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Two songs stuck in my head during the first Crystal City Garage Race of the year: Lay Down Your Arms by the Sadies [Psych/surf] and Bonzo Goes to Bitburg by the the Ramones [Punk]

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@consularrider 175550 wrote:

I’ve had mine packed by the local bike shop (most recently Bikenetic) using standard cardboard bike boxes. The bike then goes into the lift van with our other household goods. Only once was there something I couldn’t deal with on reassembly. For our moves back to the US and from Kyiv to Frankfurt I did my own packing in an original cardboard bike box. I also had Bikenetic re-pack up my fat bike in its original box to take with me on the plane back to Kyiv.

For me the big issue was the amount of time I might be without the bike during shipment. Luckily for the five moves when I’ve been the most active on my bike, I was able to drive to three of them (Juarez to DC; Bucharest to Madrid; and Kyiv to Frankfurt). For one I arrived seven months after the shipment and for another I had a left behind bike to use.

I’ve had overseas movers (UK and Argentina) wrap up bikes a couple of times when I didn’t have the bike boxes and suffered no damage to the bikes.

Thanks, this is a reassuring track record. I don’t have the original box but I’m sure I won’t be the first person to move a bike w/o the original container. Being away from the bike for a few months would make the N+1 case that much stronger, now that I think about it.

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Glad it didn’t turn out worse…and that you guys are okay!

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@Steve O 174950 wrote:

Yep, and then when it’s someone you’ve met like 20 times before, you can’t remember their name. Awesome.

Smile. Shake hands. Mumble a name that sounds like Steve….

[ChampionTier]

This morning: Umi Says by Mos Def [hip-hop]

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@Tania 174907 wrote:

I recognize people by their “cycling gait” – posture, knee flair, etc. I can usually recognize someone from pretty far out just on their moving silhouette.

Isn’t it amazing how we spend so much time and money to develop cameras and sensors to detect and identify people but our eyes and brains are capable of identifying someone from way on the other side of Gravelly Point in low light while we’re moving? Humans are awesome.

[ChampionTier]

@creadinger 174847 wrote:

Does anyone have a picture of this Smokey character? I routinely see a guy walking south near the north end of the airport, and like Hokie said, I can tell if I’m running a few minutes ahead or behind by where I pass him. I’m gonna estimate around 6:45.

No picture but he’s about 5’8″, W/M with a slim build. Smoking may have accelerated his aging, but I’d put him in his early-mid 50’s. Blondish-grayish hair swept back and neatly trimmed. Typically wears a vest jacket (iirc it’s off-white with a horizontal colored stripe). Generally upbeat gait, neither hunched over or too upright. His eyes suggest a late night compensated by stimulants (appearances only, not sure if that’s the case). If memory serves, he typically holds his smoke in his right hand.

Incidentally, I think we’re on the MVT at about the same time; I’m the guy on a black Niner with a big black backpack. See ya on the trail!

[ChampionTier]

@ian74 174764 wrote:

He is always walking from the DC side and seems to leave at exactly the same time everyday

I was talking with a classmate about Smokey J and how we could tell how early/late we were based on where we passed him.

Not sure of his drug usage or mental capacity, but I agree that he seems alert enough to return my “‘mornin'” as I whiz by him. I like to think he’s the opposite of what he appears — like he enters the Boeing building and everyone in the foyer says something like, “Good morning, Mr. Steele” as he passes and then he gets in his own private elevator that takes him to his C-suite. That or he’s a hitman.

[ChampionTier]

This was a good article. I cannot stress enough how nasty poison ivy can be; I learned the hard way that the roots and stalks are just as bad (if not worse) than the leaves.

Also, is there a more aero or stylish brand of dustpan on the market? Something, perhaps, made by Bontrager or Rapha?

[ChampionTier]

@creadinger 174267 wrote:

To back-sweeten, how much concentrate or honey would you add for gallon sized batches?

I tend to use the TLAR (That Looks About Right) method for smaller batches but for a gallon batch, I’d scoop out maybe 2-3 TBSP of concentrate…maybe 2 for the honey. Of course, stick it in the fridge afterward to keep it from fermenting.

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@creadinger 174254 wrote:

Next I need to figure out how to up the flavor. It’s pretty bland.

I found that if I don’t back-sweeten my cider it has a bland, dry taste to it. Normally I plop a can of apple juice concentrate into the keg and that works great. That plus some honey (or just by itself) has worked pretty well, too.

@creadinger 174254 wrote:

If you sh&* yourself, stop drinking it.”

A parable for how to live a long, happy life!

[ChampionTier]

I don’t know why. I can’t understand how. But this was stuck in my head today: Happy Little Working Song sung by Amy Adams from the movie Enchanted.

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@accordioneur 174030 wrote:

My very first post on this forum back in 2015 was to make the “Bar Mitts Vah” joke. Some material never gets old

And the torch hath been passed and it’s flame kept lit for another winter!

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@DismalScientist 174025 wrote:

…the evil Bar Mitt Corporation.

I’ll be sure not to invite you to my BarMittsVa Blowout Beer Bash!

[ChampionTier]

Kegging is definitely the way to go. I bottled my first few batches but I always felt like I was some clumsy actor in a TV infomercial doing it. My wife and kids got me a keezer off of Craigslist for Father’s Day and I haven’t looked back.

I’ll send you a PM once I get closer to brew day; espresso stout would be outstanding!

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