Huck-A-Buck 2012

Another Huck-A-Buck at Lake Crabtree is in the books and for once it was not 100 degrees.  The race is put on by Happy Fun Racing and they do one hell of a job.  This race always draws a pretty big number of riders and the Single Speed Category isn't lacking either along with the competition in it.  The trail got some rain last night which helped tighten it up since it has been dusty and slick, but the trade off was slick roots and bridges along with 80 degree temp with about 85% humidity.  We had three 7 mile laps to sort it out on the trail.

Rockin' the 29nsngl kit
Photo by On the Mark Sports

They let the Single Speed Category loose on the course at 12:20 and it was on from the start when the siren went off.  The start line was maybe 40 yards from the entrance to the trail, so I had to mash on the pedals hard to hopefully get the hole shot or at least be close to the front.  I hit the trail running 3rd, but there was a nice line behind me that was pressing hard.  It seemed 1st and 2nd were trying to keep the pace down and with really no passing areas on the trails were going to be tricky.  So, I thought I would be nice and ask to pass, so that is what I did.  I can't blame the guy when I asked I got the response of, "what?" So, I asked again and he said sure at the next time that it was possible.  I went around in the first 2 miles and sat on 1st places rear wheel until about 5.5 miles when it widened out and was smooth, so I took a drink from the bottle and let 3rd go around me.  We crossed the start/finish line nose to tail and stayed like that until about 10 miles when 2nd made his move and he was gone.  We tried to stay with his pace, but backed off since 4th on back looked to be maybe a minute behind us.  I spent the rest of the race seeing 2nd through the woods and looking back and seeing 4th and 5th not that far behind me also.  There was no letting up for the entire 3rd lap for it looked like 4th was trying to close the gap and he was.  I crossed the line in 3rd at 1:32:19 for 21 miles (3 laps). 

I only ended up drinking one bottle of fluid and two Gu packets the entire race.  After uploading my Garmin 500 to Strava it really showed what kind of suffering was going on during the race for me by my heartrate.

http://app.strava.com/rides/14193435

For placing 3rd I got this nice poster of vintage Tour de France image of the racers drinking that I plan to frame and hang in my office at work.  Along with it was one of these handy dandy recycled bike parts bottle opener key chain that will get plenty of use.

Brewmasters Bar and Grill Review

The grand opening for Brewmasters Bar and Grill was back in March of this year and how I wish I would have discovered this place back then.  I went at lunch today with a couple of co-workers and unfortunately didn't have a beer to go along with my food.  Seeing they had a lot of local beers on tap that I have had before I wasn't completely bummed about it. 
My co-workers and I took the 7 block walk down to Brewmasters grabbed a seat and we all had the hardest time deciding what to order because it all sounded so damn good.  Gees, look at the menu for yourself.

We started off with the one appetizer that was not a hard decision to make, PINT OF BACON!!!!  You can see all of its glory below.

So after going back and forth in my head on what to order, I went with the Chicken Biscuit with my side being the broccoli and raisin salad .  Let me tell you now, it was freakin' awesome.  The biscuit was soft and fluffyalong with the chicken being juicy with a nice crunch on the outside. The kicker that really set it off was the strawberry and chipotle jam.  Sweet and Spicy it was.

My two buddies got these burgers, The Hangover and The Caramelized Apple.  Both of them really liked what they had and how all the flavors worked together on each burger.  Next time is still going to be a hard decision on what to order.  Maybe we can take a few more people that are willing to split what they are eating so we can have lunch tapas style.  If not, I will be visiting there either way, so it may take me longer to get through most of the menu.

Raleigh Times Bar

We visit Raleigh Times for lunch a few times a month.  The must have is the Braised Pork Enchilada and my backup is the Shrimp Burger.  Depending on how hungry we can are we also may order up the Fried Pickles for an appetizer.  The pork enchilada has some great flavors going on from the beer braised pork to the roasted poblano chili sauce that tops it all off.  Enough of me talking about it and you reading about it.  If you are ever close to 14 E. Hargett Street then swing by and try it out for yourself.  Depending on what time you are there or not at work and like having a beer then it is a good place to grab one of those also.  Their main style beer they carry is Belgian if you are a fan of those.

