It's been a long time since I posted here and even longer since I posted a beer. I've been enjoying the Nest Beers (if I organize a tour of the brewery how many Lug Brothers do you think will show up?) but you all know about those so you don't need me to post them. This one, however, you might not know. I wish we had tried it when Henry was here. We saw it in the shop and he asked about it but I didn't really have anything to say. I'd seen it but not tried it and most of the "micro brews" I've tried here in Japan taste like more expensive versions of the same lagers you see everywhere. This one? Not knock-your-socks-off special, but more flavorful than most and less expensive than the Nest beers by a hundred yen a can/bottle. It's brewed in Nagano, in Karuizawa, a resort city that was a popular summer destination among expats a hundred years ago or so. I don't know that the brewery has any kind of history connected to that time, but the association must help sales. Let me know if you ever see it in the ol' United States.

New Sam Videos

For some reason these videos don't seem to want to play, so here are some links to them.

Sam just loves to get down with his spoons.

Eating like a big boy.

Japanese Costal Ride

Here is a link to another Rapha ride report from Japan.

The Paramount

This past weekend we were blessed with some amazing weather here in the Ohio Valley. Both Saturday and Sunday were sunny, nearly cloudless days with the temperatures hovering around 65 to 70, nearly perfect riding weather. On Saturday, I decided to take the Paramount for a ride. This was the first time that I had ridden since Jack Sheehan rebuilt the wheels after I had tacoed the rear wheel last summer pulling Sam's trailer.

Jack did an amazing job on the wheels (it helped that he had just be gifted the remamants of Gene Portuesi's old bike shop from Cadillac, Cyclo-pedia). He had a set of 700cc Weinman Gentleman's clincher rims (top of the line in the late-70s), which were exactly the same as the ones that were originally on the bike, expect that those had been 27-inch rims. He built the new wheels up with some nice spokes, and now they spin like only old Campaganolo Record hubs can - they could outlast the Energizer bunny.

This was not my first time on the bike, as I had ridden it a few times on the trainer, but I was quickly reminded of the different riding style that this bike has than from my newer Croll.
It is still quick, but has a much more up-right riding style, and with the shorter cranks, my cadence took some getting used to, plus the brakes. Single-pivot Campy Record calipers might have been the best around thirty years ago, but boy did they feel weak compared with modern brakes.

But all in all, it was a lot of fun to ride this old bike again.

A Ride Report

We haven't had one of those on the blog for awhile. Tuesday I went for a ride after work from Sellersburg, up into the knobs, which I had not done for nearly 2 years. And after climbing Dug Knob, I was reminded of why!
But it was nice to ride on Skyline Drive as it follows the edge of knobs escarpment. My ride really wasn't all that long, only about 14 miles, but boy were my legs tired by the end of it.
After climbing Dug Knob, I went down Fairview Knob, which seems to me to be much steeper than a lot of the other hills around here. In the third picture, after you go around the corner, the hill just seems to drop away. It is so steep that I just about wore out my brake pads going down it.

And the last picture is of sun rise over the Ohio River from last week.

Zoo I

Yeah, I know that Easter was nearly two weeks ago, and that I have not posted to the blog much lately, but hey, ain't late better than never.

On Easter we went up to Indianapolis with Cat and Charlton to meet up with Mom and Dad. Sam wore his special Easter outfit for the occassion. He was semi-interested in the animals, but much more interested in all of the other kids that were at the zoo that day.

Zoo II

These are just a few more pictures from our Easter visit to the Indianapolis Zoo.
I swear that there should be a bumper sticker on that tortoise.

I am calling this one Ben & Molly.

Happy cherry blossom season to all Lug Brothers and Sisters out there. Apologies for my extended silence; we had guests staying with us -- good friends from the old country -- and so I didn't spend much time at my computer. We spent many hours in conversation over Nest Beer and green tea while we waited for the cherry trees to blossom. They were late this year and so we couldn't have a proper cherry blossom viewing party in the park as we might have done, but if it gives them cause to come back again, well, maybe it's for the best. And if seeing these pictures inspires anyone else out there to pack their bags for Japan we'll be happy to see you but maybe we'll put you up in a hotel -- we were reminded again of just how tiny our apartment is!

And on a completely unrelated note, since there are some Hoosiers in the audience (and four years in Indiana does leave a mark on one, I've noticed) I want to mention that I actually had a chance to watch the Butler - Duke game today. What a heartbreaker! (And how it brought out the eleven year old in me, tears streaming down my cheeks as I watched Duke beat Michigan back when it was Chris Webber & Co.) The things we carry in our hearts!