scrubbin' tahrs!

This spring I took the KLR to Tellico and have made the decision that I will take the KLR one time and the Bandit the next. Well, it was looking as if I was going to have to violate that premise this time as the Bandit has a rather bald sidewall of its front tire. I could get to and from Tellico, but would be unable to ride while there, and what's the fun in that?

So I either needed a new front tire or would have to take the KLR. I really wanted to bring the street bike this time. I asked Dad if the timing was okay to order a new front tire and he told me to go ahead. It arrived last Friday. 

I finally got it over to the bike shop to get it mounted yesterday. I gathered a jack, a board, the tools I would need to pull the wheel and secured them to the bike. I then put the tire around my waist, and we're off. 

Oddly, when I get there the shop monkey is a guy that I've gone caving with. Small world! 

We caught up a bit while he mounted the tire. He has been getting to do some racing lately and we talked mostly about that. Man! I want to hit the track sooo bad!

Once done, I handed over $30 (that included the $5 to dispose of the tire) and went about mounting the wheel back on the bike. Ten minutes later, all is buttoned up, I am cleaned up, and headed down the road. 

I really had no idea where I was going. I knew I had to get back home at a somewhat decent hour as Melissa had a Scottish-Irish festival she wanted to go to. Hmm ... I pointed the bike back towards Newport thinking I will just head home but take the scenic route. 

I haven't gone down TN-160 in a long time, but I do recall a short, but fun twisty stretch along the road, so that seems a good option. Now, the first 100 miles of a new tire, you aren't supposed to be aggressive because of the rubber is really slick from when it comes out of the mold. I have often wondered how much there is to that. 

Well, I am zipping along and it's quite a piece of road before hitting that twisty, fun stretch. I have had no traffic to contend with at all. 

I get about a half mile from it and ... BOOM! a line of cars. [sigh]  Oh well, looks like God is trying to save me from myself.   

I file in line and am soon in Newport. My gas light is beaming at me and I have enough to get home, but was thinking about heading over to Knoxville to grab some beer and further scrub off some of that mold-slickness. I filled the tank and where I was at, there is a road that I have been curious as to where it goes, but never pursued that curiosity.

Well, I have time to kill and a fresh tank of gas. Why not? 

I point the bike down that road and after about 10 miles it deposits me right back on 160 just before I reached that nice, twisty section that I had to follow the cars through -- except this time there's no traffic! SWEET!

I kick up the RPMs a bit and dance through the curves with a mildly aggressive approach. Once again, I'm back in Newport, and this time I do decide to head towards Knoxville. The road to Knoxville isn't all that spectacular, so am just "logging miles", so to speak.

However, I figured on the way back, I should have nearly 100 miles on the new tire and can take a fun way home once in Dandridge. I duck onto TN-92 and that is a nice 15 mile run that twists and turns it's way over a mountain. 

Sadly, though, there is a Nissan something-or-other in front of me. I figured when I got the opportunity I would dispatch of him. Notsomuch. He was moving that thing pretty well. He knew the road and was hitting about 50-55 mph through it. I just stuck to his tail and was enjoying that pace. 

Then we came upon a slower vehicle. As soon as there was a straight enough section to see, the Nissan guns it and pulls a double yellow pass. I figure "what the hell?" and drop it two gears and follow. It happened fast enough, that I could pull back a little more on the happy handle and pass the Nissan as well while at it. 

He didn't seem to want that to happen and we raced towards the upcoming curve. I beat him there and got back in my lane and whoa-ed the bike down to a safe entry speed. He stayed right on my tail through the first two turns, but I started to pull away.

I had the RPM's up and that motor was a-singin'! the adrenaline was pumpin', and my heart was racin'! It was awesome! 

I never did totally lose him, but I did put some space between he and I. My turnoff came up far too soon and when I noticed he wasn't going that way I gave a little wave to him as he continued on. That was fun and if it weren't for him, I probably wouldn't have been pushing that hard. I can say the tires are scrubbed now.    ; )

Stupid is? ...

.... ME!

So tonight was brew night. I was a bit rushed and wasn't really paying attention.

I got my water up to the proper temperature, added it to my pre-warmed mash tun, sunk the grains, and went to stir. I damned near broke my plastic spoon!

I have *never* had so much trouble stirring the grains. Granted this was 13#, but I have stirred 12# without "bendage" before, surely one more pound isn't the difference here.

