Beer Friday. Wells and Youngs, Sticky Toffee Pudding Ale

Beer Friday brought you you on a Sunday night. Not a great beer drinking night for most as you are getting ready for another week of work as that dreaded Monday looms around the bend. I still have a few days so with the NFL in full swing lets review some beer while the Sunday Night game roars in the background.

Is there anything better than September and October when the weather is cooler and football (either NFL or CFL) is on in the house? A cool crisp feeling in the air, the riding is the best it could be and you are relaxing with a nice craft beer and watching football. Or hell, even playoff baseball is pretty great. There really is something about this time of year that the rest of the months cannot even come close to comparing to.

Well's and Young's brewery was formed in two thousand and six when Charles Wells brewing and Youngs merged. Located in Bedford England, the home of the Bedford Town Football Club who are proud winners of the North Bedfordshire Charity Cup. Circa 1911.

Way to go boys! We at Lonebiker headquarters are damn proud of you!

We poured this dandy looking brew into our favourite tester mug and it gave us a dark lusty beer with a one and a half fingered head that looked into our eyes and said "bring it on bitches." The smell at first was a bit off putting if your not ready for it. Toffee and pudding for the obvious nose notes with some chocolate on the side. It tasted of... you guessed it! Toffee and pudding! It is though quite bitter which was a disappointment. It was hard to get away from the bitterness which was there every sip and took away from the toffee and pudding.

This beer gets 2 suds out of 5.

Cold Hands, Frozen Feet, Unprepared Yet Again

I really should look in to things before a ride starts. Some critical but basic questions should be asked..

*Do I have a bike?
*Is said bike good to ride?
*How is the weather?
*Do I have the proper clothing for this ride?
*Did I eat properly?
*Will my wife be mad if I leave?
*Do I have a proper route planned out? (guess that doesn't really matter.)
*Do I look good for the ride?
    --How's the hair?
    --Anything in my teeth?
    --The tattoos.. Will they be visible and if not, what the hell brother!?

I didn'r pre ride check and left with summer gloves and summer shoes. I lierally looked at the winter clothing and left without. I did grab the winter jacket so I get some points there.

The ride which was supposed to last a good portion of the day lasted maybe an hour and a half. The river valley bathrooms were a haven for warmth.

I may look a bit off but it is September the 15th.. Not really in Winter mode right now.

Happy Tuesday

Bike Night. Deer Night. Dark Night

The first ride into the dark of the season spent with the likeness of mr Steeves.. Armed with the Altitude and a singlespeed we set out and descended Fireman's hill where slick looking trails had me a bit ass puckered.

The ride properly left Terwillegar once we were in it and we took the back route of the Oleskiw trails. A trail I never bothered to ride but found it to be quite good. Not a lot of features, just singletrack along the trees and fields. My new found passion for the trail was quashed when Kent remarked on how boring the trail was once we were off it.

I of course did the cool thing and agreed whole heartily one hundred percent. I even spit a couple times at the ground to prove my dissatisfaction with it.

All in all... First ride on a trail that I thought was a dead end. I was surprised that it actually had a purpose.

We went on through Patricia and Laurier. The climb out was done and Mackinnon's fine trails were taken on again. The roots had me at hello and the full suspension Rocky ate them up like a pothead eating a Little Ceasers pizza.

We returned home on Six Shooter and Machete and I cannot sadly remember the last time I went west on those. The awesome was all there and a deer met me at the top of  Six Shooter with absolute no cares in the world to our presence. We rode on and found a refurbished trail that was absolutely incredible. More will come on this but immediately top 5 on the trails list.

The dark caught up and Flat Pete was ridden in the blackness. Kent's 2500 lumen lamp led the way and I kept thinking a UFO or freight train had entered the trails ahead of me. I remembered it was Kent and was relieved immensely.

The ride ended, beers were drank, hence a very late post.

*Kent Steeves. 5th photo down.

Wet Trail Session

Not a lot to discuss here. Trails were presumably too wet to ride so I stuck it on the paved. Ride map below.

A Short Singletrack Heroin Session

Between waking up late and having plans in the late afternoon, a short trip in the Whitemud, Saskatchewan Drive area was done and it was incredible.

