Lets see if my memory is working. Work has started again. All goes well. Days I am reminded of this is "where I work". Meaning the ignorance of some people.

We had the birthday party. Vince transported food from Picsburgh. Chef mike did up a couple great shrimp dishes. Cliff did wine. I made a Thai salad. D-N-A had tuna and bruchetta. Mike and Sara made a salad as did Frank. Dawn, Tish and Bob did desserts.No one went hungry or thirsty. Cliff summed up the night. 'We couldn't get food this good in Binghamton in a restaurant". A winner.

Kross has started and practice shave been picking up. The Kingdom has expanded to Kirkland NY. Margaret and Krew put on their first race and did a great job. The course was fast and wide open. With a tough run up and the first sand pit in the area. A super additon to the KX circuit.

This past weekend. Was Buckhill. It started pouring Thursday. I wasn't feeling the love for all things Kross. I got the bikes prepped the truck loaded etc. The head and heart weren't in it. Even though I'm a good mudder. I wasn't feeling it. I have seriously cut back the racing now. I shot Pops an email. If it's "pouring I'm snoring " for the race. It was and breakfast out was a better choice. Ommegang is coming up and I will do my best to improve the course with whats there. Will be a lot of work. But it can be done.

Now the rain definitely threw me into a funk. Not sure why. But it did. Bobber and I snuck a road ride in. I did my hills and circle back. Legs were so so. But good to get out. Today was rain, a break, more rain. Did yoga instead. Looks like Monday is the break in the rain. Then the weekend looks good. Well that's all the news.

Random pics. Portland, Bday party. I love mangos,not so sure now and of course KX and Beer.

Enjoy life. OGQ.

Well it sure has been awhile. Anyways we made it to Portland. Beervanna, Bicycling's number one city, Stumptown etc. We picked up the bikes from the clueless shop. Even though I'd ordered them a month in advanced. We rolled out an brand new Fuji Kross bikes. Checked into our boutique hotel. Very nice and right on the river,easy access to the "Bike lane" system.

We wanted to ride and see what the city was all about. River City Bikes was first, we plotted a route that was stymied from the word go. CONSTRUCTION! This seemed to be the theme of the city. After a few turnarounds. We made it. Word from the bike shops was find the best way and use it. So much for the bike lanes etc. River City had bikes that cost up to 15K. My car was barely that much. The Zook half that. Never would I lay out that kind of coin. Good shop, friendly people and free coffee drinks.

Next on the list was beer. We tried to hit as many breweries as possible. Here we chatted up locals and found even more beer. We made it to Laurelwood, Bridgeport, Rogue, Henrys,Jakes, Widmers , an Ale house, Lucky Lab, and the Portland City Grill.. We stopped in a McMenimans. They had something like 20 locations. All reclaimed buildings. Very cool places. Rogue would be my favorite. There we met a girl from Pa that knew the VW Punchbug game. Too funny. Jake's was our first clue in to great food at low prices. Ahi Tina a buck ninety five!. We never actually went to a restaurant for dinner. Beers and appetizers, were the M.O. Also Henrys had great service and ice strip around the bar to keep your beer cold. Pretty cool.

Race day took us to Kreugers Farm for a dirt Kermesse, Kross without barriers. It was fast and fun. ROUGH. My hands were toast at the end. Got the hang of the FUJI on lap three. Three of us lapped the field and moved up into the 35+ guys. Did I say Fast? No prize or money. The guy who won said he didn't expect a guy from NY to "beat up on the locals". Had great food from Salvador Mollies.

An around town trip took us to Veloshop, of blogger/kross guy Molly Camreon. I met Molly at a UCI race in Del. Now he's male, identifies as female and has a girlfriend named Pete. Very Portland. Vince got an eye opener here. Molly's shop had NO BIKES. One frame. But in the dimly lit bowels all things Kross. No lack of want for Kross stuff there. Molly gave me the skinny on a few rides. We also hit Stumptown Coffee and hung with the messenger crowd. Good coffee.not great. Not worth buying and dragging back to NY. Right down the street was Voo Doo donuts. Go there, Eat one or two. I'm not a donut guy. But these were the best donuts I've ever had, bar none. Clever Cycles had all things cool for commuting.

