Ya Gatta Regatta!

It's almost time the 2015 Regatta!  Unfortunately there were only three hardy souls who were daring enough to sign up this year.  Then, even more unfortunately; two of those three backed out yesterday so it's just gonna be me representing Mass this year.  Oh well.

I'm not looking forward to the trip out and back because the kayak doesn't travel well on top of the Jeep.  Not to mention the Jeep isn't very comfortable for long periods of time.  Me and my kayak were supposed to go out in my buddy's pickup with him, but now that he's out, it's just me and the Jeep.

I'd actually contemplated seeing if I could rig up a trailer to tow my kayak out behind the bike but there just wasn't enough time between locating one, securing it, possibly registering and insuring it, let alone rigging up the tow assembly on the bike.  So, it'll be ratchet straps and crossed fingers.  It's already an 8 hour trip - but that might stretch out into double digits if I have to go slowly because the kayak wants to take flight.

The one positive is that since it's just me, I can hit the road at whatever time I like.  And since this is in essence a road trip, I won't be sleeping well tonight which means I'll be up and on the road early.

Once I get out there, it'll be good to see the folks again.  I'm planning on hitting the Club for a beer to say hello to the folks that are there, then it'll be off to Mark and Mary's to settle in for the evening.  Then Friday will be off to catch up with Myszka and his crew, then it's party Friday night, then all water all day Saturday, then the long ride home on Sunday...hopefully not too hungover...

Wish me luck!  I won't be riding, but I'll certainly be...

Paddling Hard, Taking Chances

Roughing It

McCarthy is doing me a huge favor today, he's coming to do some electrical work at my house. So it seemed only the right thing to do that I ride his bike to his house for him. (It's been In storage in my basement for the winter.)

And here it is;

So why is this roughing it? Will it be because there is no fairing? No electrics that I can plug my heated jacket into? (it's 34 degrees out...)

Nope, it's none of these.  This'll be roughing it because there's no music!!

Wish me luck...

The Weather Gods Giveth, and the Weather Gods Taketh Away

I was texting with Lynner last night about headcounts for the 'Vous motel and she commented that it'd been snowing for most of the day.  What the hell?  She said that it really wasn't sticking or accumulating, but still...enough already!

Then King texted me this morning, saying that he'd been out riding all last week in 60 and 70 degree weather.  This morning, they had an inch of snow on the ground and the temp was 28;

I won't even say something like "Better them than us" - I feel badly for them...for everyone that had to deal with the winter that just beat the crap out of us.  I can't even imagine what would happen out here if we saw just one more flake start falling...

Here's hoping the weather gods ease up on our friends out in western NY.  They need to get back out on the roads so they can...

Ride Hard, Take Chances

Bike Season Approacheth!

The riding season is just about in full swing.  Rides are being planned, trips are being lined up, and folks are getting their bikes out and about.

Tim is picking his bike up from storage today and he and Lynner are of course excited to be rolling again.

Here on our side, we've got our first 'Vous planning meeting this Saturday.  And while nothing major is ever really decided (or even discussed) at this first meeting, it will be great to be talking about the upcoming party once again.  Hell, even the weather seems like it's going to cooperate; 70 and mostly sunny for Saturday.  Nice!

It was a chilly ride in this morning, but the sun is burning off the last of the morning haze and it looks like it'll be a good day today.  Well, a good day to be outside - not to be inside, looking out.  Oh well, at least tomorrow is Friday.  Which, they're saying is going to be rainy.  But Saturday!  Yeah, our sights are set on Saturday!

What else - oh yeah, Zig wrapped his pipes on his Dyna.  I haven't seen them installed yet, but the pic of them after he wrapped them, looks pretty sweet;

I think that's about all I have for you today.  As usual, work has been kicking the crap out of me but with the warmer weather here and (hopefully) work slowing down a bit, I'm hoping to get the posts up here more often.

Now get out there and ride!

Ride Hard, Take Chances

Hoppy Easter!

The weather folk were calling for a decent Sunday once again so once again I put the word out to see if anyone else was interested in going on a ride with me.  I realized it was Easter and that folks would probably be busy, but it doesn't hurt to get the word out.  As it turns out, both Kevin and Matt said they were in.  Sadly, when departure time arrived, Kevin's batter was dead, rendering his bike the same; dead.  He'll pick up a battery this week and will soon hopefully be back in the wind with us.

