Every summer I search high and low for a couple of choice tracks that I always know will easily slip me into the perfect summer mood. Just when I was about to throw in the towel, NPR came rushing to the rescue.

I’d start with the Higga Boom track here and relax into a nice cocktail.

I don’t normally say this, but—Keep the Party Going!

Check out this and only silly door mats at Uncommon Goods.

Let’s focus on the Panzanella.

1 baguette

1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes

1 lb fresh mozzarella

1 red onion

2 cloves minced garlic

Olive Oil for basting

Salt and Pepper to taste

½ cup pesto vinaigrette

This recipe takes the whole bread, tomato and mozzarella salad to new heights by not only combining it with a fresh pesto- balsamic vinaigrette, but get this, you actually grill the bread, mozzarella, onion and tomato first! Basically, the original recipe calls for several tomato, red onion, mozzarella and bread skewers, lightly dressed with olive and garlic, that are grilled, removed from their skewers, and then tossed with the Pesto-balsamic vinaigrette- and let me tell you, it’s really delicious. That said; having suffered through cleaning quite a few grills of molten mozzarella, I’ve come up with a better method to ensure that everything is cooked properly when combined. Moreover, I’ve abandoned the recipe for the vinaigrette and just make it how I like it now – I encourage you to do the same.

Firstly, if you have stale bread, use that. Stale bread toasts better and won’t get soggy like fresh bread does. If you don’t have any “day old” around, try to cube (about 1 ½ inch square) the fresh bread up few hours ahead of when you plan on making the Panzanella- this will let it dry out a bit. Next, key step here, when you are about 5 minutes out from getting started, put your mozzarella in the freezer. I can’t tell you how much it easier it is to cut cold mozzarella. Not only that, but it helps the cheese hold it shape a bit better during the grilling process. Without doing this you could wind up with melted cheese all over the grill!

As far as assembly of the kabobs goes, there is the main point of difference with the original recipe. Rather than combining the ingredients on the skewers, I do a few solely cherry or grape tomatoes, a few red onion kabobs and then combine the bread and mozzarella (cut into 1 inch cubes) on the last few kabobs before lightly dressing them with a bit of minced garlic, salt and pepper and olive oil. By doing this, you can control how much heat each of the ingredients get. Personally, I like the onion and tomatoes to get a bit more charred, so I get those on the grill first while I am putting the bread and mozzarella skewers together.

When making your pesto, use your favorite recipe. Some people use pine nuts, some walnuts, I like crushed red pepper; all that matters is that at the end you add a bit of balsamic vinegar to it and a touch more oil than you normally would to give it a slightly looser consistency. I usually make my pesto in a food processor, but I have done it by hand as well. If you have the time, give it a try- it’s quite sexy.

Once everything is grilled to your liking, remove from the skewers into a large bowl and toss to combine with the 2/3 of the pesto vinaigrette. I plate, and then top each with a bit more vinaigrette, salt and fresh pepper. Yummers!!

In an effort to usher in Autumn, I followed the Panzanella salad with Monkfish and Pancetta kabobs served with roasted butternut squash with fennel and lemon.

They were tasty but lacking some oommf. Next time I might make lemon oil or herb-anise vinaigrette or something to add a bit more acidity to the dish.

I followed that with black figs, with fresh ricotta, lemon sugar and balsamic reduction- sort of a dessert and cheese course in one. While I liked it for being light and fresh, I think next time I’ll combine the lemon sugar with the ricotta in advance with a touch of lemon juice tie those flavors together.

Till next year, goodbye tomatoes. Bring on the squash, figs, apples, pears, and Brussels sprouts!

I have been back from Yosemite for almost a week and trying to re-adjust to “normal” life. Just wanted to share a few photos. I went to Yosemite on September 7th to meet my friend JW and climb for two weeks. C joined us on the 12th for five days as well and we gave JW some time to prepare for his El Capitan (ed: !!!) climb. JW was planning to do the ascent the week of September 22nd with a German climber, Felix. Unfortunately Felix got sick the second day and they had to rappel down from the climb.

