The Gravity of Reason.

After a day and night with the grand kids. The Traveling Mice awoke early and crept out of the house under cover of darkness and headed for their maiden voyage on the Freedom of the Seas.

With a an air of trepidation the Mice headed to Miami. Where everybody has a cousin.

After the usual airline delays. Our plane landed on time. I'm beginning to think they build in the delay. Then make it up to make you feel better about their service. We deplaned and got our bags to find a friendly rep from the Royal Caribbean team. They got us and our luggage right on the bus. A short bus ride with a very funny driver. Who gave us the nickel tour of Miami. Both the "highs" and the "lows". We did see some local color. Boarding and customs was a snap. Mom take note and do online registration. We were on board and headed for our first buffet in fifteen minutes. But first we checked out or room in steerage. Nice and pleasant. With a good size window. Back to the buffet. Quite the variety. We chowed down and headed for a tour of the ship. That's our window on the world for the next week.At 4:15 we had our evacuation drill. All ran smoothly and back to our exploration. In the immortal words of Mrs Page. HUGE. But all very nice. The ship is only three years old so it wasn't showing any wear.. Each night they fold your towels into some sort of animal. Clever. Fun.

We went to dinner,casual tonight. Where we met our dining companions. They were from Quebec. Denise,Lucy, Diane and Gosylyn. Fun people. Lucy became our translator. The food was very good. Our waitstaff was from Bali and were excellent. After dinner more touring of the ship and a drink on the promenade for what would turn out to be our favorite activity,people watching. Off to bed. Day one was travel at sea. Our first port of call will be Haiti.

We awoke to our new port. Off to the dining room for breakfast. Part of the fun was meeting new people. We departed and went to the "compound". This was a manufactured village,that was supposed to represent Haitian life. Yikes, you quickly tired of them hassling you to buy something. The weather was just a bit off for the reptile to get in water. Back on the boat and it was formal dinner night. The mice dressed appropriately. Then what was to become a nightly thing we hit the promenade. Each night had a theme. This really being the welcome night. Now another thing we began to notice was the outfits some females wore. I was thinking most would never wear those at home. But hard to tell. Lots of stilettos. The classic was the "hooker mom and daughter" combo. Lots of T&A. It was a pervs paradise if you like young flesh. The other end was the Dad and Grandpas decked out in Billabong or American Eagle. I'm sure they never thought they'd be wearing that. City Mouse found a community bulletin board. Lo and behold "The Friends of Dorothy" were having a meeting at four. Hmmm? Put that on the itinerary for tomorrow. Back in our berth. We found an elephant on our bed. No seasickness or detection of the ship rocking. We went to see the stars.

Port of call. Jamaica. A quick boat ride over to shore and we guided through the fence and razor wire for a little shopping. Even in the "tourist" zone we had far too many pan handlers. A short walk had us in "Straw City" maybe not the best place to be. While City Mouse was using the internet Country Mouse checked out a few shops. Had a sample of Jamaican Blue Note coffee where upon the shop owner offered me "something better". It's cool, it's Jamaica Mon" he said.

Ahh, no thanks. Chuckle. We wended our way through some fun shops and I picked up some bracelets with our names on them. Local trade. Then we decided to be real tourists and hit Margaritaville. We had,what else? A mango margarita. To the tune of 34 dollars for two. Collectors glass included so minus fifteen for the glasses. But they knew how to work the crowd here. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. We made our way back to the ship for lunch. Buffet number two. We saw it today. The feeding frenzy. There were fins to the left and fins to the right. Big eaters all here. Then I signed up for the rock climbing. Nice wall made it all the way up.That would be a return trip. Off to the deck for some sun. Now this is what we came for. Sun, heat,clear blue sky. A quick shower and we went in search of the Friends of Dorothy. Odd they were disguised as physicians. No shows even though we saw other members on board. Out to the sunshine for a drink before dinner. Tonight we caught a show after dinner. A tribute to Broadway. Not bad. The promenade awaited for "Dancing to the 80's". City Mouse would cringe whenever the cruise director came on. This was billed as three thousand people dancing in the streets. More like three with 2993 watching. Then all hell broke loose. The shrill noise of a psycho teenager flipping out on her parents. City mouse was quite taken by this display of outrage by the young lady. Me I see it often at work. One man walked by and told her "she needed to take her meds." That was funny. She was too busy yelling to hear him. But the crowd was fun. Just like college we began to name people by their traits. Tonight out towels became bats.

