A Good Ride And This Is All I Have To Show For It

Beer…and it was well worth it.


I’m sure the fact that I had beer after a good ride doesn’t shock you. I drink beer after good rides, bad rides, and hell, pretty much anytime. I’m a little shocked at the fact that I rode and didn’t take any photos. The Dirty Party Cycle and I hit up the Whitewater Center da udda night, and I brought along a picture-taking device (actually two.) We stopped a few times here and there, but for some reason I never really felt like taking photos.


Sure, I thought about it, but I think I was caught up in the actual ride. I took my single speed out there, and the plan was pain. I mashed up climbs and took descents at breakneck speeds, and I guess stopping for a photo shoot would’ve cheapened the moment.


I ride bikes. I talk about riding bikes. Sometimes I post photos of me riding bikes. Not this time. That doesn’t make it any less of a ride. In fact, I think it may have made it that much better. When we finished, my legs were tired. The lungs and heart felt good, but my quads were toast. Riding a single speed will do that to you, especially if you’re still getting used to only having one gear.


I talked to the MadSS yesterday, and he told me that my legs should be tired after every ride. He said that’s how you get stronger. I’ve been tired after rides before, but being on a single speed bike just makes the effort a little more worth it (plus I’m really tired afterwards.) Good advice from my pal, I suppose.


I did do a little bit of work on the SS bike before the ride though. After running a stock SS crankset the way it showed up at my house way back when, I sorta got tired of looking at that hideous bash guard.


So I took that bitch off of there.



The result is a cleaner, more single speedy-looking crankset.



After spending most of my time prior to single speeding riding a 1X9 setup on the geared bike, the thought of riding without a bash guard kinda worried me. With a straight chainline (and the lack of shifting), there’s not any reason to be worried.

Now my simple, non-geared bike just became even simpler.


I like simple things.

The Beer May Have Won

Saturday was the Southeast Bike Expo, but I’m sure you already knew that. I picked up Dicky just before sunrise, and we made the long drive to Conyers, GA pretty easily.



When we got there, we hit the ground running. We made our rounds, and I met a shitload of people. Some I’ve never met before, some I’ve only met on Facebook, and some people I never really properly introduced myself to.



The above photo you can see Bruce Dickman from ProGold, and we chatted a bit about how freaking awesome their stuff was. We chatted about other stuff too, but he was going a million miles an hour and I was still recovering from the long ride down there.


One of the first stops we made was the Niner tent, where Mike Stanley proceeded to tell me he had a bike waiting for me to ride it. It was the fancy new Air9 RDO.





We hooked up with local shop owner Mark Sullivan and took a test ride over to the rugged, granite-laden side of the trails, where I could scare the shit outta myself on a really freaking expensive bike just for the sake of “demo-ing.”



Even though this bike was pretty and worth more than a small car, I eventually settled in and rode it like it was meant to be ridden. You know, like flying down rocky surfaces and junk.



Dicky and Mark were there, did I mention that?



Most of the time after that was spent searching for more bikes to ride, but we kept striking out. With Rich looking for a extra small and me looking for an extra large, it was slim pickings. We eventually settled on Origin8 carbon rigid (geared) bikes.

We came prepared in case of a disaster:



Yes, we brought our own Awesome Straps.


The bike I was on was too small, the handlebars were too short, and the shitty not Industry Nine wheels were uh, shitty. That didn’t stop me from whipping that thing all over the trail when I had the energy. After Rich reminded me that I only had a banana to eat all day, we stopped riding bikes and began our quest for food and beer.


The first step was to check into the hotel across the street, where they quickly shoved us into the dining room for a “reception.” We were the first ones there, so Rich ran right over to make a meat salad.



We stuffed our faces, and went up to the room to unload his bag so we could use it to smuggle beer back to the Expo.



With money in hand (ours and other people’s money), we set out on a quest to find good beer. This is what we ended up with:



Well, that was the shitty beer. We also found some good stuff after driving around for almost an hour.

When we returned to the expo grounds, I though we would be greeted like heroes and bum-rushed for our beer. That didn’t happen. We ended up watching most of the guys that said they wanted beer keep riding their bikes, so Rich and I sat down and started the party without them. A little while later we were joined by Watts and Andrea, and we sat out on borrowed chairs drinking beer in the cold darkness. At least we didn’t have to drink the shitty beer though.

We eventually took the party back to the room, and tried our best to kill the rest of the good beers.






Well past 1:00 a.m. we gave up and got some sleep.


The next morning after I destroyed the breakfast buffet and the toilet in the lobby, we headed back across the street to talk to Jason from Foundry Cycles, and he was busy getting the demos out on the trail.




We were too hungover to ride anymore, so that meant that it was time to head back to Charlotte. It was a long drive, but at least I didn’t fall asleep and kill us.


