Bikes and Beers

I actually got dirt under my wheels this weekend! Saturday was the 2nd Annual Bootlegger's Bliss...a day of good rides, good eats, and plenty of home-brewed beers. Props to Steve over at Wrench In The Gears for putting it all together this time around.

This year the Bliss brought 15-20 of us together at Rosaryville State Park. I can't believe that I lived in the DC area for nearly 10 years and this was the first time I got out there to ride. Big mistake, this place is a hoot. Riderx describes it best as a "dirt rollercoaster."

We set out as one group, most of us on singlespeeds. The SSO Factory Team quickly left me in the dust, but the trail provided enough distractions in the form of various log stunts, that they were never out of sight for too long.

Once the ride was done, we moved on to the food and beers. There were a lot of great beers on hand: IPAs, double IPAs, porters, stouts, tripels, maibock, dunkel, and more. As good as they all were, I'd have to name ShivaSteve's Vanilla Bourbon Porter as my favorite of the day: a great porter with a slight bourbon oakiness, and just a hint of vanilla...very nice.

Of course, the alcohol brought out the silliness, first in the form of fixed-gear trials on a picnic table followed by several rounds in the derby. Ouch!

All in all, a great day. Any day in the saddle is a great day, but when you can share the time with a group of like-minded folks, it only makes it that much better. There was already talk of where and when next year's Bliss will be held. I'm looking forward to it. I've got a Flanders Red aging in the basement that should be good to go by next November and I'm working up an American Amber or Brown recipe...gotta prove to some of the guys that I'm not afraid of the hops. :)