#underbiking | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

littledoethough · 6 years ago

Text

I saw Mamma Mia 2 at the NOYO. Whilst watching I was taking notes. Below is a transcription of those notes. I may post a more cohesive version later. Edited for clarity. Enjoy this review/ramble

Note their is minor inappropriate language.

Mamma Mia 2 Review

Merly Dies!

The outfits worn by young Donna, Rosy, and Tanya in “Kiss the Teacher”, are vibrant and fun.

Cool underbike shot

Great use of mirrors for scene transitioning.

Seyfried looks pissed that someone dare cry in her presence

Fernando flirts with Tanya and Rosy the minute they meet.(This will come back later)

Meryl (Donna) meets Harry whilst impersonating hotel staff

Great transition from rainy exterior shot, to a painting in a restaurant is cool

Harry is a kissless Virgin who declares his love to a woman he just met ala “Waterloo”

A disabled person in a musical

She’s even the shots primary focus, twice during this musical number

No one describes sex as “lovely”

They especially don’t say “thank you”, afterwards.

Damn, Pierce Brosnon got old.

Billy the Boat Boy

I thought young Harry would’ve been a nerd.

Digging the acoustic rendition of “Take a Chance on Me”

Fernando declares his loyalty and devotion to his deceased wife/gf

Yet he was just flirting with both of Meryl’s friends.

Donna’s derrière demolishes the stairs

Donna rescues a horse. I don’t need this scene

Pierce “The Pussydestroyer” Brosnon, shields his daughter from the storm with just his body

Music doesn’t match the mariachi bands instruments

Donna effortlessly outruns a young goat

Fucking “Boruto” and “Jo Jo’s” in my “Mamma Mia 2”?

Oysters don’t work like that

Neither of Donna’s friends are allowed to have boyfriends. All boys belong to Donna!”

Acoustic “Take a chance on Me” is back

No one helps the old woman carrying the large bundle of sticks on her shoulders.

Cher’s chopper should’ve been accompanied by “Wicked Witch of the West Theme”

Bill crying next to Rosy at the mention of Donna shows character growth in both of them. He’s becoming closer to Rosy, and she is becoming stronger emotionally

All of Cher, including her hair, are presented in all white. Signifying her abscence from her family’s life.

Sophie sings with Tanya and Rosy; in place of her deceased mother (Donna/Merly). Transitioning back and forth from Sophie assuming her mother’s role to, Donna giving birth to Sophie on the same island, during the same song; is not something I was expecting from this movie.

This film also uses color theming to great effect. Such as Donna giving Birth in a green dress. Or Cher changing her white attire to one of a greenish hue.

Green signifies new beginnings and rebirth.

Holy Crap! Cher was Fernando’s long lost love?!

(This moment was truly shocking. No where near as shocking as what happens next.)

Meryl Streep shows up 1 hour and 40 minutes in to collect her paycheck

Seyfried can see Ghost Meryl! This is fucking hilarious

Cher gets the best songs

“Fernando” couples a powerful song with strong vocal performances and subdued dancing, to great effect. Really shows the emotional connection that Cher and Fernando have.

“SUPER TROOPER” transcends death and time.

#mamma mia 2 #movie review #spoilers #Abba

0 notes

whosbahd · 6 years ago

Text

Green Mountain Growler: 2 weeks of awayness, in 3.5 days.

As a father of 3 I had high expectations for a solo Father’s Day long weekend getaway. Dirt, the unknown, the wildcamping... a different kind of adventure from the daily constant-party of having 3 kids at home, work, routine etc etc.. And just like all proper vacations and adventures, the trip starts as soon as it’s on the calendar. Bikepacking is so simple, yet the constant dialing in of gear and of route, amounts to hours of late night planning and assessment - should I take the full length sleeping pad, or the 3/4 length that weight 100grams less?

Some thoughts and photos of the trip below.

My Ride With GPS Route: Green Mountain Gravel Growler- 3night Abrviated note, some POI (camping , food etc.) I did not visit. Others are from the BP.com original track. Strava, day 1/2 Strava day 3/4

The original Green Mountain Gravel Growler route and information

My expectations and hopes were high. The plan was to follow a slightly altered Green Mountain Gravel Growler route, covering 220miles (20,000′ of up) in 3.5days. I expected rolling hills, great views, some river swimming, and of course excellent food and beverages. High mileage days, unknown track- pretty much an ideal few days.

