Beer:30...Great Divide's Espresso Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout.

Continuing with my recent indulgence with Great Divide, lets take a walk with the Yeti. I will be the first to admit, I am a huge yeti fan. And by huge, I mean obsessed. I love the concept of sasquatch. I am planning a bigfoot tattoo. My dream bicycle is a Yeti 575. My favorite beef jerky is Jack Links. Wait, did I just say I have a favorite beef jerky?

Are you starting to see a pattern here? Bigfoot/sasquatch/yeti is everywhere, and I do believe that they are still walking around today. One can dream right? Anyway, I have been excited to try this beer for some time, and magically, it happened to appear in my local store's beer aisle. So like the good cryptozoologist that I am, I let it walk right into my cart. Enter the Yeti Imperial Stout:

Right off the bat, this beer smells nice. I love coffee, and the mixture of coffee and beer is one of my favorite things that I have encountered. The scent of this beer is similar to walking into my locally owned coffee shop. Nice coffee flavors, with a tiny hint of chocolate hit your nose with full force. Moving on to the taste, the coffee beats out all other flavors to your taste buds, but others start to show their colors as the glass starts to disappear. I am picking up hints of chocolate, and also a tiny bit of vanilla at the end of each sip. There is also a slight oak feel that lingers after each drink, which makes complete sense, and the beer finishes off with you wanting another drink. Overall, I wouldn't mind if this beer was in my fridge on a regular basis.

So, does it fill the big shoes set forth by our favorite hairy hominid? Yes, and then some. While there are many beers that fill this genre, this beer has to be at or near the top of the list. This is a solid offering from Great Divide, and one of the best beers that I have ever had the chance to drink. I will now officially say that Great Divide is one of my favorite beer companies to date. This is a classic, timeless beer.

Cheers!

Beer:30... Marshall Brewing Co. Atlas IPA

In the world of beers, especially craft beers, there are rarities. Some are rare due to being brewed in small batches, which translates into high price tags. Some are rare, just because they cannot be found in your local area. That is where your friends/family come in. That was the case with this beer, enter Marshall Brewing Company:

Marshall Brewing Company is an Oklahoma based brewery, out of the city of Tulsa. Only selling in the Oklahoma City and Tulsa areas, this beer is going to be quite rare in most of the world. Luckily, a friend passed one on to me after the long journey from Oklahoma to Ohio. Here are some thoughts:

First off, the beer has a nice, slightly subdued, IPA aroma coming straight out of the bottle. This is not Stone Brewing here, no hops punch in the face. Just a nice, dare I say "pretty" fragrance that is not too strong, but not too light. That smell transfers over quite well to the taste side of the beer, making it a very balanced brew. Nothing really jumps out at you, but everything blends together quite nicely. This is an easy drinking IPA. Also at 6.5% ABV, it is not going to put you into an early nap time. I can appreciate that.

The label of the beer has a picture of Atlas holding up the world. I would venture to guess, assuming though since I have not had any of their other products, that this beer carries the company as their flagship beer. If not, a beer this balanced and easy to drink should. My interests have been piqued, hopefully I can find some of their other offerings in the near future. Next time I find myself in Oklahoma though, I am going to find some to bring back with me to the Buckeye State.

Cheers!

Just Riding Along... Surly Troll ordered!

Finally, after having almost a mental meltdown of what to do cycling wise, I pushed the little red button. Order complete. The Surly Troll is on the way! I am beyond excited to put this bike through the paces, on street and dirt. It will be good to have a mountain bike again, I spent all of 2011 without one. Weird.

Next month is going to be a bit busy. Next stop, powder-coating...

Frame pic from Surly's site.

Surly Troll vs. Fat Bike...

So now that I have finally secured the funds to start my new bike build, I am unfortunately at another crossroads. This time, I am still leaning towards the Troll, but also leaning towards a full fledged fat bike. I seem to go back and forth with this, over and over, and waiting is not helping me one bit. So, for this installment, here is the next round of my bike comparisons.

As for why I am leaning towards a fat bike, it all started with this:

Gary Fisher Rig SS

This was my first taste of the big wheels. Only ridden around 100 miles, in a haste I dismantled it and sold it off, only to buy another single speed to then sell off, etc. I regretted it after the fact, but hind sight is 20/20 right? Anyway, after riding this bike, I really wanted to try out a full on fat bike. So recently, in my planning stages for the new bike, I found a used Surly Puglsey on the local Craigslist that got my mind rolling on the big wheels again. Unfortunately I was not as quick as I should have been with it, and it sold. So that leads up to the comparison.

