Master of the universe

There's more Cx excitement planned for this weekend - one of the local cycling clubs are putting on a 'Mudsters of the Universe' race at Murrarie crit track. Not sure where the mud is going to come from, perhaps they'll truck it in from a more miserable Southern state.

Looking at the font and knowing that the main organiser is a Gen-Y hipster type you can tell that the pun is inspired by the Masters of the Universe TV show & franchise. But well before He-Man came the mighty Hawkwind, who recorded a track of the same name in the early 70's. This version was filmed in the mid 80's and is a bit rockier than the original track, but it gives a good idea of what it's like to be at a Hawkwind gig. Bear with the poem - it's part of the ride.

Commuting - finally!

Today I finally got around to riding in to the office with a pannier full of stuff. All up I reckon the bag weighed around 7kg so I decided against hanging it on the pannier mount and instead strapped it to the top of the rack to centralise the load.

Riding with a load is an interesting experience and I've figured out a few things -

• Going up hills is a lot harder! Especially on a single speed - at times it felt like I was doing a series of single leg squats just to keep the bike moving. Luckily the Roadrat has very good geometry for standing & climbing, and allows me to have a completely straight back. Throwing the bike from side to side also feels cumbersome, but not as much as with a single-sided load.  
• You pick up speed quicker going down hills too. You don't notice it until you hit a downhill corner and find yourself running wide after picking your usual line.
• Bike handling generally is also compromised. All the weight at the back makes the front wheel feel lighter, so you have to compensate when cornering on loose surfaces by leaning forward more. I can see why regular tourers use both front & back racks to balance the load. It also feels like you could get into a front wheel wobble 'tank slapper' if you weren't paying attention. Would be very interesting riding singletrack with a load.
• The additional bangs and rattles from the bag were a bit concerning going over rough stuff and hucking off kerbs, although it's an old laptop and it' not even mine so that shouldn't really bother me. 
• The Freeload rack is working well now, but I'm glad I did some shopping runs to bed it in as at first it was slipping and the mounts needed tightening a few times. Didn't help that I was carrying a single pannier, which skewed the load to one side and caused the rack to rub on the tyre.
• I can now see why tourers like bike stands. Getting the bag loaded up with the bike leaning against a wall was awkward. However a top-tube pad, whilst not perfect, will go a long way towards saving both the paintwork and your dignity.
• I need to figure out the weight of my 'touring' gear before I embark on an epic single speed weekend away, only to stall on the first hill and roll gently backwards to home.

For the commute I'm using a Deuter laptop bag with an extendable compartment which was perfect for fitting my 15" laptop (in a padded case), shirt, smart trousers, smart shoes, undies, tools and spares. The top mounting seemed to help reduce clothing creasing. The shoe are heel-less 'minimalist' business shoes so don't take up much space - don't you just love it when two fads coincide?

 The one thing I did forget was my belt, but fortunately the Freeload setup provided a classy solution

 Don't want to brag, but that's a 1m long strap there :)

Edit - if anyone is interested in buying a Freeload rack then you may have to wait - it looks like the design has been bought out by Thule.  

Rack Sheep

One of your statutory obligations when you start using bike panniers is to post up pictures of the things you have carried. Yesterday I went to the homebrew shop and came back with a full grain load on the rack

That's around 6kg of grain and malt extract.

I decided to make a Black Sheep clone as it's one of my favourite beers and I haven't seen any on the shelves for a while. Although I'm not very good at following clone recipes as I don't like keeping grain in the garage, so I tend to use the entire bag of everything I buy in each recipe.

The bill for the (partial mash) Black Sheep was

• 1kg Maris Otter malt grain
• 1/2 kg Traditional malt grain
• 1/2kg Crystal malt grain
• 70g black / roast malt grain
• 2kg Pale Malt extract
• 1kg wheat malt extract
• 50g Fuggles (60 mins)
• 15g Goldings (20 mins)
• 15g Fuggles (20 mins)
• 15g Goldings (5 mins)
• 15g Fuggles (5 mins) 

Mash the grains for an hour at 66 degrees, then add to the main boil and mix in the malt extract. As the wort comes close to the boil throw in the first batch of hop pellets and start the clock.

