NEW BIKE! Summer beers!

I was finally able to get some brewing done a few weeks ago. With the interest of time, I did two batches at once. An extract batch (IPA) in the boil kettle, while an all grain batch (blonde ale) was in the mash tun. It worked perfectly, and I'm excited to have 20gal of beer in fermenters. Both batches will be "tweaked" with 5gal of each of them being slightly different from the other, as follows:

Blonde Ale:

5gal with US05 yeast, and 4lbs Strawberries.

5gal with US04 yeast, and 5lbs Raspberries.

IPA:

Both 5gal fermenters got US05 yeast and the same amount and variety of dry hops (Simcoe, Citra, Cascade, Amarillo and Summit)

One of them will get Oak cubes for one week. :D

I'll report back with the results soon.

THE NEW BIKE!!!

Well, if I'm going to be getting into this whole "gravel grinder" business, I had better upgrade from my 9yr old 29er mountain bike. Enter the Macho Man.

All City Macho Man Disc. Steel frame, disc brakes, Shimano 105 and clearance for 42c tires. NICE!

I was looking at ALL of the options, with no budget in mind. This bike was near the top of my short list despite being a full $1000 cheaper than a couple of the other bikes on that list. The other two were the Salsa Warbird 105 and the Raleigh Tamland 2. Both sounded like great bikes, and I was planning on riding all three, as well as anything else that was available. So far, I had ridden a Cannondale CAADX (horrible!) and a couple Trek's, including the Boone 5. The Boone was great, but really didn't have any soul. Hard to explain, but that's how I felt.

So, I take a look on Craigslist, just out of curiosity what might be around, and there sits El Macho, less than a mile from me, but in a seemingly smaller size than I require. I ride a 55cm LeMond roadie, and my Medium (17-18") mountain bikes are on the small side of perfect. The Macho was a 52, so I contacted the seller, expressing interest but that I would need to check geometry numbers and get a good test ride. Amazingly, he was the same size as me, with a bit longer inseam. Turns out the 52 for All City has a 55 top tube. Perfect! After a very short test ride, I was totally sold on the bike. Everything just felt right about it. I knew I could quit looking, and start negotiating. 

Well, after a low ball offer, and some back and forth, I gave him $100 less than his asking price. This didn't seem like all that great of a deal until I really thought about it, and realized I had just gotten a $1550 bike, with $100 set of extra tires for $1100. The bike was only a month old, and didn't have some much as a scratch on it! SWEET!!!!

Now, I start riding it as often as possible. A few small items start to pop up that need adjustment for my liking. I pull the kids in a Burley most of the time. Any little hill or headwind, and I was hurting with the road gearing. 46/36 chainrings and 12-28 cassette. I looked at all of the options, and decided to order a 9spd XT derailleur and 10spd 11-36 mountain cassette. These are reported to pair nicely with the 105 shifters for much wider gearing. They both just came today, and I started the swap. The only hiccup is that the XT der. doesn't have the threads for the cable adjuster like on the road derailleurs. Back to looking for options.... I decided that a Jagwire Rocket II adjuster, reported to fit nicely into the hole on the XT would be a good easy way to go. I was going to put an inline adjuster in, but the former option just seems like a clean option. So, if Amazon Prime pulls through, I'll be rockin' in a couple days. The XT is on, but the shifts aren't perfect with out the micro adjustment I need from the Rocket II adjuster. That, and I don't have a cassette removal tool...yet. 

The only other things that I have changed are the seat and bar tape.

New seat is a Brooks Cambium C17. I like it pretty well so far. My longest ride was about 2hrs on gravel, and it didn't bother me. Still need to tweak the position a touch. The bar tape was put on prior to said ride; I chose Salsa Gel Cork tape, in natural color to match the saddle. It's close enough to look good, and seems like it'll work nicely. It's got a bit more cushion than the stock stuff. I probably should've used the stock stuff for another month or so, and then done the swap. Oh well, it's only $20.

Cheers.

Approaching the FENIX

I ordered a Garmin Fenix 3 as my birthday present from my wife. That was back in mid January. It's FINALLY shipped, and should be here in a few days.

I've wanted a GPS sports watch for years. I finally pulled the trigger, since I think it's not only bad ass functional, but it's finally good looking enough to wear daily. A little bit on the big side, but still much, much better than the stuff I was considering back in 2009=10. Besides, it's almost a smart watch, with notifications and stuff. I won't get all into it, since I wouldn't do it justice anyhow. If you want to know more about it, check out DCRainmaker's write up. Seriously, more info than you need!

I'm super excited to see if this will help me figure out how to get faster, instead of just doing the workouts that I think are going to make me faster. I'm going to try to keep my HR down when I am supposed to, as well as get it peaked out when I'm doing those hard intervals.


Approaching the Natural.

Have you heard of it?