We also got to meet some other "netizens" . Steve gave us a nice tour of the city at night. Dick and his friend provided laughs for us at the Grill. Don who used to live in N-D-Cott came out to the race and shot some great pics. Good to see you.

Came home in time to go back to work. But that's another tale.

Enjoy life. I am. Ride your bike. Smile. OGQ

Friday the Caddy and Subaru rolled in to the drive for the trip to the Kingdom Trails. This was our return visit. With Bobber getting out of work early. We had a well timed trip up,missing major traffic and letting us hit Long Trail Brewing, Harpoon and finally Trout River Brewing.

What a start to the trip. Dawn had co-ordinated the whole thing and we had half a house for the weekend. We hut the hay and left the light on for the late arrivals. Never heard them come in.

Morning found us at the Lyndonville Diner for a big "Vermont" breakfast. We picked up our trail passes and away we went. The objective was to hit some of the trails we didn't last fall. The Kingdom trails live up to the hype. Go there. Pay your money. Ride yourself into the ground.

This was George,Lorrie, John and Jims' first time there. High praise from them too. I may get this wrong but here goes. We did Harp to Coronary Bypass,River Run,Bemis,Tap and Die,back to River Run to Dry feet.(lots of new trail work in theses areas)West Branch to Old Web's. I did a Old Web's in both directions. I love that trail. It would be a great training loop or short race course. It challenges all your skills and rewards them dearly. We had lunch here. I was looking at the bikes. My weapon of choice this time was the Dillinger and nearby sat a Ti Lynsky 29'er. So i chatted him up. Turns out he's running a FIXED gear! Never owned a geared bike. He let me take it for a spin. Now that would take some getting used too. Your technique would have to be flawless.That bike was wicked light too. DUH, forgot to take a pic of it. Bob, Dawn and Lorrie decide to head back after lunch. John was in the "I want to ride all day mode" George and Jim were "let's do it". So we parted ways and hit Knob, VAST, East Branch,River Wood and Beat Bog.

A spin home and showered to head to Trout River Brewery and beat the crowd. Got a table quickly and had out waitress from last year. Gourmet pizzas abounded, The Scallepeno, Scampi. Magnifico. Beer flowed as we planned and plotted for the next day. We tried to get our"other" growlers filled. No go. So I turned up the charm and put Trout River Stickers on one and Isaac, said "That looks like on to me". So with two growlers of Nitro Stout and an IPA we went home.

Picked fresh berries while sipping stouts along the river and in the garden. Then we hit the Outback Pub. More beer flowed. The foosballs table beckoned some and it was "Game on". The rest of us fooled with Tavern puzzles. Easily amused or frustrated. You choose. Goodnight.

Another breakfast at the Lyndonville Diner and away we went. We repeated our ride and it flowed and we switched it up at mid point for Tody's Tour. More technical than Tap and Die. Lorrie had a new favorite. This time at the bottom we took Hogsback to the Sidewinder. Now we all had a new favorite. Half of it is built in a ravine. So it's like a giant steep half pipe. Go ride it. A new trail wended back up to the top. Again whoever builds thses trails does a huge amount of work. We hit Old Web's again and I did a race pace lap. This is the first time I've ever got both wheels of the Dillinger to drift,the berm brought me back. Shades of Bubba and Villipoto. Rocked that lap full tilt. My lunch highlight was Jim's idea of Whole wheat peanut butter and fresh blackberries sandwich. It had mushed itself enough by then to be almost fresh jam! Sweet.