That’s all I feel like writing today. I didn’t drink anymore beer after Saturday night, but I had my ass kicked enough by it so I won’t touch that stuff for a while.


See y’all tomorrow.

Hold On A Minute

This photo has nothing to do with today's subject.


Remember the demo I told you about for Foundry Cycles here in Charlotte? Well, this has changed. With their busy schedule, the demo has been nixed.


However, you can still come down and check out their stuff:



That’s right, it’s now a party.


They’ll be at Bicycle Sport from 4:00 p.m. to close, and it should be one heck of a party. Free beer, free food, and maybe even a chance to win some free stuff. You can look at the bikes, and if you twist their arm you can probably take one for a spin. I’ll be there…will you?


What do I get out of this? Nothing. Well, I get to help out a few friends in the cycling industry, and probably put my grubby paws on some new bike goodies. Oh yeah, I get to drink some beer. I don’t see a downside to this at all.


In other news, my home brew is finished. I put a couple more sample bottles in the fridge, and got a chance to try them out on Sunday.




The carbonation was perfect, and it actually looks like beer. How does it taste? Like a hoppy explosion. It’s hops, hops, and more hops. It’s so bitter that it will make you pucker up, but it tastes pretty good and has a nice finish. This is the kind of beer I would make if I made beer. Wait, I do make beer, and I made this shit.


It’s not the world’s best IPA, but it’s the best one I’ve ever made. I would even pay money for it if I saw it in the store. I’m not selling it though.


Do you want some? Well, quantities are limited so I have to be selective about who I share it with. I let the Dirty Party Cycle have one when he stopped by the house Sunday, and he approves. I have plans for a couple of the bottles, but most of them will be for my own consumption. I will duplicate my recipe and make another batch in the near future, but for now I’ll have to decide who gets to try this batch. Three of them are spoken for, and those folks will be contacted. As for the rest of you, I enjoy being a tease.

It Ain’t A Party Until…

Lunchbox and the Space Cowboy show up.


So yeah, last night was the Queen City Bicycles annual Christmas party, and it was a great time as always. Great food, beer, and friends, all while we hung out in a bike shop. I think I ate way too much, but that’s not hard to do.



With tons of people milling about, it was kinda like an after race party, without the stinky, sweaty racers.





We were permitted to shop (even though it was after hours), and Lunchbox bought a new hat. He was happy to show it off to past Tarheel Trailblazers President Mr. Jim. Jim reads this poor excuse for a blog sometimes, so he might like the fact that I’m trying to make him famous on the Internets.




I even did a little shopping.



As a special bonus, the Dirt Divas were there to sign their calendars. Lunchbox made sure to get acquainted with them



There was even a special guest, Queen City Bicycle’s own Toughman Terry:



Little Miss Sunshine did a little shopping too, and had her eyes on a new bike.




It was fun, fun, fun. Big thanks to Bart for having a bunch of beer drinking cyclists in is shop for the evening. We pretty much hung out until the end, well at least until the end of the beer. The good beer didn’t last long, but some of the locals made a beer run. They showed up with PBR, so that was my cue to get the hell out of there. I wasn’t about to go from IPAs to PBRs. That would’ve been a recipe for disaster.


With all of this holiday stuff going on, it seems like my offseason training is getting pushed aside. I’ll make sure not to let that happen, since I have most of the day free tomorrow. D-Wayne wants me to head up to his neck of the woods for some riding, but I don’t think I can squeeze that in tomorrow. I have yet another holiday party to attend, so I might be cutting it close if I went out of town. It looks like I may stay local, or even head out to Uwharrie tomorrow morning. I don’t give a shit where I ride, as long as I get my bike out somewhere.


Oh yeah, of course I’ll be building some more trail. Full weekend report coming up on Monday.

Beer and Bikes

Yeah, that’s what I always talk about around here. So, what’s different this time? Sunday is the 2nd annual (for Charlotte anyway) Urban Assault Ride from New Belgium Brewing. I didn’t do it last year, and I had all but talked myself out of it this year. Things have changed though.



It’s a little on the pricey side, and I just couldn’t see myself spending that much money on a “race.” I talked myself out of it last year for that very reason, and pretty much did the same thing this year. The original plan was to team up with The Chili Man, but I eventually decided that I didn’t want to come up with that much cash. After watching most of my cycling people around here (including Little Miss Sunshine) sign up for it, I started to have some regrets. The Dirty Party Cycle heard my bitching and had the same reasons for not participating, so I never asked him about it this year. Besides, I had already asked The Chili Man (and then I backed out due to the cost.) I know, the proceeds are going to a good cause, but I guess I wasn’t thinking about that.