Huck-A-Buck 2011

The Huck-A-Buck 2011 had another great turn out this year. There was about 20 of us in the Single Speed Category. Today was going to be a brutal 3 laps of 6.75 miles of singletrack and not because of the trails, but 94 degrees and feeling like 101 at the noon time start. We have not had much rain and this trail is mostly sand the closer you get to the lake. I started prepping for this race on Friday by drinking lots of fluids the next two days. I weighed myself Friday morning and was at 178 lbs. The morning of the race I weighed myself again and was 181 lbs. I hit the woods in 6^th or 7^th place and let 2 guys go by halfway through the 1^st lap hoping that they would blow up because of the heat. With a mile to go in the first lap I was cruising through a turn about 15 mph when my tires came out from under me and I ended up 2-3 feet off the trail and ripped open a scab from the previous wreck at the race a month earlier. Had three more guys pass at this point since my arm was hurting and trying to make sure everything else between me and the bike was in working order. Lap 2, coming through the start/finish I hear from the organizers over the loud speakers how sweet the Metal Kit looks and had to be the best looking one on the course. I caught one of the other single speeders and the rest of the lap was uneventful except passing a couple guys with gears. Lap 3, I turned up the pace to see if I could hopefully catch at least one or two more guys who may have gone out to fast. Well, I ended up catching and passing three more guys, but they had gears so that did not help me. I ended up rolling across the finish line in 11^th. After the race a few people asked about the Metal Kit and proudly told them about Twin Six. When I got home I weighed myself and had dropped to 174 lbs, yeah that was a lot of sweating in less than two hours. I may not have finished as high up as I would of liked, but I looked damn good in the Metal Kit doing it.

Yes, more sushi

Yesterday for lunch we went to a new sushi place here in Raleigh off of Western Blvd. called Sushi Nine, located next to the Bojangles.  Ummm, Bojangles, now that is the best place to get a biscuit.  Especially the Chicken Biscuit Combo w/ cheese, fires and sweet tea.  If you want to make the biscuit taste even better have them add bacon to it also, everyone knows that everything taste better with bacon.  Okay, now back to sushi.  Bojangles will do that to you everytime.  Bojangles is a good conversation starter with anyone from the South, and definitely a North Carolinian.  Alright, take three on sushi.  They just recently opened back in December 2010 They have for lunch the BOGO deal for all their sushi rolls.  The sushi is really good there and the rolls are not skimpy.  So go check'em out, you will not be disappointed.

The Pit

Took the family today for lunch to The Pit in downtown Raleigh.  They have the best eastern north carolina barbecue in Raleigh and probably the best in North Carolina.  As you can see I had the double meat combo with chopped barbecue, fried chicken, cole slaw and baked beans.  Along with the barbecue being the best around the fried chicken is also.  The fried chicken has a nice light and crispy batter on the outside and the chicken is good and juicy on the inside.  The baked beans is my favorite side that I get there, and I believe I have tried them all.  On this trip I did not get the banana pudding, but I highly recommend it.  I know I have not gone into much detail on how good the food tastes.  That is because the food speaks for itself along with no matter what day of the week you show up for lunch.  There probably will be a wait, especially between 11:45am - 1:30pm, so get there as early as possible. 
The man behind these recipes is a man named Ed Mitchell and he is one hell of a pit master with tons of experience and you can read more about him here.  The Pit and Ed Mitchell have been featured on Throwdown with Bobby Flay, Man v. Food and numerous interviews on television morning talk shows.

New Years Ride

This is something I had wanted to start last year, but had put off until this year.  Nothing like starting the New Year off with a ride.  So, I went out to Umstead State Park this afternoon since all the mountain bike trails are closed from the snow that fell over Christmas.  Well, the multi-use trails were sloppy and had the consistency of mashed potatoes at times that made the ride a grinder at times. 

  My weapon of choice for this ride was my new Vassago Fisticuff. What better way to break it in then on a day like today.  Knocked-out 14.5 miles in one hour and ten minutes, which is not bad for the conditions considering my rides take 55 minutes to an hour in dry conditions.  To my surprise there was a lot of people out there either riding, running or hiking. 

 

post-ride dirty bum