We will start with this:

Surly Troll.

This is the current model that I am leaning towards. I will not go into details, since I have talked about this frame numerous times, like here and here. The frame is very versatile, and I feel like it would be a great fit for my riding style, and also the type of riding that I have been doing. Also, it would give me a bike that is ready for the woods, which is what the Xtracycle was lacking, thus it's departure. Two things make me not want to go this route though:

First, there is newer model coming out later this year. From what I have read on a cycling forum, it will be in the fall. The newer model adds bottle/cage mounts on the fork, and another bottle mount on the underside of the downtube. I would like those options, but I am not sure that I can wait until then. Patience is a virtue that I do not possess. This is not a deal breaker for me though.

Second, the Troll fits big tires. I plan on using the 26x2.6 Maxxis Ardents on the frame, should I get it. But this could be the opening of Pandora's Box for tires. It could only lead to wanting a little more rubber (enter "That's what she said" joke here) and the Troll would be maxed out. Not a true fat bike. The Troll would always be lacking in the tire department.

For the fat bike route, I will not go into too much detail again, since I will only be repeating myself. Click here to see my comparison of the Pugsley and the Mukluk, which would probably be the route that I would take. In a perfect world, I would buy both. Hmmm, if only...

The next few days will be tough on the cycling decisions, thankfully that is the worst thing in my life that I have to worry about. For that, I am thankful.

Just keep spinning...

Surly Troll picture from their site, click the link to the right to have your mind blown on their products.

New year, new look...

Thought I would try out a new look to the site today. After some time rolling with the dark layout, thought I would set a brighter tone to the page. It is always great to change things up a bit from time to time, and that holds true with websites as well. Lots of good things are falling into place, so with that mentality, it was time to take out the "doom and gloom" of the past look. Not that I didn't like it, but it made me think of an old bumper sticker that I once saw:

"The only constant is change."

So true. 2012 is going to be a banner year.

Beer:30...Great Divide's Hoss Rye Lager.

Flannel has always been a staple in my wardrobe. Ever since I was a kid growing up in the middle of nowhere, flannel was just part of the local uniform. Functional and stylish. At least until the 1990s. Every now and again, much to my wife's chagrin, I break out a few pieces from my rock and roll days and sport it like a trophy belt buckle. Not that I have one of those or anything... anyway, when I caught a glimpse of this beer, I knew it had to come home with me:

Enter Great Divide Brewing Company's Hoss Rye Lager. Right off the bat, with the subtle lumberjack flannel backdrop of the label, this beer screams "I love Soundgarden!" Well maybe not that exactly, but I am sure it screams something.

Normally, I do not get myself all excited over lagers. Sure, there are a few that are quite tasty, and since I have been jamming on Great Divide's products here lately, I thought this deserved a spin. After a sixer of this, here are the thoughts:

Right out of the gate, it pours a nice amber color. I love a beer with a good color palate, and this beer does not disappoint. Beautiful color that you normally would not see on a lager. One of the beers best attributes though is the smell. Flagrant sweet smells hit the nose coming from the malts, and some darker fruits. This leaves a little to be desired once it hits the mouth though. Granted it tastes great, but the smells from this beer are heavenly for a lager. Apart from that little note, the flavors of this beer make it a great Oktoberfest/Marzen style that makes me wish it were fall. Smooth and easy to drink, the rye spiciness gives a different touch to the flavor which then finishes nice and dry. This is a great version of the Marzen style, and I am planning on remembering this beer anytime that I want to pretend it is October.

So take a flannel bottle, and put some Oktoberfest style brew in it, and that makes a winner in my book. It makes me extremely happy that this beer is available year round, so it can be Oktoberfest at any point in the year. So by the transitive property, that also means that I can wear flannel at any point of the year as well. Double win. Now off to drink and listen to Soundgarden...

Cheers to you Great Divide!

Just Riding Along... Revisiting the Haro V3.

Now that the Xtracycle has been disassembled, I am back to square one with my old friend, the Haro V3. This bike was my very first "real" mountain bike, from 2003 I believe. This bike has gone through some changes over the years.

For a while it was my MTB, geared with a Manitou suspension fork, and V brakes. That phase traveled from Ohio to Southern California and continued on for a bit. Then, after the Gary Fisher Rig showed up, it turned into a geared commuter with 1.5 inch slicks, then switching back to trail duty as a second single speed. Moved back East, and it found it's way back to the streets, as a single speed commuter, this time with a Salsa steel rigid fork and disc brakes. It hung on the wall of the garage for a time, patiently waiting for parts once again. Finally came the cargo bike phase, via Xtracycle. Now, we are here:

Back to just a frame. What form should it take now?