The group split again. We took Jaw(Which turned into hike a bike) to Sugar hill,Bill McGill to Widowmaker. Last Year Dawn wasn't having anything of a trail named that. Turned out to be quite tame and a nice trail. From there we took the Pines,to Leatherwood, Beat bog to Vast and home on Kitchel. Then the road spin home. Back at the ranch we had a very tired group. Decisions were hard to come by. We had planned to cook fresh produce from the garden. None really wanted to move from the comfort of our chairs. Finally we decide to walk to the River Cafe,where we were greeted with "Do you have a reservation?" HUH? They could take us at 8. This town shuts down at 9pm we thought. Plan B, The Valley View or the new Chinese Buffet?

The buffet won out. We were tired and hungry. We could serve ourselves eat till we were stuffed and not deal with anyone. Beers were not seen at this meal. Does that say how tired we were?

Back at the ranch. George whipped up Margaritas. It was Night of the living Dead. We were all that tired. I even abstained form beer,despite all the tasty beers in the fridge. The old man was pondering a suspension fork in place of the carbon. As my hands had had enough. A dip in the hot tub. Brought a peaceful sleep.

Monday found up doing a quick ride. A quick breakfast sandwich. Then ride Worth it to Nose to Leatherwood,to Herbs. Herbs was more then Kitchel. Shower and pack. We stopped at Long Trail for lunch. Another fun trip filled with fun people and good times.

Ride your bike,drink good beer. Enjoy life. OGQ

Pointed the big Zook west again. This time cooler temps and no rain. Took the new route in,way better. Passing lanes seem to be better thought out going south than north. But truck traffic was light.

I got to "interface" with Vince's brother Mike and his new wife Cheryl and her two kids Matt ans Abby. A good time .all really nice people. Mike and I shared many musicals interests. Cheryl helped the Luddite get the Bluetooth going. The kids were both outgoing and friendly. Nice to meet them. Mike met Cheryl on the net too. So there's more proof it can work. "I like today".

We went to Dirty Harry's bike shop. They're always in Dirt Rag. The shop lived up to it's rep. A friendly outgoing staff. A well stocked shop. Picked up some tools etc. Then they recommended a brewpub down the street. Well I couldn't pass that up. It was wing night. 50 cent wings. I ordered FIRE, Vince got Asian. The cook brought them out and asked "Who got FIRE?" I did. He looked at me like, Are you nuts?. They were pretty much Durkees with extra butter. A nice tang,but FIRE? They were tasty we enjoyed a summer ale and left. Again way too many people in Pittsburgh smoke.

We hit a few bike trails in the area. Some leisurely riding along the river. Also did a local loop. Had a big downhill i it. I wanted to go up the hill. I will another day. Vince made the climb out of Tarentum for the first time. What a difference the new bike makes. A little coaching helps. Now to master those pedals. Confidence is the key.

The beer food tour continued. Friday found us at the Church Brew Works again. This time for "Geek Night". Todd organizes it. Well it held up to it's name. It was like being in a living Ralph Steadman illustration. I don't think one person had a straight spine. They were all either on their laptops or blackberry. Social skills were minimal. The free buffet had pizza,wings, chips and Spanish rice. Where did that come from? We had a couple beers and made our way to Fatheads.

This place gets a lot of press locally and nationally. Super beer list. We had a Belgian Trippel made for them. Yummy. The sandwiches were good too. Vinces tuna was a little overdone.

The next day we we enetertaing the girsl and went to PF Changs Chinese. Another excellent choice. Bloody Marys were the beverage du jour. When we got home we tried a dessert beer from Southern Tier Brewing Company. Their Creme Brulee. RUN out and buy a bottle. Share with friends. About two ounces in a snifter is all you need. Do it now.

Saturday night was Brew at the Zoo. Fifty beers and you could walk around the Zoo. Wev saw the baby elephants and worked the crowd. I swapped shirts again. This time a Long Trail Ale for a Berlin beer fest. Cool people. We hit the food court just in time. Our return down the hill met us with the masses and no more beer. There was beer at the main tent along with a HUGE crowd. We left.

Sunday night was supposed to be a free John Hiatt show. But we called to find out about the venue and found out he wouldn't be there. Bummer.

