Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA and Anchor Porter

Had the SN Torpedo "Extra" IPA a couple weeks ago. This was one hoppy beer, yet it didn't taste like a novelty over-hopped beer like Victory's Hop Devil. Despite the high hop content, this was a well-balanced beer. Had a bit of a pine tree flavor to it...the treeish flavor was still damn good. Grade=A, PQ=30.3

Drinking Anchor Porter as I type this post. Although I suspected this would be a very good beer, I've avoided it my last couple trips to the NEX Package Store, since it's $11.19/six pack. Pours dark and smooth, with a nice frothiness. This beer's well-hopped, has some dark fruity smells my unsophisticated nose can't quite decipher. I haven't had a porter in awhile, but I should drink them more often. This is one of my favorite styles, and a damn good beer. Grade=A+, PQ=27.7

past couple of days

Friday--Went to promotion party, drank a few beers, forced to drink a shot of vodka, then survived a mountain bike ride in the dark.

Saturday--2 x Climb Tantalus...uneventful. Sweat out the last Sam Adams at the top of the first climb, then felt decent for the 2nd.

Sunday--Team Time Trial...super windy, with sand blowing in the eyes for a short period. Finished in 1:04:30 (about the same as last year), taking 2nd in the Mixed 72+ category (same as last year)

--Went to the beach in Waikiki. Carter and I watched some Japanese teenagers cover one of their friends in sand. They put boobies on him, fashioning nipples out of cigarette butts. They also crafted some very detailed genitalia out of sand. They put a lot of effort into the sand schlong and sand balls. Carter was fascinated.



Monday--Blew off my run at 4am...went at 4pm. 10 miles into it, had some large dogs scare the shit out of me on the bike path. 11 miles, I roll into a park to refill the water bottle...large crowd of locals. Someone calls me a haole, so I leave without water. 13 miles into it, I need to go to the bathroom...14.5 miles, I'm turtling...15 miles, run into McDonald's, find the bathroom door locked....decide I can hold it until I see the next bathroom, slow down drastically....16.9 miles, find the first bathroom on Hickam, then I finish the last 1.1 miles. Miserable time.

Demonstration

My neighbor asked Sonya if I was going to perform the action as depicted in this gesture:



I think I understand what he means, but why the twist of the fist? I don't get it.

And is this really something you should be asking your neighbor's wife? This is the same guy that sold us Bud Light from his keg.

waikiki

my uncle visited last week...he took a lot of pictures, but this one was the best.

ears

We all got haircuts yesterday and rediscovered that the boys inherited my ears.



Jack found something in Waikiki and enjoyed scaring tourists with it.

a couple of beers

Tried two new ones so far this week.

Pyramid's Rollick Amber Lager--A good session beer, very smooth....went through this six-pack rather quickly. The bottle has artwork of a dude riding a mountain bike...good marketing. Grade=A-, PQ=33.3

Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat--Absolutely couldn't stand this one. Barely made it through a single bottle. Had some off-tastes in there, with hints of malt liquor bottom of the 40oz swill. The carbonation was off as well...first sip seemed hypercarbonated and spicy. Disgusting. Grade=D, PQ=9

Zigging and Zagging

Was tired of my normal route, so I ran around aimlessly for 14 miles this morning.

Castle-Hanauma TT

Today was the Castle-to-Hanauma time trial. Did this race last year in 31:09.

Here's my list of excuses for today:

1) Was in Alaska most of last week
2) Rode Saturday...normally not a big deal, but yesterday was a tough day. Woke up to rain and wind. Looked at the radar picture and saw a dry patch near Schofield. Loaded up the car, and realized it was damn cold. It started raining again as I drove off...thought about bailing on multiple occasions. Finally arrived at Schofield...temp was 57F. It rained. It was windy. Did 39 rainy/cold/windy miles.
3) Ate at Dixie Grill...normally not a big deal. Food rarely effects my ability to ride. I could eat a good pasta meal, and not perform any better if I had a bacon explosion. Last night was an exception. There was a battle in my intestines that was not settled until Kashi saved the day at 0430.
4) I don't have a time trial bike, nor do I have the fancy race wheels. All the cycling races here are broken into several different categories. If there was a road-bike with clip-on aero bars category, I think I would've fared well.
5) I'm not a pro-triathlete. Apparently pro-triathletes are equivalent to Category 5 road racers (Cat 5 is entry level for all my non-cyclist blog readers). There was 1 x pro out there racing in the same category as me, as well as several other elite triathletes. Considering riding alone in an aero-position is part of a pro-triathlete's core competencies, a guy with my job description (sit at a desk, attend meetings in a building without windows) doesn't stand a chance at winning.
6) It was windy...very windy. At times on the ride back, I was blown back to a near stop.

No issues starting out, after a couple of miles I felt sluggish. At the pre-race briefing, we were told there was a slut in the road in Waimanalo, this caused me to look around for the slut and get a little distracted...that's when I was passed by the pro-triathlete who started 30 seconds behind me. That got my attention, so after he opened a gap, I forgot about the slut and tried to keep him in sight. My legs started to feel strong about 8 miles into the race, just in time for the climbs. Finished in 31:33, passed a couple of riders and no others passed me.

All excuses considered, it was a good ride for me. If I had the right equipment, didn't eat spicy BBQ, trained for this kind of racing, we had no wind, or I was a pro triathlete, I probably would've been faster. Oh well, still had fun, and did it all without puking on my aero-bars.