Remember I reinstalled the low-profile windshield this past weekend? Yeah, it's been working out GREAT! Ever since I did that, we've had nothing but rain. 4 days straight! And a low-profile windshield doesn't do much in the way of rain protection.
This weather pattern was supposed to have cleared out on Tuesday but apparently it's stalled right over us. How can something that has all this wind, be stalled? I dunno. All I know is that my rain suit is soaked and needs another application of water-proofing. Problem with that is I can't apply it until the suit dries out, and that doesn't appear to be happening anytime soon.
(In all honesty, I am enjoying the lower shield. It's great to feel the wind in the face again, even if it is full of giant water droplets that smash into your face.)
Ride Soaked, Shake Off
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Maine/Labor Day Fire Pit!!
I was talking with Rob the other night and in the grand scheme of cleaning up the Maine clearing, the decision has been made to...are you sitting down? They're going to fill in the fire pit!! Oh no!!!!
.
For those unfamiliar with the back history on this, here's a quick rundown; back in '92 (or was it '93?), my first Labor Day trip (or was it my second? Holy crap, it was my second. God Damn you, Alzheimer's!!!) Anyway, I'd checked out what had been passing for a fire pit and felt that something was missing. Mainly; a real fire pit. What had been there was just a ring of stones on the ground, but for this majorly amazing party event, what was needed was something bigger. Better. Grander! And I had just the tools to do it. (Or should I say; I was just the tool to do it?)
.
I grabbed shovels, pry bars, pick axes, etc. Anything that would help achieve the grand vision I had in mind. A vision that entailed nothing more than one action; DIG! (But of course, I got a bit carried away...) Close to 8 hours later, I emerged from the earth and surveyed what I'd done. Before me lay a hole approximately 10 feet across and 4 feet deep. Doesn't sound so impressive, does it? 8 hours to dig that? But before you go judging me Jerky, let me add that this land is basically granite and ledge. In fact, the outer boundaries of the camping clearing are an old quarry. Yeah, so take that and stick it somewhere dark and unpleasant.
.
Anyway, even with a hole that size, I still wasn't satisfied. This thing had to be instrumental in keeping all embers and flying ash from ascending into the trees, as forest fires were something to definitely be wary of, deep in the woods (as the clearing is). So, I took all the large rocks that I'd pulled from the ground and used them to line the edge of the pit, adding another 1+ foot to the wall height. Sweet!! Now THIS was a fire pit! Look, you can even see it from SPACE!! (Courtesy of Google Maps).
Fast forward later that evening. The sun had set, the crowd had gathered, the bonfire had been blazing for a few hours and spirits were high. And now for the really surprising part; I hadn't had anything to drink all day! Ha ha, no really. Ok, when you're done laughing, pick yourself up off the floor and bear with me.
.
I only cracked my first beer when we began with the annual knighting and toasting ceremony, followed by the poems, etc. After that was completed, I'd had maybe 3 beers. And that's when the bad stuff happened. I was stepping around one of my friends by the pit's edge and I tripped on some wood on the ground. I tried to catch my footing...only to have the rocks (that I'd only a few hours earlier placed around the edge) take out my other leg, and I pitched head first into the fire.
.
I just remembered that I'd said this would be a "quick" back history so I'll wrap this up. Russ took me to the hospital (another full story in itself, and for another time) and I got bandaged up (2nd and 3rd degree burns), but with a lot of luck, I healed up nicely and only have a couple of white spots on my arm.
.
But in all fairness, the firepit has outlived its uselfulness. It hasn't been used in years due in part to a lot of dry seasons, as well as having been used as a trash receptacle for all kinds of refuse. There's just a lot of crap in there that really shouldn't be burned, and it's not worth it to try hauling it out of there. Besides, it's hogging up some prime tenting space, not to mention that a much smaller (normal-sized) pit will work just fine. (But I don't think they're going to let me dig it this time.)
.
While filling the pit in will signal the closing of another chapter on the Labor Day experience, it'll also be the start of a new one. The past couple of years have seen a rebirth of interest, due in no small part to all the work that is going on up there by our gracious hosts.
