Smokin' Davis

A couple weeks back my buddy Smokin' Davis came through with a gang of homemade goodies to try: three flavors and heat ranges of pepper jelly, Davis' famous bbq sauce, a jar of his homemade salsa and some experimental hot sauce.

This guy has his game real tight, all of this stuff is top notch. Don't be surprised if you see his name popping up soon on supermarket shelves near you. Seriously, his bbq sauce is killer and though I have tried to duplicate it, there is just a little something missing. When I ask him, he just says that the process is "more art than science" and "the real secret ingredient is love."

Many thanks again my friend, next time I see you I'll be the one bearing gifts.

Hot Sauce of the Week

The Big Hot One-on the initial test there was a bizarre almost burnt aftertaste that surfaced making me think that would ruin whatever you put it on. Despite my worries I doused lunch in it and was pleased that it did not do as I feared. The sauce did add heat but not a lot of flavor past that. A decent sauce, expecially since I was expecting it to be bad. The bottle is covered in sexual innuendo and admittedly the graphic made me laugh. There are several other varieties offered at the company's website, http://xxxratedhotsauce.com/. This isn't even the most explicit label, take a look. NSFW

Gymkhana This Weekend

Again, this is an awesome FREE event and a great way to assess and improve your riding skills. Bamarides.com is a killer website and is always doing rides, events, etc. If you are local you really should give it a look and sign up. The site and this event are well worth your time. 

The Head Honcho

A patron and friend of the bar I worked in passed away last week. Loved and cared about by many, he will be greatly missed. He was a former rider in his younger years and read the blog regularly. On his visits we would talk about the "limey" bikes he owned and all the hot sauces he liked and the ones he thought I was crazy for trying. He refused to take impoliteness or rudeness from people and despite his age would get in someone's face when they got out of line. You have to love an old hardass like that...

Godspeed Wayne, 08/17/55-10/15/12

Closed...

Taking the week off, see you next Tuesday.

Hot Sauce of the Week

Santa Fe Seasons Howlin' Hot Sauce-to give you a little behind the scenes info here, when I do a write up on any sauce I try it by itself and then on my Wednesday lunch. Before you say anything, I eat EXACTLY the same thing every Wednesday so there is no variance in spice or heat in the food itself. When I tried this one alone I was not impressed and didn't look forward to having it at mealtime. That said, I stayed true to form and was very surprised. This one really is a sleeper until you put it one something. Sure it was hot but the peppers really stood out amongst the other flavors at play. The Scotch Bonnet pepper is a beast with a naturally occurring sweetness that sets it apart from other peppers. This is a great, different sauce and if you can find a Scotch Bonnet pepper sauce, give it a try.

This one was also sent over from my wife's friend Sara. Much appreciated!

Recap From Monday

Typed this up for Bamarides.com.

If the first question out of your mouth after the handshake is "How do you feel about riding farther, faster and longer and coming back when it will be darker and colder?" and the reply is "What are you thinking" instead of "no," you know you are in the company of someone who isn't afraid to ride. 

You could call what we did meandering, though we had a very specific goal: I needed to scout a campsite at Payne Lake for an upcoming trip. I looked at the roads and connecting roads on the map and laid the tape on the tank before leaving. We shot the breeze for a minute before heading out. 

Glenn is a trip if you've never met him. He has this affable yet slightly mischievous way that makes him seem like he is up for anything. He carries a lot of bags on his bike and they are topped to the brim just in case that "anything" breaks out at a given moment. He's bi-lingual (thanks to immersion) and married (also thanks to immersion) and has one child. A family guy, like me. The Navy took him to more places I'll ever be and man...his stories have stories. 

We beat a path down Shades Crest and crossed to the South section. I had never lead on this route before and I blew a turn which we quickly fixed. I remember checking roads on Google maps to make sure they were't dirt and that they looked paved...and they were. That being said, they were't paved well and every offshoot road was dirt. We blasted down the road, which was plenty curvy, thinking at any minute we'd run out of pavement and I'd be a liar for saying it was an all street ride. We made it to the end and with a quick right we were back on solid road. 

We hit some patches of grooved pavement and passed by West Blocton, Centreville and Brent and made our turn onto Payne lake road. This was a killer stretch that we bombed over, I was a liar here for sure hitting at least +10. The sun was quickly retreating and my fingers were good and cold. I knew were in for some fun later. 

The campsite was a ghost town: eerily empty ranger station, eerily empty camp host house. We ran around to the boat launch to take a look at the water and the view was good. We bs'd a little more and took some pictures. Riding to the open loop we did see one couple camping with a horse trailer. They eyed us uneasily at times and graced us with a cryptic head nod which may or may not have been a gypsy curse. 

We looked at the sites and made sure the bathrooms had everything the wife would need on our trip. More bs'ing, more photos. We departed smiling at our silent companions hoping to make them rethink their actions upon us. Back to the cold hands, I took leather Thinsulate lined gloves to ride in but that didn't stop three of my digits from becoming pale with purple nails. I rubbed my hands together and thought about how life would be if I had to ditch "JT" and answer to "Ol' Seven Fingers." We stopped for gas in Centreville and talked routes back. Glenn produced some extra gloves from one of his hard bags (which I am pretty sure he inherited from Mary Poppins) and I tried them but decided to keep on with my gauntlets. 

