Yesterday I scooted back to downtown OKC to check out the final day of the OKC Pro-Am Classic bike races. I had ventured out in Friday night to watch the races under the lights, and once the rain let off on Sunday, I went back for another dose. Bicycle criterium (crit) races are an a real treat to watch...even if you're not into cycling! Watching racers blast past at roughly 30 miles per hour, inches apart, is a pretty awesome sight to see.

If you ever have a chance to go, I highly recommend it.

The pros, or 'Cat 1' racers lining up to start. Their race was 75 minutes long! That's a long time to hammer on a bike without letting up. My legs would explode.

Making their way past. Often the peloton (group) rides right up against the railing. You can feel the rush of wind each time they pass by.

Crits are races where the cyclists ride a loop, typically a mile-ish long, over and over. Many folks are familiar with the Tour de France, in which racers travel over stages, and typically only pass by you, the spectator, once. At crit races, the racers keep zipping past every couple of minutes! Again, a great way to see some serious action.

I was super excited to get to hang with a couple of my great friends for the afternoon down at the races! Shain and Erin are top notch folks, teachers as well, and connoisseurs of fine beverage. 😜 They get an A-plus from me.

To top that off, Sunday was their anniversary! Congrats friends!

The clouds rolled in and out all afternoon, providing some nice shade for most of the race.

Once again, the Big Friendly was there, serving up some delicious Anthem beer. We stationed ourselves right out front for optimal viewing...and proper proximity...to the aforementioned beer. You can also see the MENT Apparel tent set up just off the front of the bus.

After the Cat 1 race, the Cat 4 men took the course. These are racers who are still making their way up through the ranks (racers start out in Cat 5). Shain and Erin had to split so I watched a bit of this race, then headed to my truck. Below is a shot from turn one on the course.

Unfortunately one of the Cat 4 racers took a nasty spill (not uncommon in crit races) and left on a stretcher. I didn't see it happen, but I saw him wheel by. Best wishes for his recovery. He was alert and speaking, but was definitely in rough shape.

After I got home, I snuck in a short run as the cloud cover rolled back in.

Forgive the 'shaka' hand. Often when I take a picture I think, 'Hey...you need to do THIS!' Then I look later and think, 'Hey dummy....stop doing that. You look stupid.'

Just as I was about to shower, I got a call from a Craigslist posting I had active. Don't get too excited....

Some folks wanted to buy some rocks I had! So I threw on some work clothes, loaded up the Tacoma, and hauled some rocks out to Mustang!

I was treated not only to some cash-money (beer money)...but to an excellent sunset on the drive out!

Yesterday was grocery store day for my hike! I was able to pick up most of my supplies at the new Winco Foods here in town. They have a great bulk-foods section which is a hiker's dream.

I often get asked what I eat when I hike. Since I'm in the process of sorting it out, I thought this would be a great opportunity to share.

Disclaimer - I don't eat super healthy on the trail...and I usually carry too much. I like to eat, and I like to have options. The common thread of 'hike your own hike' certainly applies.

Below is a photo of most of my food for the hike. The smaller pile on the left is what I will pick up later for the final 2 days. The pile on the right is my food for the first 6 or so days. I'm lacking some dinners because I need to order them. I used Alpineaire freeze-dried dinners last year for the first time and was pleased. Unfortunately they're pricey, but for the amount of time I'll be out, I can justify the cost. I've carried many alternatives over the years and, frankly, just wanted something more appetizing last summer. I'll stick with that plan again this year.

Here's a closer photo.

Left side, bottom to top: shelled pistachios, peanut M&M's, dried veggie chips (new for me this year), fig newtons, two kinds of trail-mix thrown together, and Cajun sesame mix.

Right side, bottom to top: smoked almonds, lifesavers, drink mixes (lemonade), snickers (fun-size), dried pineapples and cherries mixed together, and gardettos (also new this year).

Left side, bottom to top: granola bars (Nature Valley sweet and salty peanut and Kashi cherry dark chocolate), mini chips-ahoy cookies, and one Alpineaire dinner.

Right side, bottom to top: Annie's fruit snacks and Nutella (rocket fuel).

I'll also carry some Sargento cheese sticks. I get the reduced fat extra-sharp cheddar because the harder the cheese, the better it tends to keep in my pack. They still get a bit oily after a few days, but they sure are a treat. They're in the fridge.

I had this bad boy left over from last year so there's dinner for one night. I'll pick up a few more for the other evenings asap. They're designed for two people but after hiking all day I don't seem to have much problem eating a whole one (yep, you read right...800 calories). Their cheese-enchilada-ranchero is my favorite! They have a lasagna that I really like as well.

As a bonus, because I was wearing my sweet Oklahoma Craft Beer Festival t-shirt (thanks Geoff for the surprise!), I took a picture in the beer aisle. It just felt right.

Hats off off to John Knight at MENT Apparel for the awesome design! I had the pleasure of meeting John last December in the Big Friendly Beer Bus (also awesome) just as he was about to launch his new company. He's done a ton of shirts for Anthem Brewing as well (yet another excellent business venture!). I don't work for any of these people....I simply enjoy their offerings, and you should too!

Here are links for these fine folks:

MENT Apparel

The Big Friendly 
​
Anthem Brewing

My suggestion to you is to purchase a rad shirt from MENT, wear it to Anthem to drink a couple of beers in their taproom, then Uber to wherever the Big Friendly happens to be parked to enjoy some more local craft beer. Sounds like a great evening if you ask me.

How did this turn into a beer blog? It's food enough for me...so I went with it!!

Now to hunt down some freeze-dried beer....

Cheers y'all and happy eating, drinking, and outdoorsing!