St. Patty's Day Shenanigans.

St. Patty's day fell on a Saturday this year.  I'm sure this opened the door for an early start to the festivities for more than a few people (with and without red hair).  A few phone calls and texts transpired by noon at my house and plans were made to gather a Shenanigans Pub over on Plumb and Virginia.  It's kind of a ritual for this group.  An Irish bar that is of course quite busy on this particular day but not in the maelstrom that occurs over on Wells Ave. or at Ceol.  Besides, they have one of the best corned beef and cabbage offerings in town.  Oh, and it's really easy to get there by bike on the back streets!

It was a little grey and cold when I left the house around 3pm, so I opted out of the normal attire for the day (Utilikilt of course).  I was feeling kind of unmotivated and the weather wasn't helping.  Needless to say when I arrived I managed to find a free parking pole to lock up to (Shenanigan's needs some bike parking).  Guinness was consumed and everything started to look a little more cheery!  People were definitely showing their Irish pride with loads of green, including one guy with a shaved head and green latex paint.

After a couple more rounds (including Grand Teton's The Pursuit of Hoppiness Imperial Red Ale) and a plate of corned beef, we decided to give up our corner table and make room for some of the standing room only folks.  A short ride later we ended up at the Zephyr which has undergone a change in ownership and a complete renovation.  Despite the bartender's "holier than thou" attitude, the drinks were good and the new motif (including a wall of embedded bottles) was cool.  We enjoyed a bit more home made corned beef before I decided to call it an early evening.  We exited to find a downright snow storm!  This of course made the ride home all the more memorable.  Hope your celebration was as fun.

Oh yeah, slightly tipsy guy taking cell phone pics in the dark....you've been warned!

Poker Ride!

 I was down to Great Basin brewery for dinner with a friend last week and notice a flier in the window for the next Gonads-n-Strife poker ride.  If you haven't every done this, it's a blast and benefits a great cause.  It doesn't mater what kind of bike is gathering dust in the garage.  Grab it and get down to Great Basin (Sparks location).

If you don't know how these things work here's the basics.  Show up and donate your $15.  You'll get a cool t-shirt and some other schwag in return.  You also draw for your first card in your 5 card stud poker hand.  If you're their a little early get yourself a beer and relax for a bit.  At "high noon" the entire place empties out and bikes of every flavor from tandems to low rider cruisers to touring bikes!  We take of Victorian and head for Reno via the river path.  The pace is very mellow and you'll meet a few new friends on the ride.

From here I don't know this years route...but in the past it's included Silver Peak on the River, Sierra Tap House, Silver Peak on Wells (Old Peak for some of us), and others.  Please note I'm not in the loop on this and the routes and bars may be changed!  Either way you get to ride around town and draw cards for the rest of your poker hand.  You may also roll at your own pace and have a beer or two as you migrate around town.  The last card is drawn back at Great Basin in Sparks and prizes are awarded with some live music as the evening rolls on!  So come join us and have an excuse to ride your bike!