Make Me Skinny

Or rather; MAKEMESKINNY, in all caps no spaces is the code for a discount online registration to the entire Hugh Jass Fat Bike Series. For a mere $100 you can be registered online for every race. All the better if you plan to attend, or even participate. Their first race is this coming weekend October 15th; Sweetest Day. It is more fun in the snow.

I saw fat bikes for less than $300 at Farm and Fleet. Otherwise they can run into the thousands of dollars. I saw them on display at Johnson’s Bikes on good old North Avenue. I believe that is where our dad took us for our first bikes some forty years ago. My older brother got a brand new bike and I got a dinged up used bike. The good old days when the eldest son was king and the only thing worse was an only child.

Levi Trow Mound and Silver Lake are some of the trails I heard may be groomed for fat bikes this Winter. Which is good since Ray’s Indoor Mountain Bike Park has closed in Milwaukee. Not sure why, but I would say, “It’s the economy stupid.” That would be a political line from days gone past which would be completely valid for this election if a republican were in office.

So you can go to Cleveland for indoor mountain biking or go underground in Kentucky.

WORS is continuing to downsize, not necessarily by choice. After 23 years the Sheboygan event will be no more. A great race that all enjoyed but difficulties working with Parks and a lack of volunteers has made it too difficult to perpetrate. You can find some videos from those races on my YouTube site. As it looks now WORS and WEMS will each have nine races next year.

Truly the bit more worry, the bit more stress, being at times strapped for cash has turned peoples minds away from recreation submersion. They are looking for a few events rather than a Summertime commitment. Fewer races may well translate into higher participation numbers however. It will also ease the decision making process as fewer events will overlap. Mountain Biking is as strong as ever, it is just not the same as it used to be.

There will be more trail work days yet this year if you are interested in volunteering with Metro Mountain Bikers; a local IMBA Chapter. The Fall Social Ride is October 22 and there is talk of a Winter Social Ride.

The $142 question: What were my three most favorite WORS races? Keeping the same question. Check out the Charity Jackpot Page link in the sidebar to possibly triple the amount.

A Very Berry Bit Scary Garden Adventurism

Permaculture; it has a magazine and everything. Permaculture Magazine has highlighted this particular group, Brake the Cycle, which hosts grueling rides across the UK with stops at holistic lifestyle (permaculture) facilities. We are not talking breweries or pubs, sorry Metro Mountain Bikers, but farms and such.

Or you can go with this Brake the Cycle, the World Vision Aspen International Bike Ride; a very worthy, a bit more adventurous and clearly more dangerous bicycle trek. This year's ride has passed, it was on my birthday, but keep it in mind for next year. I hear the beer market in Africa is expanding rapidly; wink wink Metro. Ah… I missed the last meeting.

Emery’s is having a huge sale at their Menomonee Falls location, Friday and Saturday only. In three weeks there is a Tour de’ Chequamegon up there in the north woods there, eh. A three day adventure brought to you by the Fyxation Bicycle Co.

But this blog is not about feel good altruism, it is about me. Yes, I tore out that barberry monster and cleared the fence line. Just look below at this beast I defeated further down the line. The determined and unrelenting application of brute force brought me victory in this battle. Not sure if you younger readers can relate with that.

I found a wonderful berry company and put in an order. I will line the fence with berry bushes. More to come in the Spring. There is no diet I have seen that does not recommend berries. Everyone loves berries. Blueberries are a bit too attention demanding for me to attempt to grow at this time. We ordered and planted some currants and an aronia bush. The honeyberry is on my mind for the Spring.

I had done an Internet search for “berries that grow in the shade” and various alterations on that theme and found nothing. Researching berries on YouTube many mentioned that currants grow and produce well in the shade, even full shade. A gardener at the DNR’s State fair facility enthusiastically conveyed to me the same information. Some have said their raspberries do fine in the shade.