Port of call Cayman Islands. Today we booked a trip to swim with the stingrays. This would turn out to be the highlight of the trip. The guys running the tour were fun and really friendly. The sky clear blue as was the water. About a 45 minute ride out to the sandbar. Now as the guides described the rays were like puppies that had been fed,but still wild. In the water went the patrons. Sure enough the rays glided right up looking for food. Bumping and nudging you. Big and small ones. When you got to hold them. They had these big yellow lizard like eyes. They felt like a wet portobello mushroom. Very fun. Snorkeling around and seeing them slip under you. Touch them as they went by.After about an hour it was back to town. Another Maragaritaville beckoned. Where we had a Cheeseburger in Paradise. Not bad,not the best burger I've ever had. A different crowd here. But they were doing free shots of tequila. Our them right down your throat type of thing. Odd here they didn't play and Buffet. back to the boat for a little more sun and a beer. Tonight I broke down and had a martini before the show. Gin has not passed my lips in seven years after the near death experience. A vodka and Poma martini made it into the line up as did an appletini. I'll stick to beer. Good beer. But gin will always be it for martinis for me.

We hit the comedy show. They had some uncalled for anti gay humor that pretty much ruined that for us. More people watching awaited.

Port of call Cozumel. Now I've always wanted to see Mayan ruins and today would be the day.

The flyer said a short boat ride and a short bus ride. We boarded a catamaran and headed to land. OOOH, I hit the point of maybe throwing up would be better. But made it through and landed Ok. Well the short trips took two and a half hours. Then a speedy look through the ruins.

They were very cool. Back on the bus for another ride to our lunch at the beach. Country Mouse made it in the water. Mother Ocean was doing her job cleaning out my sinuses. Then it was rush rush rush to get back. This was the kind of off boat excursion you hear about. Tonight we did a late seating for dinner. We met a guy who worked for the cruise line. He and his Cuban girlfriend were funny. Tonight we would also met the ex pro basketball player Stu Shine. Like Shoe shine his wife said. Funny.great guy. Our towels became a cobra today.

Overall if you have any doubts about a cruise. Don't hesitate. Do it. We had a great week on our floating city. If you can't find something to do or don't have a good time it's your fault. The food was very good. Service was generally excellent. You'll garner all kinds of tips from people who have cruised before. Our only glitch was at departure and part of that was our fault. But it all worked out.

At the Miami airport Country Mouse recognized Mario Batali and we had our picture taken with him. Foodies at heart we are.

I like mine with lettuce and tomato,Heinz 57 and french fried potatoes. Big Kosher pickle and a cold draft beer. Good God almighty which way do I steer for my...............................

Enjoy life. We sure do. OGQ

Time stretches like an accordion.
I went snowmobiling for the first time in 35 years. What fun that was. Cory has been trying to get us to go and the opportunity arose. The new sleds are FAST with a lot of suspension. Still not the most accurate steering things in the world. First we hit the lake. ZOOM. Cory was gone with Mike in tow. Me, I was all fogged up and it wouldn't clear. Finally got that figured out. The trails were groomed the moon bright. Sweet. We had so much fun. The power lines were giant whoops. Just point it and pin it. Crazy fast. Very moto. Huge upper body work out. I was laughing so hard at some points. We went to the Choconut Inn. Then to the Brackney Inn for wings and few brews. I know. Beer and snowmobiling is like, beer and boating. Capped off the night at the Silver Lake Inn. The whole night was way fun. I had the camera. But was having too much fun to take it out.