It's a book, by Sid Garza-Hillman. Basically a vegan type guy, certified nutritionist, and amateur athlete (ultra runner). I think he's sorta like Rich Roll, but not nearly as addicted to things. Hey Rich, you want to replace an unhealthy addiction with a healthy one, good for you. The thing is, you can preach your fanatical lifestyle to everyone that will listen and then some, but I doubt anyone will go as far as you did. I digress...

Sid has a very much opposite approach to the healthy lifestyle. Baby steps! I'll sum up what I heard on the first podcast of Sid's that I just listened to the other day. Take a deep breath.  

No, really. Take a deep breath right now, and do nothing but listen to your breath.

Done?

You just took a baby step toward meditating. Congratulations! You are not on Sid's "plan" for Approaching the Natural state of being a human animal.

Now, you can start drinking a glass of water in the morning. Or going for a walk regularly. Even taking your shoes off when you are out in the yard, playing with your kids/dog/self (lol).

There is a little more to it, but I'm not the nutritionist or writer or podcaster or athlete that he is. So go CHECK HIM OUT and see if it's something you dig, ya dig?

Cheers,
Kurt

Let there be flowers..... PLEASE!

"Training" is going ok. I've been pretty good about sticking to my schedule, other than sick kids and snow storms throwing things off a bit. I need to get a little more running and biking in, but that will remedy itself once spring gets here. I'm really looking forward to morning walks/runs with a dog, and bicycle trips to the park with the kids. I can't wait to see green grass and flowers!

Hopefully the last dog we met, Ralphie, will be ours soon. We like him, and are just waiting on the rescue group volunteers to give us the OK to adopt. It's beyond frustrating!

Odin's Revenge?

I need to double check with my wife, but I am hoping to send a postcard tomorrow for registration of the "short course" ride. It will be somewhere in the neighborhood of 90mi of gravel in the hills of South Western Nebraska. Yes, there are hills out there. Pretty big ones! My cousin said he sent his in today... I'd better get going! The registration is capped at 50 for the short course and 100 for the long. I won't be ready for the long course by June. It's 180mi!!!  I'm not sure I will be ready for 90mi either, but what the heck. ;)

It's currently 12°F outside. My son is getting pretty stir crazy being inside most of the last couple weeks. Last night he kept asking me if we could go for a walk. It was about the same temp then, and the sun was setting. Spring needs to get here ASAP! 

-Kurt

Humpy McHumperson, the dog.

Yo Dogg,
In my last post I was excited to meet a Golden Retriever that was a possible fit for our family. Long story short, it didn't work out.

He was a sweet dog, but he had a "mounting" problem. With little kids, they would all get excited, and his reaction was to try and mount them. If our kids were older, it wouldn't have been much of an issue.

The wait continues.....

I did fill out the adoption form for a local no-kill shelter, that has a huge amount of dogs. Hearts United for Animals hua.org is a great place, that really gives a ton of dogs a fair shot at a good life. They don't have any Golden Retrievers right now, but there is one Australian Shepherd that I like the looks of.

Running:
I had my first really nice run the other day. I went out after dinner, while my in-laws were over hanging with the kids. It was just perfect out, with a slight breeze and cool temps (very warm for January). Clear skies, with quite a few stars, and an empty golf course to run on. I just ran as I felt, walking up some short inclines so I didn't spike my HR too much. Not fast, that's for sure, but it was just one of those times when you go out, and it just feels good! I should have eaten just a little less though. I was choking back the re-flux quite a bit. LOL!!!

Cycling:
With the unseasonably warm weather, I have gotten out on a few rides with my cousin. Although I am nowhere near anything that resembles "good cycling shape", it feels great to get out and spin the pedals. I'll just keep going out on long rides when I can. The first ride was about 27mi, with a late lunch stop toward the end. The second ride was a much faster 20mi ride on the rail trail. Slow speeds still, but we were pushing the fat tires on mountain bikes, with a stiff breeze and some really wet, squishy and slow spots on the trail.

Swimming:
Swimming rocks! I got the Total Immersion MP4 vids, and put them on a DVD for my brother-in-law. I will use them as a technique review, and work on perfecting my stroke. He will use them (hopefully) to learn how to swim, without drowning.

Weight loss:
As of this morning, I am officially down 5 lbs. Still have not broken into the 130's, but I am hoping that a lean eating day today, and a nice run tonight will allow me that moral boost for my official weekly weigh in day tomorrow.

Cheers,
Kurt

Golden Boy

I may be getting a running partner soon!

We have been on the waiting list with Golden Retriever Rescue In Nebraska (GRRIN) for a few months. They have a dog that we are considering, and going to meet tomorrow. He's 5yrs old, and very gentle. He has also been craving more attention and exercise. He will get an abundance of both at our house! As long as he is good with the kids at the meeting, I think he will be our new doggy!!! 

