Those crazy Belgians...

Thank God for monks, well, let's clarify, not just any old monk, but the ones that brew beer in Belgium. Thank God for those guys in their abbeys brewing away making some damn fine beer. Probably what most would consider the finest in the world. Now this is something I could get on board with. I was able to get some Chimay the other night when I went out to dinner with the SO to celebrate us being together for a year, and this stuff was expensive, but I thought since it was a special occasion and all, might as well drink up. Some might call me crazy for buying a 25 oz beer for $19, but I say it was worth it. It's not like I'm doing this everyday of the week, although as good as this stuff was, I would most definitely do it every day of the week. But, not only do they make fine ass beer, but all of the proceeds from what they make go to charitable organizations. So drink up for a couple of reasons:

1. It's damn good beer
2. It's for a good cause

Now if someone says that maybe you shouldn't be drinking beer, make sure you roll in some Chimay beer, and let them know you are supporting charitable endeavors by drinking this luxuriant beer. Until a short while ago in NC you couldn't get this stuff, mostly because of some stupid ancient laws that we had in place restricting the amount of alcohol that beer could contain. Why did they have this old blue law and why did it stay on the books so long? See my last post about the Bible belt. For some, this was a moral dilemma, but mostly, legislatures said that they didn't want to increase the amount of alcohol in beer because people would have to drink less to get drunk. Now, if this isn't a stupid reason, I don't know what is. I can even understand the so-called moral objections more than this one. Why? Because let's face it. If you're on a mission "from God" to get wasted, you're going to do it whether that means drinking 2 beers or 20. You're going to do it, so it doesn't matter what the alcohol level content is on the beverage you're drinking. This was also laughable coming from the State of NC in the mere fact that they run all of the hard alcohol stores in the State and highly regulate what is sold and where. I would dare say that it is a monopoly, but I neither have the time or money to challenge such a thing in Federal court, but I believe that it boils down to the State of NC being able to regulate beverages that have a higher alcohol content and to control their pricing and taxes so that more money would flow into the coffers. I mean damn, they sell corn liquor in the ABC stores in NC. What's wrong with having a little beer at or around 9% alcohol? Nothing I say, nothing at all.


Anyway, check out the good old Chimay website, yes, even the monks have a website. It is the 21st century after all:

Chimay beer and Cheese

What else are Belgians good at aside from making beer and cheese and well maybe some chocolate. Bike racing, oh yeah, bike racing indeed. Check out the current standings in the world cup of cyclocross, and you'll see what I mean. They dominate, especially this time of the year. Not to mention that they currently have the world road racing champion in Tom Boonen (chicks dig Boonen), and they are always at the sharp end of the race usually no matter what race we're talking about. Of course they love their Spring and sometimes the Fall classics, but mostly, they are hard men for the bad weather so common in Belgium and the North of France in the Spring and in the Fall and Winter when 'cross is going on. I think at world championships for cyclocross last year, they held the top 5 or 6 spots, or basically, every guy they took to the world championships as a country filled the top positions when everything was said and done. Who does the US have at this top level of the sport? Well, we have one Mr. Jonathan Page who has been making his way through Belgium the last few years as a struggling cyclocross pro. While all of the really top level guys get almost unlimited support, J. Page normally goes it alone with his wife and maybe a friend or 2 helping him out on race weekends. We also have an up and comer, and former NC resident Ryan Trebon, or Tree Farm as they call him (because he's tall). This kid should have been playing basketball instead of bike racing looking at the height of him (6' 5" or so), but instead, he took up racing of the bike. Now, he's probably the best cyclocrosser that we have from the US. J. Page is good, but I believe Trebon is going to surpass him either this year, or next year, and we will probably see him standing on the top step of the podium this year in RI at US National Championships, which are next weekend. Trebon has been across the pond slugging it out with the big boys of 'cross in Europe this season, and I'm sure that this is not making him any weaker. I predict a massive drag race between himself and J. Page when National Championships take place next weekend in RI. It's going to be a barn burner. There are also any other number of guys that could win that race next weekend as well. Amongst them, another homeboy of mine from Maine Adam Craig. Then you can never count out Mark McCormack, Barry Wicks, Tim Johnson (if the weather is really bad), and of course there are another 3 or 4 guys that are capable of winning the title, so it will be entertaining to say the least. Very entertaining.

Speaking of riding bikes, it's time for me to head out and ride mine. Training time starts again this weekend. I've tried to start before, but certain things have kept a brother down. Crashes, work, darkness, the weather, and so on and so forth. So NOW that it is December, off season can officially begin. Coach Rusty says December is a very good time to start. No need to start any earlier, unless you want to be really ready to throw down in say, mid February. So December it is. And today, is December.