Bier en modder

Deschutes Abyss will be released in February according to the Belmont Station blog.  I only picked up a couple last year and stupidly drank them both within a  few months.  While the price is projected to be near $10 a 22-oz bottle, I’m thinking about getting a few to cellar for a while.  I distinctly remember thinking that they needed time to settle down.

Hopworks is starting dock sales now.  Erik picked up a keg of the winter beer for the Turkeyday weekend.  The keg ended up not working well but we squeezed a few pints out of it before he brought it back for a replacement.  The winter beer was pretty good.  A bit more in the body and sweetness than I was expecting but good nonetheless.  My immediate impression was that I’d probably only have a pint, maybe two at a time…which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

The Winter beer festival downtown is next weekend. (the home page is a dead end.  Try here for more info).  There’s a big list of pretty strong winter beers there.  I usually limit myself to 3, maybe 4 different tastes and then return to my favorite for the finale.  Here’s my projected list (in no particular order):

•  Alameda Brewhouse - Papa Noels Olde Ale.  I thought I heard a while ago that the Alameda brewer came up from Lagunitas.  Whoever he/she is, their beers have improved substantially from years back.
• Tucks Brewery - Gluteus Maximus.  I don’t get out to Tuck’s as often as I should.  I really like their stuff.
• Walking Man Brewing - Webfoot Winter Ale.  Walking Man beers are always worth a try.

Hmmm, that’s all that’s really jumping out at me right now.  The rest either mildly interests me, I’ve had before, or is easily available on tap around town.  I’m sure that there will be some other Brew Crewers there so I’ll see what others are thinking.

Final (tenative) results showing the top 19 riders. Please note that the best 5 results were scored. In 2 instances it affected the placement - I moved up 2 spots to a tie for first with Johnny V, and Ben Johnson moved up 1 over Chris Tauscher into the 7 spot.

Just got the OBRA preview schedule for ‘08 in the mail a few days ago.  Some stuff looks intriguing but without more specific details, it’s hard to start setting a schedule yet.

I raced a decent amount this past year, more than some but probably less than most: a few road races, couple PIR’s, the Tabor series, one MTB race, one short track, and 5 Cross races.  It kept me in shape and motivated during the year while not feeling burned out by July like last year.  I did Elkhorn in June of ‘06 and never really recovered until after cross was over.  For a new rider, it was too much, too soon.  I wasn’t all that interested in repeating that again.

For ‘08, I’d like to do about the same with a few changes.  I’m an opportunistic-type of racer, meaning if I see an opening or free weekend, I’ll take whatever I can get.  Here’s my tentative schedule & goals for next year.

Overall

• Find a team
• Move up a road cat.  Am I a 4 or still a 5?  How am I not a 4 yet?  I need to follow up with Kenji or somebody else at OBRA on this.
• A top 10 finish in MasterA’s.

Road

I wouldn’t mind doing a couple of the Banana Belt’s this year with one caveat - not if I’m still a 5.  There’s way too many brand new riders out that early in the season.  There’s a reason they dub cat 5’s as ‘The Crashers’.

I need to think, and decide relatively soon, if I want to do the Mt Hood SR (5/13).  I’d like to but judging on how I did at Elkhorn, I will need to get more longer rides in.

Hell of the Cascades (7/6).  Any race title with ‘Hell’ and ‘Cascades’ has my interest.

Mt Tabor series.  5 minutes from home.  25 minute race.  How can I not do these races.

MTB

3 MTB races, moving up from Sport to Expert.   I don’t know which ones yet though.  There are very few relatively close to town so I’ll need to wait for more details.

A couple short tracks.  It’s a bummer that it overlaps the Tabor series and also that it takes roughly 4 hours to get there from SoPo during rush hour.

Track

I keep telling myself each year that I’ll go and give it a try.  But each year rolls on by and other stuff takes priority.  Maybe I’ll surprise myself this year.  Probably not though.

Cross

Move up to Master A.  5 to 6 races, typically skipping the Halloween one and one other.  I may, repeat may, go back east for a USGP or other big race if there’s one held in New England.

The Kruger’s Kermesse series looks interesting too as a good tune up.  I didn’t head out this year as my bike wasn’t in yet but maybe next year if the timing works out.

That’s all I can think of so far.  I’m sure this will change as more details come out and the exact schedule is finalized.