.
11 sleeps until we set foot there once again...
.
Ride Hard, Take Chances
.
For those unfamiliar with the back history on this, here's a quick rundown; back in '92 (or was it '93?), my first Labor Day trip (or was it my second? Holy crap, it was my second. God Damn you, Alzheimer's!!!) Anyway, I'd checked out what had been passing for a fire pit and felt that something was missing. Mainly; a real fire pit. What had been there was just a ring of stones on the ground, but for this majorly amazing party event, what was needed was something bigger. Better. Grander! And I had just the tools to do it. (Or should I say; I was just the tool to do it?)
.
I grabbed shovels, pry bars, pick axes, etc. Anything that would help achieve the grand vision I had in mind. A vision that entailed nothing more than one action; DIG! (But of course, I got a bit carried away...) Close to 8 hours later, I emerged from the earth and surveyed what I'd done. Before me lay a hole approximately 10 feet across and 4 feet deep. Doesn't sound so impressive, does it? 8 hours to dig that? But before you go judging me Jerky, let me add that this land is basically granite and ledge. In fact, the outer boundaries of the camping clearing are an old quarry. Yeah, so take that and stick it somewhere dark and unpleasant.
.
Anyway, even with a hole that size, I still wasn't satisfied. This thing had to be instrumental in keeping all embers and flying ash from ascending into the trees, as forest fires were something to definitely be wary of, deep in the woods (as the clearing is). So, I took all the large rocks that I'd pulled from the ground and used them to line the edge of the pit, adding another 1+ foot to the wall height. Sweet!! Now THIS was a fire pit! Look, you can even see it from SPACE!! (Courtesy of Google Maps).
Fast forward later that evening. The sun had set, the crowd had gathered, the bonfire had been blazing for a few hours and spirits were high. And now for the really surprising part; I hadn't had anything to drink all day! Ha ha, no really. Ok, when you're done laughing, pick yourself up off the floor and bear with me.
.
I only cracked my first beer when we began with the annual knighting and toasting ceremony, followed by the poems, etc. After that was completed, I'd had maybe 3 beers. And that's when the bad stuff happened. I was stepping around one of my friends by the pit's edge and I tripped on some wood on the ground. I tried to catch my footing...only to have the rocks (that I'd only a few hours earlier placed around the edge) take out my other leg, and I pitched head first into the fire.
.
I just remembered that I'd said this would be a "quick" back history so I'll wrap this up. Russ took me to the hospital (another full story in itself, and for another time) and I got bandaged up (2nd and 3rd degree burns), but with a lot of luck, I healed up nicely and only have a couple of white spots on my arm.
.
But in all fairness, the firepit has outlived its uselfulness. It hasn't been used in years due in part to a lot of dry seasons, as well as having been used as a trash receptacle for all kinds of refuse. There's just a lot of crap in there that really shouldn't be burned, and it's not worth it to try hauling it out of there. Besides, it's hogging up some prime tenting space, not to mention that a much smaller (normal-sized) pit will work just fine. (But I don't think they're going to let me dig it this time.)
.
While filling the pit in will signal the closing of another chapter on the Labor Day experience, it'll also be the start of a new one. The past couple of years have seen a rebirth of interest, due in no small part to all the work that is going on up there by our gracious hosts.
.
11 sleeps until we set foot there once again...
.
Ride Hard, Take Chances
Monday, August 23, 2010
Boston Medflight Charity run
I’d been kicking around the idea of going back to the low-profile windshield for a while now. Maybe I’d been too quick in my original assessment of its performance, way back when I’d first tried it out. I’d figured what the hell, right? Give it another shot. And, since I’d just hung in on Friday night taking things easy anyway, it gave me the opportunity to make the switch. A few turns of the wrist and the windshields had been swapped back out. Nice! I’ll be able to give things a decent test on the run we had scheduled; Boston Medflight Charity Run. (Mother Nature rewarded my decision with handing us the first rain we’ve had in weeks. But not just rain; a Nor’Easter! But more on that later…)
Pre-game festivities were at Danno’s, once again. 9:30 sharp, and the riff raff began arriving.