I got to wondering about it. I *did* notice that a couple of the grains floating on top of the water didn't look as small as normal. Hmmm ...

I went back and looked at my order. Sure enough, I wasn't paying attention when I ordered either. Yeesh!

I ordered UNmilled grain, and .... I don't have a mill. You do NOT use UNmilled grain to brew with, as unmilled grain will not effectively extract the sugars that the yeast feed on. The grain is now wet -- there's no turning back.

After spending a few minutes feeling sorry for being a dumbass, I finally got it together and hit up my favorite online forum for all things homebrew. It is an excellent resource, and the folks there are really quick-on-the-draw for replies -- just what I need right now.

So I post a 'I'm an idiot!'-type post, and wait to see what answers I get and how quick. Within 15 minutes, I have 4 replies and one seems to be right on the money. The suggestion was to drain the wort and put the grains through a food processor.

This likely will not get me down to as fine a crush as I should have, but it will certainly be better than just dumping it all and buying new grains. Schweeeet!

Problem is, the (small) food processor that I have is basically for chopping an onion or garlic cloves -- that type of thing. It *damn* sure ain't big enough to handle 13# of grain. [sigh] A trip to WallyWorld (since it's already past 8 PM) is now necessary.

By the time I get back it's about 9 PM. I still have to clean the processor, re-rinse and clean all the equipment I have already used, and get the water heated again. Yippee! this will be a LONG night!

I get this all done by 10-ish, so I can start my first one-hour clock. It will likely be around 3 AM before my end of this is done, and it may not even be good. Yeesh!  LOL

Even with the processor effort, it did not crush the grains as well as it should have. I wound up with less sugar extraction than I was supposed to have, but more than I had before getting the processor. Well, at least, it's starting gravity reading will be around 1.030 (should be 1.061) instead of the 1.012 I had at first.

[[ for those that don't know -- the gravity reading is the amount of fermentable sugars in the liquid. The more fermentables in the liquid, the more the yeast work. The more the yeast work, the better the beer can be!]]

The gravity turned out to be 1.030-ish (avg. between two different pieces of equipment) -- about half of what it *should* have been. This is the WORST efficiency I have *ever* gotten! GRR! It will be like drinking a "lite" beer! UGH!

[cue Charlie Brown .... AUUUGGGGHHH! I CAN'T STAND IT!!!!]

Oh well! I think I will call this Ruthless CRye instead of Ruthless Rye! I guess what sucks the most is I *have* brewed this before and it was nothing shy of *fan ... tas ... tic*, then! I bet I *never* make that mistake again!!  ; )

Language transcending barriers

So I pulled some weeds (and saplings) around the edge of the fence the other day. They have grown out of hand, and INTO the fence – some more than others. I pulled a LOT of ragweed, and had to un-entwine a bunch of vines from the fence, as well as, a pine tree sapling.

My typical wont is to just throw this “trash” in the fire pit and it will be burned the next time I hold a bonfire. Starting out with “green” material tends to make getting the fire going a challenge! Ah well! part of the challenge, I guess!

Shiner, my little white dog (a Pit that hardly deals well with separation from her human), is always nearby. She was positioned 180* to the road,  facing the garage and driveway (in her defense, the usual direction of action).

I casually, and jokingly, ask her “what happens if trouble comes from the other direction?” 

I swear, she immediately got up and turned herself 90* to be able to see in the direction I suggested as well as the direction she was already “guarding”. WOW! if this dog (umm … companion) doesn’t understand English! It was funny!

At some point, I had a revelation. I had the words from “Stairway to Heaven” pop into my head. Ugh! I *want* to hear this now. I KNOW *I* don’t have it. For shits and giggles I peruse Dad’s CD library and, lo and behold, he has Led Zeppelin IV ---- sweeeeet!!

I strung the speakers out on the back porch and was able to satisfy the longing to hear it. This was the first time I have been able to enjoy a fire with some music. It *won’t* be the last. Good times!

Long Overdue Face Time and Saddle Time

So I got an email a few weeks back from my good buddy Christopher with “Sept. 7^th?” in the subject line.  I opened it and the text was “ride?”

OH YEAH! I haven’t rode with CMac in a looong time. I got home and asked the wife if she was available to be here in my absence and got a definite “Yes, I’ll be here.” Bless that woman! she knows how long it had been since I had rode with him.

