Due to a family emergency, I was unable to attend. Therefore, B-BiLLy graciously wrote a summary (names have been changed to protect, oh hell, none of us are innocent)So, here it is:
SCHNOCTOBEERFEST 2011 RECAP
Dirk & I loaded our rigs and gear Friday evening to make the pilgrimage towards CiTy BiLLy Cycles World Headquarters. We arrived late at Freemont, where eDLoNNiE greeted us and promptly took us to a gas station to amp up our supply of beer. He let us settle in, right after tossing back a couple of PBR tallboys.
Morning greeted us with an awesome sunrise on the “lake” at The Estates, we found a coffee bistro called “The Coffee Bistro”, had some pastries and caffeine, then hit the road for Elkhorn. On the way out of town we followed a pickup with a couple young ladies in the bed holding a pink cardboard stage set for “Ballerina Barbie”. They were almost not embarrassed until their misstep of making eye contact.
BiLLies rolled in from all points for the meeting at 9:00. I was glad to see T-BiLLy's entry for the beer tasting: a coffee stout, which is just right for a morning pre-ride beverage. We thankfully geared up in light layers for the mild weather. EdBiLLiE, who had been dealing with a respiratory deal, made a last-minute call to join the ride in true CiTy BiLLy fashion.
We departed and went north through the Ardennes Forest, which is a favorite road for many of us. We made our way around, across the river and headed north to Freemont. I happened to be riding with the kErneL and T-BiLLy as we approached a bridge with a big rig coming up from behind. Aw crap, the kErneL's going for it! We hustled, took the lane, the the truck kindly did not run us over. Sweet!
Management at Whis's greeted us as we rolled in and opened up the beer garden for bike parking. We decided against a meal in anticipation of German bratwurst and potato-bacon soup being prepared back at headquarters, a topic that had been visited for several miles. Instead, we opted for pitchers of wheat beer for mid-ride nourishment.
We set out again with DiRk at the front with the Troll. He eventually gave way to a pace line on the right side, while T-BiLLy checked his timing splits on the left. It was almost too serious of a pace, but we were soon back at Valley for another break at Willie's.
EdBiLLiE and Lee opted to bypass the bar and chose instead to blow through a stop sign right in front of the sheriff. They were subjected to a tongue-lashing and were accused of being “professional and should know better”. Let that be a lesson!
The last leg was short, not too wet and not too windy. It was great to be back, changed up and beneficiaries of an always-awesome buffet. There was a moment of bewilderment when we realized that none of us had actually run the beer judging competition. With a hasty call to eDLoNNiE we forged ahead and accomplished the task. (Someone can supply a snapshot of the results board).
Many thanks to our hosts for another fantastic SCHNOCTOBEERFEST!
b-BiLLy
Like the proverbial phoenix, rising out of the ashes, I return, another year dumber. With the weather warming, my thoughts return to CiTy BiLLy CycLe's spring classic, LBL. A test for lungs & liver. A ride for hard men (and women).
