TriBrewski

2007-12-05T20:55:00.000-06:00

Snow!!!

Well typically enough in a year where I was prepared to concentrate on summer sports we start winter with the best conditions in years, I suppose I will have to make the best of it and ski as much as possible and even consider training for races. On the other hand we all know that it is unlikely to last until Febuary so maybe best not to get too carried away.

I am currently in Maumee, OH and am completely unable to find places to run/swim, surprisingly despite this the locals don't seem as overweight as in Kansas where they have excellent exercise oportunities. Luckily I need some downtime, I have come of the two biggest weeks of training since my 70.3 so it's time to have a few rest days, and hopefully hit up Elver Park in Madison on the journey home for some good hill training, and to get revenge on two of the worst experiences of last years ski season. Bad grooming and an ass kicking in a 10K were my experiences of Skiiing in Madison last year. Too bad as it's one of my favorite places to trail run/dryland. OK so I'm rambling now. On tap for this weekend is my first long ski of the year, I will start them early this year, and maybe my first set of intervals, likely in the same training session. Another ski with the 1/2 pint is also a must, he made me proud last week, dragging Mrs Brewski and myself out for another lap after we were ready to call it a day.\

Beer of the Blog - I'm on a kick of harassing restaurants for not carrying local beer. Today PF Changs felt my wrath. They have this great wine list but a standard genric beer list. Wine doesn't even go with chinese food for fripps sake(pun intended - is it still a pun if the word is the same but pronounced different??). Anyway the closest to a local beer I have had out here in Ohio is the Edmund Fitgerald Porter from Great Lakes Brewing. A very solid beer. Nice complex roast flavor,.... OK I admit I didn't pay to much attention to it but it's a solid beer, definitely up there with Summit great Northern as one of the best Porters out there, but I've yet to find a dark Porter I don't like.

2007-11-29T05:32:00.000-06:00

Feeling like a Star in the Windy City

And it's not because of the hotel room which is like a bad dorm room. Well maybe it is a little bit, as luck would go said chain of 2nd rate hotels has a deal with a chain of 2nd rate health clubs which allows access to the clubs, and thier pools. Now I am no swimmer but compared to the people in this club I was a veritable Mark Spitz. no doubt I will experience the other side of that feeling when I finally make it to a masters swim group next week.

We are now in the waiting for snow stage of the winter. Luckily I have the half pint on my side I told him we only get a half xmas if it dosen't snow. When pushed further by Ms Brewski I weakened and explained that the only differrence was in 1/2 Xmas Dad is just a grumpy git. Although I am generally a crab louse at xmas time anyways. I have been having fun dryland training, and had to have a thanksgiving catski because the trails had a dusting of snow and I couldn't get out rollerskiing. I have mentioned Catskiing in a previous postm my legs still hurt a week later. As for whether I am ready for winter.... well for once I don't care, I am more concerned with next september, don't get me wrong I anticipate alot of fun and hopefully some racing but I will not stress if it does not come.

Beer of the Blog - Czechvar - Oh how the mighty have fallen, this is an imported(by AB) version of what is on my top five beer list(Budvar).This was my first time tasting it since AB picked up distribution rights. I expected being distributed by a company which stresses quality in thier own brands that it would be fresh. No such luck it was stale, skunky and had no body. I am sure when I drank this in Europe it was packaged in a brown bottle, to bad they could not use that for the US market, but I suppose then it could not be marketed against Pilsner Urquel. With the increasing costs of beer I am glad this is one less beer for me to buy.

2007-10-09T20:27:00.000-05:00

D.N.S. and I'm fine with that

So not only did my training fail to get going for the Twin Cities Mararthon, so did my race. After having 3 beers on Friday before picking up my race packet and feeling good about life, my respirotory issue I have been having for at least 19 days now exploded. Friday night I had the most immense dreams about my legs being cut off, and every muscle in my body ached. Saturday day I felt better and at one stage I thought the odds of me running were about 40%. That night I sweat more than I have done in my life, it was like I wet the bed only to do that I would have had to peed all over my pillow also. By 3.00 AM I knew I was not running the next day. The following morning I went to express care, and they decided it was a bit more likely an infection than virus, so tossed me some antibiotics. You've got to love US healthcare, rather than diagnose they just send you off with pills. Speaking of healthcare, turns out my insurance is not so hot, so no treatment of my achilles tendons.