So that left the two usual amigos, Matt and myself, to represent.  I'd searched on-line and found a brewhouse down in Cranston which looked interesting.  Using Google Maps, and opting to skip the highways and focus on some backwood-style roads, I'd laid out a route which I hoped would prove to be a nice scenic jaunt.

I failed...miserably.  The route wound up being one of the worst I think I've ever planned out.  Hell, the highways would have been more scenic than what I dragged poor Matt through.  Lousy roads, intensely busy boroughs, and to coup de grace; having to stop and look at maps - twice!  The entire route was less than 20 miles along, but I managed to get us lost, twice.  Ugh.  We needed beer.

When we finally pulled up to Brutopia...

...we agreed that it was not what we had pictured for a brewhouse.  But, the smoker outside was smoking...

...and that was enough to beckon me inside.

Once inside, we found the place to be pretty decent.  It had a very industrial feel, with a  large central bar area surrounded by tables and booths against the outer walls.  One whole wall was almost entirely of glass allowing patrons to look into the brewing room where all the magic happens.

Sidling up to the bar, we were greeted with a friendly, if not exactly showered and fresh, bartender.  He was cool though, and chatted with us and made some suggestions on beer.  Matt and I made our own decisions, though, and while Matt found a couple he liked, I did not.  It seemed their beers went very heavy on the hops (hence the title of today's posting).  The last one I tried (chocolate stout) fooled me for the first couple of sips, and I thought I was going to like it, but soon the hoppy undertones shone through, overpowering any semblance of smooth stout goodness.

During our foray into Brutopia's offerings, we'd noticed that it had started to sprinkle a little.  Matt checked the weather on his phone and it appeared things would just stay a light drizzle until we got back up into Mass, where it seemed the wet tendrils of the clouds above were not reaching.

Alas, when we did finally exit to the bikes, we found them quite wet.  So too were the roads, the clouds and the air around us.  Yes, it was raining.

Oh, and it was still cold out, too.  Awesome!

We agreed to head to Natty Green's, the neighborhood bar Matt had introduced me to last week.  We had our sights set on another glass of that Crème Brulee we'd enjoyed during our last visit.  Sadly, when we arrived, we were informed that that beer had just kicked the previous day.  Oh well, settled for a great second; it was a chocolate stout, but I'm afraid I don't recall the name of it.

We had some interesting conversations with fellow patrons - including the older gentleman who was happy to show us pictures of his girlfriend - who was 25 years his junior.  That was great and all but things took a turn toward the Twilight Zone when he started to explain the benefits of Cialis vs Viagra.

At any rate, it was getting a bit late and it was a school night after all, so we said our goodbyes and headed for the door.  The rain had let up enough that it wasn't an unpleasant ride home.

All in all, it wasn't a terrible day.  My route to Brutopia was horrendous, and we both agreed that Brutopia would most-likely never see us again, but we'd managed to salvage things with a stop-in at what has easily become my favorite bar.  I just wish it were a little closer to home.

Ride Hard, Take Chances

Dinner Run

Got home from work, sun was out, temps weren't bad...and on top of that, the street sweepers had visited my road sometime during the daytime.  It was all too good to pass up. I needed me some miles!

I put the word out; who's up for meeting for dinner? Trusty Matty was in, and suggested a place he's talked up before; Natty's Greene's in North Attelboro. Hell yeah, let's do that.

Jumped on the bike and headed to Matty's. Damn it's good to be out here! (Even thought it was a short jaunt to Matt's house, and then an even shorter jaunt to this place, it was still worth it.)

Pulling in, I noticed how small it was. Ok, nice - I like small places.

We set the 'stands and headed inside. As small as it looked on the outside, it was even smaller inside. But that wasn't a bad thing - the decor was very tasteful and inviting; clean, neat, and...hey, is that a blackboard with 14 different specialty beers listed?  Holy crap, it is!

Pulling up a couple of seats at the bar, we were greeted heartily by the bartender. After tossing out some discussion on what to get, he gave us a couple of samples. It was a no-brainer; we went with the Southern Tier Creme Brulee. A stout with such a sweet taste and finish...This could easily be my new favoritest beer, ever! (The fact that it's 9.6% A means each glass will be savored and not rushed.)

Ok, my food has arrived and has been sitting here cooling off while I type this, so I'm gonna sign off now. I'm starving!

Ride Hard, Love New Beer!