Under Pressure

Yes, I am producing Kombucha again. The Summer months are too warm (we do not have sufficient air conditioning) and we have bugs from the garden and Peach tree that are hard to manage when trying to ferment Kombucha. I tried to start a new SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony Of Bacteria and Yeast) with a store bought Kombucha and some Red Bull. My brother had mentioned he store some excess Red Bull in a Kombucha bottle and a SCOBY formed very quickly.

I could make a comment here, but I will pass.

I added some sweet tea after a few days of nothing happening and then a nice SCOBY formed.

And speaking of passing, what about those Green Bay Packers? A see a three-peat coming. The Dallas Cowboys have not faced any real pressure in a long time. They are mostly young, never having played in a playoff game. I see the Packers wiping the field with them.

And remember when you bottle your Kombucha you need pressure rated bottles or they will explode and you will lose everything, like the Cowboys will tomorrow. I’m starting to build up quite a supply of Kombucha. Anyone of you from Metro or otherwise that I would recognize is welcome to stop by and try some. The doorbell does not work.

We had our annual cookout this past year, for the first time in many years. It was in October, but I had to get it in. Finances gave kept us a bit frugal for several years but we are starting to step out once more. I had fresh bratwurst and polish sausage. Great foods to enjoy at a football game, like this one where the Packers annihilate the Cowboys.

Bratwurst, or the Polish for that matter, need no condiments. I cringe when I see people putting ketchup on a bratwurst, like I am sure I will cringe at how the Cowboys are set upon by the Packers. It is not easy to watch even your opponent being humiliated.

But there is a condiment of my own making that is the only acceptable condiment for a bratwurst. That is the peach relish we made and canned in 2015.

We all await to relish in a Green Bay Packer’s victory.

The $148 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.

Ready, Set, GOal

It is that time of year again. My goals or resolutions for this new year of 2017 are not finalized. They are being evaluated and will be made with the clear intent of them being achieved.

Now if you just want to GO, in this year of 2017, this weekend is full of places to start. Events meant to test your fitness of not only body but mind are many.

This Thursday the Lapham Peak Fat Bike Race Series is said to be a go. Do not let the man on crutches dissuade you. Pot luck means food. Lights are required. The race starts at 7:30 but from 5:30, a glorious two hours before race time, you can demo a Surly Fat Bike for free. I like ice cream.

Saturday everything starts and ends with the Hugh Jass. Waukesha is the city, Minooka is the park, flannel is what you wear for extra style points. It doesn’t get any crazier. I would be there if I had the time, or maybe if I was just one of those cool kids.

Wheel and Sprocket is also hosting Monday Night Fat Bike Group Rides.

Metro Mountain Bikers Winter Social ride, I believe this is the first, Will be Saturday January 21. Ride around or across Muskego Lake depending on how much beer…, I mean the weather. Something called the Pack N Brew is the tentative starting gate. 10:00 AM sharp. A lunch stop is planned.

On February 4th The Frosty Hog may be the race for you. It is a relay, so you do not need a Fat Bike. You just need to convince someone with a Fat Bike that they want you on their team. …Anyone? I’m right here. Sitting by myself.

Good things come to those who wait. The Sweaty Yeti, that old school, real man’s race is part of the great Yeti Fest; February 24th to 26th. It will be held at one of the most beautiful sites Wisconsin has to offer, Levi Mounds State Park.  The Yellowstone Sasquatches will not be in attendance. Yes, the National Park Service has caught up to six sasquatches at a time this last Christmas on their live feed cameras. The Park Service pans away from Sasquatch, AKA Big Foot (would more than one be Big Feet or Big Foots?) or the Forest People as some call them, when they recognize them on their live feeds. Still some have recorded the action on other devices.

All the airlines claimed height restrictions when the Sasquatch clan tried to catch a flight to Wisconsin. You really do not want to tell a Sasquatch that they stink.

Stay busy my friends.

The $147 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.

Giants Among Us

No, I am not referring to the New York Giants coming to play the Green Bay Packers here in Wisconsin tomorrow. I write now of true giants, known to many but seen by few.

No, I do not mean cyclocross racers either.

I am writing of the Sasquatch. There is a guy in Ontario who has recordings of Sasquatch calling for him by name. Which begs the question; If they can talk can they play football? If Sasquatch were intelligent enough to play in the NFL the current players would know what it would feel like for a woman to play, if the NFL ever allowed woman to play.

Intelligence wise, I imagine, Sasquatch would most likely be more prone to play in the Canadian Football League. They could name a team after themselves, eh.

But what of Aaron Rodgers? I have a theory as to why he looked like a deer caught in the headlights early in the season, fumbling the ball in the backfield twice. It was his diet. Or rather his girl friend who put him on his diet. You need fats and even proteins for that brain to fire on all cylinders. Good thing he decided on MVP awards, Titles and Super Bowl rings over being spoon fed by his girl friend. That is my theory anyway. It is not kosher to criticize those all too fashionable pop culture diets on National Television so everyone kept it hush hush.

