MUNI...

So I have figured out recently, that I obsess over some things. For example, I have obsessed over the Surly Big Dummy, now moving on from that to the new Surly Troll, and with my newest obsession, Mountain Uni-cycling! The past couple weeks, I have been scouring all of the area Craigslists looking for a used unicycle for me to learn how to ride. If you have never seen how awesome MUNI is, just do a simple youtube search for it, and you will be amazed. I think that this will liven up some of the more mellow trails in the SW Ohio area for me, plus rock a great core workout! Stay tuned!

Surly Troll...

Check this new frame out: Surly Troll. I always seem to change my mind about what I would like to build, but this frame seems like a good idea. I am starting to think that this would be the ultimate commuter/tourer/mountain bike. It would also fit into my plan to keep my bike stable down to just a few bikes.

I am thinking about buying this frame, running either Maxxis Hookworm 26x2.5s or Schwalbe Big Apple 26x2.35s, and also having it be a pseudo fat bike in the winter since the tire clearance is up to a 26x2.7! It might be interesting to even have a legit fat front, and a 26x2.7 in the rear. As you can tell, this frame has a lot of options.

I am also still thinking about the xtracycle conversion. The Troll would replace that. My only problem is what/how to keep my daughter involved in cycling. The xtracycle conversion would make that pretty easy. I guess trailers are always an option, but I am not sold on them just yet. I would also still like a Big Dummy, but I do not see that happening in the near future. Maybe Surly will read this, and hook me up with a few bikes? Maybe even an old Conundrum mountain unicycle...

Gary is gone...

Goodbye Mr. Fisher. Hope your new owner rides the crap out of you. Stay strong.

Gary Fisher Rig frame for sale...

Trying to sell my 2010 Gary Fisher Rig frame on the local craigslist. I have it listed for $200, anyone interested shoot me an email. Lots of other parts as well...

Riding over Thanksgiving...

Every holiday, or any event for that matter, that my brother in law and I are together, we always try to squeeze in a mountain bike ride. This year for Thanksgiving, we were in Maryland. Our family had rented a cabin to celebrate Thanksgiving, so bikes were brought in just for the occasion.
We were around a mile away from Deep Creek Lake State Park, so we bundled up for the cold weather, and headed out to explore. Once at the trail kiosk, nothing stated that bikes were not allowed, so we figured out our path and headed up the road. Temps were in the low to mid 20s, very chilly, my crotch actually went numb at one point, but the trails were very impressive. After a little road jaunt, we found our fireroad climb to make it to the fire tower. Elevation change was around 500ft for the 2.5 mile climb. Once at the tower we hit another double track that had an interesting railroad tie section, that in the summer would have been awesome, but with a layer of ice was quite tricky. After that trail, came the single track, and I must say it was rocky! I have not seen rocks like that in a very long time. Piles and piles of rocks in the trail. Very cool. Made me work on some slow motion technical riding. Combine the piles of rocks with a layer of ice and leaves, and things can get real interesting. Only one spill for me, which resulted a baseball size bruise on my thigh. Such a great trip, around 10 miles total. Rides like this make me want to be out on my bike every chance I get!

Few beers, few beers less...

So the turkey holiday is now over, Christmas soon after, my plan is to cut back my beer consumption quite a bit. While I do enjoy a good brew, I feel that I just need to take a small break from it. My plan is to just have one, at maximum, good beer per week. This is pretty tough, since it is my favorite time of the year for seasonal brews. Another part of my plan is to stock up on beers to put away in my cellar. Anyway, that is my plan, just to explain why there has not been any beer posts lately.

From the holiday weekend, had a couple interesting brews:
Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Ale. This was an amazing beer. It was a mix of their Celebration Ale, Pale Ale, and their tap room only Oak Aged Bigfoot. It was a smooth, flavorful beer. It was also around 9.2% alcohol. Heavy. Everyone that had a taste agreed that is was pretty amazing.

I also tried out the Sierra Nevada Estate ale. This was alright. For the price, I would probably not buy it again. To me, it seems that it is just an organic version of their Pale Ale. It is pretty cool however, that all of the ingredients were grown on their own property. I would drink it again if they just made all of their Pale Ales in this manner. Basically phase out the Pale Ale they now produce, and only make it organic. That would be cool. It did have a pretty bottle though.

Those were the only beers that I had the chance to drink over the holiday. I was pretty pumped that I did not drink as much as I have in the past on such occasion. Now I am going to focus on storing some beers. Some that I am planning on putting back:
Sierra Nevada 2011 Bigfoot
Stone Brewing company 10-10-10 vertical epic
Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary ale

Cheers!