Thirsty Thursdays: Rainy Saturday Edition

With the cancelation of the Tour de Mesh due to the crapy weather enveloping the East Cost of the United States what else is a mountain biker to do except drink beer and work on his bikes. I happened to pick up two special edition stout ales from Stone Brewaries, the makers of Arrogant Bastard Ale. This ale, called a Special Edition Epic Ale I felt would have been perfect after the epic ride planned for the Tour de Mesh but that wasn't to be. I had hopes of possibly heading back down to the Shelton Trails for a shake out ride on the Qball Monster Crosser but since I was still in the Family AO, I had to be responsible again.

After picking the kids up from their various Saturday activities and running a few errands I finally got back to the man-cave and if I wasn't going to ride, at least I could work on bikes and what better way to work on bikes but to drink something delicious and listen to some kick ass music! Pouring into the glass it reminded me a BBC Drayman's Porter but the first swig of the Stone Veritical Epic was far from the BBC porter, in fact it reminded me of eating sashimi. After awhile the fishy aftertaste abated and the full bodied porter started to take shape on the palet.

While enjoying the Vertical Epic, started putting the Stinson back together. Going with a Suginio 38t front crank and a Surly 15t rear cog soldified the drive train. I have a yellow chain on order at the Goodie shop but for the time being I set up the chain line and tension using a SRAM PC-1.

Using the hanging from the ceiling tension trick I was able to get the right amount of chain tension while finishing the Epic.

Adding Crankbrothers pedals I did a few spins in the garage bay with my 5 year old son (pictured below), who is responsible for taking the above picture.

Tour de Mesh - Cancelled!

At NEMBA's Fall Fiesta I rode with the Roth Brothers and their posse of Eastern Connecticut Mountain Bikers and we agreed on a date for another Fetish Fest, or shall I say ex-Fetish Cycles Owners Bike Fest. We did a similar event two years ago at Trumbull and then had dinner and brews at SBC on the Post Road.

I was all set last night but the weather was looking kind of iffy at that point. Big rain storm headed our way. Bike was ready, Camel topped off, plenty of gu, cliff & powerbars, sport beans, camera, extra GPS and batteries, tools, first aid, and three tubes. Mounted a bottle cage on the 'Horse for extra water, too.

I even did some map reconnaissance last night by downloading a few GPX files from Crankfire and creating this map. Of course this map pales in comparison to the overall area that is covered by Meshomasic State Forest, 9,000 acres that spans from Portland to Glastonbury.

Well, maybe next year.

10 Reasons why I didn't Bike Commute this morning

10. Drank too much Gordon Beer last night.


09. The fixie is broke dick (well, not really, just going through some changes: back to the B76 saddle, different cranks, new chain, new bars, new tape)



08. Too cold this morning - 37 degrees! I am not ready for cold weather. I have to pull out the bibs, warm riding gloves, hats, etc... Yuck! I am not ready for winter.

07. All I have are geared bikes right now.

06. I forgot to charge my headlight.

05. My blinky needed new batteries.

04. Forgot to set my alarm.

03. Too foggy this morning.

02. There's a hot new Spin Instructor at the gym, spin is at noon today.

01. MIKE-PAPA-HOTEL (Google it and look for a list of Army Acronyms), which basically means I am too lazy!

Riding during hunting season

I always get nervous when I am out in the woods riding during hunting season. It's a lot different from when I was in the Army, at least if you are on point you are constantly scanning to your front and sides for the bad guys. When I am riding, I am heads down watching the trail and what I don't or won't see is someone sitting in the woods all cammied up waiting for Bambi to saunter up. That is why I call this time of year Orange Season, because unless I am riding somewhere where hunting is not allowed I am wearing blaze orange and have bells on the bike and hydration pack to announce my presence.

What do you get with a Toyota Pickup, deer stickers, and a huge Cabela's sticker in the back window? A hunter, of course. Even though it's bow season you never know what else they may be packing. Take for instance the target on the tree below. On closer inspection, it appears it was target practise and it had holes in it. Not sure if that was from a pellet gun or .22, but it's set up in such a way that who ever was using it for target practise must have been shooting across the trail. Real smart!

It's funny how the hunters refer to anyone who is anti-hunting ... they call them haters. I don't hate hunters because they hunt, I just don't care for the stupid things that they do, like this target and leaving it in the woods like that. That's litter my friend, and so is the empty pack of smokes you left at the base of the tree. They claim they are concerned for conservation, well why not practise what you preach. And while you are at, during shotgun season, police up your empty shells! Don't worry, I cleaned up their mess this time. I doubt this is from the regulars, though. There are a few guys that I have seen repeatedly through the season, and of course I will never forget the hunter that was taking a crap in his van!

If you are going to ride on State land in CT, ensure you are wearing plenty of blaze orange!

Thirsty Thursdays: Gordon Beer

Having forsaken just all micro and other hand crafted beers for BBC I came across another beer at my favorite Packy from the same makers of Old Chub, Oskar Blues Brewery. I couldn't get over was how a can of beer could taste so good! I guess that is why on the top of the can it says [con'o bliss, satisfy ya.] OMG is this beer, and calling it beer seems insulting, because you can't compare this with a Bud or a Miller. Apparently, this brew is named after a local deceased, Colorado Beer celebrity, Gordon Knight.

When Sam Koch talks about a full bodied aroma in his beer, it pales in comparisson to Gordon's Beer. It's like a cross between the Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale and BBC's Lost Sailor. I would call it a double IPA. Similarly to Old Chub, one can of Gordon Beer packs a nice kick, 8.7% abv! I never new beer out of a can could taste this good!

Speaking of Old Chub, check out this wondrous shot of a cooler full of Old Chub and Grandma's Yellow Pils (another brand from Oskar) which I came across on a blog called Adventures of Lidarman. Nice!