Blame the cool early September air.

Blame the lack of riding making trail time all the more powerful.

Blame singletrack. That shit is pure heroin kids.

Blame bikes...

One of the best of the year? No. but for the short 10 kilometres it was worth every moment.

This ride gets 5 pedal strokes out of 5.

Ha!

Sore Leg Rolling

Finally a return to the bike after a rather piss poor set of days off last set in terms of riding. A hard week of nights at work on site at a mine this week took a toll on the sore leg made me want to ride more than ever to try and beat the pain out of the system.

From old school Mill Creek I set off mainly on paved trails wanting to take things easy. It's a good sign that you haven't ridden in a while when you feel awkward setting out on a ride. For the first six or so kilometers nothing felt right. People stared at me and I didn't like it one bit.

It was a very Edmonton start to the ride as a couple larger young women with a baby in a stroller were in an all out swearing yelling match with a guy down the trail. Something had happened beetween them and the yelling was non-stop. The expletives that were shouted were incredible and all I could think of was that poor kids future.

The world is a bit fucked isn't it kids?

Luckily I ride bikes so I enjoy my time on earth and did so today with a low level bridge crossing after leaving Mill Creek. I ended up crossing back on the Walterdale and rode the new trails from the bridge up to Old Timers. A great breakthrough as the trails are open below the Walterdale and there is no need to cross the QE  Park road or Walterdale anymore. Although you will miss out on some trails so maybe those road crossings will still be a thing.

Old Timers and Skyline was ridden which made me excited to take Mill Creek's high side trails home. Quite a bit of traffic on the Trap made me leary of the blind corners.

The ride ended incident free and the leg didn't feel better one bit.

Beer Friday. Mt Begbie Brewing, Brave Liver Scotch Ale

Back to the pre-written reviews after a wasted day. Yes, a trip to Old Timers for a ride today where I pulled out the bike and discovered my rear skewer was missing. Well damn... A quick search throughout the Lonebiker travel vehicle warranted nothing.

Tail tucked I went home and searched Lonebiker headquarters. With nothing coming up I frustratedly threw my helmet and sat steaming mad thinking of how sloppy I have become with anything regarding bikes. So after some angry thoughts towards myself I did the right thing...

I got straight in my vehicle and went straight to the liquor store.

Bring on Mt Begbie. One of the first breweries reviewed here and it was a winner. I've had many Mt Begbie Cream Ales since reviewing it and they always bring a nostalgic tear to my eye. located in Revelstoke British Columbia, easily one of the coolest t mountain towns I have ever been to The brewery started in nineteen ninety six. The year Mrs Lonebiker and me started dating. Damn... What a lucky girl!

The pour revealed a dark yet golden splash of wonder. This Scottish ale had a nice aroma of caramel and roasted almonds. Small traces of lacing slid down the glass as this one was consumed reminding me creepily of my wedding night when I did my pec dance as ripped off my tuxedo undershirt to the tunes of N Sync. Yes... Good times.

The tastes of caramel and roasted hops a with small tinge of burnt pine needle round this out. this one is best drank on a cold Wineter night and not in mid August as what I am doing now. It is a delicious beer yet I was hoping for more of a Scotch kick to it which sadly brought nothing.

This beer gets 3.5 suds out of 5.

Rides lacking? Here's a Video!

Sorry for being shitty. Lots going on this set off. Beer review in the holster for Friday or Saturday.

Till then... This song. Amaze!

Clumsiness and Clueless People

The ride. A trip from Mill Creek to Capilano Bridge and back started out fine on the paved from my old classic parking spot . I dropped In to the trail on my favourite small section of singletrack once you cross 76 avenue and was met with a shitty dog with two shitty people walking it who looked angry at me for coming down the trail. The couple who looked like they type that get offended by everything on the Internet would definitely be Tweeting about this or posting it on Facebook. I thought about it after and realized I probably scared the dog, it did attack me but didn't land any bites. Could you imagine the outcry I could have raised if it did? Oh man... That would have been awesome.

Sadly though I don't have that douche gene and would have done nothing. In the end I understand dogs and he was just doing his thing, although I know ours and we keep them on a leash in the valley cause we don't want shit to go down. Maybe these women could have done the same?

