Puff, Puff, Pastry and Pizza
Last night was a nice guys night. It started out with a Papa Murphy’s pizza that I transformed in to The Man Pub’s pizza. I added puff pastry to the top. BAM
We also started out with some Deschutes Obsidian Stout which is just an amazing beer. It is not a super thick stout but it has a full flavor of chocolate and espresso.
Next it was outside to enjoy a couple of cigars, Glemorangie Scotch, a local beer from Sleepy Dog Brewery in Tempe, AZ. Another great beer that Drew picked out. 
I had a Gurkha Grand Reserve Cigar
which was awesome. it is a light cigar that is infused in cognac. Drew wanted a more full body cigar, so he thought. He was at a cigar bar and they wouldn’t even let him buy a full body cigar because they said he wouldn’t like it. Of course now that’s all he wants. I got him a medium-full body cigar, a Cubita Spanish Market Selection Churchill. It was a bit much. I mean he thought it was ok but he really liked mine. I didn’t enjoy the Cubita it was just over the top.
My friend came over and told us a story that happen earlier that day. He went on a call to replace a toilet in a brand new house. He asked why and she said one of the workers make have used it. Where do these bitches come from? What if she is out in public and has to take a shit? Does she go on vacation, what then? Another good night!
This morning I was up early to enjoy the Phoenix Mountain on the RIP 9 with my friend Tommy. We had a great ride with great climbs and awesome downhills. It was a little cooler but the humidity was up to 57% which in the desert is pretty high.
Ride and Step Brother Interview
Great Ride in the heat yesterday followed by and encore ride this morning before work which was filled with monster hills up and down. This is my favorite time of year in phoenix where it is nice and cool in the am and hot in the afternoon. I had the pleasure of seeing a tortoise.
I am finally down below 170lbs. It has been a little challenge eating healthy and being on the road 4 days a week but I bring 4-5 meals with me as well as healthy snacks. I am defiantly going to be cruise ready. My goal is 165 or less before the cruise which is at the end of may. Time to enjoy a cup of Japanese green tea and get ready for work.
Gnar and Sun
This morning started with some nerve-racking but fun mountain biking. All was well until I got 2 flats in the first run. Then I was nervous that I was going to make the group wait. Everything in my body was shaking. Not from fear I have done Geronimo a few time and I am getting better and better. It was holding the group up that was screwing with my mind. Lucky for me I had 2 tubes. When I got to the bottom they had not even been waiting long because they were waiting for someone else. The next ride was national to 32nd street. I guess it’s not an official trail but it was great. Steep as shit but not very technical. I decides to call it because my front side wall was in bad shape and I didn’t want to pinch the tube.
After deciding I needed more of a workout I bought a speed stack and went to 24 hour Fitness.
Now I am dead and at the pool working on my tan and practicing relaxing. Erin says I can not relax it be quiet. I’ll have you know I have not opened my mouth for an hour!
Oh and I have to leave you with this, WTF
Original
She will never get laid!
2 Bikes 1 Day
This morning my friend Ryan let me borrow his Ducati monster. Bob and I went on a nice breakfast ride and had breakfast at Cave Creek Coffee Company aka C4. C4 has the best coffee and chorizo breakfast burritos in Phoenix. What an awesome feeling having an Italian machine back between my legs. I can’t wait till I can go back to GOAZ and buy a new motorcycle.
Around 3 o’clock Drew and I got on the Gnar Gnar shuttle at South Mountain and started off riding Geronimo. The 1st ride could have went better. I broke my rear brake lever right at the beginning.
Luck for me there was still enough left to ride. We then moved on to Holbert which is a chunky mess. I did have to walk a few sections but overall it went great. This was very encouraging. We decided to do Geronimo one more time and it went much better. We got to ride with Gene Hamilton from betterride.net. What a pleasure he was a great down to earth guy. No big crashes today. Tomorrow back out on the cross-country trails. I am loving this bike it does everything.
Nice Ride in Scottsdale AZ in the Snow
So I went out to explore a new area in Scottsdale called Brown’s Ranch. It was a muddy sandy mess. First off there are quite a few trails and I was not sure which to ride. I ended up on a lot of dirt bike trails which are normally not exactly what you want to mountain bike on. Basically there was a lot of deep sand. There were however some fun downhills with nice banked corners you could rail. It was a muddy mess but the highlight was that I got to actually ride in the snow for about 15 minutes.
Now that I finally got all the squeaks and creeks out of my bike I am loving it. The suspension is very efficient is doesn’t bounce like a lot of the other bikes I test rode. Also the RockShox Revelation is great. It is so nice to be able change from 120mm to 140 with the flip of a switch.
Back to work tomorrow but going to lift and possibly hit a little swim before I going.
Getting Back in Shape
So I have Been working out hard lately. Yesterday I went mountain biking about 12-13 miles followed by a 4 mile run. Today I lifted legs for an hour followed by a 1000 meter swim. I am feeling good. Tomorrow I am looking forward to a nice ride however I am going to be sore. I am positive of that. I signed up for the Warrior Dash on April 28th. I am pumped about it. I am also considering an Xterra triathlon race or 2 later in the year. Deuces Wild Xterra will more than likely be one of them. I am also looking into these new All Mountain Enduro races but I don’t think there are any in AZ but there is one in Moab called the Whole Enchilada!
First Day Back
Well it’s my first day back to work in a week and my first 4 day trip in like 2 and a half months. I have to show at 8:10 am but I wanted to get a workout in before work. I set my alarm for 4am and only pressed snooze 1 time. Since I got my new mountain bike I have been neglecting to gym and boy did I feel that.
