Beer Season

As the cyclocross season heats up (or cools down, depending on how you look at it), I find myself interested in fine Belgian beer once again. In this country, that means buying super expensive imported beer, or looking into one of the many quality American based Belgian style breweries. Fortunately, one of them has hit it big and is available almost everywhere. Yes. New Belgium.

They're one of the few companies for which I really enjoy the marketing. This ad above is from a magazine. Except for the part where they describe the Twin Cities and Chicago as part of 'The Western Land', I love it. I also noticed that they are following the lead of Oskar Blues and putting their craft brew in a can:

I also noticed this woman, who I've decided to call the Good Beer Witch. Who is she? Where did she come from? Did she arrive by bicycle?

And now, for your moment of zen:

Yakima Quick, but not Smartback

Many mountain bikers love beer. Every mountain-town around the west has a micro brewery now and about half the new bike components have a bottle opener integrated into them. But, how smart is it to integrate bottle openers into cars? The guys at Yakima seemed to think it was a good idea.

Photo from http://www.yakima.com/racks/bike-racks/

Nothing seems dicier than a long dehydrating bike ride followed by a couple of beers followed by a drive home.

New Belgium Hub

I used to do a lot of business travel.  Once a month, sometimes every other week, I flew out of Denver International Airport.  I thought I knew all the restaurants, newsstands and creepy murals.  It’s been a while since that job, but I recently passed through DIA travelling across the country and saw a New Belgium restaurant at the end of concourse B, hidden from all but a few travelers who would venture down that way.  I didn’t have a chance to stop on my way out, but I actually looked forward to my layover on the way back.  How often do you get to enjoy a tasty Belgian beer while sitting on a chair made out of bicycle parts? 

 

Check out this stool welded out of steel rims and fork blades!

Who even knew they had their own restaurant?  The food was better than most airport restaurants and the menu has more interesting stuff than the ubiquitous soggy chicken ceasar salad.  

I went on the brewery tour a few years ago and I don’t even think they serve food in their tasting room!  The tour’s pretty cool.  While I was there I learned that every employee earns a cruiser bike and gets a bunch of beer every payday.

 

If you’re not a New Belgium fan, you should become one.  These folks are pretty good to their community and the planet.  They sponsor lots of bike related events like Fat Tire Festivals.  They also put on a free show in cities around the country called the Tour de Fat.  Go there when they come to your neighborhood.  You get to ride silly bikes, drink good beer, listen to free music, learn about using the bicycle as transportation and meet up with some local non profits that could use your help.

Mmmm, just writing this makes me thirsty for a Fat Tire.

 

 

Would you like to be what you drink?

Hey there, I have a YAWYD steerer tube cap / beer bottle cap holder from Niner bikes. You can use it to put the lid of your favorite long neck (or short neck if it's Negro Modelo) right on your bike and give you a little motivation to finish the ride.


They sell for $12.99 at Niner, but I'll ship it to you for $10 with postage. Email me and we'll work something out. paul (at) nippleworks (dot) com

*This product can not be used to hold the champagne cork from a fine bottle of Belgian beer.

Cyclocross Cable Hanger

Cyclocross season is hot and underway and it's a good time to point out the elegance of this drop cable stop cooked up in part by the mechanic for team HRS Rock Lobster. It's nothing more complicated than a bent piece of sheet metal (pick a fancy alloy for light weight if you want) with a couple of holes. There are tons of cable hanger designs out there, from complex to simple. It is claimed that this one adds a bit of compliance to the brake - fork system minimizing fork chatter.

Raise a Belgian beer for the man who makes his own bike parts.

May I draw your attention please...

To this Frenchman's headset cap:

Photo courtesy Cycle Snack blog.

The Belgians have Manneken Pis. Those two cultures are the same brand of fruitcake only with different nuts.