Next City Mouse and Country Mouse are headed on their first cruise. That will be an adventure.
As my Mom told us. "If you don't have a good time. It's your own fault. " Words to live by.
We'll meet the "New City Mouse" on Friday to explore a new brewpub in the city. So A beer and food report will be upcoming.

I got to ride outside last night and some redneck soaked me from head to toe by going through the biggest puddle and just covering me in a surf style wave. Had to turn around and go home and redress to get back out for the ride. Finally the bliss of riding outdoors replaced the anger of the dumb ass.

Then it was "fall off the wagon" for beers and wings. I was famished and enjoyed them. You can't be a Monk all the time.

So to all who read this. Enjoy life. Make the most of your friends and smile. OGQ

Saving My Love up for my Lover.

So it's been bitter cold. Blue skies part of the day,then the gray creeps in and shrouds everything. Sucking the life from you because you know it's so damn cold out. I love the clear blue sky when it's cold. But it has to be more than three hours.

I've been pretty religious with the trainer. Rode in the snow when we could. That was fun.

Fresh air sunshine. Next I dragged the skies out. Minus 7 the first time. Not bad,sunny no wind. The next day 17 still not bad. Then we had a 42 degree day. What? I wanted to drag out the bike and ride. Slapped down quick with almost a 50 degree temperature drop. Ouch. But out we went. This time I got froze to the core. Now this reptile doesn't do well in the cold. So still thawing out. How does this tie in the title? Vince has been in Argentina ( Not easy on him) But it's warm and sunny there and we are constantly in contact. Until this trip. Spotty Internet for him. But we made due. Twenty years ago this would have been send a letter. Talk to you when you get home. But we all get addicted to routines. Ours was severely disrupted. Then he returned home to the homeowners nightmare. Broken water pipes. Wish I could be there to help him today. I'm headed there for the weekend. We both need it. Plus it's Superbowl weekend. Pixburg will be crazy.

So in an effort to stave off the seasonal affliction disorder and no Vince fix. I've emerged myself in trying to learn Photoshop. This requires a total rethink of how "art" works. Along with trying tho learn my new camera. The two take their toll. Having fun and being frustrated at the same time.

Effort two has been the local music scene. Dirt Farm continues to shine. But we went to see Panhandle and they will now enter the rotation. Check out there site.

Here's some pics from Photoshop. Well, a pic. Now Blogger is frustarting me.

Good beers and food still permeate my life. But have dropped a few winter pounds and Kross is on my mind.

trying the new format and now the title doesen't show. Go figure.

Enjoy life. OGQ

Might as well jump on the best of 2008 bandwagon.

The event that should have the most impact: Obama winning the election.

The worst event: Prop 8 being defeated in California.

Ok so on to things you probably expected.

Best new race of the year: The Kirkland Kross. NY's first sandpit. Armed with years of riding the NY Kross Kontingent Kourses. Margaret and Krew. rocked a first time event.

Best Race of the year: Dave Panella Memorial. I'm sure Dave was watching.

Best race I had this year: The Portland Dirt Criterium. Kross in the summer was kool.

Best race I returned to: The 12 Hours of Roundtop.

The race I want to see turn into an "Event": Ommegang Kross

Best new product I used: Nokon Cables. Smooth stiff and precise.

Best bike product I really want: Rapha clothing.

Best Road trip: Portland. Beer,BF and bikes. Period.

Best diner in Bingo: Clinton St Cafe. Killer food at a bargain.

Best restaurant in Bingo: Moxie. Great atmosphere,great food.

Best new band I've heard. The Lugnuts.

Best Friend: Bob Mills, weathered the storms and is right there.

Best Party of the year: My birthday. Friends, food and good times.

Best beer bar: The Blind Tiger in NYC

Best day of the year: 6/27/08 My life changed. All for the better.

Holiday update enroute.

