So in the wayback machine we go. Katina has been asking for more and so has Carl in Florida.
You're probably going to read about bikes,food and beer with travel sprinkled in.
So lets start with Memorial day weekend. Jaunty mouse and Country Mouse pointed the lesbian truck west to Pixburg. The Tom Tom was screaming turn left all the time as it wanted us on route 80 not 17. Click end of that till we stopped for dinner. Then memory took over. Technology is something when it works. We rolled into City mouses' house right on time. A Witte was poured and some appetizers eaten as the IPA's made their way put.
Saturday we opened the pool. Took a run into Pix and saw some sights. Dropped off a ton of bke parts at Freeride Pittsburgh. It's a cool place where people can learn bike repair assemble their own bike and keep it. Get them on the street and not be reliant on a car. Then we hit Bannicks bike shop. First you had to find it. No wayback machine needed here. It was a time warp of odd and everything bike related. Very cool. We hit the upper hillside for aview of the city. The Sharp Edge called our name and Belgian beers and exotic meat burgers passed our lips. A stop at the 6 and Save aka the VFW was in order. I think I'm one beer away from my free t-shirt and discount. Drink up men.
Sunday found me back on the bike and in search of new routes. Thanks to the bartender at the Dew Drop in I was on a pretty good loop. You don't have to look far for hills in this area. En route home I saw a group of twenty or so 250F dirt bikes heading into the weeds. I stopped a couple and asked about the trails. They said they were all over. The rest of the day I could hear the Brrrap Brrrrap and new they weren't far away. Have to get the Hooligan out here again and ride these trails.
City mouse planned a pool party and new friends were invited. Laughs were had as we set City mouse up with the Z3. It's a known fact that the Miata is a "little gay car" but was the Z3. We believed so. City Mouse roared in denial. Then he offered to show Mike the car. We told Mike to say "Oh, Look at the little gay car". Well it was too funny to hear "It is not" come out of the garage. Maybe we should have a poll?
Monday was more sightseeing starting with breakfast at DeLucas. Man vs Food has eaten here and after having the seafood omelet I can see why. We hit Smokin Joes sixty beers on tap. Great place better than Fatheads. Dinner was at Majorrca. I had wild boar, Vince had oso bucco, Bob had a salmon dish. All were excellent. Our appetizer was stuffed calamari. There's a keeper.
After that I was signed up for the Single Speed Palooza. Other gangsters signed up were Drumroll and the infamous fast couple Jeff and Katina. This would be Katinas first ride on SS, borrowed one at that. Jeff was up with the big dogs, Drumroll and I in the "north" and Katina with the big kitties. I knew getting to the single track in the front would be imperative with over 200 riders going to be on the course traffic problems could occur. I entered it first. Drumroll close behind. We had a good gap as riders clogged up on the hill behind us. Away we went. Stewart is a great place to ride. I left it all on the course for 14th Greg snagged a 4th. Jeff had a good run with the pros. Some mutant crushed it in 1:25 flat. Freak. Katina took second in the Expert Women. Killer. Overall the Gangsters got a lot of "airtime" from the promoter. Gregg donated some 750's for primes. In the trivia I scored a pair of Specialized sunglasses. Overall a great event. It sort of spiraled out of control for them. Thanks to the Watershed for hosting us and as always serving great food.
Fast forward to last weekend. City Mouse returned to Bingo. Friday night I made Pad Thai. Ther has to be a zillion recipes for this. It was good. Peasant food can be some of the best. Saturday night we used our gift certificate for Moxie, now we went to the other end of the spectrum. Vince had divers scallops I had grilled veggies with tuna. Excellent as always. Probably the best place in the area. We watched a documentary about abuse by priests. Interesting.
Sunday found me road racing in Whiskey point taking a wrath for not doing the 50 miler. Vince had to be in NYC so we had made plans to see Panhandle at the Black Bear Winery. The race we like always sit in till Marathon. Make the cut, be there at the finish. It worked. AJ made the cut and a few other TVC'ers. There was some horsepower here with Peter Ozlins and Ernie Bayles.
The group worked pretty well and it came down to a sprint up the hill. There's that word SPRINT, I don't have one so Iwas 4th in the age group. I was happy I made the cut. Jaunty had brought the little gay car over and City Mouse had found his way back from the birthplace of Nelson Rockefeller to be there at the finish. Lunch at Aiello's, a celebratory beer and we were on our way to see Panhandle. We tasted some wine. YUCK way to sweet for me. Enjoyed the tunes. Bobber and DNA met us there. Got Vince on the road on time and another work week ensued.
Done with kids for another year. Not a bad year.
Enjoy life, ride your bike, drink good beer, tell your friends you value them. OGQ