Several missteps on a clumsy ride took me to the Edmonton Queen trail where a mid trail collision almost occurred right on the top of the berm. I did the Canadian thing and apologized and told him I'm alone and the trail is open as far as I know. He said nothing.

Fair enough. People are shy. I guess I get it. Proper trail etiquette is to let people know about the size of your group. No? The MEC bike he was riding is a sign that he is new to the trails so I smiled and was on my way.

Birdhouse trail and lower Ewok along the river were ridden and it was a poor decision. Heavy mud puddles were relentless and I finally had to stop and contemplate a life of riding after one almost took me out.

I was grumpy. I needed CaddyShack. I needed Andre's.

Both trails were ridden. The new entrance to Caddy shack gets two thumbs up. At the end of Andre's I was reborn.

Funny how amazing singletrack can do that despite a series of riding errors throughout the trails.

A crossing of the river went down and I took the Dawson Park trails unencumbered from fuck ups (yes, I know. Easy trails.)

Mill Creeks high side singletrack took me back to end an odd day of ups and downs.

Beer Friday. Moosehead Brewery. James Ready 5.5

A day off early from night shift to help me kick back into normalcy is not a bad way to end a rotation. Simply put. I should be working tonight but instead am drinking beer and writing about it on the internet.

Carpe Diem...

James Ready comes from Moosehead Breweries located in Saint John, new Brunswick which was started in 1867. For Canada that is pretty a pretty old brewery and the inner beer geek in me wants to take a trip. Wait a minute.. I can travel to the east coast United States for cheaper? Well maybe if Canadian airlines all got their act together more time will be spent in the country when on a voyage.

The test team all together opened and poured this one into the classic beer review glass and it showed a golden beer which has been typed about on here probably a hundred times. It was golden, it looked refreshing. It looked delicious. A small head of one and a half fingers showed but didn't stick around and eventually it turned into a half moon of undead suds resting on top.

The first sip was everything a true lager should be. Cold (well I guess that was up to me) crisp, refreshing. All that combined to make the start of these days off all the better. Gotta be honest, getting notes of anything from a lager is incredibly hard. It's lager and it's simple.

This one ain't crappy and I suggest you find it.

This beer gets 3.5 suds out of 5.

HumpDay, Bonkday

Not a lot to tell here. A shortened ride from todays plan. Bonking in Old Timers when I took the top picture panoramic showing all the little trail entrances ended what would have been good. I could have stayed and fought it off but I had to get ready for work and do adult things (not those type of adult things you freakin perverts!)

So expect a week of empty. Maybe a video or two and if I feel up to it I'll have a beer review done tonight for later...

Roots Amaze

A roll from Terwillegar park where I parked there and immediately left on my bike hitting Oliskew's finest. BDSM and Flat Pete. Dry trails greeted me and it was quite the feeling rolling through some fine trails on a nice bike that almost ended up on a local buy and sell page.

I climbed up through Patricia Heights towards Bed Springs. A trail laced with more roots than those Kardashian douchebags have selfies. On the way up I came across a very sketchy person lying down in the middle of the trail with a moped and a generator. The smell of gas was strong and I assumed he spilled it all over the ground trying to get something going. A cheaper RMB Vertex and a child carrier was in the area too and I knew this guy was a thief. A call to the police warranted nothing as they said a car would probably be there in a bit (aka, a couple hours most likely.) I didn't want to wait and kept moving telling them where he was and gave my info.

I didn't hear anything and understand this was probably low on their priority. Still I didn't like the idea of this guy down there in the same area where me and Jason saw a couple 8 year old girls walking alone. I guess I could have pushed and done more.

I rode on and hit Bed Springs after a lull of being in the area. I was beaten like a nerd in the nineties before there was a giant pushback on bullies to stop bullying. You remember those days? The beatings were brought on in fruitful numbers. You notice nowadays the nerds are walking free and unencumbered as the soccer Moms may have finally gotten the upper hand on the bullies all thanks to social media.

Back in the day a beating was coming and everyone knew it.