Brewing wise, I finally got to brew a week ago. My good friend Josh came down and we brewed a split batch of wheat beer. Half of it was brewed as a traditional German Hefewiezen, with noble hops and WLP300 yeast. The other half was brewed more like Blue Moon, with orange peel, coriander and American Hops, with WLP320 yeast. The primary fermentation was much more vigorous with the WLP300, and I'm very happy about that. I'm hoping that the "Blue Moon" comes out with very low yeast character, to let the adjuncts shine through. I'm letting them sit for another week, and then I will keg them. I might drag them up to a warm spot in the house, and let the yeast clean up the beer. If the weather cooperates, I will cold crash them in the garage.

Things are going pretty good in the training dept. Getting back into the swing of things swimming wise makes me feel like I'm actually "training". While my son is at pre-school, I take my little girl to play in the child care area at the YMCA (she LOVES it), and I hit the pool. My stamina is nearly non existent, and my form needs some touch up. My brother-in-law goes with me, and he makes me look like an Olympian. He would drown if he had to swim farther than 50yds. With this in mind, I went ahead and ordered the Total Immersion DVD, partly for me, and mostly for him. I'll have him swimming great in a month with that technique. He is really willing to learn, and is starting from square one. I wouldn't be surprised if he became a really good swimmer this summer. Talking him into a triathlon with an OWS might be a different story. He doesn't like deep water. At all! I tried to get him to tread water in the deep end (6'6"), and he wouldn't go further in than about the 5' spot. It will be interesting to see how he progresses. 

I'm 5lbs down from my starting weight a month ago. I feel better than I have in a couple years too. I'm really excited for summer....or spring at least. The 60deg weather the last few days really helped my cabin fever. I fear winter will rear it's ugly head again soon though. Feb is still in the heart of winter, and March can have some of the biggest snow storms. We'll see.

-Kurt

Help, on all three fronts.

Training.

I had my Brother-in-law help me move our elliptical from the garage to the upstairs room, next to the master bedroom, while he was in town for Christmas. It's been living in the garage since we moved, 3.5yrs ago. 

Why?

Because the damn thing weights so damn much, that's why. DAMN!

Seriously, it has to weigh about 250lbs+ fully assembled. If you take off the arms and feet, it probably drops 50lbs. Doesn't seem like all that much, until you start carrying the thing up the stairs. I was seriously gassed by the time we got it up there. It's all good though, now that I have an alternative to running when the weather (or other factors) aren't cooperating, just like yesterday/today. 

With family stuff finally winding down, and some time to relax before my wife went back to work, we had some quiet time watching a movie (Silver Linings Playbook) on the couch while the kids napped. I would've rather gotten in my run, but my wife really needed a couple relaxing hours. I was ok with it, since I knew that even if I didn't get my run in Sunday, I could just get up Monday and run OR use the elliptical before the kids woke up. So I got up, and did 30min while a snow storm was blowing in, and the kids were cozy in their beds. It was actually harder than the run would've been. Intervals on an elliptical can really be a killer!

Brewing.

I'm excited to say that I have FINALLY ordered the Blichmann Tower of Power control module!!!

I held off ordering it when I bought the Top Tier stand and burners and kettles last year. I wanted to see if it was really needed when doing direct fire RIMS (recirculating infusion mash system) brewing. Here is my short answer, it isn't. BUT, I was screwing up my mash temps by overshooting them more often than not. I also had to babysit the mash the whole time. So, I asked for a gift card as a Christmas present from my brother-in-law and his wife. They came through, and I ordered it the next day. I can't wait for it to come in, so I can get it set up and brew again. It's been a few months since I have brewed, and I've got several recipes at the ready. It'll be nice to have the mechanized help with mash temps!

Kids.

Christmas was pretty fun this year. With our kids being 3.5 and almost 2 years old, and having cousins ages 4, 2 and a little under 1, it was crazy!!! They all had a ton of fun running around playing and fighting over whatever the other one had... typical. Opening presents was still a bit of a cluster, but they kinda get it, and said "thank you" when reminded to. I just keep thinking how much fun it'll be in the next few years, while Santa is still real, and the presents are still toys that make the kids go crazy. It's also nice when you have a whole house full of family that can help keep tabs on all the kids. I can sit and have a few drinks while talking with other adults, most of the time. 

Cheers,

Kurt

Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal.

We have watched Home Alone a couple times. My 3yr old thinks it's pretty funny. It's a lot better than I remembered.

Hard to believe that Christmas is already here! I thought time flew by before kids. Once you have them, it seems like it's dragging along day to day, but then you wake up, and your kid is already in preschool and another year is gone. Yep. Gone.

Speaking of filthy animals....