The wort looks pretty cool as it comes to the boil, although at this point I needed to pull the pan off the stove to prevent it boiling over.

I was a bit slack when converting the recipe to a partial mash and I overdid the malt extract, so this should be around 8%, hoppy and very dark when it's done. Ironically it'll probably turn out similar to a lot of the beers at Archive we were tasting the other day!

Armakeggon 2012

The local boutique beer bar runs a craft beer festival called Armakeggon every year, which features a number of exotic beers served over the day. This year it included 40 different beers which were available in three 2 hour intervals. To fit every beer in this meant the festival opened at 10am, although we got down there at just after 11. Time enough to try a couple of the early brews, although Liz was a little startled sampling an 7.4% IPA at a time when she's normally finishing breakfast.

 It was enough to make my hair stand on end

When we arrived we were given a menu to plan our drinking journey, and it was heavily referred to over the next few hours

This year it turns out that Imperial Stouts, Porters & Black IPAs are in vogue. I thought they were a little over-represented and sometimes everything just got a little too roasty but apart from that it was a fine afternoon. Looking back over the list we sampled -

• Harringtons Hop Tremor IPA (7.4%) - nice, very hoppy, a classic IPA
• Bacchus Gose (4.4%) - this was a 'salt and sour spiced ale' that I was very keen to try, but it tasted more like a pale wheat beer with only a hint of lactic sourness
• Kuichi Hitachino Sake aged Belgian Strong (8%) - had a very rich spirit taste to it which overwhelmed most of the flavour 
• Invercargill Red Hot Chocolate Chilli Stout (5%) - I liked this, smooth and with a mild chilli burn
• Mike's Heavy Petal IPA (6.7%) - an IPA with an infused rose petal flavour. I couldn't pick it though
• Yeastie Boys Gunnamatta IPA (6.5%) - an earl grey infused IPA that Liz enjoyed. I'm more of a coffee man. 
• Hopdog Children of Darkness Indian Black Ale (6.6%) - a bit too hoppy for the roastiness, or should that be too roast for the hoppiness?
• Murray's Wild Thing Imperial Stout (10%) - this was tasty but scarily strong
• Amasia Mash Rumweizen (7%) - didn't expect to like this sweet fruity toffee beer but it was surprisingly tasty
• Raspberry Schwartzbier (4.6%) - a refreshingly tart dark beer, one of the standouts for me as I didn't expect to like it 
• Little Creatures Quiet American Brett infused Belgian Strong (8.8%)  - I liked this, the lactic taste complimented the wheatiness well
• Murray's The Abyss Farmhouse Imperial Stout (11.3%) - not sure what made this 'Farmhouse', it tasted like the other Imperials of the day
• Bacchus War'n'Peat Imperial Stout aged in whiskey barrels (12.4%) - very nice, and more than a little scary

It was fun afternoon, and each glass was only 200ml so we were drinking responsibly :)

Trotting down to the Gold Coast

As I had Friday off we decided we'd treat ourselves to a bargain getaway break down at the Gold Coast. Last time we were down there we'd noticed that there was a YHA hostel right next to the Marina, and with the only neighbouring hotels being the Palazzo Versace and the Sheraton Mirage it looked like a champagne location at a beer price. Well, a fizzy overly-sweet chardonnay at a beer price - this is the Gold Coast after all.

Conveniently located next to the youth hostel is the Fishermans Tavern, aka 'the Fisho'

 This was a fine place for an afternoon drink or two

 As well as a pre-dinner evening drink or two

and a sumptuous breakfast (no drinks this time!)

Because the hostel room wasn't an ensuite we had to walk outside to go to the toilet and bathroom, but given the location of the hostel it was a 'loo with a view'.  

Despite it being a working marina the water was beautifully clear

and as we ate breakfast we were lucky enough to be the only two people on the deck to see two dolphins surface and swim past only a few metres away. We think they were the performing dolphins at the Seaworld resort just up the road, and they were clocking in for the morning shift.