Let's see the other title could have been . You know you're a big ol' homo if you wanted a Easy Bake Oven as a kid. But it's the holidays and I'm going to spill the beans about gay youth.

Did you secretly pine for or ever get an Easy Bake Oven for Christmas? Or you could sing the little jingle. , Suzy Homemaker,Suzy Homemaker, What a busy girl are you! If so this is one of the first warning signs of where you were headed. Maybe your Mom overrode Dad's " That's a girl's toy." and you got one for Christmas and were the happiest kid on the block. Plugged that oven in and were whipping out little cakes before Dad even got his presents open. You were so proud of your pastry skills and Mom affirmed them. The day was spent being fascinated by a light bulb cooking toy. Finally you ran out of Easy Bake cakes and had to resort to actual recipes and your career towards gaydom took off. Thanks Mom. The pic is of a vintage Easy Bake. Check Ebay and see how many ere there. This one belonged to a friends son. Hmmm?

MOre impending doom weather wise. But hey, I have an Easy Bake and go back in time.

Cupcakes anyone?

Bike related News I have a "NAKED" LaPierre Kross frame now. Sweet 12k weave. In a word light. This bike will be like a light saber in Jedi hands next season. Bobber scored me some black socks with a Krown on them. Now the King will have to defend the Kingdom. Looking forward to it. At the DPM I had legs for a bit. It was fun to hit the front and turn up the pain. I guess you can never leave what you love. The sirens call was strong at the end of the season.

Look I got another new ride the Jetta became an Audi. Just like that. Simple. Bobber pulled another trick out of that hat and hooked me up with a Caddy emblem too. I'm so blinged out

That's how I roll.

Whats on the Ipod?

Cliff Eberhardt 12 Songs of Good and Evil

Ralph Stanley

Greg Brown Over and Under

David Bromberg The best of David Bromberg

Bike shop party tomorrow. That will be a hoot.

Happy Holidays to all. May your life be as filled with happiness as mine is.

Eat good food, drink good beer, thank your friends, hugs. OGQ

Tuesday found Country mouse not having to to go work with a snow day. This meant City mouse would be here earlier and we could roll to the "O" even earlier. Sweet. Traffic was light with the advantage.

Got into NYC early walked around and checked a couple places to eat that Vince had gift certificates for. We decided on the Turkish place. ODD no on here,Oh well menu looks interesting. So in we went. After a normal lobby,they took you through a curtain into the "tent". The decorator basically bought bolts of fabric and made a fort like you did as a kid,ceiling walls, fabric every where. I had a lamb dish with "Palace spices" what ever they were. In the end it was OK. We went back to the O and watched "The Big Eden" a great flick anyone could watch.

Wednesday found us heading out to the Metro diner for breakfast fuel up for a big day of walking. Our goal was Signature Cycles. A Ultra high end bike shop. En route we came across the Toga bike shop. A NYC standard that's been around forever. A cool place. They still rock the black jerseys of death. I think George Hincapie got his start with them. Signature was right around the corner. But no one knew how to get in on the second floor. People kept directing us to back to TOGA. We called and go in. Well lets set the record straight. I will never be buying a bike here. Super high end builds. Parlees, Seven, Serotta. But I guess they're best known for their fittings. They had Rapha clothes too. Those things are like a Hickey Freeman suit of the cycling world. I lucked out they didn't have the color I wanted. Anthony took the time to talk to us. Turns out he's a first year Krosser and had done the Ommegang race. So we talked all things Kross. Then it turned into beer. We asked him where the good beer places were. He said he drank at the Blind Tiger. Bingo! We did too and were headed there saturday. He said "I'll see you there". This story will pick up later.

Then we headed to see the opening of MILK. What a great movie. Sean Penn was amazing in it.

Simply put go see it.

