Top Five Beers of Nineteen

As I sit here with a glass of white wine donated on Christmas by brethren/ brother Kent it is time to look back at the best beer reviews of the year. Kind of a hard one to determine as a lot of beers get the 4 suds out of 5 rating which does make it difficult to sort out which is the best. But we figured it out just for you.

As for days off.. The extreme cold weather was almost tackled today until lonebiker JR said doing anything active outside in this weather is dangerous to your health and incredibly stupid and that I should stay home cause I'm getting older.

Well damn....

Here are the five best beers from Two Nineteen. Sorry for being so late on these.

#5 Wild Rose Brewery, WR4 Oat Pale Ale <these are links.

Wild Rose from Calgary, Alberta.

#4 Hells Basement, Heritage Select Boxcar Comforts

Hells Basement from Medicine Hat, Alberta.

#3 Troubled Monk, Golden Gaetz Ale

Troubled Monk from Red Deer, Alberta.

#2 Innis & Gunn, The Original Bourbon Barrel Scotch Ale

Innis & Gunn from Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

#1 Fernie Brewing, The Eldorado

Fernie Brewing from Fernie, British Columbia.

Congrats to Fernie Brewing as they are the best of the best for Two Nineteen. Who will be the 20 champ!?

Beer Friday. Sea Change Brewery, Hype Juice IPA

Happy Friday kids, well.. Thursday. After a rather rough week of work which where the weather made things quite the more terrible. If you are not from the area we had a wave of cold arctic weather that made us the coldest spot in the world for a day or two. -40 was a temp I remember lots were talking about but I'm not sure if anything ventured past -35 at ambient temps. The wind chill is a different story. So with that cold wave still lingering over us I started my days off by hiding in the house and will most likely do the same tomorrow.

So I'm terribly sorry for the lack of rides. The brethren members have caught wind of the top ten rides of the decade rumour (well, they just read the blog)  and the pressure to post this in the next little while is quite high. The good news is with the weather this is now happening. Lot's of research on posted rides through the whole catalogue are happening with posts being forwarded to the best and worst rides of the decade. I'm really hoping to have a few lists for the next set of work on Thursday. If we do get the top ten worst and best rides we will also be posting the best beers of 2019. Apologies for being late on the lists this year. The work rotations seem to get in the way.

Which brings us to this. Sea Change brewery which just opened in Beaumont is quite a refreshing change in a town that never really offered many meal or going out options other than Boston Pizza or Wild Wing. The few times we have been there it has been good. Today they offered me a new beer to try and I was so smitten with it I took one home which put the planned beer review on the back shelf.

The pour gave a clouded looking once golden coloured beer, the smell that came from the pour had the review team rather excited as a fruity essence floated through the room. If I didn't have this one earlier for dinner I would be quite intrigued right about now but being the customer for the second time in a night just had me excited. The first sip? Quite good. In fact, real good. It didn't have the same effect as I had in the restaurant but it was still quite beerly refreshing See what I did there? I invented a new word. Who's awesome?

For an IPA this doesn't murder you with bitterness. The bitterness is there but Sea Change did a great job by masking it with fruity goodness. Grapefruit and anything citrus are the mainstay of this one. It is quite full of flavour for an India Pale whom are normally just full of hops. Looking down at the murky beer whilst sipping combined with the amazing aroma had me in an almost euphoric state. Again... How is that taste? This is the newest offering from Sea Change and its a win. Sexy lacing runs down the glass as a brew infused with grapefruit and orange peel that doesn't taste like orange peel run down the throat.

A winner! Great way to start out the roaring twenties.

This beer gets 4 suds out of 5. Yay Beaumont!

Top Five Rides of Nineteen

The top five rides of Two Thousand and Nineteen. One of the worst years of riding in almost twenty years. Normally I average around 1500km a year, give or take a couple hundred km's. last year I hit around 800km. Insert loud long drawn sigh..

The numbers would have been upped quite a bit if a sciatic nerve issue didn't take me out for the Summer. That leg issue was pretty much the theme of the year for everything that was shitty in two nineteen.