I doubt, however, that the NFL will ever let Sasquatch play for one of their teams, no matter how intelligent. And they must be very intelligent. Why would they keep themselves hidden so well if they did not know how truly ugly they are? If knowing you are ugly is not a sign of true intelligence, I do not know what is.

Still, I bet the Green Bay Packers can make Eli Manning feel like a woman playing in the NFL.

But this Blog is not about cryptids, its main focus is mountain biking. HASTPA sponsors many mountain bike events in the Himalayas. The time to plan for such a major excursion is now, and if you should come across the abdominal snowman  while you are there, say “Hello.” for Sasquatch.

The $146 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.

Merry Christmas

I said to my wife after we finished our Friday sales before Christmas, “Nothing left but Christmas.” The cards were sent out, gifts bought and the pressures of the season melted away with that thought, “Nothing left but Christmas.”

With three more days of the season before us we can always find Christmas music on Pandora as the radio abandoned the season early. With so many HD broadcast stations having showed older better quality Christmas shows why does anyone need cable?

I generally find the older the better  as far as Christmas music goes. I was disappointed the music on the radio did not trend more and more religious as The Day approached. At least no one had to hear me sing, except at church, and they are supposed to be of a forgiving nature.

We went to our own Church Christmas Eve. I saw an inspiring show at home put on by Berea College after the local TV news before my wife cut over to Cardinal Dolan’s sermon at St. Patrick’s in New York. Sermon time was the best time as we already heard the common readings at our own Church.

Do you know Berea College seeks students who cannot afford a college education?

I guess the young ones need gifts but everyone has so much already. The materialism I find disillusioning.

I received “The Urban Farmer” book for Christmas. It is chuck full of useful information. …I just thought it would be bigger.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone.

The $145 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.

Happy Thanksgiving 2016

My wife decorated the TV cabinet with little Pilgrims hunting turkey.

I keep telling her that our TV remote is infrared and we need a line of sight for the remote to work. I know. None of you other women recognize the problem either. Don’t worry. Just keep cooking delicious food and your husbands will cover for you.

Ike, our dog has pulled out his gutted goosey toy for hunting season. He knows. He always wakes up my wife at the same time every morning to be fed. Even after we changed the clocks. That is right. He reads clocks.

A young lady at the last Metro Mountain Biker’s meeting suggested that the annual Turkey Hurl Ride be held in the morning…

“You have to eat your turkey first.” I decreed. How else could you hurl it? Meet at 7pm in the Tosa village if you are looking to hurl your turkey. Actually Turkey Hurl is just an expression used for promotional purposes. …Really, it is a non-sanctioned event.

The Santa Rampage is quickly approaching; Dec. 3. The Hugh Jass Race Series will be just so much more fun after the snow starts falling. Their next race is at the Grand Geneva Resort. A most excellent venue.

The first snow should always come on Thanksgiving weekend.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving. We will watch the parade, enjoy the dog show and then spend time with family eating delicious food, hoping we have enough food stored away to survive the Winter.

The $144 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.

Happy Halloween 2016

The Saris Gala is this coming Friday and if that isn’t scary enough just check out some of the premium bicycle packages you could win in auction. Perfect for all you beer guzzling bicycle nuts looking to get away from it all in a preplanned, work it into your schedule future arranged event.

Ike knows. Ike our dog knows it is Halloween. That pumpkin head pull toy has been in his bucket of toys all year. It is only from the week before Halloween that he ever takes interest in it. No joke. He starts playing with his stuffed football as soon as preseason begins. He knows. Just ask him. Ask him anything.

The demon fleas have been bothering Ike and after a three week battle we had to revert to using Frontline, which had him flea free in under three days. My wife says the flea combs at the Bark and Scratch have been flying from the displays. I suspect the weather has had something to do with it.

It is like the movie Apocalypse Now” where the main character hunts down the crazy colonel, whom we shall not name. The colonel, his headquarters decorated with the heads of the enemy impaled upon pikes (much like the Tower of London must have looked days gone by) in reflection says those infamous words over his plight; “The humidity, …the humidity.” It has just been a plain wet year, even if Summer rainfalls were low. And now we all suffer from the demon fleas.

Just think of all the moisture in the ground now, as it just keeps raining week upon week, and then the big freeze. Worst Winter in a long time the Farmer’s Almanac claims.

Just think pot holes, and be afraid… very afraid. Then there will be the Santa Rampage.

Yes, we are still getting tomatoes and raspberries from our garden. Those tomatoes come up themselves every year all over our yard and garden. They are sweet and tasty, but this time of year the skin gets hard and splits.

The $143 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.

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.