My Many Moods of January (In Only Two Weeks)

Winter didn’t arrive in Cincinnati till almost the second week of January and I made the most out of the first fourteen days of the year. Even with the unseasonably warm weather we only managed to get one bike ride in. It was not a long ride, nor an exceptionally eventful one, but a ride just the same.

During the first two weeks of the year the “mood-o-meter” around my house pegged at both extremes, exuberance and despair. OK, maybe not that dramatic, but let’s just go through the ups and downs one at a time.

You know from my previous post that we hailed in the New Year with a wedding. Having the whole family in town to croon Auld Lang Syne at midnight was a treasure to behold. We celebrated with the Bride and Groom, taking full advantage of the open bar. Overall, the feeling on January 1^st was jubilant, albeit very sluggish.

January 2^nd wasn’t so jubilant. As a matter of fact it took a major downturn when we went to fix a leak in the ceiling only to find the stack pipe corroded along the entire horizontal section. The house is over 100 years old and we don’t know when the plumbing was added. Between the house shifting over the years, the shoddy pluming work, and sitting vacant for several winters, water had apparently pooled in the old cast iron pipe and, well the rest is history… I will spare you what the bathroom looked like after he pulled the pipe and just show you the pipe itself.

January 3^rd was a Sunday and covered a range of emotions. My mom, who had adored Mary, the

Blessed Mother, had passed away in 2015. As a sort of tribute I have been going to St. Mary’s Church to keep a candle lit as a vigil to her. The Church was beautifully decorated for Christmas so this Sunday’s Mass was a glorious yet solemn affair. Per our traditional ritual during the season we bid God and Mom fairwell for the week and headed to Taft’s Ale House for football. Our Bengals were triumphant and on to the play-offs.

After Sunday the week fell in line with post-holiday humdrums. Even though the temperatures were tolerable, the days were too short to delight in any cycling after work. Instead, all I could do was watch and re-watch my year in Strava. 

Friday, January 8^th was an up day and the office crowd was all abuzz about the record PowerBall lottery jackpot. Everyone had different plans for when we won our riches. Rescuing dogs, buying cars, and building estates to name a few. The heavy burden of buying the office numbers fell on me. How could I face my colleagues if I failed to pick the winning ticket? Fortunately I was spared the agonizing embarrassment because, once again, there was no winning ticket sold. Read all about it on our company blog here.

January 9^th was another day that covered the spread of the meter. In the late morning the weather was pleasing so Velo Junkie and I went for a ride. The nice weather also brought out the tailgating camps around Paul Brown Stadium. People had begun consuming alcoholic beverages at 1:00 for an 8:00 game. Oy vey.

I reluctantly ventured downtown and across the river to Carabello’s Coffee. Honestly I was worried about the hordes of football tailgaters we might encounter downtown. Much to my dismay, my fear was confirmed when a large group of disrespectful, jersey-clad, inconsiderate, party-goers crossed the street against the light, forcing Velo and I to brake in order to avoid a collision. Luckily, my super-hero reflexes kicked in and the catastrophe was thwarted.

I rode the Salsa with my new, shiny fenders because there was still a bit of standing water about. We had a peaceful lunch before heading back when we came across a herd of wooly mammoths gracefully grazing on the side of the road.

After an uneventful yet enjoyable ride Velo and I needed to eat dinner and get ready for the evening. We had tickets for the Bengals’ game against the Steelers. The weatherman was predicting heavy rain and falling temps. Good thing we have a cycling wardrobe for all weather of which several layers fit nicely under the team gear.

The game started slow. The mood turned dark when the Steeler’s scored. There was a whole lot of hugging and yelling when the Bengal’s moved ahead. Ultimately the game was decided by the officials, the Bengals were out of contention, and we were drenched to the bone. 

January 11^th cast a melancholy mood across the globe when we found out The Goblin King had passed from this life. R.I.P. Mr. Bowie, Ziggy Stardust, and your many other personas.

January 12^th was no brighter. The world is full of heartless idiots and, try as we may, we sometimes cannot impart compassion. My state has no recourse for animals left chained in the cold. With temperatures dipping into the single digits I tried to get this man to take his dog in. I contacted the SPCA who paid him a visit. I lay awake that night praying for his poor, freezing pup and gave each of my pups an extra hug. I can only presume he took his poor pit bull in because he survived the night. My sister saw him back out on his chain the next day.