What draws these people, week after week? Is it the camaraderie? The lure of the open road? Personally, I think it’s the breakfast of Champions that draws them in…
Pre-game festivities were at Danno’s, once again. 9:30 sharp, and the riff raff began arriving.
What draws these people, week after week? Is it the camaraderie? The lure of the open road? Personally, I think it’s the breakfast of Champions that draws them in…
After we’d washed the donuts down, it was off to Bill Cabino’s house (fortuitously located just behind the Canton American Legion, where the run was located out of). With a line of cars already stacked up on one side, we turned something that had been a one-way street, into basically a no-way street.
Luckily we were only there for one road soda before saddling up and heading over to the rally point. We paid our fees, signed our names on the “You can’t sue if you die” forms, and took our spots. Turnout wasn’t too bad…
I didn’t get any action shots from this run, but once we returned, we were treated to the arrival of one of the Medflight helicopters. Sweet! We heard it coming so I grabbed my camera, set it to record video and was all ready to have a great vid of the bird coming in. Ready…aim….*click!* DAMMIT! I hit the power button instead of the ‘record’ button. And by the time I had it turned back on, the copter was already on the ground. Stupid fingers. And, adding insult to injury; the rotors stirred up all kinds of dust, dirt and other debris, leaving me with this memento.
I didn’t get any action shots from this run, but once we returned, we were treated to the arrival of one of the Medflight helicopters. Sweet! We heard it coming so I grabbed my camera, set it to record video and was all ready to have a great vid of the bird coming in. Ready…aim….*click!* DAMMIT! I hit the power button instead of the ‘record’ button. And by the time I had it turned back on, the copter was already on the ground. Stupid fingers. And, adding insult to injury; the rotors stirred up all kinds of dust, dirt and other debris, leaving me with this memento.
Anyway, Thanks go to Greg for being on the ball and getting some good pics… (I had to look up the explanation for the bend in the rotors, apparently it’s due to the camera’s shutter speed, as well as the how the camera records the image in its memory.)
Here’s the man himself, getting up close and personal…
Danno takes a break (he actually asked if he could sit in the cockpit but thankfully, he was told no.)
Yeah, no thanks. I have a hard enough time with “On / Off”.
Here’s hoping this is the only time I see the inside of one of these things…
While we were checking this thing out and talking to the flight crew, everyone behind us was having a great time, eating, drinking…mostly eating, it seems.
Why “mostly eating”? Because they ran out of food!! Yeah, half of our crew didn’t even get anything to eat! Bastards! Once word of this reached us, we said screw it, let’s ride. Where to? Why, to our friend Bill’s house. But Bill was away in NH this weekend. No matter, we’ll make sure his stores of Bud Light (as well as any food lying around) was well accounted for.
And, of course, we had to take the obligatory pic and text it to Bill on his phone.
Here’s the man himself, getting up close and personal…
Danno takes a break (he actually asked if he could sit in the cockpit but thankfully, he was told no.)
Yeah, no thanks. I have a hard enough time with “On / Off”.
Here’s hoping this is the only time I see the inside of one of these things…
While we were checking this thing out and talking to the flight crew, everyone behind us was having a great time, eating, drinking…mostly eating, it seems.
Why “mostly eating”? Because they ran out of food!! Yeah, half of our crew didn’t even get anything to eat! Bastards! Once word of this reached us, we said screw it, let’s ride. Where to? Why, to our friend Bill’s house. But Bill was away in NH this weekend. No matter, we’ll make sure his stores of Bud Light (as well as any food lying around) was well accounted for.
And, of course, we had to take the obligatory pic and text it to Bill on his phone.
Sadly, Bill had no food. But he did have beers. AND! He’s got Danno’s drum set in his basement! Cool! Danno, let’s see you hit the skins!
I asked Danno for a quick bit of instruction and here’s what I came away with…
Ok, I majorly sucked. I tried and tried, but I could not get a rhythm going. Danno kicked my ass to the curb and took over.