JW and I did mostly cragging, which consists of short multipitch climbs. The valley was very dry but the temperatures were perfect and there were not too many tourists. After September 15th there was a large influx of climbers including three very famous climbers. JW could tell you their names; I don’t pay that much attention.

The most noteworthy climb we did was Royal Arches. It’s a famous climb set up in 1931 by a climber staying at the Awanie Hotel. He was convinced that he could find a route up the cliff face to the top. After several failed attempts, and one bout of heat stress, he finally did. The climb is 16 pitches (rope lenths) long and about 2,400 feet high. In 1931, when the climb was first established, it was rated a 5.7. Most climbers today would agree that it is significantly harder. In 1931 the hardest rating was a 5.9, today the hardest routes are rated 5.16d.

JW

Hazard being sweet

JW and I started climbing at 6:00 a.m. in the morning. We climbed non-stop and finished the last pitch of the climb at 9:00 p.m. at night. We bivied on a small but comfortable ledge and the next morning hiked 8 miles up over the ridge by North Dome and then back to Camp 4. We finally arrived back in Camp 4 around 3:00 a.m. and promptly went to the Awanie to celebrate.

Gotta say, that’s a totally serious effort. Arches may not be the most technical, retarded-spiderman climb, but 16 pitches and a night spent on the rock in Yosemite should qualify as righteous in anyone’s book. Rock on with your bad-ass self Hazard & thanks for sharing.

With body and mind still recovering from the Reach the Beach juggernaut, I can assure you that there has been no shortage of wine consumed in our house this week.  Ran into a delicious little gem acquired from the NH State liquor store on the way back down and thought I’d share.  I normally shy away from any vineyard that aligns itself with the “new school”, or relies on cheeky names and such.  Generally I find their wines sub-par and the approach ill conceived.  Yeah, I’ve suffered through more than my fair share of sharp tannins and unbalanced ho-ha garbage at the hands of Bonny Dune Vineyards.

But every now and then I take a gamble, and the purchase of a bottle of Ro Sham Bo Winery’s Reverend Zin paid off.  Granted it’s primarily Dry Creek, which is known for some excellent Zins, but this is a damn tasty bottle of wine.  Nice fruit, tanins and and full bodied without going overboard. It puts me in mind of another favorite Zin  – Renwood’s Jack Rabbit Flats.   Anyway, if you dig Zins, check it out.  And I must say, the Ro Sham Bo folks seems to have a delightfully zaney approach to their craft to boot.   The Dukes may just have to make a trip to the left coast to take in the annual Rock, Paper, Scissors tournament next year…

Knowing that 2 days of running would put those blisters through the paces, I invested in a box of Dr. Scholl’s Blister Treatment Pads in hopes of protecting the now open blisters from getting rubbed raw and terrorizing my every step. While the box promises they will stay in place for up to a week and goes on and on about how you are going to have to soak with water water to remove, I can assure you these suckers can barely hang on for three miles, let alone a few hours!

In all fairness, while they were in place, they definitely provided a much needed cushion between the open wound and my sock, making it much easier to run than if there was nothing there at all. Further, I know it’s not totally fair to put these things up to such a challenge as a 208 mile over night relay race as a product review, but seriously. At almost $1 per pad, they should stay on for at least a few miles. Unfortunately, for all they promise-

* Helps heal and prevent blisters
* Stays comfortably in place
* Thin and flexible to conform to the heel and other areas of the foot
* Sterilized for safe use on open blisters
* Nearly invisible
* Water-resistant

I think they only thing they succeed at is being sterile, which while in an overnight endurance race (read: no shower) is very useful in treating wounds.

So, the search continues for a comfortable blister treatment. Until then, I guess it’s back to a sterile pad and moleskin for me.

Go Dukes!