The marathon turned out to be brutal temperatures of close to 90 degrees and humid. I would like to have taken credit for doing the smart thing and not delaying my recovery by running, but in reality I had no choice, I would not have made it 1 mile in those conditions the way I was feeling. So now it's rest, rest, rest, with maybe swimming during the week, and rollerskiing on the weekend. But first I have to get over this infection....

Beer of the Blog: I mentioned the sickness and all, the beers which I enjoyed just prior to it were the stunningly great Scotttish ale and IPA from Great Waters. The Scottish was just plain smoooth malty goodness, A perfect cask beer. To surive as a cask beer the beers need to be balanced, and fairly rounded in flavor, try to go to big and it all becomes overpowering for the drinkers senses. It's also especially important that the beer be clean and well made, without the ice cold temperatures and carbonation there is verry little to hide your mistakes. I thoroughly enjoyed these beers. Also it helped that I was drinking them with good company, theres more over rated than drinking a good beer in bad company, and often nothing better than a bad beer in good company.

2007-10-03T20:20:00.000-05:00

Worst Run Ever!

And so it becomes apparrent that I am not a superhero after all. My second A race of the season was to be the Twin Cities Marathon this weekend, but knee problems have prevented me from running, and now a cough/cold seems to be taking out any remaining hope I had of surprising myself. I've gone from thinking I could smash my Dad's amazing time of 3.19, to thinking I should at least be able to beat my PR of 3.36, to thinking at least it will be a good experience what with Wisconsin coming up in 11 months, to wondering if I will even start. Part of me even wants to not start, I missed my family last weekend while in LA for a restaurant awards ceremony. (as it turns out Baywatch did misrepresent the USA, still found a washed up dildo on the shore, the oddest thing I've ever found beach combing..... Welcome to LA I guess.) This weekend I just want to spend time with them.

I am signed up for some physical therapy on my Achilles Tendons in late October, all part of my plan to get my body back to being 100% healthy before training begins in earnest in Febuary. Before then I have XC ski season, but with the current string of non existant winters, and being commited to just one for race for next year, my plan is to take it as it comes and just enjoy every second I get on snow, particularly given that my work schedule is extremely hectic for the next 3 months. I really feel bad for my wife, she alone will have to take care of the half pint for this time period, when I'm home I will do my best to be very nice to her.

Beer of the Blog: Given how self pitying the above post is you would be forgiven for thinking I was currently 3 sheets to the wind writing this, but sadly no. Despite there being 2 brewpubs between my worksite and hotel room(I think we are about to start playing in the Restaurant major league). Anyway no I'm 100% sober, and discovered the sad truth of LA, It has no good beer Sam Adams or Heinekin no wonder all the celebs like their drugs. So nothing to report from that trip. One beer I have been enjoying recently is Hopalicious, from the Ale Asylum in Madison. Perhaps the perfect pale ale, nice balance of hop bitterness to flavor, light to moderate body. I've no idea the stats on this beer, but from drinking it just seems like a very enjoyable fun beer, a bit like the town of Madison itself.

2007-08-29T19:27:00.000-05:00

Gone for a While

OK last time I blogged I was in a hotel room in Mason City in the middle of a blizzard, 6 months later I'm in a hotel room in Cedar Rapids with perfect weather out. My summer was fun, but has proved to be dissapointing as far as races go. The first 1/2 of the year was devoted to training for the Baja 70.3 at my sisters house, literally in Ensenada Mexico. I was in good shape for this, but flatted on the bike, froze on the swim, and had the run discounted due to route issues. I had run my best ever 1/2 marathon time as well. Still travelling to Mexico with My wife and the half pint was alot of fun and was far more rewarding than even a good race may have been. well OK maybe not a really good race, but combined with seeing my sister it was as good as anything above a 5 hour half.

The rest of the summer the plan was to take it easy and concentrate on the Twin Cities Marathon. I did a few shorter Triathlons which demonstrated how much I need to work on swiming better. I have now injured my knee from over training. Oops, after a summer that started with flats in every race I suppose it's only logical my knee flatted during what should be my peak training. I am taking it easy and hope to be running again soon, but it seems like my dads family best time of 3.19 will survive another challenge.

I also found ture love this year, I have attached a photo of the object of my affections, no doubt you will see why.

Let's hope for a snowy winter to make up for this summer.