The trip home is always harder. No matter where you go. This time it took me three and a half hours to get to the 219and 86 junction. Too long. I was a little tired so that might have been it.

Then buzzing along in the endless construction of 86. I'd just throttled down and BOOM on goes the light show a trooper. I got nabbed in a work zone. More time wasted. Not guilty. Aren't we all? So we'll see what happens.

Going to Shindagin today. That will be way better than South Mountain. Shirking my duties? No. I'll get the painting done. But Shindagin is the best. Besides that's what summer is for.

Off to VT Friday to ride the Kingdom trails.

Movie review. Neil Young Heart of Gold. If you're a fan rent it. Good show. A little insight into Neil.

Enjoy life. I sure am. OGQ

Coming from a motocross background. I learned most people hate mud. I learned to turn this into an advantage. My biggest nemesis back then was there we no real systems(unlike roll offs today) to keep your goggles clean other than to grab the holeshot and run away with it.

Pops and I headed to The Highland Forest Classic. I would have loved to race the 29'er. But have found the Exiwolfs in a 2.5 really don't like the mud and I've never really fretted a tire choice. Find one that works and ride it. So I packed the Dillinger and Hooligan. As we neared the race site you could tell it had really rained there. The promoter was explaining course changes due to mud. The choice was simple. The Hooligan.

We warmed up and to be truthful,my training has taken a big hit along with my riding. I'm more of a A- rider now. I can hang at some club races,get dropped at others. I do my share of work and try to attack etc. So with a long road/doubletrack start I lined up on the front row of the 40/50+ took the holeshot and bumped it up near the rev limiter. About two thirds of the way up my team mate Gregg passed me in the steep part. I glued myself to him knowing he would have trouble with the mud. Sure enough,he went to move over and crashed. Now my goal was runaway and hide from the other 50+ guys. The course had lots of off cambers and was slippery. but this is mountain biking. A few climbs I had to run. So settled into a good rhythm. No one came up and started to catch the 30+. Same strategy for the next lap. Turns out I caught all the 30+ except the winner. The Hooligan rocked.

The promoters had Magic Hat and Orlio Organic brewing there. So they had samples and hooked me up with three six packs. I got a nice workstand for the win. The Ommegansters racked up two class wins and a 4th in the 30 plus.

One guy had the right idea. He brought his bike on his bike. Now I've toyed with this idea for awhile. But he approached it from the low tech end. It worked.

Jeff and Katina were there along with Jeff's ever supportive parents. How cool is that? Here you are in your 40's and your parents come and watch you race. They cheer for me too. Thanks. Good people. Katina got an earful about my life lately. Her friend was wide eyed as I described the ONEGEARQUEER BLOG to her. Now she said she had to approve of it.

She won her class too. Congrats.

Maybe a little fixed riding tonight. Clean the legs out.

Like the shirt says. "Mess with me and you mess with the whole trailer park".

Enjoy life, I sure am OGQ

Vince had never heard of City Mouse and Country Mouse. (Actually it turned out to be Town mouse). But City mouse is better.

So we headed to NYC to see his daughter in Damn Yankees and enjoy what the city has to offer.

Meaning food , great beer bars, and night life. The drive down was easy. Now I hate traffic,but somehow we didn't hit any. Parked and unpacked and took a walking tour of the neighborhood.

Stopped at a bar called "Tap a keg." Walked in looked like quite an array of taps. Blue Moon and Brooklyn Lager turned out to be the best choices amongst the AB products. As we a approached our seat a woman gave me the elbow for a stool and put her purse on it and walked away. OK, Welcome to NYC. The bar maven had a thick NY accent and told us. "Honey,If you can find a beer here. You must be pretty picky!" How did she know? Then a couple that seemed to have met on the street or a Craigslist Rendezvous sat next to us moving this woman's bag. She came back and went nuts on them. They seemed oblivious as they were now making out at the bar. We went up the street for sushi. Is there a better food on the earth than raw tuna? Here we had a couple variations on this. The spicy rolls with Tuna roe were incredible. We took a tour of the Korean markets en route home. Back at the apartment a night cap of Ithaca 10 was the order of the night. This beer has to be one of the 10 best beers in the world.

