Gingerly

Work hard. Play harder.

My Ginger Minger & Scott Paisley MTB just before a clean & lube.

I worked hard this weekend. Friday was the biggest retail day of the year. I sold a bunch of bikes, got folks accessorized, and thoroughly worked my ass off. Following busy working days like these, I usually just rest on my next day off. But not today.

Today, I played. I took the Scott Paisley mountain bike out to the woods near my place. She rode beautifully. It was my first time riding the trails out there. It was fast & fun. I rode for and hour and a half and explored all the different loops on my own. I can't believe I hadn't done this sooner.

I had forgotten how important play is to me. I'd been wasting my days off, just napping & watching the boob tube. Then, I got hooked up fishing. I found a friend that makes jigs and has taught me quite a bit about fishing in the creeks and lakes around here. I caught the fishin' bug from him, and have been fishing several times a month on my own. I caught three bass two weeks ago, just a 5 minute walk into the woods from my place.

The woods are my new sanctuary. On my days off I can take my dog out there for a walk, grab a fishing pole and pull up some perch, or sling my bike down and tear up the trails.

I feel really good again. It's a high of 75F today, unseasonably warm for this time of year here in Dallas. After riding today, I came back, cracked my latest homebrew, cleaned my bike, and cranked the online stream of WTJU on TuneIn. The folks at WTJU always remember to give me a shoutout.

Oh - my latest homebrew. I was quite disappointed with it... until this week. I call it Ginger Minger. It's a basic pale ale recipe I took and played with a bit. I added a bunch of shredded ginger and fresh mint for the last 15 minutes of the wort boil. It was intended to be a late autumn beer... and it's perfect for that. Perfect for today. Play is rewarding.