Beer of the blog - Not sure what the best beer I have had since last posting so I will stick to the old theory of the best beer is the one in front of you. In my case that is Krusovice Schwarzbier. The disturbing thing about this is the ingredients: Malt, hops, Water and Artificial Sweetener???? Now my question is should that be yeast? or is it Caramel that is used for coloring,? which seems likely given the flavor actually but in which case where is the yeast? Beer is an average dark Lager, nice but nothing special, the perfect summary of my summer races really.

2007-03-01T21:20:00.000-06:00

Beer of the blog #3 OK so not bad for being alone in a hotel room with a car full of beer, I'm only on #3. Continuing with my nostalgia trip of the original US micros I'm drinking a Bigfoot Ale from Sierra Nevada. This may have been one of the original US extreme beers at 9.6 % a.b.v. As with the Liberty ale it has gone from the extreme to mainstream. I'm not sure how this beer ages, this is a 2007 vintage and as such is very green, alot of green apple(acetaldehyde) flavor, and the hop flavor is a bit on the harsh side. Most modern US barley wines would fight this with a huge malt punch, not Bigfoot. It does have a fair hop presence as you would expect for a Sierra Nevada beer. Personally I would age this beer for a few more months were I not trapped in a hotel room in Iowa. Now that we are beginning to see some Western wildlife in the midwest(cougars, people escaping the madness that is the west coast for a better life, etc) no doubt the Bigfoot is not far behind Oh wait what's this? http://www.angelfire.com/mn2/mnbf/main.html

2007-03-01T16:46:00.000-06:00

Beer of the Blog #2: OK it's 5.30 now and I've only made it to beer #2. So while enjoying learning about the 8 fold path of Budhism where better to drink a beer from than from the centre of trend based spiritualism San Francisco. Yes whether it's creating counter culture musicians who later become the boring mainstream (yay flowerpower), or creating a foil for the right wing nut jobs like Mr Bill O'Reilly you can always rely on folk from San Francisco to show a detachment from reality, which is the ultimate point of spirtuality in the end so I gues that makes sense.
Anyway what does that have to do with beer, well I am currently drinking an Anchor Liberty Ale. This was at one stage one of the single most hoppy beers out there. As such it became a favorite of many drinkers. Then along came Alpha King and the rest is history. In some ways this beer is like the eightfold path, it is neither the indulgent path of too many hops, nor the self deprivation of too little hops. Maybe drinking beer can be a spiritual experience.

2007-03-01T14:44:00.000-06:00

Stranded in Mason City,IA

Could be an interesting day, it 2.45 pm the interstates are closed because of snow, and I am in the days inn in Mason City. So the question is what the hell am I going to do for the next 18 hours until the interstates hopefully reopen in the morning. Lots of internet trawling, no doubt a strength session of push ups, plyometrics some blogging, ..... oh but wait I made my monthly stop at John's Grocery in Iowa City last night, I have a months supply of very fine beer in my car. Hmmmm

Beer of the Blog #1 Vyskovske Pivo Pilsner. The Czechs invented golden lagers, the Germans stole the yeast and became world famous for making them. Recent years have seen the begining of some redress for this crime. This is a stereotypical example of the style, which is not a bad thing. A touch of diacetyl to smooth out the bitterness, some Saaz, or at least bohemian hop charecter and as with all imported beers a touch of oxdation. Still a solid beer, if it were fresher I would drink a lot of it. I am still looking for some signs of this Anheuser Bush/Budvar distribution deal, if it brings my fovorite Czech beer into the country in a fresh condition I may forgive the Busch babies for the sin of Winter Bourbon Ale.

2007-02-28T19:40:00.000-06:00

Winter finally makes an appearance - just a little bit too late

Well as if to prove that mother nature has a sense of humour we recieved 12+ inches of snow 6 hours after the Birkie was essentialy canned as a race. This essentially meant that all the training I did this winter was for nothing. But ever the optimist here are the high points of this winters ski season for me.