Gravel Grinders
They are becoming very popular lately with the cycling crowd. I'll give you the basics.
Off highway bicycle races. Only the most hardcore riders will actually be "racing" them. Most distances are 100+mi, and can be on anything from well traveled gravel roads to paths that are "labeled" as a road on a map. The same stuff that I prefer to ride motorcycles on!

I have only done one of these rides, and it was a small one. The Flint Hills Death Ride. I think it ended up being about 83mi. I rode it with my cousin Jason, and uncle Greg. This was when I was in the best shape of my life. Not cycling specific, but still. We took 9.5hrs to complete it, with 7.5hrs of moving time. Several flats slowed us down, especially one that I remember taking at least 20min to get sorted. I don't recall why, but I do remember leaning on a pasture gate, baking in the sun, and starting to feel like crap. The one thing I learned from that ride, was NEW TIRES, NEW TUBES, KNOW HOW TO FIX THEM. I personally only had one flat, and had it patched and rolling inside of 5min. This came from the ample practice of changing road bike flats during all of the training rides I was doing for triathlons. Jason and Greg combined and at least 3 flats. Two of those came during the most hilly and rocky sections, not far past the half way point. No shade. Slow and failed repairs. It was demoralizing.

Her are my tips for the only portion of a gravel grinder that I feel I have a right to give.
You can spend hours trying to figure out what tires to use. Tubular or Clincher (that would be tubeless or tube and tire, respectively). Lightweight skinny tires, or bigger, heavier, more tread.
I would go with the strongest tire you can, while not going too wide. Make sure you go out and get some good long rides in on the same rubber that you'll be using at the event. Get a feel for it, and see if it is reliable. It'll be the best money and training time you'll do.

Most of the serious riders are on cyclocross bikes. I don't have one (yet?). I rode my 2007 Gary Fisher Cobia at the Death Ride. I'll probably stay on it for them in the near future too. So, I was running two different tires, that seemed to work really well. Bontrager Jones XR 29x1.8 front, and WTB mutano raptor 700x44c on the rear. One flat on the rear, due to a tiny metal shard that probably would have flatted most any tire, except one with sealant. Good grip from the pair. Rolled pretty fast. Overall, I was pleased with them. I would like to go just a touch more narrow, in the 1.5inch (40mm) range. I'm also hoping to get a rigid fork to replace the heavy Rock Shox Tora that is on the Cobia.

The one other thing, besides flats, that had me well under preforming, was my pack. When reading the description of the Death Ride, they made it sound like they give you some directions on a piece of paper, and if you come back alive, great! Armed with this "knowledge", I decided to be prepared for the worst. I had two full water bottles on the bike,. Two tubes, 3 CO2 cartriges, a multi-tool, tire levers and a few emergency snacks in the seat bag. I wore my Camelbak Mule, filled with 80oz of water, and then topped it off with Nuun tabs, more snacks and extra stuff. It was probably 15lbs strapped on my back. I also mounted my Garmin GPS60Cx to the handlebars.
DUMB!
Turns out, we got the well laid out direction the night before. I plugged it all in the GPS, and that was really nice. Although nice, I probably wouldn't bother again. Everyone else was just using the guide sheets with mileage. There were aid stations about every 15mi. I could have completely ditched my camelbak. Two bottles of water and some gu or shot blocks would've been plenty. Instead of taking all the tubes and stuff, I would just take patches and CO2.

Why all the reflection on an event that I did once, nearly 5yrs ago?
Jason, and Greg, have decided that it was just too much fun to not try again. We aren't doing the Death Ride, but there are two in Nebraska that sound "fun".

Odin's Revenge (June 28th)

Gravel Worlds (August 22nd)

I'm happy to never ride the Flint Hills of KS for anything more than 20mi ever again. The rocky roads down there can get really rough. NOT FUN! The Nebraska gravel is much better. It can be deep in spots, where they lay fresh gravel. Overall though, it's the nice smooth pea gravel that rolls pretty fast. The hills can be tough, with one after the other for mile after mile (it's not all I-80 folks!). The wind can also be a killer. I'm pretty sure that Prairie Madness can set in quickly if the wind is really blowing.

Odin's will be up first. I think we will most likely do just the first half. The full is 180mi! It is held in Gothenburg, NE. Only few hrs from home, and an easy I-80 drive.

Gravel Worlds is right in my backyard, circling Lincoln, NE.  I don't think they offer anything but the full distance. I also think it's totally unsupported. This actually is somewhat appealing. There are several small towns that it rolls past, and you can self support by stopping at gas stations. That's also the thing on this ride, you have to stop at said gas stations, and buy lottery tickets. Turn them in at the end as proof.

I'm planning on riding the Gravel Worlds route from last year on my motorcycle as soon as the winter weather breaks, to get an idea of what it'll take. I know it's not going to be easy, AT ALL. I'll keep things updated on here.


Crap, and I thought I was going to get away with just a couple sprint tri's this summer.... LOL!!!!

-Kurt