Stupid ideas and beer: The 24 Hour Cyclocross Race

This has been a big fall. I've gone through with not one, but two really stupid athletic feats and lived report back on how stupid it was. Last Thursday and Friday I rode around in circles on a friend's backyard cyclocross course with 15 other oddballs. Thanks to recent rain, most the course was simply a long 2-inch-deep track of sticky peanut butter mud.

No, the mud wasn't nutritious and delicious. It felt like peanut butter that's just been pulled from a fridge. It's both incredibly had to move while still sticking to everything. I had a nice system down when ever time I carried my bike I'd rip the gobs of mud and leaves out from behind the brakes. Yes, this was fun.

Dan K was kind enough to put together a video of the event. You can check it out on his blog. All in all, this was actually a lot more fun that my 6-hour half-walking marathon that went off under blue skies and far more comfortable level. Maybe it's because riding along side friends at an unsanctioned backyard 24-hour race is simply a lot more fun that being lost in a crowd of 10,000 rando's.

I ended up 3rd on the day and figure I probably spent somewhere between 14 and 16 hours on the course. Only 8 of the 16 competitors made it to the end and among the non-finishers were an Olympic track racer, national masters mountain bike champ, and one of the top 10 24-hour racers in the country. Maybe they just had too much sense to continue. When I look at the finishers, we've got a couple guys that drank more than a case of beer a piece (one beer per lap), an Army vet that rolled cigarettes between laps, and a guy that tends to pee himself when he's having a good time. You tell me who the winners are.

See more of Douglas Benedict's race photo's here.

Stupid ideas and beer.

This last weekend I ran/walked the Marine Corps Marathon. It was a bad idea. It was a stupid idea. I'd been off any type of marathon training plan for months and my IT band was acting up.

But I have no regrets. In fact, I have a soft spot for stupid ideas when then involve athleticism. My only complaint from the weekend was that the marathon was on Sunday and I had to get my celebrating in early, on Saturday.

Being in D.C., there was only one place to celebrate a stupid achievement before it even happened - The Brickskeller. In addition to having a lovely basement pub ambiance, the Brickskeller also claims to have the largest beer selection in the U.S. (second in the world to the Kulminator in Belgium). I did happen to ask for nine beers that they didn't have in stock, but I still had a few good - or at least interesting - brews.


Firestone Pale Ale
Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
American Pale Ale

B+ / 4
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | drink: 4.5

Ordered a bottle with my Brick's Ale Burger at the Brickskeller. The body is a clear straw yellow with a white head and lacing. I know many hold this up as one of the great pale ales, and I'm inclined to agree when you consider the whole package. It holds nearly the same depth of hop flavor as Sierra Nevada, but with a lighter body it's much more drinkable. The malts have a light bready malt taste, that's matched first by piney, citrus hops, and then later a spicy, long-lasting aftertaste. How this beer drinks actually reminds me of a good English bitter, for the ability to hold complex flavors in a light and highly sessionable beer.


Stary Melnik Krepkoye
Pivovariya Moskva-Efes ZAO
Euro Pale Lager

C+ / 3.1
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | drink: 3.5

AKA Stary Melnik Strong. Ordered a bottle at the Brickskeller... after they were out of the first nine beers I asked for. Anyways.

The flavor reminds me of peppermint and sweet bread. The appearance is a clear gold with a white head and there are no brewing flaws in the aroma or flavors. It was an interesting beer to try but I wouldn't order it again. The odd yeast character and malts are "ok" but not entirely pleasant. It's certainly worth a try for something different and not a bad beer.