Toady's dinner found us at the Heights one of Meg and Kevin's old stomping grounds. Turns out we sat next to the owner. He had food recommendations for us. It was decided that we'd have calamari and try the wings. We split a large. Vince went with mild I headed for the "Inhuman". They came out dressed in more of a salsa. Very hot and tasty. Good stuff. Home and we watched Zodiac. It was OK. Too long,they could have taken out a half hour and no one would have noticed.

Thursday was Thanksgiving. So we watched the Macy's parade on tv till we saw Meg on the float. Then we headed off to Joisey for dinner. Little Grampa Karl was drafted to teach the kids how to ride bikes. So LGV, Kevin, the kids and I headed to the ride zone. After the ride we were off to The Garden Eden to pick up dinner. Some winter ales were poured and we settled in for dinner. After dinner we played card games with the kids. Then back to the O.

Friday it was up early and make a nice breakfast. Fresh fruit,eggs, multi grain bread and some good coffee. Then it was down to P0rt Authority to pick up Mike and Sarah. Do tell what tales of terror their bus ride has wrought? Sure enough. Mike calls and they be 20 minutes late. Some wacko went nuts at the bus station and wouldn't get off the bus. Ahhh, the bus. More innocents injured mentally. Cliff will never ride again. So we whisked them back to the O and headed for Canal St in search of knock offs. Watches, Pashimas, handbags and bad cologne abounded. Where were the carbon fiber wheels? I wondered? Turned out the Indians and West Africans would deal. Mike wanted a watch, Sarah sunglasses. In the end Sarah got a watch. I got another Swatch too. Love Canal St. We then decided a little snack was in order and went to the Garage in the Village. More calamari and spring rolls. Topped off with a couple beers. Back to the O to get ready for the show. Kevin got us great seats for Wicked. The "Grampas" made a nice dinner. Salad, crab cakes and fresh veggies. Some nice cheeses with stuffed peppadews to start us off. A couple Harpoon winter warmers. Then a Sauvignon Blanc. Time to go.

We leave an hour early to get to the show. Then the problems start. First the inspector is holding the train. Three times later and that train is out of service. Yikes. We hop on another after hearing a Charlie Brown adult voice tell us what to do. This one rolls out then stops and crawls at a snails pace. I see Vince eye the watch. More directions from the conductor. What to do? Ride it out. Then it stops again. More options. It's decided we'll walk. WALK FAST. We did and made it with three minutes to spare. This time even Vince was worried. Settled into our seats and the show began with a bang. Very impressive set. Lots of movement. FUN. After the show Kevin's dresser met us and took us back stage to meet him. He took us on stage. Very cool. Then Kev had to go. We headed to Times Square to Heartland Brewing for a couple beers. I tried the winter ale. Tasty. At last call we headed back to the O. 1:30 what was I doing up that late?

Saturday was another homemade breakfast and then head off to see the sites. Rock Center, The Twin Towers site, Macys, Bloomies, Lord and Taylor. Sarah had a Longchamp bag to return.

This was like the price is right for Mike and I as she and Vince decided colors. Key chain 63 dollars. Handbag 2500 dollars? What? We weren't their target market. She did get a nice new green bag. All the big three had great window displays. You wouldn't have know there was a recession. One of the stores had the had Vince wanted for Christmas so he became a hipster in his Kangol hat Sooo Samuel Jackson. We walked through the garment district. More color decisions by Vince and Sarah. Mike and I hit the "Husband seating area" all it lacked was a cooler with beer. We got a call from Bill and Janet. They had the last two seats at the Blind Tiger. We were on our way. When we got there they had a table for two. We grabbed as many empty seats as we could. Then a couple got up and we grabbed their table before they even had their coats on. Now we were set. I was again in a winter mode. Had Elysian Winterfest, a couple Criminally Bad Elf ales that were cask conditioned and a winter stout that was truly the bottom of the cask. Food was ordered. again the quesadillas rocked. The cheese platter a joke. Wings tasty. Pommenade salty. The cheese dip tasty and the deviled eggs were excellent. Ran into Anthony and his girlfriend along with a couple friends of his. So we talked Kross and motorcycles. Vince chatted him up too. It was great to see Joe and Clare. Good to talk to them they brought a friend too. Sorry forgot her name. After dinner we parted ways and Cliff took us to Brooklyn Heights for a view of the city. Then we dessert in a little bistro and headed home.

