Topeak SmartGauge D2 Review

I received in the mail on Monday the Topeak SmartGauge D2 (Digital Air Gauge).  I had to order one since I get tired of trying to figure out the exact air pressure in my tires.  The floor pump I have is not the most precise since it has marks for every 4 psi which makes it hard to figure out what air pressure feels good for the trails.  So, last night I had to test it out and it ROCKS.  No more hitting the trails and being to low where you feel the rim hit or to much and it is like a basketball going over roots.  The best thing about it is the bleed valve on it.  It is nice and slow, so you don't blow through 2 psi's in a matter of a nano second and then have to pump the tire back up again.  It takes the guess work out now from the floor pump gauge and gets the tires feeling right.  The head rotates making it easy to fit between spokes and be able to read the huge LCD display without doing a handstand to see it.  This will definitely be the most used tool in the toolbox now.

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.

Endurance Rides - HTFU

This past Sunday went out and knocked out 40 miles on the single speed with a group.  A few of them ended up doing 70ish miles.  A buddy of mine, James organizes these rides normally on Sunday morning starting at 7am.  It is a way for a group to get together and lay down some serious miles between singletrack and doubletrack in the Triangle.  We hit the majority of the trails in the area known as ORC (Old Reedy Creek) which is on the back side of Umstead Park.  A lot of the climbing miles (nothing like western NC) come in Umstead since that is the best we can do for climbing in the Triangle. Anyone who wants to come out and feel the pain for however many miles they want.  Then they can break off after however long and take it to the house.  Lately we haven't had much rain which makes for dry trails and by the end of a ride you will be covered in dirt and dust.  You can check out the sock line from the nice mixture of sweat and dirt.  If you want to come check one out then look on the trianglemtb website forums under race, rides and events.  And, if you were wondering HTFU has a couple meanings:  the clean version: Harden The Freak Up!!! or since it is summertime and hotter than hell:  Humid, Tropical, Flowy, Umstead.  James came up with these catchy phrases, so I can't take credit for them.

Vaca at Wrightsville Beach

We headed out after lunch to Wrightsville Beach on Wednesday to return on Friday for our last vacation before school starting.  It was a short, but much needed vacation.  We were staying at Blockade Runner.  Great place to stay and lots to do right there on their property.  We get there shortly after 2pm and get unpacked.  Then we slathered on the sunscreen and hit the beach for the next 3 hours.  It is a lot of fun to see how happy the kids are when they are running toward the ocean just to be chased back by a wave.  Then the time we spend in the ocean jumping up with the waves and watching my six year old get knocked around by some of them when they break right on him.  Then how both of them roll around in the surf and collect more seashell fragments in their bathing suits that goes unnoticed until it is time to take a shower.  It looks like we brought half of the beach back to the bathroom with us when you strip them down for their showers. We went to Oceanic for dinner that night for some seafood. 

Next day, I head out as the sun is rising for a twenty mile road ride around Wrightsville Beach on my newly converted Vassago Fisticuff from monstercross to road bike.  It is a nice place to get riding in, but to get some mileage you have to do the route numerous times.  We grabbed breakfast at the resort and head for the beach again.  There was a storm off the coast, so we couldn't get in the ocean but so far.  We did get to witness the water spouts that formed and went across Carolina Beach.  It was neat to watch them come out the sky and form.  Glad they didn't head our direction.  Then shortly before lunch we had to head inside because it started raining pretty heavy.  With a full belly from lunch, both kids took a much needed nap while I sat and watched it rain while surfing the internet while

tipping back some Miller High Life in my new 29nsngl coozie.  We headed for the pool after the rain let up and it was good and chilly outside and especially in the water.  Spent a good hour or so playing in the pool and headed back up to the room to get showers and head over to Tower 7 for some of the best Tex Mex and definitely the best in that area.  Kids had a taco and some nachos off the kids menu.  The commander-in-chief a/k/a Wife had the Tower 7 burrito, and I finished it off.  I had the San Felipe Tacos.  I have posted up before about Tower 7, so no reason to keep talking about how great the food is there.  The only thing you need to know is if you are in the area and hungry.  Stop in and fill your belly for a good price.  We hit up the putt-putt course at Jungle Rapids after dinner and went back and had a nice walk on the beach.  Let the kids jump around in the surf one last time before we pull out of there the next morning and head back to the casa.

 

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

So, this past weekend I made this Barbecue Chicken Pizza.  Here is the recipe for the dough below from the Food Network Magazine that we subscribe to.
Whisk 3 3/4 cups flour and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Make a well and add 1 1/3 cups warm water, 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 packet yeast. When foamy, mix in 3 tablespoons olive oil; knead until smooth, 5 minutes. Brush with olive oil, cover in a bowl and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Divide into two 1-pound balls. Use 1 pound per recipe unless noted.

Now for the ingredients:
Chicken
Bacon
Barbecue Sauce (Sweet Baby Ray's)
Yellow Onion
Mexican blend of cheese

For the prep work we made the dough as mentioned above in the recipe.  We bought a rotisserie chicken from our local grocery store the night before for another meal and used the left overs for the pizza.  You can always just cook up your chicken however you like.  Then added some Sweet Baby Ray's Sauce in the bowl and shook it up to cover the chicken.  Cooked the bacon until it was about 3/4 cooked since it would cook more on the pizza.  Then thinly sliced a yellow onion.  I used the gas grill outside to bake the pizza, so the kitchen wouldn't get hot since I bake the pizzas at 500 degrees.  I like how crisp the bottom of the pizza gets from the grill also.  Plus, I always forget to move the rack in the oven to the bottom to help make it crispier.

First, I stretched the pizza dough on the pizza stone.  Instead of tomato sauce I used the Sweet Baby Ray's Sauce and added about a cup and a half.  Added the cheese next then the chicken, bacon and onion.  Then sprinkled a little more cheese over top of the other ingredients.  Then put it on grill for 8 to 10 minutes and below is what came out and it was awesome.  We had a couple friends over and they loved it.  It is a good way to to not just have the normal boring pizza.

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.

El Largo Burrito

We went to Los Tres Magueyes tonight for dinner.  Of course after racing 20 miles in 95 degree weather today and not having any real food since mid-morning.  I took on El Largo Burrito at Los Tres Mageuyes here in the Quay.  El Largo is a 18" burrito filled with chicken, beans and rice.  To top it off with red sauce, green sauce and sour cream.  Here is the proof and only took me 14 minutes to conquer it.  You can see the fork is there for perspective.

Before

After