This is fantastic! If you love craft beer, or if you just want to watch a fun, well-produced video about a brewer going to Europe to collaborate on a new beer, then watch this video from Stone Brewing Co. Co-owners Greg Koch and Steve Wagner, along with Head Brewer Mitch Steele went first to Norway, and then to Scotland to pair up with Nøgne Ø and BrewDog, respectively, all to create some great specialty beers. Take a look at the 27 minute video below to see the entire trip. You’ll love it.

Our daily lives can be quite hectic without us even realizing it. Even if you take a vacation, you try to pack as many sights into a short period of time as you can because you see the end before the trip even begins. But when you have no firm end date in sight, when you don’t have to cram lots of things into a limited to-do list, it comes time for you to learn how to slow down.

In part 3 of my interviews with Laura and Russ of The Path Less Pedaled, they discuss coming to the realization that their freedom to choose comes with a price.

A few years ago, I was sent to London, England for work. My crew and I were there to video tape some very cool technology segments for a show we were working on. One day of the week we spent there, I had some time where I could go shoot what’s called b-roll: it’s the footage that covers other video that is related to what’s going on in the segment. I know, bad description, but you get the idea. This day, I decided to grab a few snapshots, and as I was getting some video, I also snapped this shot of Westminster Abbey. The architecture in England is truly stunning, and the Abbey is absolutely gorgeous. While I didn’t get to go inside, the starkness of the Abbey’s stone exterior set against the bright blue sky (one of the few sunny days we encountered there) was beautiful.

Dave Pidgeon over at Compass Points saw that there was a need for well-produced outdoors videos on the web, so he went out and did it himself (I’m right there with him on that point…it’s why I started PTV). Enter Compass Points TV, Dave’s video version of his blog, where he does video trip reports and other videos. He’s just started his second season with a trip to Ricketts Glen in Pennsylvania. He and his buddy went on a hike to see the official National Natural Area that boasts 21 waterfalls in 7 miles. That is a hike I must take someday.

My buddy Casey over at Just Northwest does a cool little video series called The Northern Rangers, where he and his buddy go out and do fun things in the outdoors. Their most recent adventure was at the I-5 Colonnade Mountain Bike park in Seattle, Washington where local volunteers helped to build a series of urban mountain bike trails right under the highway! The video’s a bit shaky, but the content is great.

Stuff.

Everybody has it, and most of us have too much. It hides in corners and under beds. It clutters our closets and our drawers. We hide stuff in pantries and under sinks and hell, right out in the open. Knicknacks, curios, trinkets, souvenirs, and thingamajigs fill our lives, and because we clean and neaten and straighten, most times we don’t even notice. That is, until it’s time to move. Then we realize just how much stuff we actually have.

When Russ and Laura of The Path Less Pedaled took the self-imposed directive to ride their bikes across the country indefinitely, they had no idea that the first challenge would show up right at home. In part two of the PTV interview, Russ and Laura talk about paring down their stuff to just what they need; a task not for the faint of heart.

Down by the Maine State Pier, just off to the left across from the Narrow Gauge Railroad, is a marina where a sailing school is based and marine maintenance work is done. On one of my acquaintance walks, where I was wandering around getting to know my new home, I came on this large beam covered in black, shiny mussels. The beam must have just been removed from the ocean for cleaning. I thought it was fascinating to see so many of these little crustaceans and realize that they were living beings.

Long Trail Double Bag

When I picked up a Long Trail Double Bag, I knew absolutely nothing about it. The only reason I bought one bottle from the local convenience store was because my buddy Josh mentioned in a tweet that he was enjoying one himself, and he made it sound good. Really good. I was in the mood for a good, strong beer.

I ran up the street and did a little jig to celebrate the fact that they carried LT Double Bag, ignoring the strange looks from the good folks behind the counter. Running back home (ok, let’s face it, I didn’t want to agitate the fine brew. I slowly lumbered home), I quickly made my way to the kitchen to pour myself a glass.

What I noticed first as I poured the beer into my pint glass was the rich amber color, which gave way to a thick off-brown, foamy head. The beer is toasty and malty on the nose, with some floral notes and a bunch of fruit dancing around in there. I definitely got hints of cherry, maybe a little tiny bit of clove. I found later that Double Bag is a Strong Ale, so I could then understand its bold tones with subtle flavors. It’s got a nice, smooth mouthfeel that rolls around nicely. It had a good rounded taste that actually got better and more pronounced as the beer warmed up a bit. Double Bag has a pretty high ABV, but at 7.2% you hardly notice it over the malt. It actually feels pretty mellow, a nice warm feeling beer with almost no hop taste at all. It finishes pretty dry thanks to the high alcohol content. It’s very drinkable, though not the best strong ale I’ve ever had. It’s definitely worth stocking a 6 pack in the fridge for cold nights by the fire.

Some people are homebodies. Creating a close network of family and friends in a relatively small area keeps them grounded and safe. They have a local community to support them. This works for most people in life.

But some people find that their lives are lacking something in their current situation. Their worlds have been shaken up, and they need to do something more, something different. So when Laura Crawford, a jewelry maker, and Russ Roca, a photographer, decided to sell most of their belongings and fit the rest onto their bicycles, they had an idea that they would be pedaling indefinitely around the United States, in search of a life less ordinary.

In this episode of Part Time Vagabond, Russ and Laura of The Path Less Pedaled talk about how they came to the decision to leave it all behind for two wheels and the open road.

I love winter. Don’t get me wrong, summer is a favorite month too, but there’s something about winter: the falling snow, the crisp sunrises, the frozen snotcicles… Just makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. The only problem with winter is that I can’t do my favorite summertime sports. Mountain biking takes a back seat in winter for me. No bombing down singletrack in February for this snow bunny. I do love skiing though. Winter downhill sports are fun. But you can’t have both the adrenaline of mountain biking with the fresh packed powder of skiing/snowboarding.

Or can you?

Hat Tip to Casey at Just Northwest for pointing out the video.