Day two took us to Canal St. My ex and I had bought rings there and I'd decided that the thing to do was go back where I'd bought the ring and throw it down the street. I think it would make a good read about if someone picked it up and wondered how it got there and now it was part of their journey. Down the street it rolled. Coming to rest under a truck. It's new life awaits. I turned and started a brand new day. Done. I love Canal St. The buzz, the knock offs, all crazy stuff for sale. We stopped for a street vendors mango. Her secret to peeling a mango. A screwdriver! Better get one of those in the kitchen. Tasty too. The knock off watches and Obama shirts seemed to dominate this week. So Vince haggled with a vendor and scored two "Swatches". Mine in orange. There's a surprise. Self winding. I like analog watches. How about you? We then headed to the village in search of the Blind Tiger Pub for the first of our beer adventures. This place turned out to be the highlight of the weekend beer wise. The Ginger man may have had more beers, but not the vibe, The East Village Tavern was fun but noisy, knowledgeable staff. But the Blind Tiger was best. The food was superb. Deviled eggs and and a chipotle quesadilla. As were were enjoying a fine Belgian beer we met a young Latino couple ,Jessica and Steve,from LA. They were so "LA" . Suffice to say our beer drinking stayed at the Blind Tiger as we shared beers and laughs with our new found friends.

The nest day was Megan's show. Headlining was Sean Hayes, Jack from Will and Grace. Vince's friend Corey met us at the theater. Vince's grand kids and the Mid Westerners were there with Mid western values. We had great seats and the show was fun. Been a long time since country mouse had been to the theater. Another circle opened and closed there. My first LTR had a fear of the number one in a sequence. 11:11, 111 etc. Odd things did happen that way. He got the call I'd been in accident at 11:11.He was admitted to the hospital for his final days on 11/11 only to be put in room 111. What was my seat for the show? You guessed it. 111. But that was cool, be cause he was involved in theater and loved it. Maybe all the planets were aligning for me. We came back to the apartment for drinks and then had a "fabulous" Italian dinner. Corey headed home we headed off to the Ginger Man. More subway time. The Ginger Man was what I would consider a NY bar. 20 foot ceilings ,dark wood, library lights. Open spacious. They had 70 taps with an incredible bottle list and prices to match. So we had a beer and headed to Alphabet City for another beer. I need to write down the beers as I go. As I said the Blind Tiger was the winner. Will be fun to go back. A cab ride home capped off the night. Thanks.

We'd met one of Vince's neighbors on the street walking the dog. He had sciatica and was in obvious pain,but was very pleasant and said we should get together for a drink. Plans were made and then Oliver couldn't make it but Larry could. Vince figured maybe he'd stay for an hour. A trip to market for appetizers and we opened some nice Belgian Ales as Larry held court for THREE HOURS! God was he droll. Country mouse was getting hungry. So Vince suggested we get dinner. He offered for Larry to go with us. He accepted. Court continued. Thai food was the choice. Turns out Thai Thai's green curry was better. Food was very good. A long night. but probably a "NY night".

Sunday we had brunch with Clair. What a great person. Lots of fun. It was a Bloody Mary Morning. More tasty food and laughs. It was time to head home.

Enjoy life. More tales to come. A return to cycling stories.

OGQ

Vince made the (30,36,48 -172 hour) flight in from Austria for some time in the Crippled cities.

A familiar pattern formed. We went to Danny's for breakfast for "local color". The next morning it was the Clinton St Cafe to meet Bobber and Tish and revel in stuffed french toast. The Broadway aka "Stacy's Ass" was next, where the size of the omelet was even bigger than the last. Wrapped up the breakfast tour with Fontanas. For a break I cooked on Sunday morning.

