Racing The Slump, notes from the Rogue

5/17- 1st night of  weekend Cruisers

     Hard to get out of a surf slump when I'm only going once a week. No big rides comin' my way.  Not that the waves and weather have been much in sync, but I feel a real sense of urgency to get past this slump, like I'm in a race with this season's opportunities wasted. Watchin' the muscle cars in town for Cruisin' Weekend kept this fact in front of me for the rest of the night after I had hauled my ass outta the soup. Times like these, it's tough to be a kook.

Tough night.

 














    
   The conditions this past week: dumpy and sectioning lefthanders about thigh to waist with a 15-20 kt northeast wind; water is warming...60-61F; air a little cooler in the low 60's to upper 50's; mid-tide. Hard to find position in this $hit.  The weekend got worse...sunny Saturday, cloudy Sunday,  head to plus conditions, still sloppy with a 35-40kt blow.  Tough to navigate, don't care what you're ridin'.

5/17 - Anyone tell the Atlantic that the Memorial Holiday is a week away? No? Guess not.

  The taste of the week, 21st Amendment Brewery's Hell or High Watermelon Wheat. With warmer temps supposedly close by, the summer styles are coming out.  This Wheat Beer is slightly cloudy (as Wheats should be) with a very light fruit aroma...could be watermelon, little hard to discern.  A less than 1 finger head that disappears quickly but nice carbonation, making this a refreshing brew.  4.9% ABV and a low 17 on the IBUs, a decent beer to throw down more than a couple. And I gotta say, 21st has some pretty cool graphics on their signature cans. I rated it a solid B.

"My rule of life prescribed as an 

absolutely sacred rite smoking cigars

and also the drinking of alcohol before, 

after, and if need be, during all meals

 and the intervals between them."

                                 -Winston Churchill