From there, we beat feet to a local pub to get some much needed grub into our bellies. When we’d finished there, we took up a collection, which I then brought to a local establishment while everyone else headed off to Zig’s house. What kind of establishment, you ask? Why, an establishment where one may procure beverages of an alcoholic nature. And from said establishment, I returned with two cubed containers containing many light blue cylindrical containers inside. And with these cylindrical containers, we whiled away the rest of the daylight and eased on into the evening hours. Another successful day was in the books.
.
Oh yeah; I forgot to mention that we had the rare luck to hang out with a couple of celebrities at the helicopter. They must have been going for the incognito look, what with the EMS outfits, but how can you not recognize The Mario Bros?
And there you have it; the 2010 Boston Medflight Charity Run.
Oh yeah; I forgot to mention that we had the rare luck to hang out with a couple of celebrities at the helicopter. They must have been going for the incognito look, what with the EMS outfits, but how can you not recognize The Mario Bros?
And there you have it; the 2010 Boston Medflight Charity Run.
.
Ride Hard, Take Chances
Banana Bread Beer
Yes, it was beer-testing time once again on Friday night. I’d had a long week, coupled with a lot of late nights, so I’d purposely set Friday night aside as a ‘hang in and relax’ evening. And what better way to achieve that than to sample another one of the beers I’d picked up a while back. Tonight’s selection was a beer brewed with bananas, if you can believe it. Yeah, that’s right; bananas! And, not to be outdone by the writeup the last beer had given itself, this one also bore a label full of self-promotion;
“Long ago, ale was known as “liquid bread”. We’ve used our long history of creating the finest malt blends and added fair-trade bananas to awaken the senses with a seriously fruity, rich, yet surprisingly versatile banana bread beer. An inspired brew made with our own natural mineral water and fair-trade bananas, tempting banoffee aromas and flavors are balanced by the silky richness of a masterful malt blend and the peppery spice of the freshest, ripest hops.”
What the hell is “banoffee”?? I thought for sure they were making these words up but nope; turns out it’s an English dessert made with bananas and toffee. Sounds kinda yum, actually. But back to the beer!! I present to you, Well’s brewery Banana Bread Beer…
It even came with a lovely cap. Too bad I can’t seem to get the focus figured out. I hadn’t even had any of the beer yet!
A nice amber appeal to it, with a mild scent of bananas.
Ok, who’s going to be the first brave soul to try this? Anyone? Anybody? Oh, right; I’m the only one here. Ok, let’s have at it. Hmmm…not too bad, actually. It only had a faint hint of the banana flavor, just enough to make it interesting. And by ‘interesting’, I mean; good enough if you’re only having one. I wouldn’t want to be drinking these banana things all night long (Stop fruitin’ the beer, Magraw!!)
And there you have it. I wouldn’t call this one a “loss” (like the last one I tried), but it wasn’t a “win”, either. So I guess that leaves me calling this one a “tie”.
.
Bananas in beer. Who thinks of these things??
“Long ago, ale was known as “liquid bread”. We’ve used our long history of creating the finest malt blends and added fair-trade bananas to awaken the senses with a seriously fruity, rich, yet surprisingly versatile banana bread beer. An inspired brew made with our own natural mineral water and fair-trade bananas, tempting banoffee aromas and flavors are balanced by the silky richness of a masterful malt blend and the peppery spice of the freshest, ripest hops.”
What the hell is “banoffee”?? I thought for sure they were making these words up but nope; turns out it’s an English dessert made with bananas and toffee. Sounds kinda yum, actually. But back to the beer!! I present to you, Well’s brewery Banana Bread Beer…
It even came with a lovely cap. Too bad I can’t seem to get the focus figured out. I hadn’t even had any of the beer yet!
A nice amber appeal to it, with a mild scent of bananas.