I also found what some are now calling the #1 super food in the world; the aronia berry native to eastern North America. Also known as the choke berry, not choke cherry, it is the next up and coming craze, along with the haspak berry AKA the honeyberry.

The currants have a high concentration of natural pectin. You can make a jam by adding only an equal weight (of the berries) in sugar and simmer until it gels on a cold plate. If you don’t have a thick bottomed pot a splash of water would be prudent. You bring the berries to a boil then add the sugar and simmer.

There was a wild berry growing along our fence that I had the hardest time trying to identify via the Internet. Finally searching “poisonous plants in Wisconsin” I could identify the plant. I will not show a picture of this poisonous plant to avoid confusion with edible berries. It looks very similar to another berry that people grow as a super food. But this particular variety, growing wild all over the place, is poisonous, particularly before they ripen. Did I mention this is a poisonous plant (that I have not pictured or described). Never eat anything without verifying exactly what kind of plant it is.

The reality is, plants do not like to be eaten. Sorry vegans. That is why you have to soak and cook beans. Otherwise you’ll be poisoned.

Berries are a perennial, an easier food crop to care for. There is also a perennial bean, if you live in a warmer climate than Wisconsin, that is native to the Americas. That is the runner bean and for some reason it is far more popular in England than the United States. It will survive mild Winters.

Known as the Scarlet Runner Bean Thomas Jefferson grew them in his garden as an ornamental. They have beautiful scarlet flowers and produce continuously once mature. Their vines grow to ten feet. It is a favorite of humming birds.

The pods are eaten raw when very small and sweet. In England they seem to cook the sliced up pods when they are much bigger but before the beans begin to develop. If you let the beans mature and dry on the vine you get large beans from black, to pink, to purple, or a combination of colors. They are very large and attractive. Though it is said you can eat these beans, someone called them Oregon Lima Beans, I have found no recipes for the fully mature beans online. I did see one photo of the beans in a dish however. Of course you would have to soak and cook these beans, like other beans.

My wife and I made this baby, as is typical for making babies. She took it to a baby shower to the joy of many. Afterwards we enjoyed the leftover scraps, which I called baby bits. Very macabre of me I know but in my defense… 

Halloween is just around the corner. And you know in some cultures women did eat the placenta after birthing.

The $141 question: What were my three most favorite WORS races? Keeping the same question. Check out the Charity Jackpot Page link in the sidebar to possibly triple the amount.

Labors of the Day

Has Labor Day snuck up upon you without warning? Perhaps a quick escape to the La Crosse area would make a delightful last minute excursion. This holiday weekend is the La Crosse Area Bicycle Festival. It is simply one of the most beautiful areas of our great country that there is. And if competition is what you desire, there is the La Crosse Gravel Classic. It’s a classic. I competed in a WEMS Race long ago in La Crosse. Good people out there and it is not as long of a drive as you may think.

Don’t like the crowds? The following weekend, September 10th, is the Pickwick Historic Mill Run and Walk somewhere across the border in Minnesota. (DO you know the Minnesota Mountain Bike Series races in Wisconsin?) Brings to mind this 18th Century Cooking channel we have been enjoying on YouTube. Half the recipes seem to be for a pudding of some kind. How can you not appreciate that?

Misao is on a project craze. She has been creating mason jar solar lights from cheap solar lamps, canning supplies and and a glue gun. I did the wiring for the hanger.

The Hugh Jass is fast approaching. The Fat Bike Series of Fat Bike series is back for this coming Winter. And it is going to be a bad one. The squirrels are turning nearly black around here. Hugh Jass had Summer discounts for a race series package. There are always fat bikes for rent, but reserve one ahead of time. Wheel and Sprocket is the major player in supporting local race series.

The Saris Gala is going Olympic, if such promotions and advocacy are your thing. That will be November 4th.

