As the cycle of a few days dry followed by the spring rains
to screw up any chance of me riding continues,
I press on in trying some new
beers reading my Bike and Beer mags and Trying to absorb How To Brew By John
Palmer (which is making more sense since my Brewing Class) And try to write
something to post in my now “Almost” Daily log. So here we go!
As the weekend is approaching and I am hopeful to get my
first real brew under my belt (and above it in my belly a few weeks from now) I
was reading my newest Bike magazine that just arrived via the postal system
yesterday. I usually take a look through at the pictures and what articles are
there then start from the beginning on the Start Here section, which tells me
what this month’s magazine will concentrate on.
As Brice Minnigh starts his short article, Ties That Bind:
Friendship might be unspoken, But is always understood, he talks about how
riding is “nowhere is this (friendship) truer than in Mountain Biking, the
fabric of which is practically woven into the fibers of friendship” He talks
about community, and the bonds formed within the riding community.
I started to think about what I love about riding, yes it is
the ride in itself, everything that makes it great, the pushing yourself, the
mud, the dirt, or what I call God’s roller coaster, the quiet in the woods, and
yes when I get to ride with friends or family it is those moments you stop and
say “did you see that?” or “Wow! That was crazy” or even “How you doing?” The
moments at the car when the bike is packed and you shoot the shit with your
friends that make the ride itself mean so much more.
This also brought me to brewing beer (yeah the other topic
this blog is about) could I brew on my own trying out some new recipe? Sure,
but where is the fun in that?
Brewing with a friend or friends is what makes it
really fun. (keep in mind I have a limited experience in this as I had a class
with about ten people but even with these people I did not know it was fun)
Having a few cold ones while you talk about the batch and
everything else going on in life (keeping out the petty drama and rat race crap
is also nice, you get enough of that in your work week) Hell I talk all the
time about my UFC get together when we usually have some new beers to try.
The whole point here
is how much riding or brewing are social events. Whether you are working through a mess the
boil may have made (oops looked away a bit too long) or getting up that damn
hill for the first time with your friends, it all comes down to friendships and
ties that well” Bind” you together.
I am a Military
Veteran (GO AIR FORCE!) and I always say it is the greatest fraternity in the world, why? Because
we all went through common things, Boot camp, teamwork, the work you do and the
pride of earning that uniform. Now I don’t want to get away from the blogs
topics so brewing and biking have a similar feel, we all go through the
learning curve of each, tackling what is in front of us and then coming out on
the other side with the good and bad times to be able to talk about for a long
time.
It all comes down to shared experiences that creates a
community of people. I have met people for the first time on the trail that I
talked to about what was going on as I stopped for a quick water break and
never saw them again. Are they “friends”? No, but it is still the socializing that
comes with riding. In my life I kind of
have a group of friends who brew and like trying beer. And a group of friends that
ride. I will continue to do both, I have
fallen in love with riding and it kills me that I have not been able to. And I
have now fallen in love with the process of brewing, and cannot wait to brew
that next batch and try it. And the
thing in common with both of these activities (other than I am going to spend a
lot of money doing both and have to cut back on some other hobbies.) is the
friendships I have and the time spent doing each of these activities with them.
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