Ok, who’s going to be the first brave soul to try this? Anyone? Anybody? Oh, right; I’m the only one here. Ok, let’s have at it. Hmmm…not too bad, actually. It only had a faint hint of the banana flavor, just enough to make it interesting. And by ‘interesting’, I mean; good enough if you’re only having one. I wouldn’t want to be drinking these banana things all night long (Stop fruitin’ the beer, Magraw!!)
And there you have it. I wouldn’t call this one a “loss” (like the last one I tried), but it wasn’t a “win”, either. So I guess that leaves me calling this one a “tie”.
.
Bananas in beer. Who thinks of these things??
Monday, August 16, 2010
Sunday, SUNDAY, Sunday!
Well once again Sunday found us in the driveway, having our own little pre-game warmup festivities. Turnout was a bit smaller than normal, but we still managed to put some miles on our bikes...and on our livers.
.
First stop; the Pot Belly Pub! We were greeted as usual by The Mayor who quickly set about to making us feel right at home with jokes, busting our asses, and feeding us - all for free again. We paid him back in usual fashion by doing our best to deplete his stores of Bud Light. But the bastard was prepared for us and no matter how many times we returned to the inner sanctum (bar), his minions were prepared for us. A few pics, you ask? Sure, here are some that Chrissy snapped...
.
Apparently I can get a pretty ticked off look going when I'm waiting for my beer to show up...
Yay, beers have shown up! Everyone is happy once again!
After a few beers in the hot sun, nothing charges the batteries like a quick power nap. (What's that horn sound that's getting louder?)
When the time had come to once again head closer to home, we decided to hit this new place that had just been revamped, right down the street from Walpole. I present to you, the Red Rooster Pub!
Matt doesn't want to be associated with the likes of us...
How many places do you know of where you're greeted by a giant cock when you walk in? (What? It is a cock! What did you think I...oh man, you guys are sick!!)
I hate to say it, but once again we found ourselves with an extra beerverage, just lounging around and playing innocent. We'll have none of that! Matt did his duty as usual. Way to step up, Matt!
Ahh, but he pulled a fast one on me. It was his own beer that he'd swilled. He felt the limelight had been on him long enough and he insisted that I have the honor this week. Ok, but only because you insisted...
Let it not be said that we're afraid of an extra beer or five.
.
.
First stop; the Pot Belly Pub! We were greeted as usual by The Mayor who quickly set about to making us feel right at home with jokes, busting our asses, and feeding us - all for free again. We paid him back in usual fashion by doing our best to deplete his stores of Bud Light. But the bastard was prepared for us and no matter how many times we returned to the inner sanctum (bar), his minions were prepared for us. A few pics, you ask? Sure, here are some that Chrissy snapped...
.
Apparently I can get a pretty ticked off look going when I'm waiting for my beer to show up...
Yay, beers have shown up! Everyone is happy once again!
After a few beers in the hot sun, nothing charges the batteries like a quick power nap. (What's that horn sound that's getting louder?)
When the time had come to once again head closer to home, we decided to hit this new place that had just been revamped, right down the street from Walpole. I present to you, the Red Rooster Pub!
Matt doesn't want to be associated with the likes of us...
How many places do you know of where you're greeted by a giant cock when you walk in? (What? It is a cock! What did you think I...oh man, you guys are sick!!)
I hate to say it, but once again we found ourselves with an extra beerverage, just lounging around and playing innocent. We'll have none of that! Matt did his duty as usual. Way to step up, Matt!
Ahh, but he pulled a fast one on me. It was his own beer that he'd swilled. He felt the limelight had been on him long enough and he insisted that I have the honor this week. Ok, but only because you insisted...
Let it not be said that we're afraid of an extra beer or five..
From there, we headed up to Chickie Flynn's for some eats and a few nightcaps. When all was said and done (and our wallets were sufficiently emptied), we made our way back to our respective homesteads.
.
Another successful Sunday was in the books. It's a fresh week, and more plans are already in the works.
.
Ride Hard, Take Chances
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Stout!
Hey look, you guys are getting two for the price of one today. For you see; after I was done securing Snoopy, I figured a nice bit of reward was due. And what better way to reward myself than to dig into one of those stouts I bought two weekends ago.