The City of Lakes Loppet. I've avoided this race in the past because narrow trails and skating usually means one huge traffic jam, but what do you know the crowds quickly thinned out and by the 10K mark I had noone but myself slowing me down. The trails themselves are the stars of this race, nice hills both up and down. Oh and how cool is it to ski through the city! It was a chilly one though.
The Minneloppet at COLL. It just makes you proud when your two year old embraces the things you love. Given that it was -8 F I think my wife would have been justified in stopping this endevour, instead she came along and walked along with me while the half pint skied his first race. Now what did the sons of Norway put in the hot cocoa afterwards? It certainly gave the half pint a sugar buzz for the drive home.
Getting a "Wee Horsey" at Mora. I'm not a great skier by any stretch of the imagination, but due to the average 35-39 year old male being more preoccupied by work and family it appears to be a pretty easy age group when it comes to skiing. The only age group with slower times were the 55+ year olds. The horses at Mora are perhaps the most cool age group awards of any citizen race. Mine is now proudly displayed in a cabinet at home.
My week before the birkie long easy ski, some training sessions you come out of just knowing you are ready to race. this was one of them, conditions at Elk River were perfect, and for the first time in years I felt my technique had come together in time for the big race.
The Birkie, I know it was cancelled and turned in to a 25K tour but this is my favoritest day of the year, and it was kind of fun not to have to deal with the trauma of getting a good start spot before the race. The best bit though was the fact they continued the tradition of adding an extra few K to the trip. Just as every one reached OO they discovered they still had 2 K of skiing to go. A few years back in a shortened 44 K race they added an extra 1.6 K. The best part was the whole additional distance that year was uphill making for a very tough and long sprint to the finish. Happy days.

Beer of the Blog: It's been a long time since I posted so I'm not sure what the most memorable beer I've had in that time is. Let's go with the Scotch ale I had at The Angry Minnow, in Hayward, WI this weekend. The advantage of a non competitive Birkie was the ability to drink beer the day before the race. This beer was full bodied, it appeared to have a nice balance of sweetness from the malt and smokiness, presumably from some peat malt. The peated malt did contribute a bit of acidity to the beer which I have never actually seen in a Scotch ale from Scotland, but as a lover of acidic beers I can not really complain too much about that. A really nice beer

2007-01-02T19:16:00.000-06:00

The Cure for What Ales & Just How Much of a Looser am I

The past couple of weeks have been tough for a ski addict up here in the upper midwest. All the early season snows that taunted us melted, then we got rain. Now ignoring the climatic upheavals that cause rain in MN(oops looks like we killed our planet - or at least it's ability to sustain a large biodiversity), this has the more immediate effect of sucking the motivation out of the average skiers soul. Last year when this happened I sold my soul to Triathlon, I am now much less pissy in December and infinitely less wealthy for that decision. However I still love the winter and when there's snow I love to be out in the woods dancing that strange nordic dance. Fortunately I have had two brief excursions into Winter this year. Once on Xmas Eve when I drove from my inlaws up to Ironwood, MI for 3 hours of outstanding skiing. They had 1 foot of snow on the ground, which is actually less than they typically have, but is more than enough for good skiing. Then there were 6 days where it was so warm in the cities that running seemed a better option than skiing, and then magically as it always happens a storm stalled out over the western burbs and we got 5 inches of snow. At least for just now we have decent skate conditions, I can't remember the last time we had good classic conditions in the Twin Cities so I am happy with what I've got. I am in Omaha/Lincoln through Friday, and if the snow in the Cities lasts that long then I will spend the weekend remembering why I have spent a significant portion of the past 9 years of my life tracking every single storm to pass through the Midwest during the winter time.
Oh and how much of a looser am I? I got frostnip from an ice pack I was using ice down my achilles tendon!!

Beer of the Blog: No question about the best beer I have drunk in the past couple of weeks La Roja from Jolly Pumpkin Brewery in Michigan. A Belgian style Bierre de Garde this beer had outstanding charecter. Good body and undertones of oak/sourness, unfortunately the spice charecter was a bit overpowering. I suspect that would lessen as the beer ages, nonetheless this was one nice beer.

2006-12-20T21:22:00.000-06:00

Arrrghh - Reflections on Winter so far

I haven't posted for a bit. Unfortunately my trip to Kansas last week turned into a sick fest. After my swim in Wichita my sinuses went nuts. I stopped in Lawrence, KS home of the outstanding Free State Brewing, but was too sick to make it out the door for beer. I felt well enough to go for a roller ski the next evening but was sick again the following day. Roller skiing in Kansas, now that was interesting. In the Minnesota, roller skiing is tolerated. Enough people do it that to yell out every time "hey buddy where's the snow?" would quickly get tiring. In Kansas I got the feeling that absolutely noone had a clue what I was doing. I was also made greatful for all that 3 rivers park district does for us up in the Mpls area. They generally keep trails free of debris during the peak roller ski months and design trails that are relatively safe to use. In Kansas city the trails were full of little stones(which bring roller skis to an instant stop, the skier usualy continues at the same speed with the obvious consequence), and had some interesting curves and downhills.