• Tight as dicks hatband
• His front porch light is burnt out
• Old as dirt
• Full as a tick
• So good it’ll make you smack yo mama
• He’s all hat – no cattle
• You’re like the dog that caught the car
• Country as a churn
• Lower than a snake’s belly
• Prettier than a picture
• Hotter than a $2 pistol
• Colder than a well diggers ass
• Quieter than a graveyard
• Sneakier/meaner than a snake
• She’s seen better days
• He’s higher than a kite
• He’s uglier than a mud fence
• That’s smoother than a spanked baby’s butt
• Like water off a duck’s back
• He’s livin high on the hawg
• Faster than a scalded dog
• Slicker than snot
• Uglier than homemade sin
• Like a bat outta hell
• Sick as a dog
• One foot in the grave
• Skinny as a rail
• He’s wrapped too tight
• Long dip in the ugly pond
• She came down the road like a Tennessee Walker
• Dressed like a Philadelphia lawyer
• Nervous as a cat in a room full of rockers
• Grinning like a mule eating briars
• Grinning like a possum eating persimmons
• He’s as crooked as a dog’s hind leg
• He was caught with his pants down
• She just flew off the handle
• I got the short end of the stick
• He went hog wild
• We always go to bed with the chickens
• He went after it whole hog
• I’ve got no axe to grind
• I’ve got no dog in this fight
• Holler like a stuck pig
• I haven’t see you in a coon’s age
• He just sits there like a bump on a log
• They’re like two peas in a pod
• Scarce as hen’s teeth
• You’re a sight for sore eyes
• Two shakes of a lamb’s tail
• He’s playing possum
• She’s a spring chicken
• That’s the fly in the ointment
• Deader than a door nail
• He could go bear hunting with a switch
• That’s better than a sharp stick in the eye
• Gooder’n snuff and not half as dusty
• He won’t hit a lick at a snake
• He’s got a tough row to hoe
• I didn’t just fall off a turnip truck
• I don’t know her from Adam’s house cat
• That kid ain’t knee high to a grasshopper
• That dog won’t hunt
• Sure as a cat has a climbing gear
• Slower than molasses
• She’s so poor she ain’t got two nickels to rub together
• Runnin around like a chicken with his head cut off
• Rode hard and put up wet
• That’s right as rain
• It was so good it would bring tears to a glass eye
• So ugly she could snag lightning
• Your butt would make her a Sunday face
• Useless as teats on a hog
• He’s dumb as a sack full of hammers
• He looks like he got beat with a ugly stick
• You look like something the cat drug in
• You’re not worth the gunpowder it’ll take to blow you away
• Cute as a bug’s ear
• He lives in your neck of the woods
• He couldn’t find his way out of a paper bag
• I wouldn’t touch that with a 10 foot pole
• I’m gonna tan your hide
• It’s as hot as blue blazes
• Long as a month of Sundays
• Slow as Christmas
• Left like a herd of turtles
• Finer than frog hair
• Green as a gourd
• Less chance than a snowball in Hell
• He’s 3 sheets in the wind
• Gooder than grits
• Pretty as a speckled pup
• Crazy as a bed bug
• I love you a bushel and a peck
• He’s gone to hell in a hand basket
• She treats me like a red headed step child
• That politician is so crooked he can hide behind a corkscrew
• He doesn’t know shit from shinola
• She thinks her shit don’t stink
• He doesn’t have a pot to pee in
• Up shit creek without a paddle
• I’ll be there if the Lord’s willing and the creeks don’t rise
• Madder than an old wet hen
• Crazy as a shithouse rat
• Bless yore pea pickin heart
• Fit as a fiddle
• Were you raised in a pig pen?
• Were you raised in a barn?
• He looks like he stepped out of a bandbox
• Act like you’ve got some raisin.
• High as a Georgia pine
• He can’t carry a tune in a bucket
• You go around your elbow to get to your thumb
• She’s tighter than the skin on a grape
• She’s so tight she squeaks
• He’s wound tighter than a Gibson Guitar
• What in the Sam Hill are you doing?
• Scratch your mad place and get glad
• Busier than a one armed paper hanger
• She looks like death warmed over
• She don’t have the sense God gave a gopher
• That would make a train take a dirt road
• That’s water over the dam
• In your life, you’ve got to eat a peck of dirt
• You’re barking up the wrong tree
• Don’t bite off more than you can chew
• Don’t count your chickens until they hatch
• Don’t let the tail wag the dog
• Don’t let your mouth overload your arse
• Either fish or cut bait
• Even a blind hog find an acorn now and then
• Don’t go off half-cocked
• Don’t get your feathers ruffled
• Don’t get too big for your britches
• Don’t flog a dead horse
• Birds of a feather flock together
• If you lie down with dogs, you’ll get up with fleas
• You’re trying to push a rope
• You can’t get blood from a turnip
• Now that’s the pot calling the kettle black
• Misery loves company
• You can’t tell nobody nothing that hasn’t never been nowhere
• No skin off my nose
• Whatta you mean ‘Fair”….the fair comes in the fall
• He’s livin in High cotton
• Well, shut my mouth
• Hold your horses
• Ridden hard and hung up wet
• She looked like death eating a cracker

