are usually crazy busy with no seats left. I decided to do the cinebestro thing to get reserved and comfortable seats and was surprised to find three together. Enjoyed the movie more than I thought I would, especially the part where ..................:innocent:

We saw Mockingjay 2. It was entertaining. No crowds at the movies here in New Orleans where we are visiting family and friends. No crowds anywhere. French Quarter is empty. There is even on-street parking if you know how to read the signs and parallel park. What a delightful change of pace. The craziness starts up again today through New Year's Day and then on into Mardi Gras. Luckily we will have departed.

You said that like it's a bad thing.

Well I do admit to having an aversion to so much traffic, expensive parking, muggers, pickpockets, stench from the gutters and the other charming delights of the Vieux Carre. And the rest of the city isn't much better either. Otherwise I might still live here.

... but the music ... the partying ... the revelry.

You can have mine...and don't ever say I never gave you anything.

You have to remember that we started doing all that stuff in the Quarter when we were about 13 years old. Fake IDs and the whole nine yards. Driving at 15 BITD. And if you had an older friend, that meant you were out on your own driving around sans parental units at 13 or 14. By now enough is too much.

Meh, I can say the same things about growing up in NYC, as I did. After a while the negatives outweigh the positives and you relocate, especially as child-rearing becomes a priority. But they're both great places to visit, even though you may not choose to live there anymore.

Of course, mostly I'm agreeing with you. The crime and all is not something decent folks care to deal with. But a little debauchery every now and then never hurt nobody. :lol:

Best Park Ridge ride (Tour de Phred) in 2+ years. Small-ish group (15-18) on a windy day meant nowhere to hide, fast pace, I finished 5th up the hilltop sprint, felt strong the whole ride. Getting some fitness back at last. I think I was the oldest guy on that ride today too (58).

But the most handsome.

Everybody needs a lil debauchery now and then. I can only take some much of the stench on Bourbon St., but love the great jazz up on Frenchmen St. There's 3 or 4 bars that have music throughout the evening that does not disappoint.