I did a full body workout which kills me. I like split routines but generally don’t lift enough to do them. I got a long day ahead of me but feeling good now that I started my day off right.
Louis Garneau and Unicycling
Not to happy with Louis Garneau. After changing the meeting time and date 3 times I was totally stood up. Let me say one thing. In life never assume that your time is more valuable than someone else’s. I actually planned my day around these meetings and yes I understand things happen but this was a true lack of respect.
Saturday was pretty awesome! First a morning mountain bike ride to make sure I get my exercise then off to a demo day for Specialized Bikes so Danny could check out an Enduro. My bike was great except that is had a leak in the back tire. I had to pump it up about 10 times cause I only had a 29er tube. Oh wait I also had a dropper seat post that dropped on its own. When you put it back up you better watch out. It shot up like a rocket. Danny tested the shit out of his bike. It was a perfectly good bike when we started and by the end the seat post was bent like a boomerang. He was bucking like a bronco. Drew didn’t like the bike at all. For some reason he said it felt totally sketchy. I thought it was a fun bike overall but don’t but a specialized dropper seat post and replace the seat post.
Lastly that night we went to another one of Cat and Danny’s awesome BBQs. The brisket that comes off of that grill is totally amazing. It cooked for 14 hours. I also attempted unicycling. NOT GOOD!
Tom’s Thumb Ride.
2 days ago I went to try to conquer Tom’s Thumb trail again. I was not actually feeling amazing but I wanted to finally climb that mountain. Things were going well and then only about 30 minutes in, my brand new SRAM X9 derailleur came off. I couldn’t believe it the bolt was still screwed on, the derailleur just separated from the casing that the bolt goes into. I was so pissed! first I called my brother to vent and he assured me that SRAM was a good company and would replace it. I was just worried that I would have to carry the bike back to the car. I couldn’t figure out how it went on because now it was all bent up and didn’t fit on correctly. finally I got it on but it obviously wasn’t tight because i just slipped it on over the casing that it separated from. I was able to ride down cautiously. I went to Swiss American Bike shop where they helped me out and said they have never seen this problem before. I really love this shop. They are straight forward with you and honest. They called SRAM and got the part under warranty. What a day and I forgot to take pictures because I was mad. Got to work on this if I am going to be a good blogger.
Mountain Bike Ride and Making Mormon Tea
For my birthday first Erin took me out to an awesome breakfast at The Good Egg. Then Drew, Danny, and I went for a nice bike ride at Pima and Dynamite. The trail is basically up and down with no significant climbs. However it is sandy and that always adds some challenges. A great ride it was. We also pick some Mormon tea and chewed on it.
Now we are going to brew up some Mormon Tea
After the Ride we ended the night with a great pizza from Rare Earth pizza and wine bar.
Niner Rip 9 Review and Drew’s first Phoenix Ride
This bike is amazing. This is a true MAN bike. You can do everything. It climbs and descends. With some full suspension bikes you pay big dividends in climbing but not with the Niner. Niner only makes 29er bike so they have the geometry dialed in. No it’s not carbon but it won’t crack like carbon either. I am so happy I didn’t get the Specialized Stumpjumper. Don’t get me wrong that was a good bike but this is amazing.
It was awesome getting to ride again with my bro. Who would have known he would turn into a great technical rider. Can’t wait to take him to S. mountain. That should be a great welcome to phoenix MF. Actually he will probably be able to teach me a thing or two there.
Ouch
Our Super Bowl party was a successes. I was a bad blogger and forgot to take pictures. We had great food including: Lasagna, sushi, Enchiladas, and dips galore. Did I also mention great beer and other drinks. BTW I really like the new New Belgium beer DIG. It is like an amber and IPA mix.Very Good! I didn’t even get to see most of the second half. Can’t imagine why!
Ouch. My man Dan fell victim to National at South Mountain. We were so close to the end and his front tire lost air and then this. I swore he was going to have broken bones but I guess he has been drinking his milk! I am very excited my new bike is scheduled to be here on Thursday. I hope I don;t have to work on friday. My bro will be here too so we will defiantly be taking it out for a spin.
Today I was a good house husband. I reorganized the laundry closet and mounted the ironing board in there. Now we won’t have to go into my brothers new room to iron.
I even vacuumed the carpets and clean the fish tank and turtle tank.
Been a While
Sorry it’s been long since my last post. I have been enjoying the Phoenix winter. I tested out the Specialized Stumpjumper FSR 29er.
Although I did like the bike and also test rode the Epic which I wasn’t that impressed with I went with a Niner. All of the reviews on the Niner were great. Also although the Stumpjumper was cheaper after upgrades they would have been pretty close ing price. I ordered a new Niner RIP 9 mountain bike.
Thank you Erin for the best birthday and Valentines day present ever. My wife is really the best.
I have been riding about 3 times a week and lifting about 3-4 times and I am feeling so amazing. I have lost about 8 lbs and feeling so strong. Can’t wait for my bro to get out to Phoenix so we can start riding together. I just found a new really nice trail 3 miles from my house called Sonoran and Dixie Mountain loop in North Phoenix. It is not technical but there is a fair amount of climbing and descending. The trail is in very good condition and there is not very much traffic. It is a nice change from T-100.
Last weekend was our friend Brittany’s 30th birthday. She got a party bus and what a blast!
Here I am controlling the lighting for the bus. My best friend Dan brought some Red Stag which is the worst crap I have ever tasted and it cause all of us to see him dancing in his underwear. Brittany was shaking her thang so hard the bus broke down 1 mile from her house. It was classic. Lucky for me I was slightly under the weather so I drank a little less and felt great the next morning due to a 3am stop at Armando’s a 24 hour mexican paradise.
The Man Pub 