I have to say, this bike has lasted far longer than I ever would have guessed. I couldn't even begin to estimate how many miles it has logged over the 9 years or so that I have owned it. I am thinking I could piece together a cheap single speed again, but this time run some Schwalbe Big Apples just for fun. Anyway, whatever form this bike takes on, it has been the best $400 that I have ever spent. Thanks Haro!

Bird is the Word... Penguin Parades.

So normally here in SW Ohio, January and February are the coldest months of the year. This year is an exception though. Anyway, during those two months, one of the coolest events takes place at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden:



This video shows the beginning of the now famous penguin parade. Every day during January and February, as long as the temperature is below 50 degrees, the King penguin colony takes a walk from their indoor exhibit to an exhibit outside.



This is by far one of the most amazing events going on in the Cincinnati area, I would even go so far to say it is the best parade in the area as well... but I might be a little biased, come check it out for yourself!

Beer:30...Stone Ruination IPA.

Around six years ago, I had my first taste of Stone Brewing Company. I had just moved to southern California, and my weak beer palate was just beginning to dive into some of the more flavorful beers on the market. Then I was introduced to a beer called Arrogant Bastard Ale, and down the rabbit hole I fell. Stone has been one of my favorites ever since...

Enter their Ruination IPA. Called "Ruination" due to the fact that after drinking this beer, you will have an altered view of beer and how it should taste. A word of warning: If you have never liked the flavor of hops, or do not like beer outside of the norm, this is not for you.

This beer is bold, and amazing. Once you crack open the bottle, the smell of hops tickles your senses. Pour it into your favorite glass and the appearance is very light, almost looking like a "normal" light beer. Once you start to drink it though, those hops knock you back to reality, making you realize that you are drinking a quality brew. Other flavors start to make an appearance as well, like grapefruit and a touch of pine, but mostly what you are going to get are hops. This makes complete sense, due to written on the bottle, "100+ IBUs." That is big. This beer is also 7.7% ABV, which packs a punch. One big bottle is really all that you need. Luckily, as you can see from the picture, those big bottles fit nicely in your bicycle's water bottle cages.

Over the next few weeks, I plan on revisiting some of Stone's other offerings, check back for that, and if you see any bottles with Stone written on it, definitely check it out!

Just Riding Along... Brooks and Maxxis.

So the new parts are starting to come in for the upcoming build. Every time that I order something online it is like Christmas morning when it arrives. Such a good feeling, thanks postman!

The past couple days have brought in a couple important pieces. First up was my Chris King headset from eBay. Apart from the faded finish, and some unexpected "hidden" shipping costs from the seller, it was still a great deal. eBay is a gamble sometimes, for example, when an item is listed as "Like new, excellent condition!" you would not expect fading right? Neither did I. Like I said though, it is in great shape still, and was a great deal, just a tiny hassle. Buyer beware I suppose.

Next up came two different packages. One carried my new Brooks B17 Narrow saddle. After lathering it up with some Brooks Proofhide last night, I took a 10 mile or so spin on it today with the T500. Right out of the box, I was quite surprised at how nice the Brooks fit me. Maybe it is due to me riding a little stiffer of a saddle as of late, but the Brooks was not at all terrible. If I am liking it now, I cannot imagine how comfy it will be once broken in.

The last package was one of the most important for a bicycle, tires. Those came in the form of two Maxxis Ardent 26x2.6" beasts. After installing them on my Sun Ringle Singletrack rims, I would guess that they do not measure out to 2.6" wide, but they are big nonetheless. Not a bad tread pattern as well:

I am planning on running these front and rear for MTB duties, but I do have the thoughts of putting a Maxxis Minion DHF 26x2.7" tire on the front. The Troll has big tire clearance, why not use it all up? I think with either of those setups it will make a nice "fatbike lite." This is probably a bad road to start down though, because it only ends at this:

Photo from Surly's site.

Salsa dropping fat bombs...

QBP, purveyor of cycling goods, has brought the masses many great fat bike related items. The Surly Pugsley, the fat tires, 45NRTH, the Salsa Mukluk, the Moonlander, and now this: Check it.

To give you the rundown, a new Salsa dual suspension fat bike. Granted it is still a prototype, but this is a big step for the fat biking world. I would imagine if this goes to production, a bunch of hardtail fat bikes will be popping up on eBay and Craigslist. Very nice Salsa!