Anyway winter so far has been a complete bust. I feel good about the skiing I have done, but have yet to get on real snow and have still to get really excited by skiing. I am in Iowa just now and it is pissing down rain, this time last year they had over a foot of snow down here and I had a great day skiing north of Iowa City. Things do not look good for getting any snow soon. For the last few years we have all wondered if the year would arrive when the snow just never came, we all know that this will happen eventually, skiing in the Midwest will probably not survive climate change but surely we can get a few more good years before it all ends.

Beer of the Blog: I had the distinct pleasure to have some Summit Great Northern Porter on cask this weekend. This is one of Summit's best beers in it's carbonated form, the cask just made it smooth.. Really easy to drink with a pleasant malty flavor and all the right chocolate notes. If you ever come across this at a festival, or if Summit follow through on their plan to offer cask beers to some bars, then this beer should be on your must try list.

2006-12-12T21:57:00.000-06:00

A Weekend on Snow - A return to reality

Well as I hoped they had snow made at Elm Creek, so over the weekend I got on snow for the first time since March. I've got to say it great to be back on the white stuff. Roller skis are fine for a couple of months, but I know from past experience that rolling gets old after a while. The past few years I've picked up roller skiing in September and when the snow arrives in December I am usually even still a wee bit sad to see the end of roller season. Anyway they served their purpose in that this has been the most natural start to my season yet.(ignoring the man made snow which is clearly not natural). I feel good out there, skating I feel like I've got balance I never had before, and my classic technique is no worse than the end of last year. It remains to be seen if I can translate any of that into speed though.

It is hard to get excited about ski season though, the temperatures are back to our usual global warming December temps. So highs in the 40's and barely freezing at night. While skiing on a short 2K man made loop beats every other activity out there, compared to skiing on real snow on a big trail it's a bit like the difference between swimming in a pool and open water swimming.

Oh and my post last week on swimming, turns out it is to good to be true, I am currently in Wichita, KS where the gym I go to has this weird pool where I seem to swim a good 10-15 seconds slower than in my pool at home. Anyway here I had only taken 20 second off my 100yd time which would put me in the 1.45 range, this is still a big improvement on my swimming over most of the summer, but not quite holy crap worthy

Beer of the Blog I've not had too much great beer recently. So I'm going with a beer that was at least memorable. I tend to enjoy having a beer while I prepare dinner each night. The other week while Mrss Brewski was away on business I was preparing the half pints meal. I had an Aventinus Eis -Wiessen bock. I am not a huge fan of Wheat beers but thought I'd give this a go. The flavor was kind of like a cross between a bad bannana drink and mineral spirits, only I think this stuff would actually do a better job of removing the paint from brushes than mineral spirits. Yes it's a bit potent. It was a fun meal with several rousing renditions of "Here we go round the Mulberry Bush" but I don't think I would rush out and buy another bottle(unless I was painting my house).

2006-12-06T20:24:00.000-06:00

My Home Depot Rant & the Return to Whitneys

I had my first run in two weeks today at Elver Park. I can't wait to get back here when this trail is covered in snow. There are some nice looking hills here, all they need is some snow making equipment and this would be one majorly nice park. No trouble from my achilles tendons, that and I have to say running at a 9-10 minute mile pace is so much more enjoyable than running at a 6-7 minute mile pace. Thank god for the off season.

My afternoon was less enjoyable however, I had to visit that great sponsor of US olympic atheletes, The Home Depot. Actually I view the Home Depot the same way I view US democracy. The basic idea is very sound, and the store almost carries exactly what you want, but in the end you make do with an item that is similar to what you were looking for because they don't stock what you really want, and just don't get me started on the complete lack of assistance in this store, or the fact that each store is laid out completely differently. Thank god for Menards....

Skiiing is on tap for me if I make it home in time tomorrow.......

Beer of the Blog: I returned to Whitneys for the Barley Wine I really wanted to try last night. Again another very decent effort. Very smooth, a nice coconuty flavor mixing in with some vanilla and some chocolate. A nice beer, some more malt charecter would have been nicem but could just as much made it too overpowering.

