Getting the hang of a new blogging platform is like getting used to a new bike–though admittedly I also have a difficult time staying on bicycles to which I’m already well-accustomed, so I implore you not to expect too much from this endeavor:

For the record, I didn’t fall off the bike here; rather, I did that thing where you manage to dismount at the very last second. I then stumbled away from the bike and slammed into that fallen tree you see in the background.
There was a time when I would have leaped clear over the tree and kept running, but I’m well past my urban cyclocrossing prime:

You may recall that on the eve of the holiday recess New York City was a frozen wonderland, and my stumble came a couple days after my short jaunt to Highbridge, when I undertook a longer expedition to the forbidding Trails Behind The Mall.
Behold this suburban Narnia:

It may look placid, but it’s absolutely crawling with flesh-eating Yonkers deer:
Alas, the crisp trails were in sharp contrast to my mushy bike-handling:

But I certainly can’t fault the bike for that:

I also balanced my wilderness excursion with in-town riding during the break, during which I observed that this whole delivering-stuff-by-bicycle thing may just catch on:

Also, chairs are the new fixie:

If you think about it, it really doesn’t get any more zen than dispensing with the wheels and drivetrain along with the ability to coast.
Expect Brooks to catch on any day now:

And yes, it’s officially Christmas Tree In The Bike Lane Season:

Now that the holiday veneer is gone it’s just glumness until about May.