New Year's Resolutions for 2010

I'm not big on resolutions, but why not? There's definitely a handful of things I want to make sure to get done next year - if I resolve to do just that, looks like I've got a list of resolutions. Here goes, no particular order.

1. Form the world's first biking Dixieland band. It's about time two of my great life passions converged: Cycling and playing trombone! I've already sent out a call for cycling musicians and had a great response. Now I just need to make it happen! (And find a tuba player....)
   
   
2. Get a snazzy lightweight road bike. If I learned anything about myself as a cyclist this year, it's that I have loads of fun and can go 25% faster on a sporty bike than on my trusty expedition tourer.
   
   The budget will be a challenge for sure. But my devotion to steel will probably work in my favor here. I could end up with a nice vintage Colnago or a new bike built around a Soma Stanyan or Thorn Audax Mk3 (which would match my Raven exactly, unless I go with the red finish). As long as I don't need the latest carbon fiber frooferie and refuse to ride aluminium, I have lots of options on a budget. Another nice option is the Fratello from Condor Cycles in London - I ADORE the yellow one and the champagne one - set it up with a nice brown Brooks B17 and brown leather bar tape and it's a time machine back to 1978.
   
   
3. Do some overnight touring. Even if it's just credit card touring, I ought to be able to spare a couple days to spend on the road for a bit of adventure! I may even be able to mate this up with the old D2R2 or our summer trip to the Berkshires.
   
   
4. Blog more! Facebook is great for lots of stuff, but it's also reduced my time & desire to blog. I've been at it here for about 4 1/2 years, which is pretty good! Facebook and Twitter are fleeting, and it's easy for your little bit of genius to disappear down the queue. So look for my best stuff here (which, conveniently, automatically appears on Facebook anyhoo!)
   
   
5. Get out on the road with the family. We had some nice family rides this year, but Kim didn't have much time for riding. Hopefully, she'll be able to work it into her commute. Gemma's all for the trail-a-bike, but she should start riding on her own this summer. Elsa should be ready for the trail-a-bike when Gem graduates.

This is just the personal and family stuff. Of course, it's great that many of my worky resolutions are also bike-related! But I'll leave those alone for now. Overall, I managed to get into really great shape this summer, pretty early on. One reason I was able to do this was getting out on longer organized rides - I intend to do the same this year without question.

Buon anno!