A small cadre of your friendly neighborhood Dukes lit out this past Saturday for a tranquil day to be spent plying the waters of Peconic Bay on the Sea Senorita. It was a perfect stage….hot, sunny and with ample wind. We had our chippery laid up, plenty of water, a bandoleer of sailing juice and cruised on over to the protected slip where the sloop laid awaiting. It was an auspicious start, the sort of day that gives you a tingle in your stomach, an innate comfort. Like suckling at the teet of life; a knowledge that, yes son, good will ultimately triumph over evil, pie does trounce cake and god-damn-it the natural order of the universe works.

So you can imagine our surprise when we got to the slip and found no sign of the noble craft. No boat. No mast. No nothing.

It was like loosing your breaks at the top of the hill…pump pump pump, but nothing left save shrieking and ruin. Or the sinking doom of a refrigerator burglary most grievous; you’ve just gotten home after working 18 hours straight and, no matter where you look in the fridge, that last damn beer you had so skillfully camouflaged as a condiment is gone. And the flurkin store is long closed.

It’s a sinkhole of despair that wrenches open one day just close enough to your split-level SoCal trackhouse to gobble up your garage and menace, day by day closer. Bringing with it the slow, tumbling, hungry certitude that this spring’s vinyl siding, and the new putting green you fought for and which now sits directly between you and the yawning maw, were not, after all, the wisest investments.

Well, maybe it wasn’t quite that horrible, but you get the picture – it sucked.

Now, when it comes to a general perpetration of laid-back grooviness, the Dukes always try to excel. But we can also spring into action like a scalded ferret when the situation requires. And spring we did. We scoured the cove, interviewed neighbors, interrogated gulls and very aggressively scratched our heads. “Would be an odd thing to steal”, we mused, “not worth a whole lot, no sails aboard and such”. And there’s no reason it could have run afoul of the local authorities; twas safely resting in our good chap WB’s slip, which is deeded to his house. And he sits on neighborhood home owner’s association, which can’t hurt.

Nope, we concluded, only one thing is possible: the Sea Senorita fell victim to a dastardly sabotage sortie by rival running club Los Compadres.

We’ve long known the feral deeds they’re capable of, with their speedy ways and their unflagging spirit. I’ve always suspected that news of a DOFB naval acquisition would be met with clear understanding. The Compadres are students of the game and would have to innately grasp the precipitous shift in the NYRR balance of power that only naval superiority could evince.

Yup, they must have paddled her out and scuttled her to protect themselves. Almost can’t blame them really.

So off we trundled to the Shelter Island Police Department to file a report and express our grievances. After some sleuthing we were even more astounded, appalled even, to learn that no, the Sea Senorita had not met with a fiery/wet end. In fact, she currently resided at a town mooring for floating scofflaws. Yup, the sweet ‘rita had been impounded!