A trip to Mythaca was in order. We hit the Ithaca beverage center and spent way too much money on beer. My beer cellar is starting to look like Cliff's wine cellar. Had lunch at the Mexican place on the corner. Enjoyed a nice chorizo quesadilla and Cascazilla Red Ale. People watched. The magnet for the weird turned on and we dealt with crazy homeless guy. He made a bee line for me. Harmless. but they find me. Then back to Bingo.

A shopping trip to Sallys' netted Vince a souvenir from Binghamton in time for the dinner group. It was off to Franks and start cooking. I think our groups culinary skills and choices rival any restaurant in the area. As usual Cliff paired the wines. Vince and I stuck with summer ales and Belgian beers. The menu, fresh corn(best this summer), deviled egg with crab meat.Southwestern grilled vegetable potato salad, orzo salad and dill marinated grilled shrimp. Dessert was a lemon cake.

Cooking began in earnest. The grill was lit to grill the veggies. But,it didn't work. So Plan B was put into progress. The rest of the crew arrived. Introductions were made. Appetizers were put on the table. Mills had prepared the deviled eggs and was asking if we picked up on the "secret ingredient"? No one had, so he told us and Bob H. was merciless in his accusations that the ingredient couldn't possibly be in there. Come on, he cooked. He didn't just go to the bakery.

Sauvigon Blanc from New Zealand was the wine of choice. Grapefruit on steroids was description. Five bottles made the rounds each with own distinctive taste. Now Bob H. can consume alcohol with seemingly little effect versus his rate of consumption. Sometimes we watch in horror,sometimes in amazement! Well, tonight he was in rare form. A raucous evening followed. Thanks Frank for hosting.

We had breakfast at Franks'. Fresh blueberry muffins, eggs, and cottage bacon. I love breakfast.

Back in Bingo it was time to race. Yes, I'm still riding. Not sure when. But I still love my bike.

This was the first time Vince had seen a bike race. With he viewed with his cell phone glued to his ear. Just kidding. The race turned into a typical one 29 people and maybe 8 of us working. When the big motors went up the road. I said" There goes the race" I'd just pulled hard up the hill and they'd countered. So of course the "Yellow anchor" dug in even harder. The usuals tried to bridge but the Yellow anchor would have none of that and wouldn't contribute. So the race went up the road and we had our own little race. I gave Mike the lead out,except he wasn't there, so I tried to fend off the peleton on my own. A few came around. Nice to know I can still do a good lead out.

Dinner at Thai Thai followed. Our little hidden treasure here in Bingo. I took Vince to our "trendy hip new slice of NY Bistro". Many laughs ensued. His review was not good.

Friday was a R&R day. Vince hadn't ridden on a motorcycle yet. So today would be a good day for acclimation. We headed in to Pa then back into NY. A mango ice was on tap and it sure hit the spot. Dinner was Moxie. This place is another diamond here. A fine meal was had and we headed to the Belmar for the start of the local music scene. Dr J and the Rudimentary Sound Machine. Pretty good. Then we headed to McGirks to hear the Parlor cats,but they were on break. So it called an evening.

Saturday had us back on the MC for MC weekend at camp. This proved to be an eye opener for Vince. Some sights may not have been necessary. This event is kind of like the casting call for the Road Warrior movie. We shied away from the free beer and mystery punch being served.

The sky was giving signs of doom. So we headed out a novice doesn't need to ride in the rain. After all these years of riding,neither do I. Didn't matter. We got rained on a few miles from home. Beats the whole way. Back at the ranch caught up on the Tour de France. Vince commented I have two channels on my TV bike racing and motorcycles. I pointed out the Food channel does work. We'd decided to have dinner at McGirks to get a table for Dirt Farm. Now I'd been hyping them all week. Could be a tough sell to a musician. They lived up to their rep and played a great show.

What a week. Where did it go?

Enjoy life. I sure have been.

I'd better go ride my bike. OGQ

Barber poles represent bloodletting from when that practice was common. Now,safe to say not so common. So I've decided to remain clean shaven for awhile.