Meh... is what i have to say about this brewery...overdone and maybe because there are so many other options, but Heady T isn’t what it used to be.

My 3.5 day abridged Green Mountain Gravel Growler entirely and fully over delivered. In addition to meeting my expectations of challenging mixed terrain miles, I was energized and in awe of the architecture and the people I met. The quiet and reserved homesteads melded into the landscape. There were plenty of impeccably maintained homesteads and sagging funky farm houses. The ‘fabric’ of the landscape and culture was pure VT .

Like there are micro climates on each side of a hill, where forest patterns change and cool breezes come and go, the cultural and physical fabric varied. It takes a while to notice this, but as you go through multiple backwoods dirt road communities you sense the subtle changes in society and land development.

Looking back, I say it felt like 2 weeks away in 3.5 days. True. My body feels great and strong, my excitement for further summer family riding and camping is ramping up.

when was the last time you asked a farmer to camp on her land and woke at sunrise to the sounds of birds all around you?

Met a lot of young rippers out there.

The people (and Angora goats) I encountered in Vermont were welcoming and not overly chatty. The annoying New Yorkers that flocked the trendy breweries stuck out and were almost physically repulsive in context to plain and simple friendliness the village store cashiers, old guys fishing, farm girls, diner regulars, and artist communities that I encountered. One bickering family of New Yorkers were so annoyingly arguing about nothing at all, that I had to leave the building.

Of course as a brewery tour the trip did not disappoint, mostly because where there is good beer, there is good filling food. The tour circles arguably the IPA capital of the world. I did not linger and have a few of anything. It was all business: rest the legs, slow sip enjoyment of tasty coldness to lighten the brain, and keep going.… My favorite beer? This sour.

Yes, this Hogback Mountain Sour was my favorite beverage on the trip, found at the hopping Saturday Waitsfield Farmers Market Apparently it pairs great with Yak sausage topped with eggs. Everything on sample by Hogback was excellent...I almost had another. But Lincoln Gap was an hour away.

My first night, I camped with these folks. IN just a couple weeks, the boystrous crew cut a barn frame. The crane arrived for the raising the morning I left. After having ribs at Lost Nation in Morrisvegas (Morrisville), this hearty band of timber framers, invited me for smoked meat and beers! and a hot tub soak!

Said ribs. This brings us to the bike and gear. The GT Grade carbon Ultegra. It is a great bike. It’s a fast gravel ripper with a very very comfortable and unique rear end - slender compliant seat stays that soak up so much. It’s super light and very durable - I have ‘underbiked’ a lot on it and it has always impressed with it’s composure.

Gearing: I was on a 52/36 - 11-36 Ultegra drivetrain. Ideal for me, would have have been a 38t x 11-42 ish 1x drive-train. The 52 chainring was great on a few occasions but really not necessary. A dropper post and beefier tires, 40mm>2.1”, would have been welcomed on this ride.

Bags are all Revelate Designs, I’ve been amassing over 5-10 years. First ride with the Tangle framebag and it was great as it forced my knees apart a bit, keeping them healthy and mashing pedal stroke composed.

Huge shout out to Hampshire Bicycle Exchange in Amherst for helping me get kitted out over the years. And to Northampton Bicycle, for the Grade and last minute help dialing in my new cassette (thanks Neal!)

Unknown to me, this field led to splendid singletrack that dropped into Montpellier.

The GT Grade can only take up to a 35mm tire.. but I think I found a perfect match: The WTB Cross Boss 35mm are fantastic semi-aggressive durable tire that roll well on roads. On this trip I dialed in the pressure between 30ish and 55 psi a few times and the tires responded fantastically. (Grail/DT240 wheels. )

As a mountain biker first and foremost that enjoys exploring rough trail, I am better suited for one of the new breed of 27.5” Adventure bikes. Ibis Hakka MX, next Warbird, or similar ti custom is on my list. Isn’t it amazing how there is always an N+1 vision that will genuinely up your riding ?

yes please. 10am coffee stop.

TIP: Weed out necessary stuff. Load up at home and ride uphill for a few minutes. You’ll get a sense if you’re carrying too much weight (probably are) , before starting your trip. Make a list and edit it at the end of your trip, for the next one. Carrying too much is okay when you’re traveling flat, but if your route has a lot of climbs - go as light as you can!

one of the best coffee experiences of my life.

