My fiance and I go to this Greek restaurant around the corner from our house. The food is pretty good- not award winning- and it's owned by an older Greek couple who just expanded the square footage to a little bigger than the original broom closet dimensions. It has some charm and the couple is honest and hard working. You can tell they've put their love in to it, and the place is starting to take shape. I say 90% since it's obvious they've done a lot of the decorating themselves. I'd say the atmosphere almost there, because the place definitely lacks a little refinement, with questionable decorations and furniture that makes it kind of quirky, but not in a cool, planned way. I'm sounding like a total highbrow asshole, so I'll move on.
Anyways, since I'm eating their food I have to try to pair up a typical beer. I've never heard of Aris, and chances are you haven't either. The funny thing is, the beer is so ordinary it won't be making any waves soon. I now can say, "been there, done that." No regrets. After all, it didn't bum me, and it's definitely better than doing without. When in Rome... I mean Greece.
Criterium Racing
Racing is an aspect of cycling that needs to be experienced and with road, "Crit" racing is short, intense and fairly common.
Most people never get to participate and I believe really miss out on something
truly special. With crit racing you are faced with every sort of physical and
emotional challenge. Normally when you get on a bike, you are confronted with
personal limitations of your body, or you educate yourself to understand the
technologies present, or push your speed to see how far to the edge your bike
handling skills are. But, nothing comes close to combining all these elements
of our sport.
When you begin the start of a race, you are instantly faced
with strategy, the limits of your physical fitness, patience, speed, crashes,
love, hate, and fear all within a relatively short period of time. It tells you
about yourself and you get to face your inner demons head on. No wonder you see tempers fly, cries of joy and awkward laughter.
Bicycle races are popular all over the world, especially in
Europe. There are variations, and the terrain can be different depending on the race site, but the essence is pretty much the same. The countries most devoted to bicycle crit racing include Belgium, Denmark,
France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland, but places like
Australia, the UK and the United States are growing in popularity. This makes finding one near you fairly easy. In fact, racing has
gotten so popular in Southern California that you can find Crit races after work during the week in the summer. Unfortunately,
even as a beginner you need a descent level of fitness and bike handling to
give it a shot. Even with this, drafting, and
learning how to be comfortable and conserving your energy for the appropriate
time will take a bit of learning. So expect to be dropped your first few races,
but hang in there. The rewards are great and the lessons learned will carry
with you for the rest of your life. By the way, I'm the rider in the yellow Mavic shoes racing Masters in our local Great Park Series.
A Local Black Lager
I came across this Black Lager this last weekend. We had
just done a group ride and settled in for a nice lunch that included some nice
beers. I had just finished a nice Chimay White, but it was a bit strong and I
was ready for something a bit lighter. The Santa Ana winds had brought warm
weather to the area, and our late October ride was done in strikingly blue
skies with mid-80 degree weather while others in the country stoked the fires
and watched their front yards get blanketed in a white winter wonderland.
I talked to the waitress for some guidance although it
became quickly apparent that she didn’t really seem to know much about beer,
much less the ones they had, but she gave me some advice based on the feedback
she was getting from other customers. She explained that this particular beer
was brewed locally and pretty hard to find with only a couple of stores in the
area that carry it.
I’m a little skeptical about Black Lagers, since my
experience has been so radically different each time I’ve tried a new one. I’ve
tasted a few that were heavy, bold and strong, then turned around and had
light, sweet, and subtle ones. These Black Lagers are also known as
“Schwarzbier” which is a German dark Lager beer. The main characteristic of this
style of beer is its opaque, black color combined with a full, chocolatey or
coffee flavor similar to stout or porter. These beers are bottom-fermented,
though originally top-fermented yeast was used when brewing them. The alcohol content usually ranges from 4.8%
- 5%. The dark color comes from the dark malts used in brewing.
My first impression of this local interpretation was light
and refreshing. Yeah, it had the coffee and chocolate hints, but it wasn’t too
strong or heavy. It was just what the doctor ordered and prefect for this post
ride. One thing though, it says "imported" on the label.I did my own investigation and the brewery is in Yorba Linda, which is about 30 minutes away. That holds up, but I also heard Tecate bought it, so maybe it's now brewed in Mexico. Hmmm. Anyways, recommended.
Whole Foods Just Opened Up Around the Corner
Okay, Whole Foods just opened a new location just around the corner from my house. They have all kinds of great things as you go from the entrance with the juice bar, and on to the deli, but the thing that stopped me in my tracks were the 2 beer aisles. Yep, not one, 2. I literally jaw dropped and stood there like a deer in headlights. Normally my offerings at the local Ralphs is limited to the big domestic brands, and even the semi-micro brewery offerings which usually include a Hefeweizen, a typical Pale Ale, an import selection like Heineken, and the Mexican imports like Pacifico or Corona, and how about throwing in a Stone IPA. I might get lucky and find an expensive Delirium Tremens 1/2 liter, or a Saporo, but that's about it.
I usually have to go to BevMo or somewhere out of the way for anything more. Until now. I have options and more options. I like Belgian Ales, and at Whole Foods, they have all sorts to choose from. Imports, and even domestic Belgians adorn the shelves just waiting for me to roll the dice. After picking this one, for no other reason than its cool packaging and completely random origin of Chicago, I paid the man and went home. It's not cheap, but I've only scratched the surface. Oh hell yeah. BTW, it was pretty good, but I've had better. I'll give it an 8.5 out of 10.
I usually have to go to BevMo or somewhere out of the way for anything more. Until now. I have options and more options. I like Belgian Ales, and at Whole Foods, they have all sorts to choose from. Imports, and even domestic Belgians adorn the shelves just waiting for me to roll the dice. After picking this one, for no other reason than its cool packaging and completely random origin of Chicago, I paid the man and went home. It's not cheap, but I've only scratched the surface. Oh hell yeah. BTW, it was pretty good, but I've had better. I'll give it an 8.5 out of 10.
Post Ride Refreshments
Is there really anything better than a nice cold one after you've destroyed yourself with a good group of friends? There are times when you stay in a specific effort zone, then other times when you have the earbuds on and the miles tick away. Or how about the times when you count calories, go easy on the carbs, crosstrain, eat things resembling cardboard and go to sleep a bit hungry. Yeah, we sacrifice. But, when it's hot out, and you've just cranked out a few thousand calories of pain, there's nothing quite like a nice cold brown bottle to remind yourself that life is good.
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