On the other side of the road is a surf beach, which was remarkably empty given the proximity to Surfers Paradise and also very beautiful

The beaches have taken a bit of a battering with recent heavy winter seas eroding a lot of the sand away, leaving ominous looking sand cliffs that needed to be climbed to get out

Unfortunately the sand cliffs proved too much of a hurdle for this pet pig so it had to stay on the path instead. Which is a shame, because I think the whole of the Gold Coast wanted to see this little porker playing in the surf...

Holiday tunes

I've got a long weekend ahead, making use of days in lieu built up when I was in Malaysia. Woot!

Yeah baby I'm free! Until Tuesday at least.

Ipswich Cyclocross 2012

Wintertime is cyclocross time and the Queensland State Champs were on in Ipswich at the weekend. This isn't as grand as it sounds as there are only 2 Cx races in Queensland this year. For some reason this muddy, dirty sport of hard men hasn't taken off in the Sunshine State - maybe we're too busy at the beach  - but a few hardy souls gathered to brave the windswept plains of Jim Finmore Park and risk their gastro-intestinal wellness tackling Hepatitis creek.

 As you can see, it smelt worse than it looked.

So what is Cyclocross (Cx)? It's a sport designed to keep road bikers fit in the off-season in the days before stationary bikes, hypobaric chambers, high altitude training and blood transfusions (or should that 'be dodgy steak'?). It mainly takes place on a grassy field - and for those of you that have never ridden a bike any distance on grass, that's hard work in its own right

Just in case your heart rate starts to drop there are barriers to dismount for and jump over

and the course was not smooth - it wound its way up and down a few hill and lung-busting hummocks

At the far end of the circuit there was even a short flight of stairs to be run up, although unfortunately that was too far from the bar for me to take any pictures of. But I'm assured it was tough!

However the real hero of the course was Hepatitis Creek, a murky muddy watercourse that wound its way along part of the course. There was no way around it so it was just 'pick up your bike and get it done'

Although a couple of people were game enough to ride it

It was a bit obsessive trying to get the grossest, closest picture of the creek crossing

and at times I got a little too close

After a mild splashing I decided it was safer to retreat to the bar and watch (and heckle) the racing in relative safety

Drinking beer and ringing cowbells is an integral part of watching cyclocross. Sure, the guys out there are working hard (last year Aaron's heart rate average was 182bpm for 50 minutes) but spectating can have it's pressures too. Particularly on the bladder during the drive home...

For Pete

Still disappointed?

I love a challenge :)

The Laurels

The Laurels are a 4-piece band from Sydney that produce luscious hard-edged psychedelic shoegaze music

They're a hard working, hard touring band that have an awesome live show and are playing in Brisbane at the Beetle Bar tonight. I was planning on going - I've been planning on going for weeks - but looking at the set list I don't think they will be on stage until late. Will I be able to motivate myself to leave the flat this evening after a long week? And if I do will I be able to stay awake long enough to see them? Sadly, probably not. That's another good reason to go to gigs to watch the up-and-coming support bands instead of the headline act - as well as the coolness factor you get to go to bed earlier :).

Barefoot in the belly of the beast

We had a demo in Sydney this morning, and to make sure we could get there on time we had to fly down last night. I was at another client in Brisbane during the day yesterday so I didn't check into the hotel until 9.30pm, but luckily the demo didn't start until after 9am the next day which gave me time to go for a early morning run through the CBD, through Hyde Park and out onto the bridge that crosses Darling Harbour.

It was a bit nippy out at first but once I got moving it was fine, although the locals I passed on the way seemed to be a bit more dressed than I was. 

 A couple of hours later I was suited and booted and doing my stuff high up in the matrix.

 We finished early which gave me time for some bike ogling

and then some liquid recuperation - IPA from the Redoak microbrewery

Brisbane had a public holiday today, which means that I get a day off in lieu for todays efforts. Maybe I'll have a long weekend in Sydney?

On and off the beach

We decided to treat ourselves to a day at the beach today, so jumped in the car and headed down to the Gold Coast. There was no real plan, just throw a few toys in the car and see where we end up.