This is where the First Adopters and Exclusives part fits from last time. First Adopters are people who stay on the bleeding edge of the latest and greatest. They are willing to endure incredible levels of sacrifice to be the first to own the next New Thing. Be it a phone,TV or gasp, bike parts. Then there are Exclusives,the well heeled fans,who strive to have the Special Thing. Think MV Agusta 4. Being a member of either of these clubs means parting with large sums of money. Me I'm a luddite sometimes and other times . I think somethings are great ideas.

But after the straight razor shave Vince gives me a Gillette Fusion Power razor. OH, OH goes the red light in my head.( We all know how I love traditions.) I've just crossed the line from not three,or four blades in my razor, but jumped right into the world of FIVE blade and it vibrates! Kind of like a sex toy for your face. This little puppy upped the ante. Would I now be a First Adopter? Would it really bring nirvana to my face? After all 3 then 4 were nice effective tools. In the razor wars Gillette rules. Schick sucks. So I slid on some Art of Shaving pre-oil then some shave cream. Hit the switch a mild buzzing in my hand. Razor to face stroke one,rinse,lather repeat. It flat out works. Of course I was relearning how to shave. Verdict. Great product with a buzz. Second blatant plug,buy yourself some Alba Shave cream. My favorite Mango Vanilla.

The other pic is a steak bone from last nights grilling at Cliffs. We did coffee and peppercorn rubbed steaks. So the plate is served up and I'm eyeing the bone,instinct kicking in. I want to gnaw on that bone. Look at that red flesh so close to the bone,untainted. Think cheek meat,facial cheek. I lean over to Mills and say "I haven't had a bone since I was a kid." We laugh. Cliff returns and says "You're welcome to the bone,if either of you would like it?" Again we laugh.

Mills says take it. Now for a small meat eater like me it was a treat. The meat so warm and tender. The tearing away from the bone. Primordal feelings sliding away. Transported back to childhood all guilt of being a First Adopter washed away.

Vince, thanks for the razor. Cliff ,thanks for the bone.

Enjoy life. OGQ

So I was harassed yesterday about not keeping the blog up to date. I try.

My summer vacation started in a frenzy. I had the V-Strom loaded up and ready to roll to Pittsburgh for a date,beer and food tour. Not to mention a straight razor shave. All arranged by my date,Vince. What a itinerary he had planned for us. Not to mention a rendezvous with Mom and my sister.

With the Strom pointed west and typical July weather on the horizon. Away I went on an adventure. Just west of Corning it started to rain. A warm soft rain. I had the "armadillo suit" on so I was comfortable. But, no one wants to ride in the rain all day. After an hour it quit. I'd settled into a pattern of 80-90 mph and some would still pass me. A quick pit on the edge of Salamanca for gas and fluids. I should try a camelbak on the rides. Back on the road. RT 79 seemed endless. Then the trip through Butler where every red light was 500 feet apart and not synchronized at all I arrived at Vince's' none the worse for wear a little thirsty. He'd procured a case of Ommegang Witte for the weekend.

We headed into "Picksburgh" to go the Church Brew works. Beer snobs mark this as a must do.

Iron City was right across the street. Good and Evil, Black and white?

A huge old church we're if you had a Catholic upbringing you have a moment of guilt and wonder? "Should I be drinking in a church?". This quickly passes as you read the beer menu. We went with the sampler and the very cute beer maven gave us the other two tap samples with it. For eight 6oz samples. A chorizo quesadilla and hummus for appetizers. Some tasty brews. Odd, I liked the lager best. Hefe next. The coconut stout was a bit odd. This was followed by a trip to Sushi Too for may favorite,tuna, octopus , eel, eel roe and some hot tuna rolls. A East Brewing beer to pair with it. More bliss. We went up above Pitts for the scenic view. There was a Smart car there. 21K for a car that runs on premium? Not too smart. Ride your bike.

