PDX Klunker - Electra Rocket - ii

Anyone whose heard of the Portland area,

has got to associate it with the bike life.

After living here for a while,

that doesn't mean only granolas or hipsters,

there's just a lot of people who ride bikes.

Compared to San Diego,

it doesn't seem like the bike Mecca,

however SD riders don't ride in the rain,

unless they're from Portland.

During the packing frenzy,

I obviously was going to bring a bike,

but which one?

Without having a home base,

it would be risky to bring a collector bike,

unless money was needed for a fire sale.

I chose the hot rodded-dented frame Rauler,

the perfect mishmash of campy, suntour and beater parts.

This is actually a great riding 70's Italian bike,

that I'd be sad to lose equally as the others.

The van filled up quickly,

but there was still space left on the trailer.

As a last minute thought,

I tied up a newly acquired klunker project next to chief.

(If you look closely you'll see the wheels.)

It looked precarious enough 

that people wouldn't drive too close.

This was one of my summer swap meet scores,

an $80 Electra Rocket from the late 90's.

A cool aluminium cantilever frame,

with similar angles of a typical hardtail mountain bike,

so it rides more sporty then a raked cruiser.

The best part is the Nexus 7-speed hub.

I've always wanted to put one on a prewar frame,

but they're hard to find for cheap.

I cleared out my thin mtb stash,

adding the fatter tires, S-works crank and pedals,

also drilling holes in the brake levers.

Drillium always a priority,

running out of time for the Judy shock.

After a few short PDX rides,

(can ya see the bike in the back?)

the front suspension would be worth the effort.

I didn't trust the 20 year old aluminum fork,

I've smashed my face from a broken fork,

while also clearing junk out of the van. 

One cold night was spent swapping shocks/forks.

The headset was the bigger 1-1/8",

allowing a newer functional fork.

It's tough to find a working shock

for a 1" headset on a true vintage frame.

I also tried to rebuild the sticky Nexus hub,

the internal changing system 

would skip the middle gears.

Way more work for one evening,

I ended up just dribbling oil into the dry hub.

It actually worked much better!

Maybe adding a zirk fitting would help...

The next evening I was ready to ride,

even in the almost freezing 34 degree chill.

The first 3-4 miles were so smooth,

a great way to learn the neighborhood,

until the dreaded back tire pop.

Holey chit.

Typically I'd ride-flat to get back quick,

but the 2.30 Michelin tire wasn't cheap.

It was a brisk walk.

Fixing a Shimano Nexus flat sucks.

There's no quick change for lazy speed freaks,

and there's two cables - brake and shifter.

15mm and 10mm wrenches are needed,

as well as a pump and a rag,

throw in a half hour for adjusting chit.

Not something fun to do on the roadside let alone inside.

The Nexus was showing its flaws,

weight and maintenance.

It took a couple days to rally the flat fix.

In the meantime 

I found a cool clip-on fender by PDW,

designed in Portland... built in China.

$5!!

The seller got it as a work gift.

Thanks Tonya!!

A little blingy but matches the bare aluminum.

A windy saturday finally got the bike fixed,

ready for a perfect evening ride.

I figured I'd jaunt over to the bike shop

and get some overpriced bike lights.

The kinda heavy klunker 

loved the couple inches of crunchy snow.

I wore so many layers I was sweating.

Next time I'll bring clear safety glasses,

the snowflakes actually hit my eyeballs.

Portland is gun shy with the ice conditions,

as a result the bike shop closed early.

Buncha babies.

Now I'd have to ride back with no lights.

I've ridden hundreds of night miles lightless,

in my old age and fatherhood it seems riskier now,

just cause there's more drivers that suck.

I'll prolly end up going cheap and taping flashlights.

On the San Diego Christmas blast home,

Jake, his friend Jon and I took a bike ride to the Point.

He's been getting into riding as you can see,

but wearing the Xmas present helmet

was just not pimp.

We're riding and everything is cool,

other than me wheezing behind these two punks.

Close to the lighthouse entrance,

cars were backed up a quarter mile.

I lead the way slowly,

then some jerkwad in a black shiny truck

chooses to pull into the last cemetery entrance.

The kids thought I did a swell job avoiding catastrophe,

although I smacked his fender pretty good,

and was on the ground in a split second.

It had been a long time since I've had bike road rash!

The best part was the kids won't question wearing helmets...

Ok where were we... the LBS was closed,

I took way too many bike pics,

Oh yea.

So during the snow ride I found this phone.

Back at the house all of a sudden it rang,

and I ended up riding back out to meet them,

which was cool cause riding in the snow is great.