I found out a little while ago that the DPC was interested, but I had already decided not to do it. Before I even had a chance to recommend him teaming up with The Chili Man (who probably still wanted to do it), he forked over the cash and team B-43 was all signed up. I couldn’t believe it. I guess he decided to take action, and wasn’t worried about me saying no since fees were paid and I had no other excuse. With only a few days until the event, we had to come up with a plan.



I’ll tell you a little bit about the ride/race. It’s basically a bicycle scavenger hunt around town (in this case, Charlotte.) Teams consisting of two people roam around the city to find checkpoints, which are local establishments that we should all know and love. When you reach a checkpoint it will have some kind of obstacle or other adventure, then you hop back on the bikes and find the next one. We can hit them in any order, and take pretty much any route we want (other than a few roads that have been named “off-limits”.) When we cross the finish line, there’s a big party waiting with lots of New Belgium beer. Sounds like a winner, right?


We started planning our route by exchanging e-mails and a few phone calls. We’re looking at about 20 miles or so, but there’s a twist. There are five checkpoints listed on the website, but there are two “mystery” checkpoints that haven’t been revealed yet. Well, a clue to the first one has been given, so we have to figure it out. Any plans we make can be ruined by the placements of these mystery checkpoints, so that adds to the challenge. We don’t know the city as well as some people do, but we should do okay. The main goal is to have fun, and of course drink a shitload of beer when we finish. That pretty much sounds like any race I do. Just to be sure it’s like any of my other races, I’ll be sure to start out really fast and burn out after the first mile or so.


Plans have been made, but I won’t share them here in case any of you locals are reading this. We have a good idea of where we’re going and how we’ll get there, and I have a few tricks up my sleeve. In case I drink too much beer and forget what we did, I plan on running my GoPro during the event. We’ll probably get lost a few times, but that’s all part of it. Hopefully I’ll be back on Monday with a report, unless the DPC and I are still wandering around in the city. There is a high probability of that, you know.

Beer Day

Yesterday was International IPA Day. As a lover of the most hoppiest of brews, I celebrated. I should have taken the day off. Hell, it should have been a national holiday.


I had a different IPA that was new to me, and it’s a good time to share. First up, the Black Raven IPA from Olde Hickory Brewery.





Yes. I mean, yum. It is a dark beer (duh, Black Raven), with a good head on it as you can plainly see. It smells of roasted malt and a little spicy hoppitude. It’s less like an IPA than I would like, although it is hoppy enough. It has a smooth finish, and with 7% a.b.v. it’s enough to get you feeling fine. I don’t see drinking this one regularly, but I will partake from time to time. Not my favorite, but it is very good.


Next is one of my tried and true favorites, the Sierra Nevada Torpedo. I had some last night at the Tarheel Trailblazers. I really don’t have to say much about this one, since you can find it just about anywhere. It is a regular occupant in my workshop beer fridge, and my “go-to” IPA when I want something a little cheaper. It’s not cheap on taste though. I even spread the love a little bit and bought a local celebrity a beer.


Other than beer, things are pretty slow around here. I am considering doing my first-ever road race, but as the day draws near I get closer to talking my self out of it. If I do, it will be at one of the races in the Crossroads Cycling Classic in Salisbury, NC. If I do it, I could have an interesting story to tell on Monday. If I don’t, at least I won’t be one step closer to becoming a full on roadie.


In other news, tomorrow I get to pickup Lunchbox from the airport. He’s returning from his summer vacation in Orlando, and both of us couldn’t be happier. I’ve missed him a ton, and I’m glad he’s coming home. Hell, I’m sure most of our local cycling community is glad too. See y’all Monday.

I’ll Leave You With Some Beer

With the weekend coming up, I thought that you might want to drink a little beer. As a lover of the brew, I wanted to share with you another fine beverage:



This is Trader Joe’s 2010 Vintage Ale. This bottle was actually purchased recently (hence the 2010 on the label), but I just cracked open the 2009 version. It’s really odd for any kind of beer to hang around my house for more than a few days, let alone a year, but this one was worth it. When I bought this stuff last year, another fellow beer connoisseur informed me that this particular beer gets better with age. I bought two bottles back then, and decided to try it. After chilling the first bottle, I drank it. It was pretty good, but that’s about all I remember about it. I put the other one in a cool, dark location in the house, and didn’t crack it open until this week.



I’m not usually a fan of the darker stuff, but I have to say that this one was awesome. I didn’t remember it being this good last year, so that aging thing must have worked. It’s a Belgian Ale, with about a 9% abv. It’s a little malty (but pretty balanced), and has sort of a cocoa taste (I guess that’s what it is.) It does smell of yeast and citrus a little, and it’s a tad bit spicy. It’s not overly sweet, and actually becomes a little drier as it gets warmer. It’s a perfect winter ale, and at a price of around 5 bucks you can’t beat it. I highly recommend it, if that means anything to you.