Day two had us headed to The Stone House Barber shop for a haircut and a straight razor shave.

Now I've had a beard or some sort of facial hair for 27 years. Clean shaven is not my M.O. But I've always appreciated rituals and a straight razor shave is one I wanted to experience. Nothing like a little pampering. Nervous? No way. He nicked me a few times and I broke out in a few places for the revealing of a baby face. Vince told me I looked less "Severe". I'm not sure that's a compliment or not,then another friend said the same thing. Hmmm, maybe i use that teacher look too often. So I'll keep it off for awhile. Shaving is a pain in the ass. At least razors have progressed. But that's another posting about first adopters and exclusives.

So with a new look we headed back to Picksburgh to visit the Sharp Edge and attend the Belgian Brewfest. Arriving early as per my norm. We opted for a bit of lunch and a beer. I had an ostrich burger and frites. Vince had a Belgian burger and frites. Both were excellent as was my Hefe. The frites were so so. But the spicy aolli was superb.

Time for the tastings they had a hundred beers to sample. My Omme shirt drew in conversation as many patrons ahd heard of it but never had it. I represented and told them to have their local distributor get it for them. Had a great time talking with the other patrons. Near Mid-west friendliness. The best of show was Piraat,the worst was Kasteel Rouge. That was evil on tap. I won one of the raffles scoring a beer bucket and glasses from a Russian Brewery. We ended up trading shirts and he gave me some product. As we left the festival and were maybe 200 ft from the fest. We were accosted by the police and someone from the brewpub.

"Where did you get that beer?" Me. inside,he gave it to me. Them. " You stole it!" Me, excuse me? Vince is now worried there maybe an altercation. I said it's not open I can be here. Back and forth it went. The cop was cool. The other guy was adamant. So I gave him back a few bottles as I slid one in the trunk. ODD. No arrest,our reputations intact, we went back in a for a bite to eat as food was extra at the fest. Had some laughs with Todd and Gabriella, Vince's friends. After sobering up a bit we headed home. Enjoyed a night cap of a Witte in the "Tuscan room".

The Tour of Pa was in town. But never made it . Weather was tough for them. Today was Rendezvous with the family. Weird, I go to Pitt to see my Mom from Florida. Shopping for groceries and cooking are the order of the day. Coffee rubbed tenderloins,black bean soup, corn. A variety of cheeses for appetizers. Wine and beers were poured. Vince started with beer and switched to wine. Dropped this little nugget. My Mom always said " Never mix the grain and the grape" I had to agree. A nice evening in the Tuscan room despite the storm.

Monday we took Mom to airport after a filling breakfast at Pamelas' diner. A fifties style diner. Where they're known for lyonaised home fries. Tasty. Our waitress had the hot rod 50's chick thing going with some cool old school sailor ink on her arms. After getting Om on the plain we headed back to the food district. The markets were very cool and I could do that if I lived in the city. Ditch the car. Be urban,slow the pace.

We then stopped in Tarentum to hit the Bicycle/Motorcycle shop. Gattos. Now this palce took and old YMCA and made a MC/bike shop along with a diner and a pre-requisite HD shop. The Gattos own the town business. Never seen anything like it. The bike shop was so so. The MC was well stocked and even old bikes to look at. The HD part who cares? No bro huggin' for me.

Back at the house more fun cooking and eating a few beers sampled.

Tomorrow would me an suiting up an heading home from five days of adventure. What a trip.

It was overwhelming all that was packed into that short time frame. Thanks, Vince

Where will all this take me?

For the return ride home I chose a more two lane itinerary. Worked out well a couple detours. But about the same time,time wise. The Strom and I enjoyed the hills and turns.

How do Smoke on the Water and Joy to the World get stuck in your head?

Whats on the Ipod now? James McMurtry and Keb Mo.

On the bike side the Dillinger got upgraded to the carbon fork. Light stiff precise. But not the cush of steel. More riding today.

Enjoy life. I am more than ever. A klean shaven. OGQ