Madeline had lost it while riding her moped.

They were super nice,

and drunk kinda.

Thanks for the beer money M!

Could I write anymore about this?

Yep.

Don't mind the mess on the table,

check out the new bike project.

A 1978 Mercian Vincitore. 

So effin cool those lugs are bitchin.

I'll probably flip some of the speaker hoard 

to be able to fund the parts...

More later!

TP

shoe whore heresy

For most guys,

there's a loyalty that goes with shoes.

Certain brands fit certain foot types,

and for people that don't have time for uncomfortable surprises,

and wasted purchases,

we'll traditionally rebuy the same shoe.

I've gravitated to Adidas Stan Smith's 

for at least 25+ years,

sometimes dipping into the Rod Lavers.

The SS's are durable leather,

and hold up to metalwork - welding & grinding,

for a really long time.

Two months ago I took a detour,

and tried out the revamped suede skate versions,

 with the gum sole

Wow.

It was like a custom made shoe for my feet,

getting more comfortable with each step.

I  was leery about the construction,

The thin suede reinforced with "sprint skin",

a thin plastic skeleton.

The wife was so enthusiastic at the new styling,

she scored a white soled pair.

The difficulty is knowing these would flame up with serious metal work,

the reason I stopped wearing the Rod Lavers.

The plastic-y tongue will not hold up.

Besides the suede isn't nearly as durable as the shiny leather.

I'd limit my work to not destroy the shoe.

Hey,

it's endless summer here,

and no big work boots with shorts...

The tough part is ruining new white stan smiths.

They'll look good for about an hour,

although looking good in bright white shoes,

only works for senior citizens in track suits.

Yeah I know this is my OCD secret stash.

My problem is venturing out of the Adidas lines.

Even my rarely worn dress shoes have Adidas soles.

Which made me realize,

I should have just got a shiny black pair of stan smiths for dress up...

Dang it.

Which comes to the heresy.

Someone ditched these Nike's on us years ago,

probably some dead old guy's,

 I don't know.

They're obviously wannabe stan smiths,

with the green bottom.

They've been shuffled under the couch,

in my closet,

under Jaxons bed...

Time to give them them a workout.

Let's see how they hold up.

Definitely not as comfortable...

Yeah yeah yeah...

Waaa was waaa...

TP

resistance is futile

Mark this day on your calendar,
as after over 3 years,
my battle,
my resistance to change,
has finally come to an end.

awesome LG ally

We've had some good times together,
but this past year there's been some unexpected shut downs,
some keyboard glitches - llllllllliiiiiiiikkkkkkkkeeeee thhhhhhhiiiiisss,
the memory is so full I delete pics and messages to keep it working,
and the battery barely lasts the day.
Not to mention I can't do this blog thing on the old phone.

cracked iphone 4

With the price of a new smart phone in the $300 range,
I was going to follow my typical ways.
We had the wife's old cracked iphone 4 lying around.
The glass could be fixed for $55,
and activated online - cheap and easy.

The wife had been threatening to surprise me with a phone,
as she had been offering one as father's day/birthday(x2) gift
since the upgrade notice in April of 2012.
Hey I told you there was a resistance to change!

green iphone 5s

In a rare moment of weakness,

I fell for the barrage of ads about a $50 Iphone 5c,

a special at the local Radio Shack.

Of course this is a trick,

as they tax you on the full original $600 value,

we got talked into an applecare insurance program,

(supposed to be better and cheaper than the Verizon insurance)

and of course she wouldn't let me not have a fat case.

Probably a good thing as I've already dropped it 2 times.
How'd she know?

messed up otter box iphone 5c

First off here's my complaints.
The cases for the Iphone 5 don't fit well on a 5c.
The plastic housing is round and smooth,
and the buttons aren't flush like the 5 and the 5s.
If you look at the picture the rubber flares out by the volume.
Really it's not a big deal but for the price I'll bitch a little.
It has survived a couple drops out of my shirt pocket...

picture transfer using droid/bluetooth/mac mini

The second complaint concerns my loyal readers.
You guys are thinking "finally he'll take some clear crisp HD pictures!"
The old droid has a very primitive camera and flash,
but it has a Bluetooth capability to send a batch of pictures directly to our computer.
Why doesn't apple have this feature?
The phone is twice as fast as our 2007 mac mini.
I've gotten used to taking a dozen pictures and sending them while typing.
Now there is either an icloud thing I need to figure out,
or send pictures to my email and do a double download.