Sunday was breakfast at the Broadway diner. Turns out they shot Joe Black there. OK. A big breakfast and were on the road to Bingo.

Enjoy life. I sure have been. OGQ

Okay, Okay I'm back. I've been accused of being lovestruck a slacker ot just a busy man for not posting in forever. I almost forgot to my password.

Much has happened. I tried to get in some sort of KX training,but the head wasn't into it. So I did the best I could.

Lets see we did a dinner party for Vinces Bday in NYC. I had the bus ride from hell in. Nuff said.

We pulled off the dinner.(YES folks FOOD and DRINK) It was a fun mix of people. Got to see Cliffs crib in the city. Hectic but fun.

Went to Fruita Colorado and rode my bike with all the cool kids. Drank beer and ate well. Rode at altitude. Was pointed skyward and told to have a good time. I did. Thanks

We did all the trails out there. We met retired teacher Tim Leonard out there as he was doing the Moab/Fruita tour. Seems he said "We punished him. "I can say I did Zippity Do Dah. Youtube it. It was nuts. A ribbon in the sky with a roller coaster finish. I liked Kessels better.

Mack Ridge was the best. I took the Dillinger and was looked at like a nut case for taking a single speed. Well, That's all I own. I did put a REBA on it for the trip. The carbon would have killed my hands. Was I at a disadvantage? I didn't think so. A bike is just a tool to get the job done.

So you'd think with nine days at altitude. I could kill it when I got home. Well it was reversed.

I was killed. No motor for a few days and Kross was looming again. I'd done the Kirkland race and didn't do so well. I missed the double at Cuse which usually makes me strong. So I substituted the double at Ommegang and did pretty well. Pain is just part of the ride. Vince was getting his initiation to Kross. But I think it was the discount that really sealed the deal. HA!

So race promotion was in full swing when I get back. Had to crank up the sweatshop to get the trophies done. Hard to believe that the race will be 20 next year. So we rolled up to Em City and

find some nice presents. big dirt piles that became whoops, a big bark pile, and the pit. The course rode in nicely. I blew my start and didn't get clipped in had to battle forward. So I have one speed this year and one match to burn. But I hung in there

Next came the DPM. Now this has been the season final for a few years. I was out grubbing prizes etc right up till the last minute. The Kross Kontingent bailed me out, they're a big help.

We get the course setup in the 18mph winds. BRRRR, my skinny reptile ass doesn't like the cold. So I go to suit up and lo and behold I forgot my bag with the arm warmers etc. I need that aggravation at this moment. So I hop in the truck and race home. Make it back get one lap in.

Announce the start. Get a good launch around fourth. Ease up in the second turn and dive under into second. Felt good to be up front again. The motors started to come. Team mate off the front.

Race settled in Bill E. Is dogging me. Keeps falling and coming back. All I can do is race forward. Again one speed and one match. Didn't even notice the cold. Fun course and it really made we want to get fit for Kross. We had a ton of food and prizes for the raffle. Dawn, Full House Bob and Skinny fill flooded the raffle and took home a ton of loot. I think everyone left happy.

I know I did. Exhausted ,but happy. Thanks all.

Kristin had her baby, a month early. But all is well. That's a good thing. That makes Grandpa Vince's number six. Karl hasn't been Grandpa to these kids yet. That day will come.

Woke up to a perfect Kross morning today. How the snow would have changed it all.

But now to tie up loose ends from the races. Bust out the Hooligan 69'er and dial it in.

Thanks to Mills for capturing the "pedal slip" at the start. Yes I'll keep my head up.

Hey, there has to be a food pic.

Enjoy life. OGQ

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