We were having a hard time trying to setup a meeting time and place. So I had the idea that I could make it easier by meeting at his house after he got off work Friday night so we could hang out. Then we could leave whenever we wanted or needed to Saturday morning.

Christopher was totally on board and now we had a plan of sorts. He told me he would be home about 6 PM.

I checked GoogleMaps and found that he was right at 2 hours from me. I left the house right around 4. It would be close, but should be workable.

What I hadn’t considered was that leaving at 4, would have me hitting the heat of “rush hour” in Asheville. Sure enough as I got to Asheville, at the split of I-40 and I-26, it was a parking lot. DAMN!

Christopher had told me not to worry about grabbing any beer as he would have that covered. Well, if I am going through Asheville or Knoxville, I’m hitting the beer store because what’s offered here in NASCAR country leaves a LOT to be desired, so I never pass up the opportunity to score some good beer!

 After seeing the “parking lot”, my want to go to the beer store was only reinforced. I checked the clock when I split off, and made the left turn to the beer store instead of the right turn toward Christopher’s.

By the time I got back to the I-26 and I-40 interchange, it was again, a parking lot. A quick look at the clock showed that the detour “cost me” about 45 minutes. However, taking the detour allowed traffic to lighten up some and me to cruise through the parking lot at about 30 mph instead of sitting still (as I likely would have done 45 minutes earlier).

That’s a win for me, and I’m sure Christopher *expects* that I won’t be there AT 6. He *knows* me.   ; )

To make matters worse, I still had to stop and get some ice to cool down the beers I got. A couple of them were stocked in the cooler, but not all of them.  So an ice stop cost me a few more minutes (to go in buy the ice, undo bungees to get to the cooler, load the ice, and re-secure the cooler).

I showed up at his place just a little prior to 7. I joked that it was six o’clock somewhere and we exchanged warm, heart-felt greetings.

It turns out that my grabbing some beers and costing me that “extra” hour, was a good call as Christopher couldn’t secure what he had hoped. However, mine weren’t cold yet as they hadn’t been on the ice that long yet.

He told me that if I wanted one there was an Ed beer in his ‘fridge. He had one of my porters that I gave him. Hell, I didn’t know any of them still existed (in original form). Mine were gone long ago.

That porter had been in the bottle for almost two years. It should be fantastic! I poured it, and … it was!

We hung out and told some lies for a bit before heading to Barley’s. About 5 or so years ago, Christopher and I placed a bet. My Magna had to be rebuilt due to some left-turning (likely drunken) idiot that cut me off.

At the same time CMac was dealing with a leaking clutch seal (which requires engine removal and splitting the case – unless you know a shortcut). The wager was that should I fix my issue first, he would come to Knoxville and buy me a beer at Barley’s. If he won, I had to go to Greenville and buy him one at that Barley’s.

This bet was made right after Mo’s *first* wrenchfest in SC. Shortly after this I got another bike and had fell SOOO in love with Pearl (the 600 Bandit) that I never had any inclination to do anything with that Magna ever again, and had actually wound up selling it.

Meanwhile CMac bought an ST1300 and didn’t look back much either. It had seemed neither of us would win the bet.

Well, last year, Christopher got his leak fixed. I have been to Greenville since that bet culminated, but haven’t had the opportunity to make good on it. So the plan was that after I got there, we would head to Barley’s to fix that. When asked what they had on tap, Christopher had quite the reaction to hearing they had Sculpin’s IPA on tap.

I *know* that look. Make that two! Yeah the look was merited!

We split a pizza and had a couple more very fine brews (including a very awesome Stone Enjoy By IPA [for those that don’t know “Enjoy By” is a freshness date]  ….* on tap* … WOW!) before heading back to his house for quite a few more very fine brews.

At some point after getting back to CMac’s house, he got a text from Kim saying that if we showed up at their house in the morning they would ride with us. So now we DO have a plan.

It was about 2 AM when C said, if we’re getting up in the morning we should probably crash now. I had no idea what time it was and when he told me, I had no argument.

We left his house around 8 to a very crisp dampness of the morning air, but it felt good. I had to stop for gas and so did he. While fueling I asked if we were going to make it on time? He told me “No”. I told him to blame it on the fact he was with me.

