New Shiny and Things

New shiny!

Scott helped me pick out a new all purpose commuter/grocery/beer getter/bar hopper bike. It is a Surly Cross Check Complete, the only stuff I had to add were the Crank Bros Egg Beater pedals, rear rack, and the Ortlieb Back Roller Classic panniers.

Rode it to work today and I have to say it has probably the most comfortable ride I have ever experienced. I am really digging this bike.

Pictures:

On to other business. Wednesday Night saw a few of us hit up Murphy. It was in awesome shape, and lots of people out there. Mikey, Matt, Kris, and myself did nice lap and then drank a beer in the parking lot. It was a very nice night out.

Thursday I missed out on what sounded like an awesome Thursday Night Ride at Leb and then after party at Old Chicago. Next time!

Looks like there is some trail work at Murphy Sunday and also a group ride. Details on this post.

Have an awesome weekend! Looks like it is going to be a good one!

I Call Bull Shit.

From: Campus Squeeze

12 Beers You Should Only Drink In College

12.) Natural Light
11.) Natural Ice
10.) Keystone Light
9.) Busch Light
8.) Milwaukee's Best
7.) Milwaukee's Best Ice
6.) Pabst Blue Ribbon
5.) Old Milwaukee
4.) Coors Light
3.) Schmidt’s Beer
2.) Stroh's Beer
1.) Genesee Cream Ale

They have Old Milwakee and PBR on the list. Now anyone who knows someone with a fixed gear knows you can't be cool without a PBR tallboy. People bring their own tallboys to events where there is free beer! Old Milwakee and Coors Light? Well, what else are you going to drink while ice fishing or downing 24 beers for hydration during a bike race? These asshats need to go back to school and get a real education. I am sure that the douchebags that wrote this will soon be putting an airport sold Sam Adams on the AmEx card while waiting to sell me some crappy software. Then they will take me out to dinner on their dime and I will order a Old Mil and not order their software. They won't get commision and will loose their house because they look down their nose at a "lesser" beer. Every beer has its place, sure, I would rather drink a quality craft brew 80% of the time, but hell, you can't tell me a Mich Light doesn't taste good on a hot day.

There, I got my pissy-ness out of the way for today. I feel much better.
-pete

Terrace Oaks

Mikey, Aimee, and I joined up with Zoey the dog to do a few laps out at Terrace Oaks. Aimee and Zoey did some hiking, Mikey and I did the biking. I had to get out of there pretty quickly since I had to get to Best Buy and purchase a new fridge. So Mikey and I nailed out 3 quick laps, him on his single and me with gears on the Stumpjumper.

Beers were drank in the parking lot and off we went. Murphy tomorrow around 630pm and Leb Thursday around 6pm.

See ya on the trails!

5.22.08 Ride

We hit up The Hills a little earlier than the rest of the Thursday Night MORC Group Ride and made it back to the lot while the rest of the folks were on the trail. After the sufferfest the night before we were a bit spent but probably could have knocked out another loop but decided to have a beverage in the lot instead and wait for the rest of the crew to roll though.

As I was enjoying a Premo, or was it a KBC, anyways, as I was enjoying the bevy some rollypolly soccer mom gets out of her van and shakes her head at us...wtf. We than witness her waddling over to the soccer pitch and berate some other bikers that were "in her way." I went over and talked to them for a bit, they said she came by and told them how us bikers just take over the parking lot. Which is funny since it is a County lot and the soccer pitch is an Eagan park...Who shouldn't be parking there?

When she and her precious snowflakes got back to the minivan we got some more head shakes as a group of about 8 of us enjoyed a brew. We all waved to her as she was driving away. I think that really got to her. :) No police presence this week, I think they are sick of her calling in.

After the parking lot action it was off to the OC for some food and discussion. Ahh, good night. Thanks to everyone and it was nice meeting all, y'all.

Oh, forgot about this. Supposedly the 10 Best Beer Names. They are pretty good. :D

See ya out there..

-pete

KBC!

So Scott had an event to attend in the UP of Michigan. What was the first thing some of us thought of when we heard he was hitting up the UP? KBC. aka Keweenaw Brewing Company A few of us tasted the yummy of KBC last fall when we were up in Houghton. We hit up the KBC tap room and fell in love. If you ever have a chance to stop by, go in when they open, I bet you don't leave until they close.

So where was I going with this? Ah yes, the over $100 of KBC in cans that were picked up tonight from Scott. Some Blonde, some Brown, and some Amber sounds like a good combination to me and luckily that is what they can. I am enjoying a Pick Axe Blonde Ale as I type this but wish I could get a Coal Porter on nitro here in the TC.

