First month of summer has come and gone and it went fast. So far it’s been a busy one. The first weekend was my Tour de Cure, a 50 mile bike ride through the Twin Cities to help raise money and awareness for diabetes. This is my second year and one that strikes close to home being that my sister has been a diabetic since she was 13. So after the month of May with no rain it finally decided to rain that morning about an hour into the ride and it rained fairly hard the rest of the way, by the end my shoes were spraying water out of their sides with ever pump of the pedal. Had a good turn out for riders this year for our team 1FS which stands for One Fucking Speed as we all were fixed or single speed riders. One including fellow beer blogger and biker, Beckel, and we were one of the top teams in fundraising raking in close to 3,000 and that is impressive for the motley crew we were. Plus I had a Summit tour at 1:00 and I made it with time to spare but man was I wet, good thing I brought a change of clothes… except the shoes… damn.

The next weekend was the big ride, the MS 150. A 150 mile ride from Duluth to the Cities (actually it was Proctor to Nowthen but when I say that no one know what the heck I am talking about). This was a real fun time, party at night and ride during the day, 75 miles a day. Friday night in Proctor we were treated to a spaghetti dinner and then we headed over to a couple of Proctor bars where I watched the Red Wings lose the Stanley Cup to the Penguins. We ended up staying out till about 12:30 which was not in my plan but waking up 5:30 wasn’t that hard, yeah. After breakfast we hit the road and got on the Munger Trail which is an awesome bike trail that goes all the way from Duluth to Hinckley. The first day was easy but the last 10 miles my ass started to hurt something furious. But then we got to Hinckley, pitched the tent, got some Summit Red which was about the only thing good at the store and chilled out with some tunes while people dropped like flies into their tents and I got to bed around 10:30. Woke up later the next day but we still made good time and we got to Nowthen at around 3 and my ass hurt probably the whole way. I have to admit that there were times when I thought I wanted to give in but that was not in the plan. The first 30 miles were not too bad but the next 30 were pretty painful, my legs and energy were fine, energy was a bit lacking, obviously, but it was the butt and shoulders and really started to feel the pinch. Our team, team 1FS again also with Beckel again, started to break up the last 45 miles, one stretch I was on my own during the hills and this is when I really felt like throwing in the towel but I knew I wasn’t going to do that. Finally the last 15 miles a group of us stuck together and took it leisurely, and this is where we got our first maintenance stop, flat tire. Imagine that, about fifteen of us and nothing happened until the last 5 miles. Either way we made it, signed up for next year, headed home and fell asleep at 8 and took the next day off from work because I was torn up, but not sore, guess I am more in shape than I think.

The next weekend it was father daughter time. Kelly went to her hippie Phish concert in Alpine Valley for two nights and that left me with Delia alone for the weekend for the first time in her two years. Sure there have been times when Kelly was gone but never overnight for two nights. So to add to the month of biking this is what we did, I put her in the Burley and we went all over, stopping at swing set after swing set. We even got a call from a friend who was in town and we biked to the restaurant to have lunch. Saturday night my mom came into town and we went to an indoor park and out to dinner. Delia was a great sport the whole time. He first nap she was crying for mommy but after that she handled it pretty well. My plan was to just play and play that way she was always busy and didn’t have a chance to fuss because that seems to be her MO these days when she has nothing to do. Sunday night was the best though. We had hopped into my truck and took a ride around and stopped at the grocery store where she picked out her dinner, sort of, and we went home where I made it for her and then we hung out in the living room and just chilled and she went to bed very easy that night and the whole time she was very sweet. It was one of those moments where your questions of “Am I a good father?” get answered.

Finally the last weekend was cabin party weekend. If you are familiar with this blog you may remember where I talked about how my ability to party like an animal is not what it used to be. So this year instead of doing the whole two day thing I decided to make it one, and even that was hard on me. My dog Sydney and I headed out Saturday morning and be-lined it up to Cotton, MN with a 12 pack of Summit Pilsner and two bottles of Hop Stoopid, I figured I would share the Hop Stoopid and the Pilsner would be just enough for me. Well I gave one Hop Stoopid away and I am not sure what happened to the other, I could have drank it but after about 7 things were pretty fuzzy. It’s really great seeing everyone but man do we get plowed and my body cannot handle that and honestly I really do not like that uncontrolled wasted feeling. Sure, I usually have a beer or three every night but that’s it, getting drunk just isn’t for me anymore. But it is once a year, so I think I can handle it. This year my good friend Scott who I haven’t seen in like 3 years showed up, unfortunately it was around 7 or 8 and by then I was fumbling around, I can barely remember what we were talking about. I don’t like that feeling. So maybe next year I show up later…. yeah, pretty soon I am going to drive up there at midnight and have my three beers and go to bed just to leave at 9 in the morning. Well, at least I didn’t puke this time. But my hangover did last for a good three days.

And to christen the end of my hangover and the end of this busy month, which I still have to get past the 4th of July before I can return to normalcy, I cracked open a bottle of Lagunitas Lucky 13 Mondo Large Red Ale. If it seems that I am reviewing Lagunitas beers often it’s because this brewery seems to release a new beer every week. Every week when I go to the store there is always something new from these guys that I have not tried, heck there are a few that I have had but not reviewed. And most all of their beers I really enjoy. This is a big beer company specializing in hops, as I said they brew big beers but it seems most of their beers are also loaded with hops. This pours with an orange hue and a thick body the smell reminds me a lot of a double IPA but with a more sweet malt aroma than a pale. Now the smell is pretty hoppy but the taste delivers a more caramel body with a strong hop finish. This was perfect beer for this occasion, having been dry for three full days drinking this was perfect. It tasted like the first time I had a beer like this. Part of me wants to hold out for a month and then see what these beers are like… good luck with that though. This is an imperial red ale in what seems to be a plethora of big red’s coming out. Maybe they’ve always been around and I’ve never really noticed. Tonight I am invited to a beer tasting at a friends house where he has a slew of red’s he picked up in Colorado. Blog on that will be soon but it may be picture less being I forgot my camera today, but we’ll see.

Anyways to sum it up this was probably the busiest month in a long time. Not only did all these events happen on the weekends but the weekdays were also filled with rides, happy hours and playtimes outside. July will be much more mellow sans two weddings and some Summit tours. August will be even more uneventful but that is fine by me. It will give me a chance to catch up on my lazy.

Lagunitas Lucky 13

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