It was a brisk & windy day so the idea of going for a dip was swiftly dismissed. But we were lucky enough to see this guy making the most of the on-shore breezes

He was on a surfboard so was able to ride the waves on the way in, then turn around and cruise back out again. And he was a good surfer, carving the board down the wave

and smashing the lips with top turns

The most impressive thing was that he was on a normal surfboard - no foot straps, and not even a leash. But he was still able to cope with the waves without losing his board. I have no idea how he did that.

 I was inspired, as I athletically sat in the car drinking a flask of coffee

I've been playing around on my drift skates for the last few weeks and I'd thrown them in the car that morning, so figured it was time to give them a go. Hmm - now how do these work again?

There was a lack of useful posts to be able to push off from, so I had to launch from the flat pavement down the gentle (but surprisingly speed generating) slope. When I first started learning to do that it gave me calf cramps, so things are moving on.

Liz found the video feature on the camera, so if you want to watch a fat middle aged bloke wobble precariously down a gentle slope then here's your chance!

Easy Peasey Cheese (y)

Panir (or Paneer) is an Indian cheese with a mild flavour that can be eaten raw or used to cook with. It's also really easy to make and you don't need any special equipment or ingredients, so if you've ever fancied making your own cheese it's a good place to start. I'm taking the recipe from Ricki Carrol's 'Home Cheese Making' - an excellent book for budding cheese makers - but there are many similar recipes on line.

The only equipment that you need to make Paneer is

• Saucepan big enough to hold 3L of milk
• Slotted spoon
• Large knife
• Cheesecloth or muslin (available from supermarkets)
• Colander
• String or shoe-lace
• A kettle (to boil water for sterilisation)

 and the ingredients are equally simple

• 3L milk (full fat or semi skimmed)
• Around a cup of lemon juice (ie 3 or 4 fresh lemons) 

First use the boiling water to make sure that everything is clean & sterile. I'm doing 2 3L batches here, hence the 2 saucepans

Next comes the time consuming bit - you need to gently heat the milk up to a rolling boil. If you heat it too quickly or don't stir it regularly you'll burn the milk so you'll need something else to keep you amused. Handy hint - if you take the milk out of the fridge up to 12 hours before you plan to make the cheese it will get closer to room temperature, which saves a bit of cooking time.

While you're waiting juice your lemons

On our crappy rental stove it took around 90 minutes to get the milk up to a gentle rolling boil. Be careful when you get close to the boiling point - keep an eye on the milk and keep stirring it. If it bubbles over it can be very messy.

Reduce the heat to low and pour the lemon juice into the milk before the foam subsides. Them remove from the heat and stir gently until you get chunky bits (the curds) forming. The remaining liquid (the whey) should be clear - in the picture below it's a bit milky so if you see this put the pan back on a low heat and gently stir until the whey clears.

 This is better - nice clear whey. And don't worry, it's supposed to be yellow.

Once you see this take the pan of the heat and leave it to sit for 10 minutes or so. Whilst you're doing this line the colander with the cheesecloth and sit this over a pan.

When the curds have settled below the whey, ladle the curds into the colander. Or you can carefully pour directly into the colander from the saucepan. The curds should look like cream cheese or popcorn. The saucepan underneath is to catch the whey as you want to keep that too.

Wrap the curds in the cheesecloth and rinse under cold water for 5 to 10 seconds. Also gently twist the cheesecloth to squeeze out a little more whey.

 Then just hang the bag somewhere where it can gently drain for 2-3 hrs

 After that, unwrap the cheese and it's good to go

You can slice it and eat it straight away, or you can store it for a couple of weeks and let the flavours mature a bit. It doesn't melt so you can also cook with it - it's excellent in curries and stews.

The whey can be used as a liquid substitute for bread making, for stock, to boil pasta in or (according to the book) "it makes a delicious summer drink when served with ice and crushed mint leaves". I haven't been game to try that one yet!

It's as simple as that. You can also work the cheese a little more after it's drained and add herbs & spices to make a flat pattie you can fry up. This is called a chenna, and if you're interested I'll add another post later showing how to do that.

Go on - give it a go on the next rainy day!