Favorite gear items: Bedrock sandals. I purchased these after seeing them on bikepacking.com They are my favorite footwear. Each long break, I took off my stiff Sidis which made a huge difference in recovery and general enjoyment. Highly recommend these sandals.

Shelter: Nemo Apollo 3.

In need of a 1 person shelter option, I bought the Nemo Apollo 3 . I found it for a crazy good price and it over delivered. Hardly any weight, easy to setup and pleasurable to sleep in . I’ll echo other reviewers by saying this is NOT a 3 person tent. 1 + bike/gear or 2 + gear only. It’s nice to know that in case of severe rain , I could have brought my bike and packs in the tent with me. The Nemo mesh bivvy was great on one night when mosquits were bad.

Weight - After day 1 , I unloaded about 3-4 lbs of excess- giving it to my cousin in Craftsbury: ‘extra riding and camp clothes, sleeping bag outer layer for 30degrees, rain gear, battery lipstick storage, heavy bar light. This made a huge difference and I feel no loss. I slept in my warm layers, wore the same bibs each day, and got rained on in my riding clothes.. no problem at all . I am confident that I could have ridden forever with my setup, assuming regular food stops. It took several trips, but I think my list is dialed now. Food- meat sticks , occasional chocolate, and electrolites were all I carried. The Epic brand bison, salmon, venison meat bars were a particular favorite that I found all over.

Tip: keep some meat for beastly dogs! I almost wielded a large stick to defend myself from a large territorial dog coming down in Waitsfeidl. Fortunately a taste of dried salmon allowed me to throw the second piece, and bolt down the hill to safety.

Maps, route building, and tech Garmin 820 for turn-by turn. I forgot to put in auto-sleep mode and burned through 50% in the first couple hours. I never had an y problem running out of juice. Iphone 7plus with GaiaGPS downloaded maps and route for backup , phone in airplane mode. I paid for the RWGPS $6/mnth version to easily edit the original Growler Route, added a bunch or points of interest, and then uploaded to Garmin and GaiaGPS. My confidence in route building and nav has increased tremendously.

singletrack for breakfast!

Route improvements and notes: Out of Little River State Park, mountain bike singletrack would be a better climb. Look at the trails on OSM or Strave Heatmaps and map some switchback climbs to the higher singletrack and forest road.

Heading South of Montpellier, it would have been preferred to stay on the Boyer St Forest singletrack (awesome trails!) instead of bomb down the extremely washed out road. Tip: Wild camping. Use google maps to scope out potential wild camping spots and add them to your route as points of interest. I added a couple potential spots in each landing spot. Even though local advice and invitations were much better, it was nice to know I had some options ready. I also scoped out friendly looking farms ahead of time( CSAs, homesteaders, etc) one of which provided an amazing camping spot. Next year, my teen son and I hope to bikepack in Europe! Cheers!

0 notes

urbanadventureleague · 7 years ago

Text

Portland is a rather large city. Its 640,000 denizens occupy an area of 145 square miles. So there’s a lot of area. For many people, “far out” Portland is the part of the city east of I-205, a vast swath of postwar suburbia. But I spend a lot of time out that way. For me, “far out Portland” is another swath of postwar suburbia at the opposite end of town. I’m talking deep SW.

How would I define “deep” SW? Well, it’s for one not the close in SW of downtown and the area hugging the Willamette River. Nor is it the tony hills above it. Nope, it’s the area beyond all that. As a dyed-in-the-wool eastsider, I have little reason to go out that way. Granted, there are a few areas of note like Hillsdale and Multnomah Village. But while a SW’er may argue otherwise, there’s not much there that couldn’t easily be found on the east side. The major reason I venture out this way is because my dentist is out here (Garden Home). But every once in awhile, I find the urge to come out this way and explore. What better time to do so than the Coffeeneuring Challenge? If anything, it means a longer ride. And a day like Tuesday October 24, with possibly the last time we’d see 70F/21C until 2018, was a perfect opportunity to explore.