2006-12-05T19:40:00.000-06:00

Holy Crap - That Time clock must be wrong

Everyone has their weak link for me it's swimming,(although some people who know me would also suggest personality). I am one of those people who have proved that swimming does not really factor greatly into the final results of a triathlon. I once came out of the water in 140th + position only to make it back up to 10th after the run. So I am currently riding a crest of ego at having put in a holy crap worthy 1.20 for 100 yds at the pool yesterday. Thinking that there must be a mistake I instantly swam another 25 yds and got a 20 second time. Huh either I have actually started to reap the benefits from the lessons I got this summer or the clock on the wall at the pool is wrong. As a caution I should point out that I frequently feel like I'm making progress a swimming only to then enter a race, or swim next to the fish like couple at the pool and realise that I still have a long way to go. If this keeps up I may actually be able to do a flip turn without ending up 12 ft underwater at the end of it.(I avoid flip turns in the shallow end)

Beer of the Blog: I am down in Madison for work this week so stopped at JT Whitneys. As with my last visit I found some nice beers. First up was a Belgian Blond called Blond Omen. This was pleasant enough, it seemed a bit thin which is probably in keeping with style. It also had what was described in the beer guide as spiciness. This spiciness tasted a bit too much like a wheat beer to me, and not enough like a Belgian. But nonetheless I could have drunk another of these beers.

Next was the American Bitter which was on the handpump. This was very nice, It is always good to find a good cask style beer. (I know enough about brewing to assume that because its on a handpump it means its cask conditioned). It's flavor was real nice, subtle minerally a hint of hops but nothing overpowering. It was poured using a sparkler so was cascading beutifully when served. This was just a nice beer. My only complaint is it seemed just a touch too warm which generally means it has sat in the beer lines for a bit before being served. No signs of oxidation though.

2006-11-29T16:06:00.000-06:00

Wait Wait .....

For some reason the half pint on a walk round the neighbourhood recently statred stopping every 4 steps and saying "wait wait", he would then burst into hysterics at the way his parents actualy stopped walking and waiting for him. While it was very cute and all it was also a bit chilly and Mr Brewski had decided that not to wear a hat. Half pint was eventually picked up and carried before my ears fell off.

However he inadvertantly came up with my mantra for the next week it seems. Snow is being made that will provide some relief next weekend, but the big snow all went to our south where the godless masses don't even know what to do with it. Meanwhile we are left to rollerski in arctic temperatures. Mother Earth is a cruel mistress.

Actually I've thrown some catski ing into the mix this week. It's not the most fun, but it really gives an amazing work out. It puts your heart rate into 5 K race territory. A half hour on these things and you sweat even when it's totally baltic out.

Beer of the Blog: Considering the amount of time I spend preaching the greatness of fresh local US craft brews most of the beers I love are imports. The reason, US brewers are not yet using Brettanomyces. This little yeast an infection in most brews is deliberately used in the Flanders area of Belgian and gives a pleasnt sourness which in small doses balances the sweetnes most people asosciate with beer. The best example of a beer using this wonderous yeast I have found is Duchesse De Bougogne. I think this may currently be my absolute favoritist beer. The malty sweetness is perfctly balanced by just a hint of sourness and the charecteristc Brett. berry/vomit flavor.(yes it's true butyric acid, one of the flavor products of Brettanomyces is also that pungent smell in chunder). Fortunately knowing the way US craft brewers work it's only a moment of time before start to get a good US Brewed sour beer. In fact I think Goose Island made one called Matilda recently.

2006-11-29T11:41:00.000-06:00

Maybe it's Time

Well it looks like winter is finally going to show up here. After doing my Traditional Thanksgiving ski in a tshirt this year it has finally cooled of enough to make snow. Yes that's right I've finally got to the stage where skiing 2.5 KM round a man made loop is all it takes to make me happy.

It did take years of disappointing snow fall, repressed homicidal tendancies towards all non-snow lovers, and the finding of a summer obsession that I love almost as much as skiing to get there but for now I'm ecstatic to know that for the next 3 months I will be able to leave my house drive 10 minutes and have garunteed good skiing(well snow at least), and compared to swimming 2000 metres in a 25 yard pool skiing 15 KM on 2.5 KM loop is almost refreshing.

