Night rides...don'cha Love 'em?
Some are better than others, but some seem bad but are good later. Some are caught on cold rainy nights, fighting the wind and rain....miserable. But I was smiling then and I'm smiling now.
Some are done in a race conditions under pressure...well sort of. I mean...its an Epic event...how much pressure could you be under? But still, it's interesting. It always trips me out coming back into 24hour town. It just feels like I was alone for so long and then you come around the corner and there's people and lights and sometimes there's food cooking...delicious.
Some are done in the heat of summer, with some buddies and one of your buddies girl friends who is just about as rookie as you can get, but there she is, right behind you, and doing better than expected and having fun. It's her first time on Desert Classic AND her first night ride.
But sometime, they're done alone...with no lights...under a full moon. It's rides like this that always force me to stop at a few key locations for reflection...and medication.
It is by far one of the coolest things. I'll always remember riding Hawes at night and coming around a corner with the moon behind a saguaro. At first it scared the shit out of me because I thought it was a man off trail waving me down. I almost ate shit! But then I saw it for what it was.
It was a black sky lit up by the moon into an almost mid-night blue. No stars around the bright moon, but the silhouette of the saguaro was cradling the moon with one of it's arms. Behind that the silhouette of the mountains blacken everything else out until my immediate vicinity. Here everything is clear. Here is about as close to God as I get. Here is why I ride.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Pork chops with hard cider pan sauce
Here's the list.
8 bone-in pork loin or rib chops, about 1 inch think, trimmed of fat (I didn't trim shit!!!!)
Rub:
1 tbsp. paprika
1 tbsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. onion powder
1 tbsp. dry mustard
1.5 tsp. dry mustard
.25 tsp. cayenne (but I put a little more)
Sauce:
1 cup hard cider or apple juice (I used cider)
.25 cup Dijon or creole mustard
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp. Tomato paste
1-2 dashes of hot sauce (I used about 4-5 heavy dashes of Tapatio)
.25 cup heave cream
Put the rub on the chops and let them sit for about 15-20 minutes then cook 'em in a skillet with some olive oil. Cook them until they're about a 145 deg. in the center then pull 'em off and let them sit on a some kind of grate or something to let the air pass underneath. You don't want them to get all soggy and nasty...it's just gross. After that you'll want to cook the sauce. It's easy, just put the cider in the pan that you cooked the chops in. Use a fork or something to get all the delicious bits off the pan that the chops left. Mmmmmm. Okay, after about 5 minutes or so mix in the rest of the crap on the list. Except the cream! Cook it like that for 2-3 minutes and then pull it off the heat and mix in the cream. I made the mistake of just blending everything together in a measuring cup before hand, but it came out fine. You could do it that way but, you know...whatever. I got this recipe out of a cook book my Granny gave me. Good stuff.
Cooking is good for you. I recomend it to everyone. I've developed it as a hobbie, and I find a zen like quality in it. It's a good way to develope friendships and heal the soul. Which reminds me...don't forget to ride your bike today!!!
8 bone-in pork loin or rib chops, about 1 inch think, trimmed of fat (I didn't trim shit!!!!)
Rub:
1 tbsp. paprika
1 tbsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. onion powder
1 tbsp. dry mustard
1.5 tsp. dry mustard
.25 tsp. cayenne (but I put a little more)
Sauce:
1 cup hard cider or apple juice (I used cider)
.25 cup Dijon or creole mustard
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp. Tomato paste
1-2 dashes of hot sauce (I used about 4-5 heavy dashes of Tapatio)
.25 cup heave cream
Put the rub on the chops and let them sit for about 15-20 minutes then cook 'em in a skillet with some olive oil. Cook them until they're about a 145 deg. in the center then pull 'em off and let them sit on a some kind of grate or something to let the air pass underneath. You don't want them to get all soggy and nasty...it's just gross. After that you'll want to cook the sauce. It's easy, just put the cider in the pan that you cooked the chops in. Use a fork or something to get all the delicious bits off the pan that the chops left. Mmmmmm. Okay, after about 5 minutes or so mix in the rest of the crap on the list. Except the cream! Cook it like that for 2-3 minutes and then pull it off the heat and mix in the cream. I made the mistake of just blending everything together in a measuring cup before hand, but it came out fine. You could do it that way but, you know...whatever. I got this recipe out of a cook book my Granny gave me. Good stuff.
Cooking is good for you. I recomend it to everyone. I've developed it as a hobbie, and I find a zen like quality in it. It's a good way to develope friendships and heal the soul. Which reminds me...don't forget to ride your bike today!!!
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Superfuckingrockstarexpealidotios
Someone told me "be great in '08". Sounded good.
Be great........in '08.
Be great.
Be great in everything. Not just this year, but in everything all the time.
Be great in school
Be great in work
Be great in home, in play, in riding, in hiking, in exploring. Be great in everything.
Why not? It sounds easy enough. It sounds like a good way to live anyway. But what is greatness? What does that mean? Does it mean the accomplishment of some goal? Does it mean being better than the guy next door? Having that shinny thing, or new part, or new bike? Is that great? Or, is it merely to be happy? Happy with what you've got now. Happy with the direction you've put yourself in.
I think to be great in the sense of how you're livin' is to be happy. To have a level of contentment with who you are.
But it's difficult to be great all the time. It can be done though.
I think it comes down to that first decision of a new goal. In every decision we must ask ourselves if this particular step is going to bring us closer to happiness. Is this decision, be it to turn left, or to turn right going take us that one step closer toward greatness? Toward accomplishing that goal of happiness? Will this small decision be in the correct direction for my happiness, or am I satisfying some other need (like greed, anger, or jealousy).
To be happy, truly happy, will require some small amount of personal sacrifice I'm sure. Anger, greed and jealousy are very real emotions that I can't take lightly. They affect my young mind, and have a profound effect on my decisions. We need to stop and take a look around and ask the simple question. "Does this take me in the direction of happiness?" Once the question is asked the decision can be made with a clarity that was not there before and perhaps then we can achieve the ultimate goal.
The goal of happiness.
Be great in '08 people.
Be great........in '08.
Be great.
Be great in everything. Not just this year, but in everything all the time.
Be great in school
Be great in work
Be great in home, in play, in riding, in hiking, in exploring. Be great in everything.
Why not? It sounds easy enough. It sounds like a good way to live anyway. But what is greatness? What does that mean? Does it mean the accomplishment of some goal? Does it mean being better than the guy next door? Having that shinny thing, or new part, or new bike? Is that great? Or, is it merely to be happy? Happy with what you've got now. Happy with the direction you've put yourself in.
I think to be great in the sense of how you're livin' is to be happy. To have a level of contentment with who you are.
But it's difficult to be great all the time. It can be done though.
I think it comes down to that first decision of a new goal. In every decision we must ask ourselves if this particular step is going to bring us closer to happiness. Is this decision, be it to turn left, or to turn right going take us that one step closer toward greatness? Toward accomplishing that goal of happiness? Will this small decision be in the correct direction for my happiness, or am I satisfying some other need (like greed, anger, or jealousy).
To be happy, truly happy, will require some small amount of personal sacrifice I'm sure. Anger, greed and jealousy are very real emotions that I can't take lightly. They affect my young mind, and have a profound effect on my decisions. We need to stop and take a look around and ask the simple question. "Does this take me in the direction of happiness?" Once the question is asked the decision can be made with a clarity that was not there before and perhaps then we can achieve the ultimate goal.
The goal of happiness.
Be great in '08 people.