Frozen Feet

Not too sure how many cultures deal with freezing feet and the pain that happens when they start warming up. I thought I was going to die on the drive home. A problem when we go from Summer to Winter and back to Summer again. The transition can always be a little hard to dress for and today was no exception. I thought I was dressed properly but today needed some light Winter gear, aka warm gloves (Kent lent me a pair) shoes and possible head gear. 

It was a cold and rainy day and the plan was to meet up with sir Kent-Rides-A-Lot and take the quarry trails until we found Fort Saskatchewan. I was supposed to meet him at the Science Park and Kent being the mad psycho he can be decided to ride to the Science park to meet up from his Terwillegar home.

We ended up meeting at the Ainsworth Dyer bridge and by the end of that three and a half or so kilometre ride I was done. My hands were completely frozen and I was soaked in areas. Kent was completely soaked and frozen in areas and it was clearly evident there was no Fort Saskatchewan attempt being made today.

We had eliminated the idea of the quarry ride altogether.

I knew I was done on the bridge but pressed on for a little bit as we passed across again and climbed up into the streets of beverly residential where a potty break ensued in the trees and I high tailed it back shortly after. The ride back is where my feet froze and little did I know a section of the drive home was going to really suck.

Clearly this is a ride where Kent should have did the ride report. An almost end to end ride on an incredibly shitty day. Hats off to a real man. 

Work Sucks. Ride Bikes

A Kent meet at the start of the Holiest of Holies. Day shift days off.

Damn kids, there is no better feeling. 

Yes still tired from another long hard week it would have been a good lounge day but why do that when the amazing Fall weather still has its glorious reign and I know better. An amazing Fall day should not be wasted. 

And it wasn't...

We met at the Mill Creek upper pool parking lot where I thought he was underdressed and I'm sure he was thinking I was overdressed.I think he won in the end. Shorts and a long sleeve. I had on my Fall tights a long sleeve and my warm weather Winter coat. I was quite warm by the end. Ugh... Idiot.

Everything is prime and the singletrack we rode from the Mill creek pool lot through Dawson and back was super fun as hell as always. On the return home we rode upper Ewok which from work fatigue was my untimely death on the ride. 

Kent rode the new Revell and honest to God kids. I heard that bike laughing as it handled the roots. 

A great start to these days off.

*Kent Steeves pics from top to bottom pics 1, 2, 6.

Happy Saturday Eve

It doesn't matter where you are, if this song comes on things are pretty flippin sweet.

Beer Friday. 70 Acre Brew Co. India Pale Ale

 Yes I know it's Monday. 

Beer Friday is turned into a brand I like to think and hope to sell merchandise and oh I don't know. Ad Sales and licensing profits? All so I wouldn't have to go back to work every Thursday. That right there would be pretty great now wouldn't it?

So happy Monday. This is a holiday Monday though and the real Monday is tomorrow so I am hoping you are reading this while setting yourself up in your cubicle for the week. Hey though.. it's only a four day week so that right there is pretty golden. Plus you can probably get out for a night ride after work you lucky son (or daughter) of a bitch. Post work rides? I don't even know what is anymore.

70 Acre is a local brewery where I have seen them making an appearance around the locals more and more as of late, good marketing or are they popular cause they are awesome? Their website is garbage and they seem to push people to their social media sites which seems to rub my nose the wrong way. Not everybody is on Instagram or Facebook, make your website number one if you want to be serious about your brewery. I have done a lot of these and always appreciate a well done website. Yes social media is important but make it second batter up.

I should start rating the websites when I do these. 

So yes, local brewery, they have a brew pub in Sherwood park, the address is on their smashing website where there is no company history, a blog (gasp! No!) or most important, their beer lineup. 

Oh man, there I go again. Lets pour.

We poured this donated beer and it showed a golden hue of amaze tapped off with a light head that seemed to hang around for a bit. It was a bit deceiving as I thought it would dissipate quickly. Instantly I was intrigued.

We tasted and it was a bit shy of the IPA moniker. Yes I have been having a few IPA's lately and for the first few sips I felt like this one could not hang with those other guys. So we drank on, hoping things would change and it did get better. It does shy away from the now classic IPA bitter bite which is a wives tail of IPA's. Some are bitter and some are not bitter. This one did have a slight tinge of bitter (will he ever get off the word 'bitter') to it but you had to fight to find it. The texture and feel of grapefruit was there with a citrus feel to this one. 

In the end, it was quite pleasurable.

This beer gets 3.5 suds out of 5.

Thanksgiving Ride Twenty One

A short and heavy pic ride in the MillCreek area with some good company. 

No write up. Sorry I'm lazy. 

*Kent Steeves pics 2,4,6,7,8

October the Great

A rather impromptu ride through the Terwillegar side of things as suddenly Thanksgiving was happening at my place which put the planned into the night ride into jeopardy which angered me a little but I got over it once in the trees surrounded by all the amaze that is an Alberta fall. 

I parked up near the Staff College. I think anyone who rides in the Terwillegar area in any sort of frequency will realize you have to be bat shit crazy to park at the main parking lot on a perfect weather Saturday afternoon. Once I rolled through the parking lot later and I saw the crowds and people parked along the road going up the hill I realized there are just way too many people out nowadays.

But hey... that's ok. I get it, people need to get out.

The trails are still in the ultra amazing conditions they were in last set off. Go Trail took me down and I found myself in the hills on the golden covered singletrack leading to the bridge.

Crowds? yes there were crowds and it was a bit ridiculous at times. Once across the Terwillegar bridge I took the singletrack but avoided all the main trails that all the Facebook users talk about and went on the outside loop known as Oliskew Meadows (so I think).

The idea of riding Selkirk Knights had me thinking if it would be a good idea while on the Fort Edmonton bridge but some signs of night shift fatigue set in and I got scared. It would have been nice to get away from the people. Instead I turned back right into the belly of the beast, the Oliskew singletrack starting with Flat Pete. I didn't come across too many people until I got onto Flatter Pete and kids... It was a little ridiculous. 

There were about three groups of people all moving at an alarmingly slow rate and I came up behind each one of them and politely followed for a little bit until they realized I was there and moved aside. No I am not in any way bragging about riding fast, I was literally catching up to them as my bike coasted.

The last group was a family with two smaller kids (about 10-12) on the log trail. What's that called again? 

No I won't. 

Yes it was the log trail so two small kids was probably a bad idea and it was. Both were crying and riding and walking their bikes. I eventually got to pass as the father whom was a bit clueless didn't know how to tell his kids to move aside and stop for quite a while. He eventually did near the end and as I rode away the crying slowly died away. 

Its was clearly obvious the father had no idea about the trails and where to ride. 

Classic Terwillegar.

The ride home was great despite the crowds, I took the outside loop for a change before climbing up into the hills and finding Go trail for my return home to turkey and family.  

new gloves and i have no idea where they came from

Beauboring

 A ride. That's all that matters, it was a ride.

Fresh into night recovery and I'll bet you are excited about all those posts coming up where I go on and on about how tired I am. Today I had about three baths (not even close to my daily record) and hung out on the couch doing the usual thing I do when in this state. 

It got too boring so I took the bike out for a little rip around town and was amazed how quick it takes to get to the other side of town. Like with all this bragging Beaumont people do about being a city now... Don't you think a real city takes time to traverse?

I know... It's all in the numbers. Beaumont is just corny as hell is all... 

See you tomorrow hopefully for more of a real ride.