Photo from Salsa's site.

Getting antsy... More bike thoughts...

Still have not ordered my new frame yet, but the parts that I have ordered are slowly starting to trickle in. Today welcomed my Chris King headset, hopefully tomorrow the Brooks saddle will arrive so I can start the process of treating the leather.

Photo from Brooks.

If you have ever thought about a Brooks saddle before, you might have read a little about the break in period. Some sources say 250 miles. Others say up to 1000. Some people will tell you to cook the saddle in the oven at low heat for a bit to soften the leather. Sheldon Brown (RIP) preferred to soak leather saddles in some type of oil to soften the leather. Holy crap, lots of options. What is my plan? I am going to go the safe route and follow the directions on the box. Sure, it is probably going to take longer, but it will be done right. As long as the saddle ends up with dimples for my butt cheeks, I am okay with that.

The other thing that I have been obsessing with as of late, is to order or not to order the new frame. The Troll frame comes out of the box with enough rack and fender mounts, etc. to take the bike across the country. The "new" version due in March has even more. So, the question is to wait or not? Do I need the water bottle/anything cages on the fork?

Photo from Welshridething.blogspot.

I like the idea of the anything cages on the fork. The question is: Are they necessary? I am still debating that.

As soon as I can move this, then I can really start the process at full speed. It is weird to think that at this point, I am at any speed but...

New bike thoughts...

So on my last post, I talked a bit about dissembling my HaroX cargo bike, and moving the parts to a new frame. What frame you might ask? This guy:

Surly Troll

That's right, a Surly Troll. If you have read this blog before, you know that I am a big fan of Surly's products. As for the Troll, this is no exception. I was contemplating the Troll when it came out over a year ago, check here and here. It is an amazing frame with lots of options, and most of all, versatility. I will still be able to haul my daughter around, using the free trailer that I picked up this summer. So here is the plan:

Once the new frame is in I plan on taking it over to my father's motorcycle shop to make some changes. First, the rim brake bosses are going to be cut off. I never plan on using them, it will make the bike look cleaner, and it will slightly increase my tire clearance. After that is done, it will be powdercoated. Not going to reveal the color choice just yet, I will keep that a surprise. Once I get the frame back, it will be parts swap time, and time to add some recently acquired purchases. Parts will look something like this:

-Sun Singletrack wheelset
-SRAM X7 shifters
-SRAM X9 rear derailleur
-Shimano LX front
-Avid BB5 disc brakes
-Avid FR5 levers
-On One Mary handlebars
-Salsa stem
-Truvativ FireX crankset and BB
-Shimano XTR pedals

And the new purchases:

Chris King headset

Brooks B17 narrow

Maxxis Ardent 26x2.6 x2

That should round it out. I am really pumped to be building this up. But the question now is: Should I order the frame now, or wait til March when the newer frame starts hitting the shops, with an extra bottle mount on the downtube and the extra mounts on the fork legs? What's a couple more months?

Coming soon...

Troll picture from Surly's site
Other three pics from Google Images

Xtracycle review, one year later...

This month marks a full year on the Xtracycle conversion. I have ridden the crap out of this bike, and now I feel like I can make an honest comment on what I like/dislike about it. So that said:

Maiden voyage.

The Xtracycle Freeradical kit is a well packaged, all in one "hitch-less trailer" than makes any bicycle a useful tool for carrying stuff. And by stuff I mean a lot of stuff. The kit is rated for 200lbs or so of cargo, which I did not get up to that weight, but if you can pedal it, it will probably work. Weight is balanced nicely, say for example, if you load a six pack on one side and a load of firewood on the other. Getting started pedaling is a little awkward, but once you are moving you do not notice the vast difference in weight for the left and right side freeloaders(bags). If the weight is balanced somewhat evenly between the two sides, you do not notice the weight at all for the most part. Let's be honest though, with around 75lbs on the back, you can tell there is some weight, but mostly only on climbs. With all of the extra weight, once you are moving, momentum is your friend.

I used the HaroX for commuting to work, going to the grocery, riding with my daughter, bike camping, road riding, and just about everything else you can think of. Only a little bit of off roading, but with it's extended wheel base, what little bit that I did was quite fun. Not a fast off road machine, but a nice and slow, easy pace to enjoy being in the woods. I would say in total, I have around 1000 miles on the Xtracycle. It rode smoothly with a set of 1.5 slicks, but also very comfortably with a knobby set of 2.1s. I did enjoy it a little more with the larger tires, just because it gave you the option to hit the dirt if the occasion arose.

Riding loaded.