Surprisingly, I have been riding quite a bit. I have ulterior motives however. I keep my eyes open for Black Walnut trees in order to harvest their fruits. Yes, you can eat them. I may make some Black Walnut ink from the husks; or a wood stain. The exercise log is filling up.

A daily bounty from the garden. Misao and I canned some bread and butter pickles together. Sometimes it is better not to speak, especially in the proximity of large quantities of scolding hot water. We went mishap free.

The $140 question: What were my three most favorite WORS races? Keeping the same question. Check out the Charity Jackpot Page link in the sidebar to possibly triple the amount.

Recreation 2017

Minooka Park, Area 5, Tuesday August 16, 6:00pm, will be an all skills level ride led by a prestigious member of Metro Mountain Bikers. A chance to see what the mountain bike trails at Minooka are all about, if you don’t know already. And don’t forget about the Wednesday Night Races which will finish out the season at the Alpha Trail.

Or if you are looking for more immediate gratification The Warrior Dash is tomorrow at The Rock in Franklin Wisconsin. I hear they have heats going off every half hour.

I haven’t gotten down to my race weight yet, but, believe it or not, I have gotten out to ride. And I have found myself not out of shape. Comes from good living.

My wife said to me the other day. “Let’s take a weekend off and go on vacation.”

“That’s a lot of chocolate.” I answered in a most serious of tone.

“What?” she looked bewildered.

“The money we would lose from not selling and what we would spend on vacation…. That’s a lot of chocolate.”

“You’re right.” my wife sighed a moment later.

Take heed young men. The learning never stops here. You have to speak to woman in a language they can understand.

 

This was our vacation; baseball and The state Fair. Okay, I had to wait fifteen minutes for a hotdog at the stadium, or in other words until every other line had been completely worked through. The guy was working hard, he just gave everyone else their orders, including some guy who kept walking over from the drink concessions, before he would give me my hotdog. Then he tried to hand me three. “One hotdog.” I said and then, “Thank you.” Not sure if the two people waiting behind me for the other two hotdogs thanked him.

One of the hottest most humid days of the year and we went to The State Fair. we did out culinary rounds and struck up a conversation with a couple at a shared table. The gentleman looked familiar. I saw on Facebook one of my high school classmates was at the fair at the same time.

We watched some fat pigs attempt to make it around a race track and then hit all the vendors. Thank God for air conditioning. I bought some glue. The We Energies facility had a nice educational garden but their Solar Speedway show was cancelled because of clouds. So much for solar energy. This globe, one of many was in their garden display. I bowled with a guy whose daughter made those, with some autistic group, out of old bowling balls. I had given him a couple. …could be?

They were changing out the animals in most of the barns so we couldn’t see much in that regard. I think the DNR display facilities improve every year.

I looked for the dog shows on the State Fair site but couldn’t find the K9 activity stage listed (it was under family entertainment). But we caught a show no problem. They are pretty much continuous.

Getting cream puffs over to my parents house before they melted and home to watch the Olympics rounded out our day. Watching the women gymnasts I imagined anorexics everywhere were cheering for the Chinese.

I really know how to plan a vacation.

With the heat, the 4th of July and thunderstorms Ike our dog has been stressed and is still having seizures though far fewer than before. We bought a second round of “thuja” a homeopathic medicine. There seems to be some marked improvement. Perhaps the first  round had been energy depleted somehow. That’s how those homeopathies work.

Don’t be calling me homeophobic.

I think I will bring an end to my “40 Below” Yahoo group site. I will print out my exercise journal from that site for posterity. I started a new exercise journal on excel on a really old Internet non-compatible computer.

The $139 question: What were my three most favorite WORS races? Keeping the same question. Check out the Charity Jackpot Page link in the sidebar to possibly triple the amount.

Feel the Burn

HEY! The Polish Moon Ride is tomorrow. Bring your accordion.