Anyway Wednesday some of us will be riding, beering, and grilling at Murphy Hannrehan tomorrow around 6ish. Say hi or bring some beers and meat and hang out.

For now, I leave you with this...

How to Open a Beer Without an Opener.

Beer Stuff/etc.

First up:

The Toronto Star asks:
Is American Beer Any Good?

Yes. That is the conclusion. I saved you a bunch of reading. People in Canada really want to drink our beer. Bonus: New Glarus is mentioned.

Next up:
Miller CEO says drinkers are trading down to economy beers

I was discussing this with someone the other day. I love the variety of beers we have to choose from now, but if I am going on an all out get stupid bender, I pick the cheap beer. Sure, I may start with something nicer and then switch after a few, but I usually end up drinking the economy beer later in the session.

In other news I will be riding out at Murphy Wednesday and Thursday with some of the other MORBID members. There may be a grill also for a little after ride dinner. I will post up specifics if weather holds and it is dry.

Also, do you need a MORBID t-shirt? Check out this link and post up what you want.

Last thing today. Have you been on the Minnesota River or even the Mississippi? Have you seen a raft that may at one time have been used for transport on 9 mile creek? Well if you know where it might be I will offer up a six pack reward for information leading to its recovery. Details Here.

That is all. Get out and ride!

Morbid Meat UP

Hello-

It is that time again and I want to drink a beer or two. Please join us and have one or eight.

Details:
May 28th 2008
Stub and Herb's
3-6pm/10pm-midnight - 1/2 off Apps, $3 Pints and Rail Drinks
$5 off pitchers
Ommegang Tasting!

Please come, you mom doesn't want you drinking alone....

So Did You Drink A Beer Today?

I did. April 7th was the day beer started to flow(legally) around the US again after the horrible dark time in our past known as prohibition. Linky

Also congrats to Eric on winning the giveaway. Contact me and I will get you your stuff.

BTW, if you are bored with this rainy, snowy, bullshit spring, hit up iTunes. Chain Reaction 5, $1.99. Earthed 3, $1.99. Bits III: CKD, $1.99. New World Disorder 6, $1.99. Synopsis, $1.99. Yeah, they are a little older but where else you going to find them for $1.99. Enjoy.

In other news, ARTCRANK = Awesome. Thanks Charles for putting on another great show, artists, you truly rock. Lots of Awesomeness this year.

Later folks, for now enjoy a picture MikeyB's Guinness from our ride Saturday before ARTCRANK. Thanks Brit's for the beers!

News

Hey All-

I wanted to let everyone know that I am giving up drinking and taking MORBID in a different direction. MORBID is now: Minnesota Off-Road Bikers Into Deerhunting. While living in Minnesota for most of my life and seeing so many deer on the roads dead and every one at work being gone for deer opener I want my piece of the venison pie. Or at least some jerky or sticks. I will continue to ride my bike and I think I have found the perfect solution to my transportation while hunting.

I will be contacting Erik at Peacock Groove to build me up one of these and add a BOB trailer painted to match. Add my gun rack on the front, this configuration will allow me to bring a tree-stand and hopefully haul the deer out.

My training regiment of Big Buck Hunter is really starting to pay off, but it is starting to get a bit expensive. Yesterday's 7 hour marathon cost $296 and my left arm is sore from pumping the whole time. Who knew shotguns had unlimited bullets? How do people miss with these things?

Well I should be ready to go by November or whenever the season starts...

Stay tuned and see ya out there!

Other bike links:
Sheldon Brown Chain Cleaning from last year. RIP SB.
GM buys Specialized!
Cycling News Breaking News!
RATEBEER!

This Just In...

Beer can be good for you. Studies show beer consumption make men less likely to have heart attacks.
LINK TO STORY

There are also more benefits of drinking beer other than getting plastered.
LINK TO STORY

So drink on MORBID members, drink on.

MORBID SpringFest

Every Spring I pray to the trail Gods and ask them to help dry our area trails. I know they hear me because they send me subtle messages about what type of sacrifice they need to be appeased and grant my wishes. As I was about to drift off to sleep a few nights ago something popped into my slightly intoxicated mind. They told me to dump quality booze down my throat, and to make it a group effort. That is where you, dear reader come in. So next Thursday, the 20th, get your ass to The Muddy Pig and help me try to make the angry trail Gods happy again. I hope to be there by 5pm so feel free to head on over whenever. Not a MORBID member? No worries, we don't hate, come have a beer with us.

