I digress...

Now, normally I would be in here writing about something cycling related, or drinking related, or politics, or maybe all 3 at once (some have told me to stick to one subject, but sort of like the title above, I digress). I’m going to veer of the singletrack here for a minute. Being that the wife and I are going to be in Maine for Christmas this year, we decided to open our Christmas gifts from her family last night, mostly because they were at our house, and because neither of us has any patience to wait, and lastly because our 2 dogs “unwrapped” most of our gifts for us already, as in, at the paper off of the presents.

Look, here’s the thing. Even if you cook at the house, just a little bit, do yourself a favor, and get a really good chef’s knife. Yeah, that’s right, I’m talking about sharp objects in your household. Sure, if you have a significant other that might be on the side of lunatic fringe, maybe it’s not a good idea, but if you have a stable relationship, or if you’re not currently living with someone else either of the opposite sex, or same sex, and you can trust them around sharp instruments, get yourself a really nice knife. First, for the most part, whatever nice knife you get, is most likely going to last a lifetime, because most of us will never fully use it to its potential anyway. Why do I bring this up? Well, this summer for my birthday, the wife bought me a Ken Onion Shun 6″ chef’s knife. That thing is beautiful. It’s razor sharp, has folded metal (like Damascus steel), and well, it’s just stunning if you’re into such things, and I am, so there. Which leads me to yesterday. My in-laws in there infinite wisdom bought me an 8″ Shun, followed by the 4″ Shun, and the wife got me the Shun paring knife. I have, almost a full set. Oh, and they got me the Shun steel to go with the rest of the set. Now, I’m not a person to have too much “stuff” and normally I wouldn’t splurge on something like these knives for myself, I’m what they call, a bit of a tightwad, unless we’re talking about bikes (yeah, I’m in the Pinarello owner’s club), and the wife. I love to spend money on those 2 things. Myself? Not so much. Clothes? Forget about it. Cars? Driving the same one for almost 5 years now and absolutely thrilled about it. Shoes? Only cycling shoes. Anyway, check out the picture attached, I think you’ll mostly agree that these things are freakin’ top notch, and downright sexy. Yeah, that’s right, I said sexy. We’ve got a set of Henckel knives that the wife had from the time before I met her, and those are some nice knives, but the Ken Onion’s make them look pathetic when they’re next to each other.

Oh, and the other thing I think that all cyclists should have? An electric griddle. Why? Think about the fried meats you can make on this thing. MOUNDS of bacon. HEAPS of sausage. TONS o’ pancakes. I’m not sure what I did before owning this stunning little piece of 1940’s technology. Well, I know what I did. I cooked breakfast items in small frying pans, and it took forever to cook and entire breakfast. If you don’t have one, run out, get one, and use it today, or tomorrow. You won’t regret that decision.

That’s all I’ve got for now. I’m off to see the in-laws in a few minutes, which is always a good time. No, really, it IS a good time.