It turns out that there was far less, ahem, clarity regarding the ‘rita’s accommodations than we understood to be the case. In point of fact, some nice lady is quite sure that the slip in question belongs to her. The floating constables had spent some days trying to ascertain to whom the boat belonged, but were unable to track us down on account of the visible registration being long expired and in another’s name (the Sea Senorita is sub 17′ and, having no external propulsion, is exempt from registration requirements under NY boating regulations).

To further complicate matters, the kind maritime officer Pete told us that he was unable to release the boat without solid proof of ownership. Title was far out of hand and we were momentarily stymied. “Hmmmm, well, Pete, do you have a computer at the station we can use for a second?” we asked. He said sure and we were admitted to the inner sanctum of the SIPD whereby we pulled up this very blog and drew his attention to the initial Stable Report post on the ‘rita.

There was no doubting the authenticity, heck, Fayth was there and Graham was even wearing the same jaunty hat. Pete chuckled and said that, while unorthodox, it might just do. We printed out a copy of the entry, stapled it to the complaint report and, after some further paperwork, an explanation of our creed & general dedication to good times, the pivotal naval role the Sea Senorita plays in said, not to mention a topical overview of the Dukes of Flatbush campaign for world domination, Pete was convinced that she did indeed belong to us and should be returned forthrightly. Or maybe it was the “FREE THE ‘RITA” chants that seemed to spontaneously ring out across hill and dale.

Whatever the cause of our emancipation, it was with thudding hearts that we watched the Sea Senorita freed from her solemn purgatory. Pete was a hell of a guy and expertly towed us out of the Deep Impound Cove (ed: so deep) and into the harbor. He also lent us an anchor on account of his concern for our maritime safety. All in all, he helped us make the best of a shiza situation so we could salvage our day with the only tonic that mattered: the windy, curative balm of a delightful sail.

The saga continues. Ownership determination of the slip will likely involve some wrangling on the part of our dear friend. I’ll be appearing in early August to relay the tale and plead for the leniency and good humor of the court. And, for now, the ‘rita is once again trailer-bound.

But the important part is that we have the ‘rita back. Our naval stratagem is preserved, we’ll live to sail another day and the very presence of this blog made it all possible. Res Firma Nitescere Descit

Deyrolle is right next to Saint Chappelle, known as the most beautiful room in the world. Just take a look – this is one of the most special places I’ve ever been.

I was also sent a link yesterday to Custom Creature Taxidermy, a shop that does “fantasy mounts”. I’m not sure what to say abut this so I’ll just show a few pictures. Wait, just one gag, “that squirrel is nuts!”

On the ride up I experienced one of those moments that every rider dreads, the kind of thing that puts a not in your gut just thinking about. I blew a front tire on the Merritt traveling at highway speed in failing light. Blowing a front shoe is one of those things you hear about happening but is by no means a regular occurrence. In fact, most of the folks I know who’ve been riding for a lifetime have never had their number come up. Let me tell you something – it is not a good time.

The tire went flat in about 10-15 seconds. Not with a bang or a pop…just all of the sudden the handling characteristics changed. At first subtly enough to wonder if it was odd pavement. And then, very quickly, the front forks started traveling about a foot in either direction, yanking the steering back, serpentining the bike and generally making it impossible to control. Mind you 75% of the braking on most bikes, and prob 90% on mine, is done with the front brake. So it was a pretty impossible situation to get the bike to rapidly slow while keeping it upright.

With mountains of luck, and a formation of Dukes behind me making sure I wasn’t struck by an oncoming car, I managed to keep the shiny side up and get to the shoulder. Where I no doubt would have remained if it weren’t for the formidable aid and patience of Sergeant Raymond LaPlante of the Orange PD. Ray pulled up on his police Harley to see what was doing and, over the course of the next 12 hours, not only helped us sort out local accommodations, sustenance/beverages and a great mechanic, but actually borrowed a trailer and, (on his morning off with his young son in tow!), pulled the wounded SuperBad from where I’d stashed her in the woods overnight to the shop for an early am fix that got us back on the road.