So with all of the good things said, here is what I was not so fond of:

Right out of the box, it is implied that the Freeradical kit includes everything that you need to get the bike rolling. That is true, but only if you are planning on using rim brakes, and an 8 speed drive train. Since I was using disc brakes, and a 9 speed system, I needed to buy extra cables and two new chains. It would have been helpful to know that from the start. Also, the disc mount of the Freeradical requires a 203mm disc brake rotor, something that I did not think of, since I was planning on using a normal 160mm rotor. All of these were a minor, but more pricey inconveniences that I did not expect. Once that was all taken care of though, it was mostly smooth sailing.

The only other downside for me with this project was the weight. The all steel frame of the Xtracycle adds quite a bit of weight to your bike. Weight that is needed, of course, when you are planning on hauling things. But still, it is damn heavy. Once you are moving it is not as noticeable, but if you need to lift the bike for any reason, or stopping and starting, wow, is it heavy. Honestly though, this is a downside that is also a positive, because it makes your legs strong. But on some rides, I was wishing for a lighter ride.

Add that weight to anything that you might be carrying, and you start to get the commonly observed, "Xtracycle shimmy." Just a slight, annoying wobble that happens from time to time when carrying weight. I have read that using Xtracycle's Whatcamacollars helps fix that a bit, but that adds another expense to an already expensive package.

So, would I buy the kit again? You bet. It has been a game changer. Cycling has gone from a sport, to more of a way of living. The bicycle has become a practical tool to use for day to day things. This has probably been one of the best cycling moves that I have made in my cycling life. Very cool product.

That said, I am disassembling the bike, and planning on selling the Xtracycle. I know, lots of praise, then sell it? What the hell? Yeah, a little contradictory. But, I am planning on building a new bike, more of a "do-it-all" bicycle. I love the Xtracycle, but for mountain biking on it, that is not going to happen. My cycling life is needing a lighter, more versatile bike, so the plan is to pull all of the parts, place on a new frame, and sell the Xtracycle and Haro frame as one. Someday, I will build another one...

As for the next bike, I am really excited for it, but I will wait before I let the cat out of the bag...

Beer:30... Great Divide Old Ruffian.

There are a lot of beer companies that I have had and then forgotten about. Sometimes, you are at a bar and there is a special beer on tap, so you have a glass and it's the most amazing beer that you have ever tasted. A lot of times, it fades to the back of the mind due to other circumstances, ex. events, conversation, too much to drink, etc. Sometimes you pick up a random bottle or two of a far off distant company, enjoy the beer, and then forget all about it. That happened to me with this company, Great Divide Brewing. Not that the beer was forgettable, just that I could not remember the company name...

My first dance with Great Divide came in the form of their Oak Aged Yeti imperial stout. An amazing beer that was big in flavor, that always stuck in the back of my mind. The problem was I could not remember who made it, I could only remember the clever name of it, due to me being a Sasquatch enthusiast. Sure I could have looked it up, but sometimes I am a bit lazy I guess. Anyway, while scanning the beer isle at my local grocer, I spied with my little eye this dandy of a brew:

Old Ruffian barleywine style ale.

Barleywines are one of my all time favorite styles of beer. My very first taste into the complex world was from Brooklyn Brewing with their Monster Ale, back in 2003. From then on, I have searched out for more and more barleywine ales to quench my thirst. Enter this beer...

At first taste, the familiar flavors of a barleywine hit you, but this beer hits you with a hint of hops. The label of the beer says a "huge hop character," but I would not go that far. When I think of huge hops in a barleywine, I immediately think of Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot ale, which punches you in the taste buds with hop flavor. With GD's Old Ruffian, the hops are more subdued, which makes this beer more drinkable in my opinion. I should point out though, when I say "subdued," that is only in comparison to SN's Bigfoot. The beer does boast 90 IBUs, which definitely puts it in the "hoppy" category.

The major difference of this barleywine compared to others that I have had though, is it is more balanced, drinkable, and smooth. All of the ingredients in this beer work well together, each one complimenting the other. I would go as far as calling it a more refined Bigfoot ale. That is in no way a knock on either beers, but at first taste, side by side, Old Ruffian will be easier and more enjoyable to drink. This is now the beer I am going to recommend to folks when they want to try out the style. Hands down, best barleywine that I have ever tasted.

Now that this beer is under my belt, I don't believe that I will be forgetting the Great Divide name any time soon. And also, for style points, I need to pick up one of these:

Well done, now I need to go on a beer run...



Cycling jersey photo from Great Divide's site.