So guess what?
The old LG Ally may still serve a purpose.
It can still take lackluster pictures and send them through the air,
at least for dirty progress shots.

iphone 5c

Enough of the whining.
The new phone works so smoothly.
After 2 days I'm happy with the 5c.
The 5s is faster but has features I don't need,
and the Samsung S4 was way too big,
although the camera seemed really cool.
Not worth spending another $200+ on either.

anyone need a charger?

And lastly,
the wife has dialed in the iphone to all kinds of fun and games.
Now I need to keep myself from becoming addicted to INSTAGRAM.
If you're bored or addicted too,
search      or "perichbrothers"

TP

beer thirty (v.3)

How could anything sound better than a San Diego brewery tour
with spirited conversation among old friends?

san diego IPA

Believe it or not I had a bit of hesitation in the plan.
I'm not a daytime craft beer drinker,
and navigating through miles of San Diego freeway between breweries,
sounded like an accident waiting to happen.
Not a car accident,
more of a piss in the bottle + throbbing headache type.
My choice was made when friends showed up and rallied me out of the house.
Ok let's do this!

Alpine Beer Company

Our first stop was the Alpine Beer Company,
on the main drag at the base of the Cuyamaca Mountains.
A nondescript place that I had unknowingly passed by many times.

alpine beer company pub/cafe

We were treated to a small town cozy atmosphere,
with a decent list of their fresh brews.
The inside cafe was packed,
which was fine as the no frills backyard had enough space.
Everyone establishing themselves wherever there was shade.

alpine beer company backyard

The first beer was a strong IPA named Nelson,
using a New Zealand hops or that's what I was told.
What better way to celebrate Lindsay's brief return.
A good beer to burn off any of those lingering thoughts I had earlier.
Next time I'll have this one second,
after my taste buds have been desensitized.

morning brew - nelson

As a brewhound newbie,
I didn't think to try the taste test array first.
A handful of small glasses in a muffin tray.
The list was long enough that drinking 2 full beers is a crapshoot,
and it seems like I missed out on whatever was left on the list.
The last IPA, the"Duet" was very tasty and refreshing.

PL gel - Chip and Lindsay

The trip was the brainchild of Cho-ip - (green shirt)
who has the largest growler collection on the west coast.
Each brewery allows only their own bottles to be filled,
and he's enough of a connoisseur to need multiple growlers from each.
He willingly accepted his role as a designated driver,
predicting that he would be the first row of a drunken spectacle.
Lindsay was the catalyst,
as he was wrapping up his stay in San Diego,
with years of practice in the art of alcoholic beverages.

Our years of friendship can be summed up rather easily.
Chip will take a stand on a random subject,
Lindsay will play the devil's advocate and try to undermine the stand,
and I'll usually sit on the fence and feed tinder into the fire.
Throw a couple beers in the mix and time goes by fast.

Alpine Beer Company

Chip's ulterior motive was filling up his growlers.
The bottling area was packed,
standing room only packed.
Mind you this was Saturday around 2pm.
Chip and LC grabbed their selection,
and we were off.

standing room only

One more beer and I would have been happy to stick around all day,
try some of the menu out and relax.
Nice to be in a stress free environment like this,
and little did I know this was the only pub like setting we would see for hours.
But...we had an itinerary to keep,
and what the heck I wasn't driving.

San Diego is basically a living freeway.
The city is planned around the automobile,
with the idea that long stretches of driving is normal.
Good thing Chip brought along some decent tunes.

east county

Our journey landed in North County - San Marcos,
where the Lost Abbey or Port Brewing Company was tucked away,
amongst a sea of cookie cutter commercial buildings.

north county hell

We were greeted in true religious style,
to a group of USMC tanks and battle wagons.
A line of doe-eyed souls lined up to get in,
and one-eyed stumbling drunks unwillingly booted out.
Looked promising!

The Lost Abbey - Port Brewing Company

Parched and ready to test out their hailed selection,
we sauntered up to the bar area.
Dozens of kegs fed the row of taps.
Each of us knew exactly what we wanted.

Lost Abbey Brewery

Even though the bar-backs were filling up beer steins,
we weren't allowed any tasters or even a growler fill.
Blue-balled with an excuse this was a ticketed event.
Chip was about ready to hurl his growler into the wall.
Lindsay even pulled out his New Zealand accent.
How could they say no to a world traveller?
I was too dumbfounded to use my revered status as a blogger.

Lost Abbey/Port Brewing Company Beer Dufus

The dufus in the red shirt above really knew how to sour the 45 minute trip.
This guy was about as lame and condescending as they come.
Their beers may be award winning but I'll pass on supporting their gig,
and it takes a lot to push me off my fence post of neutrality.
We coined the phrase FLA- "eff" lost abbey - on the ride away.