And now there is a Five Points Coffee Roasters out in as deep of SW as you can get. Yes, the coffee shop owned by my former roommate Chris. I visited the original SE Division location during Coffeeneuring 2015. Since then, he added two more locations: one in Johns Landing on SW Macadam (which I have been to before, but not on a Coffeeneuring Challenge) and the newest one (added this year) on SW Capitol Highway in the West Portland Park neighborhood, a half mile down the road from Portland Community College’s Sylvania campus (and also from the city/county line.) It’s a 12 1/2 mile from my house, and it’s beautiful, so…ride time!

The first part of the ride was familiar territory, bombing down N Vancouver Ave to the Broadway Bridge and across the Willamette. Broadway through downtown has a bike lane, but it’s less than pleasant (Don’t get right hooked! Watch out for the clueless student walking into the bike lane!) Then it was the climb over the West Hills. Besides picking a route more suited for mountain goats over this small mountain range, bicyclists (and most cars) are funneled onto two primary routes: Barbur Blvd, which has a more gradual slope but is busier (State Route 99W) and features disappearing bike lanes where you most need it, or Terwilliger Blvd, a more scenic route (planned by the Olmsteads) with less traffic (but still more than you want) and steeper grades. I opted for Terwilliger. Besides, the big-leaf maples were showing off their colors.

From Terwilliger, I turned towards SW Capitol Highway. This road passes through Hillsdale and Multnomah Village. This part is fairly okay as bike riding goes. But after that, the shoulder/bike lane disappears, and the road becomes windy and hilly and narrow, with fast moving traffic. I was hugging the fog line, dodging speeding cars and shrubbery and branches that jutted out from the sides. This is the stereotype we eastsiders have of biking in this neck of the woods. I find it amazing that there are folks who regularly cycle commute out this way, but they are indeed out here (yet not in the same numbers of the east side.) I wondered to myself if I ended up in this part of town first rather than SE,* would I have become the cyclist I am today?

Finally I arrived at Five Points, in a strip mall a bit south of where Capitol Hwy crosses I-5. Chris was there to greet me. I got a lovely mocha and a blueberry muffin (baked by them!) and chatted with Chris for a few hours about the coffee biz in Portland plus our lives.

Before I knew it, it was 5 PM. I had grander hopes of getting here earlier and doing a more in-depth exploration of this far flung area (this marked the first time I’d been in this neighborhood, ever), but as I left, I could feel the chill in the air as the sun moved behind trees. Still, I wanted to do something out this way. So I headed for Nansen Summit, a small butte and high point (about 1,000 feet) just about a mile from the coffee shop. The last bit of the climb was steep, but I appreciated bringing the Bantam. (Y’see, I did entertain the notion of “underbiking” and ride the Raleigh Superbe out this way, but I figured with the hilliness of this area the lowest geared and best braking bike would be the most appropriate tool.) Nanset Summit would provide a 360 degree view of the Coast Range, west side suburbs, downtown, and all the snow capped volcanoes, if it wasn’t for some pesky McMansions and trees. So I had to squint between it all to take in the view. It was worth it, though.

From there, it was all down. With the sound of squealing brakes, I headed first towards Tryon Creek but then north again towards Hillsdale. While much of the outer SW I had just passed through was “gridded” to some degree, this area featured more meandering roads. It resembled to a degree the semi-rural areas of Connecticut I spent some of my younger years in, though the houses in CT were set back further from the road. I made a quick pit stop to the “beer window” at Moonshrimp Brewing, since it was (luckily) only open on Tuesdays. (Gluten free, too!) I did stumble across a few gravel streets and sneak paths, a definite bonus.

I wrapped up my deep SW biking adventure at Sasquatch Brewing in Hillsdale. The combination of a couple beers plus mac and cheese and a pumpkin spice goat cheese cheesecake did me in, and I decided to take the bus the rest of the way home. Hey, it was late and I had already done 20 miles, so still an accomplishment!

So yes, I need to get out to deep SW again sometime soon. There are still more roads that need to be explored. But I am thankful that I don’t have to bike out that way regularly…

*During my first month in town, I did live in SW, though it was Kings Heights, close to Burnside and west of downtown. Since then, I have not lived west of the Willamette.

Coffeeneuring 2017, Ride 3: To Deep SW, Tues 24 Oct Portland is a rather large city. Its 640,000 denizens occupy an area of 145 square miles. So there's a lot of area.

#coffeeneuring #coffeeneuring2017 #deep sw #five points coffee

0 notes