Beer of the Blog: One of the reasons I wanted to start a blog was so I could keep track of any great beers I had tasted so I've decided tolist one with each posting. This one is an old favorite Ayinger Celebrator. Almost sickly sweet, malty and it packs the big alcohol taste I love in a beer. This is the classic German Doppelbock.I once had a friend who included an addiction to this beer alongside one for very potent mind altering substances. I spent the occasional night drinking this with him out on the mountains of Wyoming. They seem like happy times now, but spending time with him was basically like hanging out with a big sign on your back asking to be harrased by Park Rangers and being preached to about the genius of dinasaur rock bands from the 60/70's. Like all true evangelists he liked to preach his gospel of drug use to anyone nearbye and I'm sure there were a few aging RV'ers in the Tetons who had no idea why this guy was talking to them about wigs and fungi.

2006-11-21T20:33:00.000-06:00

In the line of fire - Cycling in NW Wisconsin during hunting opener.

It seemed like the perfect solution, Mrs Brewski had to work all weekend, Half Pint wanted to visit Grannie's house, and I as always wanted to be outdoors playing, So of to Grannies it was, willing childcare allows me to ride, Half Pint gets to throw rocks in water and Mrs Brewski gets a weekend to herself.

I've been on a roll with Mountain Biking as of late and was looking forward to exploring more of the single track up in Birkie land. Then it occurred to me Deer opener, damn. But surely the roads are safe, right?

Err it appears that common wisdom is that this is not the case. My father in law persuaded me not to wear the brown windbreaker I like to wear in the fall. ( I was later informed that the motto of all hunters is "If it's brown it's going down", I guess this explains the lack of racial diversity in the hunting crowd)but bugger it, a weekend without exercise seemed like it would be wasting my god given time on earth so of I went for a quick 23 miler.

On stopping at the store for my traditional mid ride beverage I was given a hard time by the occupants for a distinct lack of orange clothing. After this I tried to stay out of the aero bars as much as possible working on the theory that my silhouette would be far less deer like, and every tim I passed a parked truck I would sing some bagpipe music out loud. I'm pretty sure that whatever a deer would sing to itself as it went down the road at 20 m.p.h. it's probably not pipe music.(I don't know I always imagined deer would like classic rock, I envision them as being huge fans of C.C.R. - I think it's because I think of them as dumb herdlike creatures)

Anyway suffice to say I made it back in one piece and will be much smarter next year when hunting season comes along.

2006-11-15T21:28:00.000-06:00

A New Hope

Sorry I could only start my blog with a star wars reference, hopefully unlike the movies the first entry will not be the only one that doesn't absolutely blow. One thing that does blow indeed is my punctuation so hopefully noone that reads this will be too offended by my mashing of the english language, sorry I've always tried to do the exact opposite of what people tell me I have to do. Unfortunately I took this to heart when the laws of grammar were explained to me in English class all those years ago. So anyway with Triathlon season a distant blur, and no snow in the immediate forecast here are my hopes for the upcoming X country season.

That we get some cold weather in the next few days so Elm Creek, my local X country ski area can make snow. In fact like all snow lovers I hope this years weather is only a positive factor in the races.
That my 2 year old son, henceforth known as the half pint will play along with my plan to sneak him in to the Barnebirkie. I want the free cookies at the end. Off course there's always the chance they may be some form of Scandinavian salted fish cookie in which case I'm sure we can save them for cat.
That my racing curse is over. For some reason every second race I entered this year had some form of drama in it. For skiing this ranged from being given the race number of a 65 year old man in the Governors Cup. He got the better end of this deal. Finishing significantly better than the 4th last place I was credited with. Then of course there was the Birkie, To say my drama at this race was epic is an understatement. I'm sure I'll elaborate in the future, but lets just say the secret to adding 1 hour 45 minutes to your time involves a pair of skis, a set of car keys and a locked car. Triathlon season was no better, highlights there included entering a race with my first and last name mixed up. No wonder I couldn't find my race packet, and then there were numerous cases of stomach cramps, achilles tendonitis, and swim deficencies.

Off course like everyone else I also hope for World peace, the perfect Christmas present, and more time with the half pint and Mrs Brewski, (OK I forget is it Mrss or Mrs for a spouse, If only I'd paid attention in English class)

Oh and if someone were to invent a sports drink that tasted like a Belgian Sour Red that would be pretty cool also. I think that may be my number one hope.