Green Flash Brewing Company

Now we were 3 grouchy sober guys,
with a dire need to salvage this trip.
We made our way down to the Green Flash Brewing Company,
somewhere in Mira Mesa.

Green Flash

What a welcome relief to see happy flip-flop wearing beer drinkers,
an easy to read variety of different brews,
and a nonstop crew of bartenders wanting to take our money.

stimulating conversation

The dollar taste testers were the perfect remedy to the previous confusion.
Where was this place when I was going to college?
I barely made it out anyway so just as well.

green flash brewery

The Green Flash Brewery was made for social consumption.
A big open room and also a strip of open space outside,
allowing kids, dogs and food.

green

We were in such a rush to get there,
somehow we forgot to make a pit stop at the mexi-food beforehand.
It was time to eat,
and we filled our bellies with way overpriced fare.

Lindsay grubbin

Good to know for next time
that they would have allowed us to bring in our own food.

Chip mackin'

The silver lining was this tasty treat.
Who would have thought to add macaroni and cheese to a pulled pork sandwich.
So simple and so delicious.
We'll be trying this at home.

pulled pork + mac & cheese = grub

The taste test format worked perfect.
I wouldn't have picked a 9.1% dark ale as my favorite otherwise.
My brew-of-choice here was the "Grand Cru".

growler

Just as we were getting comfortable,
it was time to return to our schedule.
Lindsay and I like leaves in Chip's whirlwind itinerary.
Guess that's what happens when you're the guy not drinking!
The next stop was Societe Brewing Company in Kearny Mesa.

societe brewing company - clairemont

And wouldn't you now it,
the one day we show up and there's a line out the door.
Of course it's their first year anniversary.
Time to party right?!
Nope.
Shut down as a sold out event.
Dang hipster lushes!
They were gracious enough to fill one of Chip's growlers free of charge,
and who can complain with that...

ballast point brewing company - home brew mart

No problem.
Ballast Point Brewing Company was on the way back to our stomping grounds.
This grew out of the store that started it all in San Diego - Home Brew Mart.
I remember going by this place when it was scraping by selling home beer kits.
Now it's a worldwide empire.
Who woulda thunk...

ballast point brewing co - san diego

This was a different setup,
as it's not marketed as a drinking establishment.
They allow one taste tester per type per person,
and keep a check list similar to a sushi menu,
so yeah there is a possibility of getting a good buzz.
We were cut short as they closed up rather early,
but the guys were able to grab a couple refills and garb.
My favorite here was the Sculpin it's some good chit.

chip's chariot

Our final destination was Pizza Port in Ocean Beach.
We filed into Cho-ip's Chariot and headed to the coast.

This place has been around for a couple years,

but it was my first time.

Unknowingly we walked straight up to the bar,

ordered our beverages,

and walked past a huge line that trailed to the doorway.

Whoops no wonder they were all frowning at us!

pizza port - ocean beach

I chose the Skid Mark Brown Ale,
and although it is supposed to be an award winning beer,
wasn't as pleasant to my palate as I needed.
A little bitter and flat,
not that refreshing even with the pizza,
but I guess that's the definition of an English dark ale.
Maybe it was too much stop and go between drinking sessions,
and my tongue or stomach was tired of being teased.

The final thought here is there's alot of money to be made,
on fermented hop water, dough and cheese.
We all had a good time,
and the 2 earlier shutouts made way for a clean getaway.
No sloppy drunk hijinks tonight and no hangover!
****************************************************

stevie ray vaughan - life by the drop
*****************************************************

green flash grand cru growler

I borrowed one of Chips first generation Green Flash growlers,
and brought home the 9.1% Grand Cru Ale.
The prices vary by alcohol content,
$14-18 for a 6-7%er and $25-28 for the 9-10%er's,
so this would be a rare occasion.

steins

An unopened growler lasts about 2 weeks,
and after opening should be finished within 3 days or less.
I waited a week to crack it open,
and wow it was like having a brewery in the house.
By the third night,
my taste buds and stomach had adjusted,
and welcomed the beer like a hearty meal and dessert.
Too bad this was the last drop.

beer thirty

On the fourth night my mind and body were in withdrawal.
There'd be no joy opening a Coors Tall or whatever leftover in the fridge.
I can see how this brewing trend has become a cash cow.
My willpower held strong,
and I resisted the urge to get a growler fix.
Much more fun to drink with friends then as a hermit lush!

Good times and good friends!

TP