Heh! with Christopher leading, we made good time – and even saw the ton a couple times. We were late, but not “Ed late” when we arrived. There was an extra bike in the yard. It turned out to be a friend of Scott’s, Kyle, who would be joining us today.

Sadly, Kim had a sore throat and didn’t go with us. So, the four of us, Scott (on his Goldwing), Kyle (on his Harley), Christopher on his (non-leaking) Sabre, and me on Cloud9 (the 1250 Bandit) headed out to breakfast.

Scott lead us on a very tasty little twisty backroad that you won’t find on any map. Once at the restaurant service was slow, but the company was good, so no matter. After being fully sated, we got the wheels rolling again.

Scott suggested NC-151? which dead-ends on the Blue Ridge Parkway but is plenty twisty on the way up. As soon as we hit the good stuff he motioned Christopher and I past.

The road was well-shaded by the trees lining both sides, but where the sun was at this point was enough of a menace to force a differential between shadow and light and occasionally that played into entering turns. Christopher was “feeling it” at this point and flat-out left me. I was having fun but knew I didn’t want to go faster because it was beyond my comfort zone – especially fighting light and shadow.

We took the BRP north for a while. What a road!

At one point there was a bearded, older gentleman on his Harley goin’ ‘round the turn(s) with an ear-to-ear grin. The grin was so wide that I noticed it as I was cornering MY turn. That ol’ boy was enjoyin’ his ride and that made me smile too.

We then ducked downhill on NC-215. OH MY! it is fraught with nice sweeping curves!

Again, Scott motioned Christopher and I by and …. ZZZZOOOOOM! We enjoyed a free run almost all the way down. I stayed on his six this time and we came upon three bikes that weren’t together but were all riding about the same pace. They soon motioned us on by and CMac and I resumed attack-mode.

After a while we found a pull-off and awaited Scott and Kyle to show up. Well apparently, they got waved by as well. They were the next to show up and C barely had time to get his kickstand down.

Christopher had an ulterior motive for stopping … THERE! It was at an intersection of a “shortcut” that he knew of. He warned us pavement was sketchy at parts of it …. and it was. Early on, I was tentative.

I couldn’t tell if it was the (dis)coloration of the pavement or very fine gravels lining the lanes of the curve. Nonetheless, I had no inclination to find out and kind of tip-toed my way through.

Then it went to clean, black asphalt. The speeds picked up -- CMac leading and me on his tail. I tell ya my eyes went WIDE open, pupils dilated, and heart racing. WHOO! *this* is what it’s all about – and, again, I am right on C’s tail. Yeah baby! Good times! Damn I miss riding with him. It’s been far too long.

Then it was {sigh} US-64 for a while. This road is greatly designed, but boring as hell because of all the traffic you typically find on it. We were doing well (traffic-wise) for a while, but then some pompous idiot in a Lexus pulled out in front of us crawling along and was too proud to pull off. We followed along but that stretch could have been much more enjoyable without that intrusion.

It’s now past lunchtime so in Cashiers we stopped at a BBQ joint (on NC-106) and did lunch and more face-to-face time. I skipped lunch (due to my “diet”) but Christopher had me try a piece of his brisket, and I must say, those “boys” KNOW what they’re doing. What he had me sample was damned good. They also offer a great beer selection.

From there, it was a run DOWN 106 (better coming up from the GA side, but still fun), to US 441. We stopped to top off on fuel, and the plan was to take NC-28 and split from there. The stretch from US64 to US74 is one of my all time top 5 roads. GREAT STUFF!

However, when we got to NC-28, Scott kept on along US 441 north. I figured he missed it and would turn around shortly. He didn’t.

UGH! This put me in slab-tacularness the rest of the way home. The fun was over. Nonetheless, instead of turning around, I hung with them.

So now, for me, it’s across Newfound Gap (from Cherokee, NC to Gatlinburg, TN) – YAWN! nice road, sure! but so riddled with traffic, it’s … just … slow! Compound this with the multitude of classic old iron cars I had seen in the preceding week heading towards that area ... DAMN! I’M SCREWED!

Sure enough! I found myself in the midst of the Rod Run traffic. GRR! Eventually, I got out of that mess and arrived home a little after 7 PM with about 450 miles on the odo. … and was uncontrollably happy.

It was so good to get to spend some time with CMac. It's been a long time. It was also good to meet Kyle and hang out with Scott again, too. There's no substitute for good company.