A friend of mine, who loved good food and good booze, and loved to share both, told me about one of his friends, for whom he poured a glass of a very nice single malt Scotch. The friend took a sip, and said, "Do you have any coke?" Said friend was never offered the top shelf booze again.

Reminds me of my Grandfather. My Dad had his eyes opened, or perhaps more accurately his palate, on a trip to France back in 1971, and after that became an avid oenophile. So you can imagine his reaction when my Grandfather asked if we had any sugar he could add to the very nice Bordeaux Dad served with dinner......

I've also been thinking about traffic. Suburban sprawl blows. It used to be, even five years ago, on one of my old favourite routes, that once you got beyond the last stop light in Hardin Valley, you were out in the "country." Maybe get passed by a few vehicles/mile, maybe not even that.

But now they are building, or have built, hundreds of houses out west. Empty fields are turning into subdivisions. And with that comes more and more blow-by buzzings with SUVs and monster trucks. Where's the enjoyment in that?

I'm thinking about retiring from road cycling and moving to a safer recreation, like seedsbelize did. It used to be that when people talked about off-road cycling, they meant mountain biking. There's a pretty good place to ride one 10 or so miles away. Now I guess gravel bikes are popular. Not sure where I'd ride that. On the MUP? Either way, I need to get off the roads.

Same spot in the Hardin Valley.

2014

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ac4d8070fb.png

2022 :(


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c9f1ab131d.png

I'll let it slide if you use Bacardi.

I have a friend like that. He gets the Bacardi.

Is adding sugar to wine a thing? I've never heard of that. :foo:

Interesting. Sad, too. I feel for you, VV.

Funny thing is, on the mid Peninsula, most of the land West of I-280 is either "Where The Rich People Live" - and thus not going to be developed, or it's park land, or it's Open Space held by the Open Space district. Go a little farther West and you have to go over fairly steep hills with narrow, winding roads that can't carry much traffic. As a result, the area where I've been riding since about 1995 has stayed much the same - no new developments, no conversion of country lanes to big commuter routes, etc.

Agree with VV on the traffic. It's to the oint where my road riding is limited to early Sunday mornings.

I recently discovered a series of 3 MUPs that start close to my house. Can do 25 miles round trip with maybe 2 of those on roads thru subdivisions. These MUPs are hardly used by anyone. This morning I saw 10 others at the most out there.

Well, Pap was born in 1889, and Dad in 1918, and the incident took place maybe 50 years ago, so....

But you may remember Wine Coolers from more recently.

Generally I use Flor de Cana for that.

This may explain why so many people ride on MUPs, which I always avoid. The MUPs around here don't go anywhere I want to go, and as I mentioned, the roads aren't getting worse here. Just the real estate prices.

Ah, so way back. Way, way back.

Yeah, wine coolers were training wheels for underage drinkers. Ick.

None of the MUPs here go anywhere. They are just a place to stretch your legs.

And after a couple of those you won't care about the seat post. :D

Remember Zima?

Same with all whiskies, IMO.

I rarely make a cocktail, I'm a straight guy.

What's the population of the metro area? Where are other serious cyclists in the area riding? Does the terrain compound issues with funneling traffic and whatnot? And do you not have shoulders in the quasi-north?

There's been a lot of development in the Twin Cities, but it really hasn't impacted riding that much - plenty of roads with ample shoulders so that the 40+ mph roads without shoulders can be avoided. It does take a while to get out to some open roads, but you can still string together some decent rides within the metro. Then there's the extensive network of MUPs (which I tend to avoid) and the gravel roads (which are fun, but I don't like to drive for a ride).

Yes. Yes, I do. :banned:

I like cocktails, but I have to be in the mood to make them. At one time I thought The Older Boy might learn how to make them, but he lost interest, and he also decided to be a teetotaler.

I like the occasional cocktail. It's a hard pass on most mixed drinks, though.

There are a few that we make, but enjoy the good stuff straight. We do make a lot of Old Fashioneds with bourbon, rye or rum.

Sadly, I'm so old that wine coolers came out several years after I'd already been drinking legally. OUR underage drinking was either cheap beer, or cheap fruity wines like Annie Green Springs. Yeesh.

The guy that bought the land adjacent to our place tore down half a dozen houses. So, fewer houses near me than 5 years ago. :)

I remember when Sun Country wine coolers were 99¢ for a Two-Litre bottle.

Seems dangerous thinking about it now.

Sounds like the motor vehicles are gradually winning the competition for the roads. Who wants to volunteer to inform A&S?

You didn't miss out. The other popular thing in my underage days was the... I guess I'll call them the novelty liqueurs. Sugary stuff, like Goldschlager and this other crap with crystals forming at the bottom of the bottle, were popular ones. Jager, too, but only if you wanted to act manly. Basically anything that covered up or distracted from the alcohol. Ugh. So bad.

They drink thier way, I'll drink mine.

It said Coke, not Fargo, or Kroger cola...

My favorite cocktail is my wife's recipe for margarita. That bad boy is a crowd pleaser. Equal parts of decent quality tequila, contreau, fresh-squeezed lime juice and simple syrup. Shake with crushed ice.

I thought the same. How ' bout Mikes hard lemonaid?

Thats how we do ‘em. You are right - crowd pleaser!

Nttawwt.