January 13^th – Nine years ago today I met Velo Junkie, my partner in life, love, and cycling. He has a way of making me laugh. And, even though I wonder what I did to deserve this crazy person, he always serenades me with some romantic ballad of which he has morbidly twisted the words.

Tonight was no exception:

(To the tune of “Danny’s Song”)

Even though our eggs are runny

Doesn’t mean our food is funny 

Tell me every day our bread is gonna be all white

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In Search of Beer - Trains, Gangsters, and Pete Rose

Another episode of “The Adventures of The Reluctant Cyclist and Velo Junkie”. Sounds like the makings of a good novel. There was quite a revelation on this ride – Velo figured out how to share the lead. He denies it, but ask anyone who rides with him and they will tell you – Velo needs to be in front. Even if it is just by a wheel length, he can’t stand to lag behind someone, especially if that someone is slower than he. But, if you watch the video below you will see that he is not always in front of me this time. 

So, November 14, 2015 was a clear, crisp day and perfect for a bike ride around town donning my new red flannel socks. We were, once again, in search of an interesting, inviting, and unique brewing experience. There are so many good beer establishments in the Greater Cincinnati area we could probably head out each day and not have to go to the same place twice in a month.

We settled on Braxton Brewing Company in Covington, KY. The catch, Braxton’s is only about a five mile ride from our starting point so we had to find a way to make the journey a little longer and somewhat interesting. Well that’s easy, after all we can always ride through urban and industrial parts of Cincinnati, pick one of many bridges to cross the mighty Ohio, and amble through historic northern Kentucky.

There are some interesting landmarks in route to the river that you simply don’t bother to think about unless you are travelling by bike (or on foot). Here is a sign for Pete Rose Way, formerly 2nd Street and renamed for the Cincinnati Reds record-breaking player in 1985.

Another is the caboose stationed above the entryway to the Norfolk Southern Railroad terminal. The only way into town from the west side of Cincinnati is to cross over the train yard via one of the several bridges or viaducts.

This time we opted to jump off the road and ride along the park route by the river. The views are much more spectacular because nothing is between you and the river banks, except a rail, as you can see in the video below. Beware of slow moving quad-cycles carrying fluffy dogs, and daydreaming pedestrians, though. There were many people out because of the nice weather. But some people just don't notice cyclists and walk in front of you? I admire pedestrians and am often one of them, but please be considerate of bicycles. I think I must have been wearing a sign that said “Feel free to make me come to a screeching halt at your feet”. All is well though, no casualties.

We made it through the park, went out and back on Riverside Dr. and then made a left on the Taylor Southgate Bridge. This put us out on York St. heading into the heart of Newport, KY and the epicenter of what used to be a haven for gambling and gangsters, thanks to prohibition. Those days are gone but, oh, if the walls could talk. Newport offers Gangster Tours, if you’re into that sort of thing. Long before Bugsy Siegel  created Las Vegas, Newport was the hot spot attracting such celebrities and Frank Sinatra, and the rest of the Rat Pack, and Marilyn Monroe. Read more here http://www.nkyviews.com/campbell/newport_clubs.htm

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We rode past York Street Café, now an eclectic eatery with visible remnants of yesteryear. In its past it was home to an apothecary on the first floor and some gangster activity upstairs.

We turned and headed east, past one of the most magnificent casinos of its time, now a restaurant, “The Newport Syndicate”. Another turn and we were heading north on Monmouth St., a hotbed when Newport was a boomtown, and again now, during the renaissance of the city. It is really easy to get lost in the imaginary images of gangsters, brothels, casinos, and speakeasies. Why, the Tommy Gun was invented there in 1918 by by one f Newport's own, John Thompson. It was the weapon of choice for organized crime and law enforcement alike during prohibition.

Here's a short, three minute video to highlight some of the tour.

We looped around, crossed another bridge and found our way to Covington, KY, home of Braxton Brewing Company. Have you ever been reading a map to figure out where you are so you can then figure out where to go? Only to look up and see that you are already there?  That is how we came to find Braxton Brewing Co., and we weren't the only cyclists there today. 

  Every town around the Greater Cincinnati area is having a rebirth and breweries seem to be part of the infrastructure.  Covington is no exception. Braxton’s claim to fame is the fastest wifi of any brewery, cold brewed coffee in addition to a line-up of great craft brews, and BYOF (bring your own food). It was a hopping joint for the middle of the afternoon. The beer was exceptional, I had an Auto, a German style Dunkel, and the pretzels were as big as my head.

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