Hope to see you there!

-pete

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays MORBID readers.

I consumed a few brews this past Christmas weekend. All extremely tasty!

Tyskie
Elephant
Skinny Dip
Stella Artois
PERLA Chmielowa
Winter's Bourbon Cask Ale

Dead Trees

Since the lady had to hit the bookstore I decided to head along with and see what I could find to read over the X-Mas break. I knew I wanted to read Land of Amber Waters. It is about the history of beer in Minnesota. It is heavy, pretty, and has lots of words about beer. Can't wait to dig in farther than the preface and acknowledgments.

After flipping through all the euro-import bike mags I saw a lone copy of Mountain Flyer. I had never seen it before, it is a rocky mountain area cycling journal. Great pictures, articles about racing and riding out there and loaded with ads for handmade bikes. Totally worth checking out. I hope to follow up with reviews of both in the next few weeks, but so far, so good.

-pete

Leb Night Ride

Location: Lebanon Hills, Eagan, MN
Time: 6:30 p.m
Bikes: Check
Beer: Check
MORBID Members: MikeyB, Petey




Nov. 13th, 6:30pm, 55 degrees outside. Perfect temp for a night ride! Thanks global warming. Pete & I hit up Leb last night for a night ride. When we arrived there were roughly 20 vehicles in the lot. Many people taking advantage of the warm weather and there was also a MORC group ride meeting up at the same time. We let the group ride go ahead of us since we knew we would be dragging some ass. Leb is a totally different animal at night. If you haven't biked Leb a lot you forget were all of the rocks and logs are at and you start to become disoriented in the dark. You have to be very cautious or you will end up with Pete's bike tire ramming up your ass. The trail was in good condition except for an abundance of brake bumps. There are parts on the Dream Trail where it would be a fast single track if it wasn't for the brake bumps. You have to watch your speed on the bumps otherwise you risk a nice wipe out.


Beer of choice tonight was some Pick Axe Blonde Ale from Keweenaw Brewing Company. The beer was just as good as it was out of the tap last weekend. I think we will need to take a road trip to upper Wisconsin and purchase as many 6'ers of KBC as we can fit in the car. I'm telling ya this beer is just that good. I think it even tastes better than New Glarus (oh yes I went there).


-MikeyB

“Night” Riding Murphy-Hanrahan

MikeyB: Sunrise is 7:36 AM’ish these days. Park opens @ 5am. This is the only way we will be able to get a “night” ride in at Murphy since the gates close at sunset.

Scott: Are you crazy? Keep me posted.

Pete: I am totally in. Do we drink before? I am confused…

And so it began. Up at 4 a.m with just a few grumbles to Laura as I got out of bed. Loaded the bike and gear and was in the car by 4:20. The forty minute trip to Savage, Mn turned into the one hour forty minute trip as my sense of direction is completely off once I head south of the cities and I couldn’t find the road to the trail head. Arriving at the trail head I meet up with Pete and MikeyB. Get the lights up and running and there is still plenty of darkness as we head off for a ten mile jaunt. The wind chills you to the bone as we all find our groove with only the occasional “branch, bridge, rock!” to break the silence. Three miles in and I’m hurting, my stomach is in knots and I pull over and out goes the blueberry muffin I ate in the car. Much better. Back in the saddle we continue our way along the trail and watch as the sunrises. The last few miles the legs start to complain about the time but they hold out and we make it back to the parking lot for beers and coffee.

Drinks consumed:
Peppermint Schnapps on the trail
One pint of Boddingtons Pub Ale
One bottle New Glarus Totally Naked
One mug of coffee and Irish whisky

Photos by Scott Haraldson

-Scott

Hey, Hey, Hey!

With a break in the rain MikeyB and I decided to do a little urban session near my house. We suited up at about 8pm and went on our way. I had been scoping stuff out in my area for a while and found a few pretty nice spots that had some potential. We were to investigate. First up was a school about a mile from my house. It had a set of 4 nice humps that I saw from the road and some nice looking stairs.

When we got there we found the humps not to be very fun but hit them to their full potential. After that we did find some other fun. A nice little drop off a set of benches provided tens of minutes of fun! Mikey eyed up a nice little 6" skinny we messed around on for about 20 minutes. He was clearing it pretty well at the end, I was still having a little trouble. It was about 20 feet long and a foot high at the tallest point. I am going back to practice next week. :) We hit a few more sets of stairs, cleared the drop again and then decided to checkout another location nearby that I didn't have a chance to scout.



