Why Beer is Better Then Religion

1. No one will kill you for not drinking beer.

2. Beer doesn’t tell you how to have sex.

3. Beer has never caused a major war.

4. They don’t force beer on minors who can’t think for themselves.

5. When you have beer, you don’t knock on people’s doors trying to give it away.

6. Nobody’s ever been burned at the stake, hanged, or tortured to death over his brand of beer.

7. You don’t have to wait 2,000 years for a second beer.

8. There are laws saying that beer labels can’t lie to you.

9. You can prove you have a beer.

10. If you have devoted your life to beer, there are groups to help you stop. Could I rock this look on a club ride?

Devil’s Triangle

Riding the triangle on Dec 26, it's all that needs said.

Is This Bottle Under Warranty?

When do you finally draw the line and say it's too cold to ride? 20 degrees when we left home this morning with not much wind and by the time we made it home 3 hours later it had reached a balmy 25. Ran into 3 riders from Stark Bicycle Club going east on Fulton and rode with them for a while, now at least I know we were not the only people crazy enough to be out in this.

I have been having problems with things freezing this winter, not me but things like derailleurs, brakes and water bottles. Today I thought that I would finally beat the frozen bottle. Alcohol doesn't freeze so if I were to put a shot of gin in my bottle I should be OK. A slightly piney taste would be better than no water. It was all good, it was cold but no ice was forming, I thought I had it made...............but no. That dog just had to give chase. It was one of those days when the legs wouldn't go fast enough to outrun him and he wouldn't let up, so I figure a good shot of gin water should discourage him. I pull out the bottle and go to squirt him in the face and that's where the fun began. Instead of a nice stream of water the entire bottle cracks wide open. Now I've got water on my gloves and tights, and running down onto my shoes, but at least the dog gave up. I thought that it might have been time to head for home but instead of soaking in, the water just froze and flaked off. So we were able to continue the ride.

I learned a couple of lessons from this.

1: The boxer mutt dog on Coalbank Road likes to chase bikes and doesn't give up easy.

2: Cheap water bottles from a certain bike shop in the Massilon area are not rated for sub zero use.

3: If the water froze that quickly outside of the bottle, there was definitely not enough alcohol in it!

NEXT RIDE = MORE GIN

Winter Wonderland

After spending most of the last week in the woods hunting, it was time to get a good ride in. Who says that it has to be 80 degrees and sunny to have fun. Frozen roads and single digit wind chills! It makes you glad to be alive. We were not the only ones out today, saw cross tire tracks on the Sippo trail. So at least we were not the only insane people out this morning.

Who needs to spend the time and money into buliding up a single speed? A good sub zero ride will do it for you. Just make sure you are in a gear that you want to suffer with into the wind.

This was a bad choice of gearing, cold legs just couldn't spin it fast enough.

Staying hydrated at this time of year is not a problem either, just do it before or after your ride. 30 minutes in, the spout of my bottle had frozen and by the time I made it home the bottle was frozen solid.

Wangpig, the Belgians and I

That's who was out on the road most of the week. If there is an upside to getting laid off it would be that I have gotten to do some really good snow rides over the past week. Some on the cross bike, some on the mtb. There is something about riding in this weather that makes it better than summer. Speed does not matter, distance doesn't matter either, it's riding for the fun of riding. There is just something about suffering into a 15 mile per hour head wind, knowing that when you finally turn for home you're going to have it at your back. Or being on a section of trail and seeing no tire tracks in the snow in front of you.

Unemployed

Well I guess all good things must come to an end. As of 11/18/2008 I am offically on the roll's of the unemployed. I was laid off from Rayco. I can't really get upset about it, because if you look at what the econmy has been doing for the last year I guess I was lucky to have stayed with them for this long. So now I guess it's time to start job hunting. If anyone is looking for someone to run a manual lathe or other machine shop work let me know.

It used to take me really good chemicals

It used to take really good chemicals to see things like this, and then I was the only one who saw them.