Since I was drinking beer already, it was time to bottle my own brew . First, I had to get my bottles ready:



Then grab the jug o’ fermentation magic:



Still looks kinda gross, but I’m sure it will resemble beer eventually.

The bottling was pretty uneventful. I boiled a little corn sugar in water, then mixed it all together. I filled each of my bottles and put them in the box:



Then I took a little of the leftover brew and put it in my “test bottle.”




After about 5 days or so, I’ll put this bottle in the fridge to chill. I’ll taste it the next day, and that should give me a good idea of what the finished product will be like. I still had more leftovers though, but it is uh, unusable:





Yuck. I poured that shit down the drain. I packed my bottles away in a safe place, and now I wait for the carbonation magic to happen. I “should” be able to drink this by Christmas. When The Dirty Party Cycle heads over my way on December 25th, we taste it and let you know. I’m looking forward to it. Even if it’s not great, it’s probably still better than most of the so-called “beer” that gets marketed to the masses (I’m talking to you, Bud, Miller, and Coors.)


That’s it for me for a while. I’m not sure when I’ll be back on here. Probably next week sometime (at least for a few days anyway.) I have to take a few days off because we had a death in my family. Lunchbox and I are heading up to the Washington D.C. area tomorrow morning to pay our respects. I know you expect me to be here every weekday, but this is more important. I hope y’all are here when I get back (maybe Tuesday, but Wednesday for sure.) See you then.

Beer Is Beer, Right?

What’s in the bag? Well, since I haven’t been able to ride as much as I’d like to lately, I decided that I would try something different. If you’ve been around here for a while, then you might know that I like beer. Well, not just any beer, but good beer. I don’t drink the cheap stuff, which keeps me from getting hammered every time I wanna pop open a few cold ones. Some might say that I’m sort of a beer snob, and I’m okay with that. I’ve been thinking lately that I would try something different, and hopefully justify the fact that I usually spend good money for good beer.


I don’t drink the cheap stuff, even if someone else is buying. I would rather not drink a beer than drink something shitty, especially one that comes in a can. In a vain attempt to see how the other half lives, I bought the crappiest beer I could find for a taste test (to see if I was even capable of drinking horrible beer.) I opened the bag and took out its contents:





Yeah, that’s a Miller Lite. All I needed was a NASCRAP t-shirt and I would be all set. Most of the good beer I drink is of the hoppy variety, so I figured that the “triple hops brewed” contents of that aluminum can would be tolerable. Yeah I know, it's shaped like a bottle, but it's still just a can. I poured the beer in my favorite Cane Creek pint glass, and took a look.





Well, at least it looked like beer. I don’t even drink good beer without a glass, so there was no way in hell that I would drink this concoction straight out of the can. I know, this in an experiment, but I have to draw the line somewhere. Anyway, I put my nose up to the glass to take a sniff, and I was uh, underwhelmed. Instead of smelling like hoppy goodness, it smelled like a stale bar (now I know where that smell comes from at least.) There was absolutely no sign of hops at all, but I continued the test (for blogging’s sake.)



I took put the glass up to my lips and took a small sip. The taste resembled beer, but that’s where the comparison stops. I took another larger sip, and I was utterly disgusted. “Who the hell drinks this shit?” I said out loud. Since I was talking to myself, I got no response. I took another gulp, hoping that it would get better. It didn’t. That shit tasted like stale, slightly beer-flavored water, and I was not pleased. The only thing left to do was this:





Yuck. I am usually not one to pour out beer, but this was an exception. I thought for a moment how I would get that awful taste out of my mouth. For a second I considered running over to the liquor shelf and chugging a bottle of Jack Daniel’s, but I didn’t want to make myself sick. Back when I was in my 20’s I would drink anything that had alcohol in it just to get tore up. Now that I drink for pleasure, I had to be civilized about it. I grabbed the best beer I had in the fridge:





Yeah, that’s better. A little Dogfish Head 90 Minute India Pale Ale. More hops than you could shake a stick at, especially if one were so inclined to shake sticks at beer. I could no longer taste the crap that was in that shitty aluminum can, and I was happy. Lesson learned.



Being somewhat of a beer snob can be difficult sometimes, but it’s well worth it. I thought that by drinking some mass-marketed beer substitute that I would have more appreciation for the finer beers in life, but it turns out that I didn’t need to do that. I’ll stick to what I like, and save the crappy stuff for the uninformed consumer.



What, an entire blog post about beer? Yup. No bicycle stuff today? Nope. Will I be back tomorrow with some bicycle crap and nonsense? Well, I’ll answer that question with another question:



Does a bear shit in the woods?





Yes. Yes it does.