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Day: November 25, 2008

Laphroaig Quarter Cask

Published November 25, 2008

Laphroaig Quarter Cask, 1L, purchased at the Duty Free shop in Heathrow Airport for £30.99.

Save for an awful cold, an Oyster Card, some cash, a few receipts, and two packs of candy chocolate bars, this 1L bottle of Laphroaig Quarter Cask purchased at a Duty Free shop at Heathrow Airport was the only real souvenir which I brought back from the UK. Cost was £30.99, and with the ~1.58:1 exchange rate we received, the state minimum price of $54.98 for a 750mL, and a 6% sales tax, presuming the same size bottle was available, this cost 63% of what it would back here in Michigan.

This is a very interesting whisky. Despite its higher alcohol content it’s not as potent of a flavor as I expected. It’s still nicely smoky, but there’s something much softer about it. I did mix it with about 40% water, and I may eventually work up to trying it neat, but that’s typically a stretch for Laphroaig. It’s almost always best with at least a small splash of water.

I guess I should go fill out the form to claim my square foot of land on Islay. Maybe one day I’ll end up there and have a chance to collect rent.

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Cool Weather Riding

Published November 25, 2008

New SIDI Bullet 2 shoes with my old(er) SM-SH51 cleats after a first ride. They work well.

I finally put the cleats on my new Sidi Bullet 2 shoes, covered them with Pearl Izumi AmFIB Moutain Shoe Covers, and went for a bike ride. Beyond the new shoes and covers I also wore the gloves I purchased last month, BDU pants, my old blue North Face jacket from my Alaska adventure in 1996, and a Descente Coldout Beanie under my helmet. I did not feel cold, nor did my toes get numb. This is good.

The ride was 13.5 miles, and in just over an hour I went from my house, up to River Bends park, through the 5km hiking trail, out of the park, down to 21 Mile, back past Schoenherr, through a subdivision, then back to my house. At one point while riding someone in a car yelled something at me, but I’m not really sure what it was. It may have been “Ghostrider!”, but I couldn’t really tell. Weirdly, I caught up with them at the next light (about a mile away) and ended up passing them as I crossed.

My head and tail light both worked great for the whole ride, but it was a bit spooky riding along in the woods alone, knowing that it was unlikely that anyone else would be out there any time soon. At one point I turned the light off just to see how difficult it was to ride, but the only markings I had to follow were the dim blue/grey slush and snow on the path. I quickly turned the light back on. That said, there was something really pleasing about riding along seeing small snowflakes fluttering down and streaking past me, and in the woods I saw at least one set of eyes looking back at me in the brush.

I think I’m set for cool weather (~32°F/0°C) riding.

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