Fort Collins, CO.  Thanks to the crew of Full Cycle Bikes and Whole Foods Fort Collins for having us at BBQ Fest to benefit NoCo Rebuilding Network on Saturday! We were pleased to contribute funds to the effort. Here's a photo of our table, run by Bryan, at the end of the day.

Lakewood, CO. Our awesome friends, the Yeti Beti pro women mountain bike team, alerted us to a great photo capture in Dirt Rag Magazine of the 3rd annual Beti Bike Bash in June sponsored by Stan's NoTubes. The photographer is another friend, Devon Balet, principal of Denver-based Devon Balet Media which specializes in photography, videography, and editorial with an eye to covering the outdoors. We're really proud to be a part of the Beti Bike Bash growing legacy and the positive influence it has to empowering women of all ages through the sport of mountain biking, which itself is a wonderfully inclusive community. Look for us next year at the 4th year of the Beti Bike Bash where we'll also be proudly offering Clif Family Winery and Gary & Kit's Gourmet selections to complete the glassware!

Fort Collins, CO. Please give us a 'Like' at the dedicated Facebook page for On the Wheel. We decided to spin off a separate page for On the Wheel to provide content related more specifically to the collection. We're keeping the original FU DOG page, of course, which will be dedicated more to industry-related matters. The URL for On the Wheel on Facebook is below - thank you!

https://www.facebook.com/OnTheWheel 

Fort Collins, CO. We'd like to invite friends in Fort Collins and area to a the Full Cycle Bikes-Whole Foods Market BBQ Fest (with bands, beer, and bikes) this coming Saturday, July 28. It's a benefit event to raise funds to be granted to the NoCo Rebuilding Network which itself is a fundraising concern that donates 100% of proceeds to sustainable rebuilding following local disasters. We're helping out at the event along with leading area enterprises including Full Cycle Bikes, Whole Foods Market, New Belgium Brewing, Wilbur's Total Beverage, and Sunrise Ranch. Come by and do good while having a good time. We look forward to seeing you.

Fort Collins, CO. So we posted back in April about visiting Voodoo Doughnut while in Portland, and now have come across a beer brewed by Rogue Ales in Newport, OR, that is inspired by Voodoo's Bacon Maple Doughnut. While this is not a taste review - we have not had the privilege of sampling either - we are nonetheless intrigued, and have this on our radar among things to try should the opportunity arise. Holding us over, however, are reviews such as the ones at BeerAdvocate. Have you tried either? What do you think?

Kansas City, MO. Friend and venture collaborator Allen Lim has been doing some great things with his new business, Skratchlabs, which has launched an all-natural sports energy and electrolyte hydration mix that is exceptionally palatable and effective.

Allen's also published The Feed Zone Cookbook which includes recipes for rice cakes that are inspired from Mom's down-home Far Eastern cooking.

At left is a traditional rice cake authentically hand-made by Mom herself. It is made of glutinous sticky rice with sweet bean filling, wrapped in bamboo leaves, and steamed in a bamboo steamer.

Delicious, nutritious, wholesome, easy to transport... Ancient Chinese Secret!

We'll be hosting Allen in Fort Collins for a demo engagement some time in the early fall, but after Interbike where we'll both be exhibiting. We'll post the event date and details once we have it nailed down, so do check back.

In the meantime, here's one of Allen's favorite rice cake recipes: 

ALLEN’S RICE CAKES

INGREDIENTS
2 cups uncooked calrose or other medium-grain “sticky” rice
1.5 cups water
8 ounces bacon
4 eggs
2 tablespoons liquid amino acids or low-sodium soy sauce
brown sugar
salt and grated parmesan (optional) 

DIRECTIONS

Combine rice and water in a rice cooker.

• While rice is cooking, chop up bacon before frying, then fry in a medium sauté pan. When crispy, drain off fat and soak up excess fat with paper towels.
• Beat the eggs in a small bowl and then scramble on high heat in the sauté pan. Don’t worry about overcooking the eggs as they’ll break up easily when mixed with the rice.
• In a large bowl or in the rice cooker bowl, combine the cooked rice, bacon, and scrambled eggs. Add liquid amino acids or soy sauce and sugar to taste. After mixing, press into an 8- or 9-inch square baking pan to about 1.5-inch thickness. Top with more brown sugar, salt to taste, and grated parmesan, if desired.
• Cut and wrap individual cakes. Makes about 10 rice cakes.

SERVINGS: 10
TIME: 30 minutes

TIP: We always use calrose rice, a strain of medium-grain rice common in Asian cooking. This variety cooks fast (in 20 minutes or less), retains a nutty flavor, and is just sticky enough to hold our cakes together. If you can’t find it, use another medium-grain rice or any kind marked “sushi rice.”

Asheville, NC. What do you call a place where you have family, friendly customers, great places to ride, good beer, and awesome BBQ? A great town, called Asheville, NC.

While we've been going back to Asheville for years to visit family during the holidays, those trips have been just about that. Finally getting out to explore more, however, has really opened our eyes to the gem of a city and area that it is.

We'd first off like to thank the wonderful server at citybakerycafe for taking such great care of us while we were in enjoying cupcakes with the youngsters. Delicious pastries and coffee only get even better when they come along with a friendly atmosphere.

Thanks also to Kevin at Liberty Bikes, which has been a gracious partner of ours since shortly after our launch in December. We stopped by to see Kevin, and picked up a Walz cycling cap as well as a Clif Bar Gary's Pan Forte limited flavor, which is absolutely delicious and should be kept in the permanent assortment. (Note to Gary: You can not make Pan Forte a "limited flavor" - it's just too good, and it's got your name on it, after all!)

We also said hello to the folks at Beer City Bicycles, and had the first of several lunches at 12 Bones Smokehouse which is located in the River Arts District just across from where the New Belgium Brewery will be located.

Oh, and the riding. Let's just say temps were in the upper 90's, with humidity in the same range. Just coming off an unspectacular showing at the Firecracker 50 in Breckenridge, it was nigh time to start riding, so the climate plus 15-20% grades made the conditions right for some strenuous workouts. It's already almost August, so you do what you gotta do. The touristic Blue Ridge Parkway strolls will just have to wait until next time.