#5.Winter Trail Euphoria.< these are links

Winter rides are supposed to give you that euphoric feeling. This short one gave it all in a jam packed one hour! The shortest ride to make it in the top five? Most certainly, was it nothing but win win? Most certainly!

#4. Day Seized.

After months of hobbling around I finally seemed to be getting my leg back and rides were happening slowly again. It was sad to see the trail damage left by users after a terrible rain plagued season of riding.

#3. Post Solstice Brethren Meet Up.

A now rare meet up with brethren members Gord, Jason, and Kent. One of those rides where people slowly trickled out due to commitments. It was me and Gord at the end and we were happier than two hockey Dad's in line for a Timmies double double.

#2. A Yellow Blur of Happiness.

God bless old white women! Also God bless amazing trail conditions and super fun old school bikes with no bullshit!

And the start of Fall too. God bless Fall!


#1 September-Supertember.

 A mid September ride that exploded with awesome which made this one the number one ride of the year! This one had all the great start of Fall feelings that float through the air. I did declare September as being the best weather month of the year and was reminded quickly how wrong I was (thanks Gord.) I dont care, I stand by that statement. September fuckin rocks! Start of amazing Fall riding! Start of NFL! September 11th! Ass sheeit.. that last one was kind of a bummer.

Worst Rides of Two Nineteen

This was the lightest year on record in probably more than twenty years of riding bikes. Don't worry, I'll complain more in the top five ride post coming in a few days. For now. Top 3 worst rides of the year.

#1 Slow and Cold  < these are links

The first ride of the year that would be the worst ride of the year in one of the worst years of riding bikes  ever! How appropriate.




#2. Winter Bike Abuse

Just a bad move of bringing the wrong bike to the trail. Happened a couple times this Fall and this one was very frustrating. Although Strava tracks suggest a decent ride. Strava sucks, it was the worst.



#3. Chilled

A ride with improper clothing is a standard for myself in these radically ever changing seasons. This one however was just not worth geting into. The smell of suckage was in the air strongly with this one right from the start.

Unhappy Friday

Happy Wednesday

Sorry to leave you with only one ride this time off.. I feel terrible about it. I really do!

The plan was to at least ride today but between a lack of sleep, endless dumps of snow and super frigid temperatures I ended up hiding at Lb headquarters.

On the upside for the blog;

Top three worst rides of the year post is done and will be posted in the coming days. The top five best rides will be posted shortly after.

Debating on posting the top Ten rides of Lonebiker history as part of the ten year anniversary celebrations taking place. It would be fitting as we enter a new decade. So stay tuned for that one if we go ahead with it. It will be lots of research which means time which I don't really have. Oh yes... I have interns..

Valley Toe Dipper

Why does it feel like your living in another world whenever you enter the trails in the winter time? It always seems surreal to me, the way the trees mixed with snow and the falling light which creates somewhat of a narcotic state when mixed with riding bikes. No photograph taken or painting will even come close to resembling this phenomenon.

It does exist in the other seasons, this bliss that I speak of. It just seems that Winter those senses are heightened expediently quite quickly.

This was the first ride of Two- Twenty and it was just fine. A shorter ride form old school Mill Creek to Old Timers and Gnome where I turned around to ride back via Old Timers and Skyline only to find Skyline completely blocked off. Not half ass blocked off as its been for the last... two years? Been a long while anyways. My hero's at PCL are doing some piling work to curb the problem. Remember kids, they are not doing this so we can have nice trails to ride all year long, they are doing it so those multi million dollar houses don't go falling into the river.

Trail conditions are fine. Not incredible Fat bike ruts exist and that is something we are going to have to live with until it snows or people learn to ride their bikes a bit better. Ice is evident on the sharp power climbs and drops so be careful out there folks.

*edit. Google has changed the templates on here forcing me to remove the cover pic and now the large blog post pics are interfering with the gadgets on the side. I am well aware and quite angry and hope to find a solution soon. Smaller pic postings? That's not what we want in any way shape or form. Im a little bit pissed at google now.

potty break (off trail) in gnome