Confessions about the wind + homebrew

As I tweeted earlier today: I like the wind. I enjoy riding in it under most circumstances. Sure it is a pain in the ass on my commute, especially in the winter, but all it does is make you stronger. In Iowa we don't have long climbs, nor many especially steep ones. We've got tons of slight rolling hills, miles upon miles of rail trails, but nothing that can really be called a proper climb in the cycling sense of the word. Sure both "coasts" of Iowa boast some steep climbs that last about a mile, but nothing like a serious mountain climb that takes a couple hours to summit. What we have instead is the wind; rarely ceasing, constantly shifting, soul crushing wind. You can eventually summit a mountain pass of any length, nothing you can do other than waiting will shut the wind off.

When I've ridden bikes in other parts of the country, I get dropped on climbs pretty easily, but I can always hang if there's even a mild cross wind. People who aren't used to it have no idea what they're doing and bitch about it constantly. When I was in Morgan Hill, California a few years ago attending some classes at Specialized's HQ, we did a 30 mile ride in the rolling hills surrounding the town. There was a 15-ish mph breeze, and almost everyone was sketchy when it was a cross wind, complained constantly about the head wind and didn't enjoy the tail wind as much as they should have. On the other hand I was fine and held my lines (so did a few others from the midwest), I also provided significant shelter from the wind for many other people. You see, I'm 6'4 with fairly broad shoulders, so I punch a pretty large hole in the air when riding, a hole smaller people can take serious advantage of. This "favor" is one they cannot possibly repay because I get virtually no draft off of tiny people.

People think I'm a bit "off" for liking the wind, to them I say HTFU. A large part of training/riding is preparing mentally for a race/event. Sure the physical work out and condition of the body is crucial, but mental callousing is also crucial, especially if you're like me and enjoy events that are more about finishing than formally winning. A good wind (from any direction) does both. A headwind forces you to push harder and attempt to hold a more aero position for a longer amount of time. This makes you stronger physically and mentally. A cross wind makes you focus more on bike handling and teaches you how to deal with uneven conditions. Cross winds probably do the most for you in terms of being faster than other people in a race. If you can keep yourself on line and in a good place in a cross wind, you'll do well in a race. A tail wind not only makes the ride more fun (holy top speeds Batman), it can also provide a bit of a different work out. It can do this in two ways: first those high speed runs work on power and leg speed. I've spun out on flat-ish terrain with a really strong tailwind. Spinning a cross bike with a 42x11 high gear at 130 rpms and 35+ mph is a killer work out. Secondly a tailwind can allow you the confidence to ride harder into the wind, knowing the ride home will be cake.

Thus ends my defense of liking the wind. Now on to what most of you probably care about: beer.
This is a beer I brewed a while ago, a Belgian style tripel. It has taken 5-6 weeks (I've legitimately forgotten) to properly bottle condition/carbonate. Not entirely sure why, possibly it was too cool after bottling, maybe there wasn't enough yeast in the bottles, but for whatever reason, this was my fourth test bottle, and the first on that feels right. The flavor is about the same as the others, but the carbonation is perfect and it enhances the flavor in just the right way. Hiccups like this are things that make me think about investing in a stir plate for yeast starters, and also a kegging set up, as bottling is a pain in the ass. Oh well, maybe once I find some money I don't want to spend on bikes...