The backlog:

It has been quite a while, so here is the quick rundown...

I went to San Francisco, as mentioned earlier, for the Google conference and to drink some beer. Here are a couple pics from the Anchor Steam brewery. Very cool place...


The google developers conference was decent. They threw a good party on the night between the two days of conferencing; complete with arcade games, air hockey, some good catered food, free beer and drinks, some wii stations, and a performance by the Flight of the Conchords.

The next night, after the conference, I found my way to Haight Street to a bar called the Toronado. I had heard of this bar through a few different beer publications; it is known for it's amazing draft beer selection, particularly Belgian Beers. When I got there, the selection wasn't disappointing. I started with a Deschutes IPA, then had a Russian River IPA, then a Moonlight Brewery Working For Tips, then something else, and then topped the night off with a Dupont Saison. The "something else" was also a beer I can't get in TN, but I don't recall what it was. Maybe it will come back to me.

When I left San Francisco, I flew to Kansas City to meet up with a few guys to continue on to the Flint Hills of Kansas for the Dirty Kansa bike race. Mostly uneventful for me. I was not in any sort of shape to attempt a 200 mile bike race, but I had a good time. I rode half of it and decided I had had enough and rode my bike back to the hotel. I felt good about my 100 miles on course and coming into the 100-mile checkpoint within the required timeframe, but continuing wouldn't have been a wise decision. (Some would say attempting a race like that is never a wise decision... it's all relative.) It was cool to see Thad, Scott, and Mike finish the race, though. And they got extra miles for their money. This is what I saw for a lot of my ride. It was beautiful.