Bikes, Beers, & Cake

Happy President’s Day – Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

The weather in East TN this time of year is pretty crack-tastic. On Saturday, the weather was beautiful – the sun was shining, the thermometer read about 60, and I actually saw some daffodils hanging out. Too bad by the time the clouds rolled in on Sunday, their little stems had most likely frozen and they were dead. A steely gray sky spit rain all day, eventually turning into snow in the late afternoon and leaving me in a foul mood. Not only was I discouraged because I didn’t want to do my long run in such conditions but I was also pissed off that the weather appeared to be reversing its course from the springy weather we had the day before. Such an erratic little tease springtime is…

On Saturdays, my training schedule calls for cross-training (anything other than running) so I took full advantage of the weather and went with John and his Mom on a 22 mile bike ride.

Please, no need to tell me how sexy I look in spandex – I know.

Cycling and I have a love/hate relationship. John’s family loves for me to go, and about mile 15, (which is also about the time my ass starts to throb) I start to hate it. I’m pretty sure my dislike stems from my complete lack of skills as well as my inability to figure out how to switch gears adequately enough so I’m not giving myself a hernia whilst trying to climb a hill.

Following our ride, I decided I needed a beer. “No need to change” I thought, “I look fabulous!” and John and I took our spandex swaddled selves down to Marble City Brewing Company for a tour and a taste.

$10 got me a tour of the brewery, a free pint glass (which I immediately took home and accidentally shattered into a billion pieces) AND a free beer. Quite the deal if you ask me.

Adam and his Vats-o-Beer

Our friendly neighborhood tour guide AND brewery owner Adam, talked all about the beer making process, showed us around, and answered questions from our group of about 15. Surprisingly, I actually learned some pretty fun facts:

• Marble City pays homage to an old Knoxville nickname, “The Marble City” as it was a primary city for marble distribution back in the day (ie the early 1900’s).

• By definition, Marble City is the only microbrewery in Knoxville.

• There are only about 24 microbreweries in TN – due mostly to the fact that taxes are almost quadruple the national average for craft beer. (I say boo to that!)

Following the tour, we received our prize:

Spiced Pumpkin Ale (personal favorite) & Dad's Dime Amber Ale

 And to document our well-dressed excursion, I forced John to take a picture with me:

If you have a free afternoon, I would definitely recommend coming downtown for the tour. Adam and the Brewmaster, Jennifer seem to know what they are doing and I expect nothing but great things to come from Marble City. And you get free beer…I mean, come on.

On Sunday, I discovered the wonders of King Cake and proceeded to stuff my face with the multicolored sprinkle-laden, frosted round of doughy deliciousness to completely counteract my cardio from the previous day and to further wallow in my dismay for the oppressive weather. Poor John almost choked on the creepy gold baby that was creepily baked into the cake (so creepy) and now, per tradition, we are obligated to have a party. Hey, I’ll take any excuse to throw a party.

Watch out for babies!!

Happy Mardi Gras to all!!