Too Much Beer

That’s the general theme around here lately, minus Laverne and Shirley of course. After riding in the hot sun as of late, the first order of business is grabbing a cold, refreshing, hoppy beverage. I know that’s what most mountain bikers like to do, but I probably take it too far. Yeah, I have to keep up with my Clydesdale status, but maybe there is such a thing as too much beer. I haven’t been less than 200 pounds since 1991, so even if I cut out the beer I’d probably still be okay.


Where am I going with this? Well, I had a conversation with my boy the MadSS yesterday, and we discussed, you guessed it, beer. He mentioned that he hasn’t had a beer in a while, and I was literally shocked (okay, not literally, but you get the picture.) Anyway, I felt bad for him when he said that, so I went out to the beer fridge and grabbed a cold one. Initially we were discussing the possibility of going for an evening ride, but when the topic turned to beer that was quickly forgotten. I marveled at his willpower to refrain from beer, and I wondered if maybe that was one reason he was getting so much faster out on the trail.


Is the beer hampering me? It's hard to tell. I mean yeah, I moved up to a more advanced class in the local race circuit, but I still feel like I’m not getting any better. Well, I’m much faster and stronger this season, but I seem to burn out more quickly as well. Could it be the beer? Can I slow it down a bit? Do I really give that much of a shit to even try? Those are questions I’ve asked myself lately, and the answer is always more beer. Mmmm, I love beer, and so should you.



Preach on, Homer.

Well, after getting of the phone with the MadSS last night, I was faced with a decision. Do I slow the beer intake just to get better in my pathetic racing career, or do I just go out in a blaze of glory (enjoying a frosty beverage while I do)? I thought about grabbing my bike anyway, but the beer once again took over. This time though, it was my latest batch of homebrew talking. My newest IPA was ready, so I bottled it. Luckily it wasn’t ready to be consumed yet:



Okay, enough about the beer. Tomorrow morning is yet another local race, but this one is kind of a big deal. The North Carolina State Games are in town. The State Games are sort of like a mini Olympic-style event, which has athletes competing from all of North and South Carolina in several events. Tomorrow morning is the mountain bike portion of the event, and I plan to be at the U.S. National Whitewater Center to um, compete. I’m as ready as I can be, so I hope I have a good race. Well, I’m on call for work this weekend, so I hope I can even have a race. If my work obligations stay away for a bit tomorrow morning, then it’s on. Hopefully I can join in the fun and “compete” with other mountain bikers from all over the area (and locals too of course.)

By the way, the countdown is near. A little more than two weeks until XTERRA Whitewater, and I’m as happy as a pig in shit.