Ray’s effort not only saved our trip from ruin, it reminded all of us a bit about what’s so special about riding. That it’s appreciably different than traveling the roads in a steel cage. There’s a different connectedness to the experience of moving from place to place. You don’t always know what might happen (especially on an old bike), but that the journey in and of itself is adventure. And, more than anything else, the camaraderie of two wheels and that bikers look after one another.

So a hearty DOFB thanks and toast to Ray LaPlante. We sent many a cold beer to it’s maker this past weekend and damn it all if most of mine weren’t dedicated to his awesomeocity. Keep the rubber side down and looking forward to when we get to ride together!

The SuperBad being seen to by Art Handleman @ Valley Motorsports in Ansonia, CT. If you’re ever in a pinch with your machine in CT – Art’s the man to get you back on the road.
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Turns out – I had a “rust-based failure”. On older bikes that have seen weather at one point or another, the insides of the rims can get to rusting. Small metal filings eventually peel off and will, inevitably, roughly have their way with your tube. Here’s the shop tech de-rustifying the inside of my front rim.

To recap = small metal filings + rubber innertube + highway speed = bad. Put it on your list of shit to think about if you have a late model ride.
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Sergeant Ray and his awesome little boy Nathan flying the DOFB flag after dropping our side-show off at the shop. Nathan’s already bewitched by bikes and shows great promise. Rumor has it Ray may be heading up to NH this weekend as well. Boundless thanks to both of them for spending their morning sorting us out – couldn’t have done it without you fellahs. Have an awesome ride to the granite state Ray!
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Th big man…..Emperor of the Rage Hut, host for this Bike Week jaunt and head of the New Hampshire DOFB Chapter. Not a finer NH specimen to be found.
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Ride on Winni to the Wiers for a peek around, some grub and one (read:10) Margarita.
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Graham lends a helping hand to a parched Hombre
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2300 CC Triumph Rocket Sled….daaaaamn.
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Sweet trike art – Rowwwrrrrrr.
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The next day the Big Man took us on an epic ride up over the Sandwich Notch road, around through Waterville Valley and back over the Kank. Being dirt, recently graded and pretty steep in many places, The Notch road was especially challenging for some of the bikes. Fritz on the Yammie FJR1300 gets the hero’s salute for muscling that beast all the way through safely. That bike was built for smooth speed and she was more than a little ornery about the conditions. He rodeoed it though and, in exchange, was treated to a singular adventure through pristine NH back country. Nice work man.
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Big and mean never goes out of style in NH.
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DOFB, now with more Back Road Action!
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Juanito going native. The arm stripes perhaps suggest some sort of vestment. A man of the cloth? A country bishop perhaps?

Subsequently gathered evidence would seem to contravene this hypothesis.
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Graham loves it.
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Like Rodin’s thinker, this Duke too is made of granite. NH Chapter member (and lead carpenter) Whitney on his KLR. The KLR really is a perfect match for this guy and his natural surroundings.
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Top of the Kank….one of the best roads for riding on the East Coast and my personal favorite. The Dukes relay team will also be running the Kank this coming fall in the “Reach the Beach” 200+ mile relay. A painful reality not lost on those of us who’ll be on the squad as we climbed upward for 13 miles….
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Stop in Chocorua to visit the DOFB patron Saint – Ghee. Here’s she’s getting her annual ride around the block on the back of the Guzzer.
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Fritz on the Yammie. Can you believe he just took that 600lb beast over 20+ miles of mushy dirt logging roads?!?
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Heading back into the Wiers we start to get a taste of the action.
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Bike traffic for miles.
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Some local fauna met in traffic. The lady on the front claimed to have been arrested at last year’s bike week for mistakenly slugging a cop. Oops. Things can get a little dicey at Bike Week but come on ladies. These two sisters seemed a wee interested in a certain debonair Duke.
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This guy – can you believe it? No accounting for taste I suppose…
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Sunset at the rage Hut
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That pretty much concludes our trip. There were some other adventures had…a visit to the Franklin Girls’ natural lair, a few ‘old bike’ struggles with the Guzzi, electrical gremlins with the Triumph and many many coordinated high speed drifts to the curb of the highway for one dangling plate/about to be lost luggage/ atomic wedgie or another. But you’ll get that on these rolling thunder jobs.