We rolled across the street to a church we rolled by the front and went around to the other side. MikeyB gets paged so we stopped. As he is calling in I spot some stairs and ride them. Then I see a nice little drop on the grass. I get cruising and hit it while MikeyB is talking on the phone. I jump a little early and get shit for air. Again. Second time was better, on the third I nailed it. Felt good. :) Mikey hung up and proceeded to try it. He got some nice air too. We head back around to the other side of the church, I decide to ride the double set of stairs, it was a little narrow and pretty steep but was a lot of fun. We mess around out front for a bit and then I can't find Mikey. I bike down a nice little grassy hill and air it out on another.

Then I hear a distant, "Hey!". I think it is Mikey so I look around for him...nothing. I hear it again and see a larger lady moving toward me. I decided to get outta there. She shouts again, "HEY, HEY, HEY! You! Come here!, HEY! HEY!" in a voice I could only describe as raspy, smoky, and crazy. I ride up to the opposite corner and wait to see if I can find MikeyB. I wait for a minute and see him round the corner. He says, "Let's get outta here before they call the Popo on us." I agree and we head North to Minnehaha.

It is starting to sprinkle and we head back to my place. Got back, grabbed my last two SurlyFests out of the fridge and drink them down while bullshitting about bikes and stuff. Fun night, next time I think we will head to the skatepark and rock that.

Work Time

Rainy day once again and my bikes were in need of some attention. So I grabbed a beer and went to work. I finished up my single speed conversion on my old Rockhopper. It is now setup perfect for the trails around here at 34x18. I had to add the Surly Singleator back on to the bike since 34x18 isn't the magic gear and I don't have either horizontal dropouts or a eccentric bottom bracket on that bike. It is setup in the push down position since I destroyed the spring that is used for the push up position. I may have to order a new one if the chain starts skipping.

Cleaned up my work bench area a bit too and sorted chain chunks into areas with their similar brethren. This week looks equally crappy in the weather department with rain from Monday through Friday with Wednesday being a maybe for a nice day but trails would be closed. Road Ride. Looks like MORBID is going to turn into Minnesota On Road Bikers Into Drinking. Eh, at least I would be riding.

See ya out there.

Trippel Belgium Style Ale

Not much biking going on since it has been raining non stop for the last week. Plus my bike is still at Hollywood Cycles getting some components fixed. BUT I can still enjoy a good brew while watching the MN Wild opener. That brew would be New Belgium's Trippel Belgian Style Ale. Like most Belgian style ales it has a high ABV at 7.8% which is on the mild side compared to some other Belgian brews I have tasted. Trippel is a flavorful full bodied ale that tastes like many Belgian beers but doesn't leave a nasty after taste on you buds.

GO WILD!

River Trail Ride

We inducted a new member into MORBID tonight. Kris wanted to test ride an '03 Specialized Stumpjumper FSR that someone at his work is thinking about selling. We did a little bike path riding along Lake Nokomis and Minnehaha Creek over to the Mississippi River to test out the bike with a little off-road. I have been on a few of the trails near the dog park but haven't explored the full extent of the trails on either the Minneapolis or the St. Paul side.

They were fun, not manicured like most of the trails around the metro and you could tell they weren't ridden too often. Most likely they are hiked on more than anything else. The trails are pretty rooty and have quite a few chunks of limestone and some big rock outcroppings. I think Kris got a good idea of how the bike handles so we headed back towards Minnehaha Falls. There were quite a few people out around the falls, it was really nice out.

When we got to the falls we decided to stop at Sea Salt for some tacos and a beer. We hung out on the patio and had our dinner. After we finished I turned the light on and we headed back home.

Once home we packed up the test bike back into his Jeep and had another beer on the deck while the dog took a dump in the yard. Good dog.

Holzinger and Bubs

Location: Holzinger Lodge, Winona, MN
Time: 11am
Bikes: Check
Lungs and Legs: Must have forgot them in MPLS
Beers: Bub's (pronounced boobs)
MORBID Members: Pete and lots of MORC Members

9am: I had a car load of people and gear and met Scott at Salem Hills off of 494 and 52.
Caravan we did down to Winona, MN.
11am: We arrive and unpack the bikes and gear.
11:30am: Depart.
11:33am: Gasping for air, legs hate being attached to me and want to leave. After this point I loose all track of time and try not to a) black out, b) puke, and c) fall off a cliff.



