Outdoor beer drinking weather has begun! Crisp weather, classic fall cold snaps, and a decided lack of bugs makes this a great time to get out there with a few cold ones and pound 'em! I would go for any India Pale Ales right now. You can try to keep them cold if you want, but their origins are from long ago, before any means of prolonged cooling were available. Like when they would stick a bunch of casks of beer on a ship and head out to sea. Maybe chuck some ice on the casks and spread some hay over the ice, but probably not too often. So a few miles of gravel riding is really where these beers are at home. My favorite? Boulevard "Singlewide"IPA. I'm sure that there are some better ones out there, and I'll search them out, but I do like me some Boulevard. I bought one of their "Smokestack Series" specialty beers last year. The IPA. Now that was tasty! But at $9.00 for a 24 oz. bottle, it is a rare treat.
I recently passed through the anniversary of my birth, 45 years ago on the 19th, and celebrated in my own silly way by riding a nice 45 miler to Stanhope. Stopped at the Sinclair station for some snacks and a Coke. I had a rare experience on the way back home. An 18 wheeler snuck up on me from behind! On gravel! In the dustiest conditions of the year! I had my MP3 in my ears, so I guess I deserve the scare. He must have pulled out of a farm drive. I know he wasn't there a mile ago:) As you know, riding gravel gives a person the luxury of seeing who is around you by simply observing the gravel plumes. "Look and Live" I always say. Good riding though. A very comfortable range for me. I was playing a version of an old drinking game that two friends and I invented a long time ago. We called it "The Sheep Game" and as drinking games go, it was a total riot. Any game that makes you laugh so hard that beer shoots out your nose is a good game my friends. I will post the rules, and my modified MP3 version of it, in a future post.
Lastly, I had a great night of Orionid Meteor Shower viewing last night. I brewed up some coffee and put it in the Thermos, and suited up for cold conditions. I had planned to ride 3 or 4 miles out of town, but the moon was so bright I figured that there wasn't much sense in trying to find any dark spots! So I camped in my own yard and caught 13 nice ones between 2:07 and 3:15 or so. Two of the trains were very long lived, a full 2 seconds after initial burst and they were still visible. Do me this. If you have never learned or been taught how to find Orion in the night sky, click up the "directions" and go out and find it. If you can find The Big Dipper, you can find Orion. You'll have a constant riding buddy for any night time miles after the midnight hour , as this constellation is HUGE! It is so easy to find, and dominates the night sky once you get to know where to look. Happy Hunting! Later!
I recently passed through the anniversary of my birth, 45 years ago on the 19th, and celebrated in my own silly way by riding a nice 45 miler to Stanhope. Stopped at the Sinclair station for some snacks and a Coke. I had a rare experience on the way back home. An 18 wheeler snuck up on me from behind! On gravel! In the dustiest conditions of the year! I had my MP3 in my ears, so I guess I deserve the scare. He must have pulled out of a farm drive. I know he wasn't there a mile ago:) As you know, riding gravel gives a person the luxury of seeing who is around you by simply observing the gravel plumes. "Look and Live" I always say. Good riding though. A very comfortable range for me. I was playing a version of an old drinking game that two friends and I invented a long time ago. We called it "The Sheep Game" and as drinking games go, it was a total riot. Any game that makes you laugh so hard that beer shoots out your nose is a good game my friends. I will post the rules, and my modified MP3 version of it, in a future post.
Lastly, I had a great night of Orionid Meteor Shower viewing last night. I brewed up some coffee and put it in the Thermos, and suited up for cold conditions. I had planned to ride 3 or 4 miles out of town, but the moon was so bright I figured that there wasn't much sense in trying to find any dark spots! So I camped in my own yard and caught 13 nice ones between 2:07 and 3:15 or so. Two of the trains were very long lived, a full 2 seconds after initial burst and they were still visible. Do me this. If you have never learned or been taught how to find Orion in the night sky, click up the "directions" and go out and find it. If you can find The Big Dipper, you can find Orion. You'll have a constant riding buddy for any night time miles after the midnight hour , as this constellation is HUGE! It is so easy to find, and dominates the night sky once you get to know where to look. Happy Hunting! Later!
2 comments:
Outdoor beer drinking makes the world go around.
I had a very tasty Guiness Tuesday, out in the middle of nowhere!
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