To everything there is a season

A table full of home canned tomato products means that the annual Labor day weekend marathon canning session is over. Now there will homemade pasta sauces, pizza sauce and stewed tomatoes for another year .

The last 12 of Leinenkugel Sunset Wheat I could find means that summer is over.

The first 12 of Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale means that fall is here.

And a 12 of Fat Tire Ale means Whitney is back at college.

And a new pair of frogs for the cross bike means that Cyclocross season is finally here!!

Commuter

It all started in late May. Gas was fast approaching the 4 dollars per gallon mark and I was getting sick of paying. I had been saying for years that once the new US 30 was finished it would take most of the traffic away from the old route and I could start commuting, but somehow I never seemed to get it started. But like I said before, that all changed in late May.

I started out just riding one of my cyclocross bikes. I think of all the bikes I own this one has to be my favorite one. Since May, the bike has seen the addition of a full time rack and panniers. I am lucky to have a place at work to keep my uniforms and I can change there. But I still have to carry in lunch and coffee (I refuse to eat out of a vending machine and would sooner drink battery acid then have to drink vending machine coffee). And I will tell you that a thermos of coffee in a messenger bag is not a fun thing to have digging into your back.

Then, with a lot of talking, I was able to convince the wife that there wasn't much in town that we couldn't do by biking or walking.

Now, most weeks we do our grocery store run with 2 bikes and a trailer. I can manage to get a week's worth home without her needing to carry a pack. The Amish bulk store is on my commute home from work, so there is one less place to drive. And the wife works just down the road from one of the best meat markets in the area. So also, it's one less trip.

I have tried to talk her into riding to work, but she is still holding out. Something about it being uphill both ways or something like that.

I do drive to work one day a week, so I have the energy for the Wednesday night club ride.

These are a few of my favorite Things

The small white sign does not show up so good but the name of the store is Beer 4 Less.

This photo was taken in Erie PA just a few miles From Presqe Isle State park, The only thnig that would have made this area better would have been a place to ride cross across the street. But that would involve tearing down a strip mall and a couple of cheap motels. Maybe that would not be a bad thing after all.
Ron posted this one on the Orrville cycling foum, and I felt it necessary to repost it. The guy in the picture has a good idea, BUT notice there is no way to keep it cold. What if a system could be added to cool the beer with liquid nitrogen, that way you would not have to deal with the weight of ice and a tub to contain it. Also it needs a cup dispenser for those red plastic cups that draft is always served in.

I do work in a machine shop so this would be an easy project to fabricate. Now who has a matching pair of rock shocks they would like to contribute?

Its Tour Time Again

What will the scandal be this year? Who will be caught, and who will beat doping control?

Why is it?

Why is it that you can ride a road bike for a season and not to much to it. Replace your cables and housings once every couple of years. Clean the drive train and keep it lubed. And you re pretty much good to go. Maybe every now and then you will have to adjust a derailleur, or change a flat tire or in a worse case scenario you may have to true up a rim after hitting a pot hole.

But Ride a mountain bike for 2.5 hours and come home and spend at least that much time cleaning and repairing.

Saturdays ride at Regan park resulted in a new middle chain ring (OK maybe I tweaked that one at Vulture's Knob). The replacement of a worn out chain.

Got up this morning to do the work only to find a flat tire on the front. Changed the tire and decided maybe I need to get the rim trued.

And to top it off, the day after a serious road ride you don't sit there and try to figure out where the large bruise on you leg came from, or where the scrapes on you shoulder came from.

Judge Judy

I know, I know, this is old news but it's still worth viewing.

Deerfield

Woke up this morning to a layer of heavy wet snow on the ground. There went the motivation right out the window. Finished up some projects I had started, cleaned the drive train on the XO1. And went and had the rear wheel re dished for my single speed.

