Random things in Reno post.

I seem to have an odd collection of pics floating around on my phone from the last 3 or 4 days, so that's what you're getting this morning.  I guess I'll rehash them in the order that they occurred.

Food truck Friday at Idlewild. 

The music (and bicycles) at food truck Friday.

If this isn't a bicycle family SUB (Sport Utility Bicycle) I don't know what is!

Later that same night....a very fuzzy picture.  Why....because the second beer from the bottom of the draft list is BELL's from Kalamazoo, Michigan.  My original brewery!!!

Saturday morning brewing at my house (a Citra hopped Session IPA).  Note my system is now a one man operation due to the addition of a block and tackle for the transfer to the fermenter.

And that leads us up to yesterday's commute home.  Yep, it was raining up in my neighborhood....and more than a sprinkle.  I might have gotten wet, but it sure felt good on a 90+ degree day!

Ok, that clears out my back log.  Hope you've had as much fun over the last few days!

The Weekend Report (it's long....you've been warned).

Ok, so Friday evening kicked off with a windy (read headwind) ride up Mill St. We were headed (wifey and I) to Food Truck Friday at Idlewild.  Mill St. is not a particularly nice place to ride, even though there are bike lanes....but it is the most direct way to town from the far side of the airport.  In a rather rare event, we actually ran into another cyclist (so I got a chance to draft for a few blocks!).

Mill St. is not a good place to be fumbling with a camera so excuse the poor photos.  I just had to get a picture with another rider on Mill!

Ok, proof that he's back there.  Yes, I cut off his head.

Ok, see....he's back there and very blurry.

So when we finally got to Food Truck Friday it was in full swing.  We found good food and good beer to start things off.  In fact some of the vegetarian food was fa nominal!  

After the good food and music and visiting with multiple fiends, it was off to the Preacher's house for a final round of drinks.  And I mean final.....as the Preacher and his wifey are sadly (for us) and happily (for them) moving off to Bend, Or.  Apparently Reno's brewery density is far to low for them.....or they are sick of listening to me ramble on endlessly!  Either way with most of their worldly possessions in storage, we attacked what was left (his kegerator) with reckless abandon!

The Preacher giving me "last rites"!

The Preacher's last sermon!?  No more riding bikes in the house....it's sold.  You must ride outside!

 So, (shockingly) motivation the following morning was low.....we were supposed to go for a nice moderate bike ride.  This ended up being pushed to Sunday, where we did 34 miles around Washoe Lake.  Surprisingly, I've never done this ride.  We chose to start it out of the Summit Mall parking lot following a route like this:

It's a great ride with a lot of opportunities to pause including, the Chocolate Nugget, Bower's Mansion park, multiple Washoe lake parks, and smattering of Washoe bars and cafe's.  I'll let the pics do the talking on this one.

Proper signage for what used to be a busy section of 395.  Now a nice ride with light traffic and wide shoulders!

Most traffic seems to merge over, offering even nicer riding!

Views of Mt. Rose, the new bridge, and some "gorgeous" wires.

The Chocolate Nugget.  They have all the sugar you need and ice cream for those extra hot days!

Bower's Mansion (and park).

Washoe Lake.

One of several parks / campgrounds around Washoe.

So that was our weekend ride.  We followed it up with some errands like hitting Whole foods on the way home.  And just to top off the great morning with some classic Reno oddity....here is a picture of a truck with an anvil mounted to a swing away rack!

Yes, an Anvil.....like Willey Coyote and the Road Runner "Anvil".  I'm sure he uses it to shoe horses or some unique purpose, but it still tops the list of things you only see in Reno!

Rolling on the River....bicycle style!

Ok, tonight is a busy night.  Not just for me.....for all of you.  So I hope you packed up your bicycle this morning for the big day.

Your evening is going to kick off with Food Truck Friday down at the old bus station in central downtown Reno. 

This is something you don't want to miss.  The food is fantastic and the choices are huge.  Great Basin will be pouring beer.  The best part is there is a ton of parking (for bicycles)!  If you chose to drive down parking will suck.  Remember to come early because the lines build quickly.

Now that your fed, you can wander (or waddle depending on your caloric intake) over to Wingfield for Rolling on the River!  Parking is again absolutely no problem (if your on a bike)!  Bring a blanket and find some space on the grass for Keyser Soze. 

Now that you're fed and entertained you might want to finish off the evening with a quick nightcap.  I'm thinking some high end beer down at Old Bridge Pub, but if you just want some Sierra classics all you have to do is make it over the bridge to Sierra Tap house!   

So there....now you have evening plans.  So if you didn't ride this morning, you should give it a try this evening.  So dig out that bike and come join us for an evening on the town.

Food Trucks are Coming!

Now I'm not gonna say I told you so.....but I was blog lobbying (blobbying?) for this after a recent trip to Portland and now it's gonna be a reality!  Now keep in mind my whining resulted in nothing, but it looks like someone out there is thinking the same thing.  So less talk more info. 

So for the record, I think this is a good start.  However, I am out and about on more occasions than just the first Friday of each month.  I also tend to be out later than 9 pm.  To be clear, I am also often hungry after 9pm on days other than the first Friday of each month.  So come on people, someone with a vacant lot in downtown or midtown needs to kick off another set of dates and times for this so we can eat in Portlandia style!

Food truck lot in Reno....What do you think?

I've got a trip to Portland coming up this weekend.  One of the things I'm sure to do is catch lunch at the food carts.  If you're not familiar with this you are missing out.  Basically, the bulk of a city block that used to be a vacant lot is now permanently packed with food trucks (or carts in some cases).  So you can get a gyro while your friend gets Thai or Ethiopian food at the cart to the right or left!  The choices are just about endless and the food is fantastic (it really is).

We're not totally missing the boat here in Reno.  We've seen expansion beyond just the average taco trucks with guys like Gourmelt, Kenji's, Cheeseburger Island Style, and others.  What we don't have it the awesome centralized location like they have in Portland.  So what do you think...

There are a few vacant lots around Reno and Sparks.  Somebody needs to get on this and get the Reno food cart movement kicked into gear!