We climb, I climb slowly for quite a while, gain around 500 feet in elevation and get an awesome look at the surrounding bluffs, the river, Winona, and a chunk of Wisconsin. Notable happenings while climbing, I cranked my bars on a nice little tree V and fell down about 10 feet of drop about this \ steep. I would like to thank the saplings that caught me and saved me from falling the other 100 feet. I also think I lost at least one lung and possibly most of my leg muscles. I faintly remember it being called Wildwood something. I think there was a sign there too but I might have hallucinated that.

Once we got to the top there was a nice loop of single track with some small log piles and little jumps. It was a big change from climbing through a ton of rock and roots. Most of the bluff is the chunky Minnesota Limestone and someone mentioned it was quarried almost 100 years ago. A part of the trail is called "The Quarry Trail" so yeah, it was a bit rocky. Back to the top. We stopped up there to gather everyone and rest up.



We did another loop up top and then down. Wow. It was fast. We were cruising down the bluff and flying over roots and rocks. It was a little trickier of a decent than anything in the metro. A few of the roots and rocks caught me off guard, Scott's wife caught a rock and tree the wrong way and snake bit the tube. I hung out with her, Scott, and another rider while she changed her tube. We flew down the rest over rocks and roots at speeds closing in on 30mph. Going that fast you could get some air if you tried on the last few rollers. It was great.



After the ride we headed over to Bub's(again, pronounced boobs) for some food and beers, oh and popcorn. I had the Bub's Red at first which was great. Josh who helped organized the ride was sitting next to me and suggested the All American Burger. This was no burger, as they say, it is breakfast lunch and dinner all in one. Let me tell you a little more about it, I will work my way up from the bottom. It starts with a normal bun, then a nice slab of beef like a normal burger, add some cheese, a thin slice of ham, some bacon, and topped of with an egg, then the bun. It was awesome. I want another now. I think I saw 7 of them delivered to table. There was a little beer left in Scott's pitcher at the end of the table so I gladly accepted some Oktoberfest which was really good. We let that settle and walked over to Adventure Cycle to check out their wares.



We headed out of town and picked up some Culver's for the ride back. It was a great time, I just need to find my legs and lungs before I head back. Thanks everyone!

These great pictures are from Scott Haraldson and I totally stole them.

On the Trainer...Again...

Fucking rain. More trainer time. More Kettlehouse, this time the IPA. At least the beer flows well and stays in the cage without exploding. You ever tried pouring beer into a bike bottle? I have never burped so much in my life.

So what do I think about the Floyd thing? Honestly at this point I don't really care, it was fun to watch. Does a person ever win the appeal? No. The only team I care about now is Chipotle/Slipstream. Hopefully they maintain a clean program. Will I watch the tour next year? You bet. Can't wait to see Andy Schleck tough it out.

Over and out.
-pete

Drinking on the Trainer?

Raining out side, trails are closed, what is a boy to do? Hop on the trainer I suppose. That means I have retired the roadie to trainer duty for the next few months unless I get motivated to ride on road, but with such nice trails why? So until then the carbon bottle cages on that sucker are going to be used for beer can holding while I am on the trainer.

Only spun for an hour today, I can't do much more than 2 on the trainer without going a little nuts.



Another note:
This would look oh-so good on me.


Ladies, need The Mistress?


Oh T6, why do you make it so tough on my Visa? Fuck, now I have AC/DC "Mistress for Christmas" stuck in my head...

-p

Salem Night Riders

Location: Salem Hills, Inver Grove Heights, MN
Time: 6pm
Bikes: Check
Lights: Check
Beers: Check
MORBID Members: Mikey, Pete



She was a good ride, a warm day after the recent cold streak. Two laps around, one with daylight, one without. Lights were charged and ready to go. Lap one was quick, the rocks were loose and there is a ton of sand on the trail, but it was fast as all hell.

Wheelie practice was held until the sun went down and lap 2 was started. Another fast lap was done since there were beers waiting. No injuries tonight but the boys were spent after some heavy riding the last few days...

Some Rouge Mocha Porter, Spotted Cow, Mothership Wit, and Paulaner Oktoberfest-Märzen were consumed. There was talk of The White Castle but that was called off since one of the crew had it for lunch. (Dick!) If only The Castle made wool jerseys...

Ride/Beer Photos

Brought some Kettlehouse brews back from Missoula for some post ride options. Really tasty after rides. If you are in Missoula, hit the Kettlehouse, skip Big Sky Brewing and spend your time and money there.

The ladder bridge is from one of the best trails in MN, Murphy Hanrehan on the Savage/Prior Lake border. Ride a bike and drink a brew sucka.