It was a Wednesday night, so no need to dive into one of the giant bottles, just a 12-ouncer will do. Perusing the selctions, I finally settled on this one;
Avery Bottling Company; Mephistopheles' Stout
I liked the label (which often winds up meaning nothing in terms of how the beer is), and, it had some catchy verbiage on the side;
"Mephistopheles is the crafty shapeshifter, the second fallen angel, he who does not love light. Herein he patiently lies, waiting and willing to do your bidding, but for a price. Enter into his darkness, a tangled and intricate labyrinth of bittersweet rapture."
Oooh, look, it even comes with fancy red foil!
Normally, any bottle with foil on it, just has a plain cap (no design). But just in case, I always unwrap the foil instead of just popping it with a bottle opener...for you never know when you'll...hey, look! A nice cap was hidden under there!
Upon opening, the beer smelled excellent - and talk about dark! I couldn't see through the glass at all - even when I placed it up to the window to let the sunlight shine through. Now this is shaping up to be nice!!
And now for the review; No sir, I didn't like it. The taste was heavy (but not in a good way), with a strong sweet aftertaste (not in a good way), that then turned into a hint of hot pepper. Which was odd for a stout. What's up with that?
It was a Wednesday night, so no need to dive into one of the giant bottles, just a 12-ouncer will do. Perusing the selctions, I finally settled on this one;
Avery Bottling Company; Mephistopheles' Stout
I liked the label (which often winds up meaning nothing in terms of how the beer is), and, it had some catchy verbiage on the side;
"Mephistopheles is the crafty shapeshifter, the second fallen angel, he who does not love light. Herein he patiently lies, waiting and willing to do your bidding, but for a price. Enter into his darkness, a tangled and intricate labyrinth of bittersweet rapture."
Oooh, look, it even comes with fancy red foil!
Normally, any bottle with foil on it, just has a plain cap (no design). But just in case, I always unwrap the foil instead of just popping it with a bottle opener...for you never know when you'll...hey, look! A nice cap was hidden under there!
Upon opening, the beer smelled excellent - and talk about dark! I couldn't see through the glass at all - even when I placed it up to the window to let the sunlight shine through. Now this is shaping up to be nice!!
And now for the review; No sir, I didn't like it. The taste was heavy (but not in a good way), with a strong sweet aftertaste (not in a good way), that then turned into a hint of hot pepper. Which was odd for a stout. What's up with that?
.
At least it was an Imperial stout, and had an alcohol content of 16%. (Atta boy, way to take it easy on a Wednesday night!)
.
One stout down, about a dozen left to go...
Snoopy is Secured
It'd come to my attention that Snoopy's means of safe transport was beginning to give way, and it was time for an upgrade. Or, maybe not really an 'upgrade' since it was just a replacement that was needed but...oh what the hell, call it what you like.
Here, you can see the back of the old velcro base had been working it's way up, allowing for Snoopy to droop. (And as any guy can attest to; we don't want a droopy Snoopy!)
First; remove the old stuff...man, look at all that sticky residue. That's gotta get gone!
A little gas on a shop rag made short work of the glue residue. Then, a nice soapy wash and rinse (and dry) to get ride of the gas residue, and we were in good shape.
Next; a nice new piece of Velcro...
Peel off the protective layer...
Stick it right where the old piece was...
And Voila! Snoopy has a nice secure perch again!
Sweet - now let's get to rolling up some miles...
Here, you can see the back of the old velcro base had been working it's way up, allowing for Snoopy to droop. (And as any guy can attest to; we don't want a droopy Snoopy!)
First; remove the old stuff...man, look at all that sticky residue. That's gotta get gone!
A little gas on a shop rag made short work of the glue residue. Then, a nice soapy wash and rinse (and dry) to get ride of the gas residue, and we were in good shape.
Next; a nice new piece of Velcro...
Peel off the protective layer...
Stick it right where the old piece was...
And Voila! Snoopy has a nice secure perch again!
Sweet - now let's get to rolling up some miles...
Ride Hard, Take Chances
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