Instead of fighting wildlife and going through Montevallo, we made a b-line for the interstate. While boring, they are normally better lit and warmer. We killed it on this stretch making good time and hit 11 and finally the interstate. Again, tearing ass in the cold darkness I kept an eye on Glenn. We made our way to a crossroads and parted ways. The last words of the day were via PM, but they won't be the last. 

We covered about 150 miles and at least 3 counties from 4:00 to 7:45. I didn't take many pictures because Glenn had the good equipment and most of the time was spent riding. I was freezing most of the night after but eventually got color and feeling back in all 10 of my fingers. It was a great afternoon for a ride and I was grateful to have someone to go with.

As seen this weekend...

WhoAmI from bobs uruncle on Vimeo.

My buddy Kyle shot some video of an early Saturday morning ride. We met at 6:30am for breakfast and hit the road about 7:00. We hit some killer back roads and met up later with some other folks...but all the good stuff happened before 10am.

Hot Sauce of the Week

The Egg & I-Yi-Yi Sizzlin Hot Jalapeno Pepper Sauce-good stuff and the shortest list of ingredients I have ever seen on any sauce. Jalapenos, Vinegar and Salt-that is it. No wonder it is so good, they don't clutter it up with a bunch of crap. I had never been to The Egg & I before and probably won't be back in for some time...but that sauce is worth the trip.

Seriously?

For a mere $64.95, this piece of interior decorating greatness can be yours.
Hey Allen, don't forget to put this on your Christmas List...

Cooking

     My buddy Chris over at Iron Vaquero sent me an e-mail last week asking about camp cooking-methods, equipment, menu, etc. I am by no means an expert, in fact a few of his recent trips and his camp cooking photos put my usual routines to shame. If you haven't checked out his blog, you should. He is always riding and documents everything with words and photos. Do yourself a favor and click here.
      I tried to answer him the best I could and I've copied the text of that response onto this post. Since weather is about perfect for camping and riding, it's time to get it together. If you haven't thought about your gear lately, no time like the present.
   
      I don’t know if you could call what I do on the road cooking...I’ve seen your recent blog posts and you  put what I do to shame. Gear wise, I carry a Brunton Raptor stove. It is one of the ultra-light folding stoves you can get at places like Dick’s and Academy. I got it on clearance at the latter for $20 years ago. I am pretty sure it isn’t made any more but there are still a couple places you can get it online anywhere for $40-$60. It is a killer little stove I just think they couldn’t compete with companies like JetBoil and MSR even though I have found the stove to be an excellent buy at a fraction of the cost of the other’s products. Everything on this stove is built in, including the ignition, and it fits easily in the palm of my hand.

 (that is a bag from a Crown Royal Mini, not a full size bottle, didn’t want you thinking it was HUGE.)

     My mess kit is the pretty standard pot and lid folding job you can get from any store with outdoor supplies for around $15-$20. These usually come with more than I take. I usually just take the pot and lid and the small plastic cup inside just in case a traveling companion has something good to share. On overnight trips I’ll travel without the mess kit to save space and just cook the can right on the stove. This works but if you aren’t careful and patient you’ll get burnt food on the bottom and ice cold food on the top. I keep the cup and some Wonder Wash inside the kit. Wonder Wash Soap is great, cleans ANYTHING and is all natural and biodegradable so you don’t have to worry about letting it seep into the ground. I have kept a LightMyFire spork in the kit traditionally but despite being made of very hard plastic I have broken several. My brother in law gave me a Hobo Knife set on a road trip a couple years back and I like it better than the sporks. You can get these from anywhere from $10 all the way up to $100 for a really nice one (my cheap-o set works just fine). I also carry a P-51 can opener in my wallet. 

     My food choices are very simple. In the morning I eat a granola bar, usually a Cliff or Cliff Mojo bar. These are denser and more filling that a lot of the options out there though I’ll occasionally get a Builder or other brand protein bar if I know I’ll really be pushing myself. I use Starbucks Via for coffee. It dissolves equally well in hot or cold water (for those mornings you just don’t feel like restarting the fire or messing with the stove). Since I am not real picky about my morning coffee, this works really well for me: you just dump the envelope in the water, give it a shake or stir and you are on your way to caffeinating. There are several flavors available and a box will usually cover me for a couple cups/bottles every morning for the whole trip. 

      Lunch is normally on the road. The only rule I have here is I refuse to eat anything I could eat at home. I try to get a taste of the local offerings by asking a gas station attendant or another customer. You find the best places to eat this way. The only exception to this is if I run into issues and I need to save time or funds and I’ll hit a dollar menu at a fast food place. This is a last resort.

      At night, I normally stick to canned soups and chili with crackers or bread. This is because they are self contained, easy to cook and don’t have spoiling considerations. I will also “dress up” a soup or chili with jerky and cheese sticks if I come across them at the last stop of the day. I occasionally carry small, individually wrapped summer sausages for something different. I have also done the whole ramen and dehydrated veggies in a ziplock bag deal. You just boil water, pour it in the bag, zip it closed and in a few minutes you have dinner. That works good and if you do a little homework and plan ahead you really can have something different every night. I also carry a variety of small candies for my sweet-tooth and Slim Jim’s for snacks during the day.

      On a long trip I carry a few days worth of food at a time and restock as needed. I can always find a good grocery in a small town along the way and worst case scenario, most convenience stores will have at least a couple options. One thing I always make sure to have is a can of Beanie Weenies. There will always be a night where I just don’t feel like cooking and unlike most chili and soup, Beanie Weenies aren’t terrible cold.