The Tour d’ Fraud is over. I saw some coverage of the Tour d’ Fraud. I enjoy it. I could almost feel the burn myself as I watched the leaders push on. If we were a bit better off financially I might have even paid for an online coverage package. When you cycle you enjoy watching cycling events. I look forward to the Olympic coverage.

At the Olympics I fear they are experiencing more than one kind of burn, several in fact. And the citizens are feeling the burn of tear gas and pepper spray. Go Team USA.

WORS is the series a Minooka is the place. WORS broke a record for what one organizer called the WORS modern era. Gone are the days when WORS attracted 1,200 plus competitors regularly: AKA the 90’s. For this new century they set an attendance record of over 800 competitors. That is a 30% increase in what has become typical for their more popular races.

Minooka is where most of the newest mountain bike trail development is taking place. The right course in the right place at the right time. Metro Mountain Biker’s volunteers have already invested well over 300 hours in local trail work. Minooka is continually improving their course. There are some great devoted people behind it, not to mention the county employees who facilitate it all.

I didn’t burn the beans. I roasted these in my popcorn popper; of the whirly pop variety. If you have not tried fresh roasted coffee… you don’t know coffee. Tastes best at three to five days after roasting. Many say that it goes stale after seven days. But I have heard others claim it’s fresh for ten days, even three weeks, and one gentleman, roasting over an open campfire on “18th Century Cooking” professed it fresh for six weeks. You can find green coffee beans on Amazon. More about my coffee roasting experience and Bulletproof Diet later.

The sun burns. All my cabbage is harvested. Gave some away, ate some and tried my hand at a bit of sauerkraut. Added some fresh dill to the kraut. Some of the turnips were a bit damaged but we enjoyed what we could just the same. The Beans and tomatoes are ripening. We have had some eggplant, cucumbers and Swiss chard for a while. I will plant some more salad vegetables. The maturation of many plants is slow this year. My brother has also noticed the same lag in his garden in Indiana.

To make more space for productive plants I finally removed that barberry bush under the heat of a burning sun.  It didn’t burn, God didn’t speak, but I found the removal of this thorny intrusive symbolic to my life. No sun screen for me. If burning and wreathing in pain was good enough for us when we were kids, it’s good enough for me now.

“I told you not to take your shirt off.” my mother used to say.

Some garden buffs have claimed that if you eat healthy fresh live foods you will not burn. The sun is good for you (vitamin D) and man has been exposed to it for like forever. That doesn’t mean they do not wear big hats for protection, they do.

I wonder if they tested the sun screen the racers use in the Tour d’ Fraud.

I mended that hole I found in the fence. Pulled the two torn edges together with a clamp from my workshop, then weaved and tied it back together. My efforts inspired my neighbors on both sides of my lot to start cleaning up our fence lines from their sides. Think of me as Mr. Motivator; an inspiration.


I heard that! …Thinking, I have to wonder, no I must distress, that anyone would look at gaining something of value as losing something else of value. Not sure what that has to do with anything.

The naturalization of our riverbed has been completed. Good luck Wauwatosa as the slowing of the river here will influence your flooding potential far more than ours. The bridges up river are lower than our flood wall. Are you going to feel the burn. Those Bernie supporters sure felt the burn; being cheated and lied to. I saw one democrat bad mouthing a Bernie supporter to his face on national TV. You would think she was talking to a republican. “…How does it feel? …How does it feel?…” Going a bit Bob Dylan on myself.

An ease to tending our garden this year has been that it truly has rained when the weather man (or woman) has said it would, more times than not. Otherwise one forgets to water when you are expecting rain and it does not come.

The $138 question: What were my three most favorite WORS races? Keeping the same question. Check out the Charity Jackpot Page link in the sidebar to possibly triple the amount.

Too Much

RAW, or Ride Across Wisconsin is coming up, and if you want the discounted registration you best sign up by June 30th; today! This is one budding event I can inform you about but there are so many events it s almost too much to comprehend. Makes going to the fireworks for our blessed fourth a no brainer, …but which fireworks? There are so many local. I don’t go for all that celebrating not on the day but the day before crap.