By late afternoon the snow had melted and the roads had dried up. Wangpig had been in contact so I guess it was time to ride. He had time for a quick ride and so did I. So it was out the door I headed. He seemed to have a route in mind, one of these days I will learn to ask what he is thinking. We headed out towards Burton City and cut over to Burkhart. He said we were heading to Deerfield, and I thought to myself "cool, it's a pretty good ride south on Deerfield". We got there and he turned left............... OH &*%# he meant climb Deerfield! This is one of those hills that I usually leave till some time in June or July. Oh well once again I know that I must get out and do this one more often. At least he was kind enough to wait at the top and let me get a picture of the sign.

The Storm

Thursday night I put slick tires on one of the cross bikes, added some lights and did 30 miles on dry roads. Some of my normal night ride roads have taken quite a hit over the last couple of weeks. Lots of pot holes and frost heaves.

Friday mid morning the snow started. And didn't stop. It's been a good number of years since we have had decent snow to cross country ski. The thought of jumping on the rollers did not sound like fun so it was time to break out the skis.

I guess it's pretty bad out when you find yourself skiing down sidewalks and city streets. I bet some of my neighbors are still trying to figure out why there are ski tracks through their yards.

The car that was covered in ice a few days ago now looks like this.

Sunday morning and the storm had stopped. Clear blue skies, but the roads were a mess. I wanted to get at least one outside ride in this weekend. Out comes the mtb!

12 plus inches of snow made riding tricky but who can resist the idea of urban mountain biking. A couple of good friends, frozen sidewalk single track, drifts, slush, ice and mounds made by snow plows, who could ask for more.

I didn't set the computer or put on a heart rate monitor; this ride was strictly for fun. we were out about an hour and a half, just seeing what we could find to ride in.

I can't wait for spring but I would not have missed today's ride for any thing. Thanks Wangpig and Andrea.

Ice

Honest, I thought about riding outside today. The lights were charged and everything, but once again the weather was against me. Cold I can handle, rain I can handle but freezing rain just makes me want to stay inside. Another night on rollers. I'm starting to feel like a hamster on a wheel. Spin spin spin and you never get anywhere.

BUT on the other hand I did get a phone call from my older brother. He decided to brave the weather. After missing out on a lot of things last summer recovering from a motorcycle accident. The temptation was too great to resist. He bundled up got out his favorite dog Rascal and went kayaking in his neighbor's back yard. He had about a foot and a half of water and enough room to paddle around in circles. Kirk had a great time but Rascal was not amused.

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Artwork

Well, it took me about 2 years of serious debate to finally convince myself to do this. I told myself that I would do it after winning a race and after my finish in the Orrville Cross series I no longer had an excuse not to.

Best Of Show at Westminster!

"Ok guys I give up you finally give me a fancy new dog dish but you forget to fill it"

Finally after all the years that this dog show has been around, they have finally recognized the only bread of dog that really matters. Now after winning this does he get to do what all beagles want to do? Run in the woods after rabbits and find dead thigs to roll in.

But I do feel his pain with his winter training program. I guess he is stuck indoors also.

Lego's and Beer

What can I say, btu the creator of this video had way to much time on their hands.

Email

Friday. Ride. You. Me. Snow. Ice. Mtb. Not wimpy cross bike. Leave around 5p. Return around 6:30 bloody. I be at your house. You be waiting. No questions.

When something like this is in you inbox, you don't know what to think. It wasn't a question of would you like to ride, but more like an order to get you ass outside.

The ride had everything some paved roads some old rail bed and some single track. And a lot of ice. Left the house with a little daylight left but knowing full well before much longer that lights would be needed. I hit the ground twice nothing real spectacular.

BUT Wangpig had one of the crashes for the record book, Down a slight hill front wheel broke through the ice that was covering a deep wheel rut (just ice no water underneath). You could see where all forward motion of his bike stopped, and a little further on you could see where Wangpig stopped. classic over the bars.

You dont see this in Ohio, Guess Im going to have to go west

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