Which was me today on Bed Springs. Every corner I felt the fear of the bully trail slapping me on the face or giving me an ungodly wedgie. Luckily I have a decent bike which helped fend off the attack but my poor conditioning had me give in and I had to stop several times on the trail to gather myself and regroup.

This trail is so much fun but also quite challenging. The roots are endless and they are badass. I'm sure the chumps cutting out the roots and pussifying the trails wouldn't even bother here, it's just too much.

I exited and rode down memory lane and ended up on Farmers Daughter after dissing the Talus Dome and ended with an incredible journey down Lansdown.

The trails are quite awesome right now kids. Get out there.

Trail Destruction Makes me Angry

 Back to the singletrack today in incredible conditions making me rethink all my ill will I have for the month of July. Wait a few tics... It's August now.

Well damn.... Maybe it really is a July thing.

The sad thing is I don't think I even got over 12 kilometres and the toll on the body was way higher than my 25ish? (I really got to look on Strava more) ride on paved yesterday. The feelings from today's ride are so much more orgasmic. That's the power of singletrack.

I rode over to The Trap in Mill Creek. The high singletrack trails on the north end of the ravine where on social media I saw numerous posts about a root that got cut out. Lots of people were angry and rightfully so. I knew where this root was (sorry no pics on this post) as it was before the ladder bridge heading north and was never of any concern which made me wonder... why?

Did this individual have any good explanation as to why this root had to go? There are many worse areas on the trail for less skilled riders for them to try and pussify up. Why did this root have to go? I hardly even remember it which makes it insignificant yet I still hate talentless douchebags destroying our trails.

This all reminded me of my rant last year which resulted in an angry email from an old decrepit horror of a human being who was or is the head of one of Edmonton's mountain bike clubs. This change in trail is really nothing to be honest but angers me cause more roots will get cut out, more rocks pulled out and hard climbs will get smoothed over to make it easier just like what happened on EMP Blast last year. From the anger posted from others on this issue I know I am not alone and anyone who loves the sport (or hobby) of riding do it for the challenge. Mountain biking is supposed to be hard.

As for the rest of the ride from Old Timers to Ewok and back through Mill Creek I saw a guy with a Go Pro perched on top of his head and it took me back about ten years

Going way back and thinking back to the nineties and at the time imagining how awesome it would be to have a camera on top of your helmet or handlebars capturing very moment so you can watch again and again. Showing the footage to girls you like with the hope that once they see the awesome their bras will magically spring off and your day will epically be remembered for mountain bikes in the afternoon and boobs in the evening.

Ahh to be nineteen years old again..

Now that we have those cameras I honestly get annoyed watching the videos (including my own) at how boring the coverage is. I have a Go Pro like every other mountain biker from the 2008-10 era and it sits in the basement like everyone else's.  I think the mark of a true mountain biker is to have an old Go Pro sitting at home... Unused. Everyone I know has one and it's doing just that.

The coverage I showed Mrs Lonebiker back in the day sadly didn't result in any bra's mysteriously popping off. Just a bored yawn and wandering eyes searching the walls for something more interesting like a small crack or maybe a spider. Anything better than ones boring footage of a a bouncy trail cam going down overgrown Edmonton forests marred with heavy breathing or some bad music dubbed over.

Not trying to shit all over the guy I saw today. Here is hoping he is the exception and makes some killer riding videos.

The Hip Ride

Well after a few days of some bad hip joint pain I reluctantly went for a ride expecting to turn around after a few miles and get a ride over to the hospital. With the disdain from Mrs Lonebiker I set out and had absolute zero issues with the pain that has had me bogged down in the last week.

As I had hoped the relaxed un-jarring motion of pedaling had no issue on anything and I rode from old school Mill Creek to the Low Level bridge and on to Capilano where I crossed and came back on the other side avoiding the hipsters on their way to E-Coli beach.

The ride itself. Boring as shit for a bike ride as lots of signs of heavy rain kept me away from any trail. Lots of sediment was on the paved trails washed down from the hills above. A good sign that things would probably be crappy.

The paved trails you ask? How were they? Oh you know... Hard and asphalty as per the usual. Puddles and wet spots in areas held the only arch of excitement on a boring bike ride.

Still, a million times better than the couch or Costco. Can I get an amen?