Minooka Park in Waukesha is a good focal point if you have a growing interest in mountain biking for you or yours. As of now Metro Mountain Biker’s Wednesday Night Races are at Minooka; check the site to confirm. Then, July 10, is the Collectivo Coffee Bean Classic, a WORS premier event.

Summerfest is here of course. I am not the biggest fan of Summerfest. Too many drunks and not enough quiet places that are not under a blazing sun. The old main stage is always nice, you can sit at some picnic benches away from the speakers and take it easy and listen for a while. Now, if I had free tickets…

But it is most productive to write about what I am actually doing rather than what I have planned. What I am actually doing also comes with pictures, if I can remember to bring my camera along. The garden is one of my major endeavors at this time in my life. Hopefully I will have some ride pictures soon, …if I can remember to bring my camera along..

Don’t keep feeding your dog the same food. That is a myth; it is not healthy. Also dogs need moisture in their food; dry food will upset their stomachs so add water.

Ike our dog is consuming our resources and my time like never before. He has been struck with seizures and food appears to be a part of the problem, as changing his diet has helped. He gets away with a lot more now that he is ill. When he jumps into the raised garden beds, destroying the vegetables, I just say, “Yes Ike, I built that for you.” Which is what he wants to hear.

If you do not visit a holistic vet when you pet is suffering from some ailment, you are only getting at best half the options available to heal your dog. Our regular vet, Advance Animal Hospital, will recommend vets with a holistic approach, though I am not completely happy with Advanced Animal Hospital. Vets push a lot of vaccines that may not be necessary.

As of today, three days after I started writing this post Ike is having only a few mild seizures a day. If he keeps improving we will not need to put him on medication.

Happy Fourth of July to all.

The $137 question: What were my three most favorite WORS races? Keeping the same question. Check out the Charity Jackpot Page link in the sidebar to possibly triple the amount.

Tosa Farmer's Market

Tomorrow Metro Mountain Bikers, your local IMBA Chapter, will have a booth at the Tosa Farmers Market. Yes, the streets are closed off, but not on the weekends. It is very accessible.

The Fondy Market appears to be an extensive organization with a focus on providing produce in what some see as inner city food deserts; or is it desserts? I only know that one is usually found to be delicious.

I’ve been busy with the soil myself. I am installing another raised bed. That is all the soil it is getting this year. I’ll add another 7 cubic feet of one part compost – one part vermiculite & perlite - and one part peat moss next year. I put some cardboard on the bottom before filling to attract worms. The compost is of my own making.

The cucumbers and other salad vegetables will be going in today. We are a bit late in some things but have started enjoying spinach from our garden, in another bed, already this week. Look at those potatoes grow and the raspberries…..

Growing some beans this year. I am hoping they are pole beans; the package didn’t specify. I was surprised all the seeds took so I thinned things out a bit and put some of the plants in the ground beside the container, giving them a fighting chance. I don’t like to destroy plants or any living things, like that barberry in the back ground, even when they are a nuisance. When I see a bee in the house I escort it outside. We have many fascinating bugs around with our eclectic garden. When my wife sees a bug she has only one thing to say,”Kill it.”

But if I want to expand my garden, so my wife and I can live off our fraction of an acre, that unruly hostile barberry beast will have to go. I just don’t have any other place to put it.

It is time to celebrate Wisconsin Bike Week. It started yesterday and runs for eleven days… Don’t ask me, ask the Wisconsin Bike Fed.

Metro held their first Wednesday night race this past Wednesday. That had yet to be nailed down last meeting and am surprised I am first hearing about it today.

My bike? Still to be prepped for the season; as soon as the garden is all in.

The $136 question: What were my three most favorite WORS races? Keeping the same question. Check out the Charity Jackpot Page link in the sidebar to possibly triple the amount.