Secondary Fermentation

My latest batch of brew is now in secondary fermentation. I hope to bottle it this weekend, and have it ready by mid December. It should be a pretty good beer. 11 lbs Marris Otter, 2 lbs Crystal, 3 oz Cascade, 3 oz Willamette, 1 oz Willamette in secondary. This ain't no Miller Lite.

Last night, I went to a CITA meeting at Rasmussen's. Both CITA and Rasmussen's are doing a lot of good things. CITA does maintenance and construction at the Science Center Trails and the new Banner Trails. They are working to get trails at White Rock and some urban trails in the smaller parks. There is a CITA work day at Banner this weekend, in case you are interested. Rasmussen's must sponsor every bike group in the Des Moines area. Greg and the rest of the gang at Rasmussen's have a real passion for cycling.

Jacked Up

I went east for Thanksgiving to visit the relatives and hoping to get in some mountain biking at Wakefield Park. I was a little disheartened, after finding out that the Thanksgiving temperature in the DC metro area was forecast to be lower than it would be in Iowa. Usually, I can count on warmer temperatures, but not this time. After catching the Yellow Line train, it began raining hard. After arriving at my destination, I learned that it was supposed to rain for the next day and a half. I guess mountain biking isn't in the cards for this trip. I wish I were able to do the Thanksgiving day ride on the Center Trails. Oh well. Maybe there will be a Christmas ride on the Center trails.

The Brett Clark Experience

Here is a beta mix of Key to the Highway, as performed by the Brett Clark Experience. Yours truly is the bass player on this track. Give it a listen.

Props to Rasmussens

A big thank you to Rasmussen’s Bike Shop for truing my wheels!!! Over the last month, I have dinged three separate wheels, one of which had a broken spoke. Greg and the guys at Rasmussen’s did a good job with a very quick turn around time.

The Good Stuff

Caleb from Wine & Spirits Gallery on 86th St. in Johnston provided us with notice of some new beers. As usual, limited quantity on most of this stuff.

Orkney Skullsplitter Ale (tried one, yikes! Huge Scottish at 8.5% gotta try before it's gone)
Daleside Brewery Old Leg Over
Ridgeway Brewing Bad Elf
Ridgeway Brewing Santa's Butt
Hop Back Brewery Pickled Santa
Cropton Brewery Rudolph's Revenge

And coming soon (hopefully) August Schell Snowstorm

I have yet to try any of these beverages, but I plan to try some shortly. Watch for reviews.

Denmans Ride w/DMOS

Riding Denmans today, I hooked up with Dave Ertl and another of the DMOS riders. Very good ride, until I clipped a pedal, then high-sided. Took me a few minutes to shake that off.

I have been riding flat pedals for the last couple of weeks. I wanted to work on my buuny hops, crossing some of the obstacles, and wheelies. I thought not beeing clipped in would be benefical. Like everything else, it has its advantages and disadvantages. The two major disadvantages are the size of the pedal body ( I probably never would have clipped my Time pedals taking a corner ) and occasionally losing my footing on the pedal.

I would like to say good job to Donny Quixote for his successful Cranksgiving race. I hope he promotes many more such refresing events.