Next year we’ll hope to have a bit more time and get a little more submersion into the epicenter of Bike Week. But I know I wouldn’t trade the ride we had on Saturday for much of anything – pure magic.

Thanks to everyone who was involved in making it happen this year…Ray and Chris especially!

A bit like the Russians at Stalingrad, our rival running club Los Compadres continues to best us at area races with an attrition strategy based on overwhelming numbers and superior infantry training. However, all indications are that they have no “Unified Forces Plan”, and have left their BBQ, Motorcycle and Naval flanks completely undefended.

The Dukes already own the Grill and Motorcycle theaters; we’re confident that the addition of a stout sailing vessel will be the linchpin in our summer campaign of good-times domination.

Consider this fair notice Compadres, your speedy ways on the asphalt are no match for our comprehensive forces. We will express our dominance and steal your good times in a classic pincer movement that would do Hannibal proud.

In other boating news – the Dukes of Flatbush are pleased to announce partnership with the Hüskooler School of Sailing and Maritime Refreshment Research. With a staff of gifted instructors, the Hüskooler School offers a new paradigm in multidisciplinary seafaring education. Full certification is the goal for all students and a rigorous, Shelter Island based, 8 week class schedule will commence in early July. Please contact your administrator or neighborhood Moose Lodge for more information.

Proper technique from a lead instructor

CIT training session

Anti-pirate-stratagem role play

Some vegetables fared better than others, but overall, the season was a great success. The picture below shows the last harvest taken at the end of September, just some of the “fruits” of our labor:

We decided to add a second bed to the Shambaugh Victory Garden in our continued quest for agri-domination. The new bed in the background is almost entirely dedicated to the art of the pepper. We have red bell, yellow bell, orange bell, cubanelle, jalapeno, poblano, cayenne, habanero and the list goes on and on. 24 plants in total. The only pepper we seem to be missing is the famed Harlan Pepper. Truly a ‘Best in Show’ varietal, we’ll see if we can’t turn one up.

This year is off to a great start – plenty of rain and bright sunshine. We’ll keep everyone updated on the Victory Garden progress…

Sometimes a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do and, I guess, this is one of those times for our beloved admin, erstwhile coach, training partner extraordinaire and certified master of the grill Jeff. He’s packed up the shop, loaded what’s important and is redeploying to the left coast in search of fortune, adventure and cracked crab. As we all navigate the fog caused by last night’s sayonara wumpus, I’d just like to pause for the cause and give a hearty HUZZAH to our partner in crime.

Fare thee well sir. You’ll be sorely missed but we’ve every confidence you’ll quickly get to holdin’ it down out there and swelling the ranks of the Dukes West Coast Chapter. Write when you get work and we’ll come inspect your beachhead.

Vaya con dios y un gato en tu pantalones Amigo.
-mismanagement

The Sea Senor(ita) is a classic 17′ O’Day DaySailer. DaySailers are fantastic fun and this one should provide endless summer good-times plying the waters around Shelter Island. The craft was gifted to the these Dukes by a most-excellent family member who was tired of it gracing her lawn; a sort of God-Duke if you will.

She’s been sitting the better part of the last 10 years, so we have some work to do before launch. But working on a little sailboat in the sun is a damn fine way to pass the time. Plus this boat will be a floating classroom for a whole host of folks, little ones included, who are eagerly awaiting sailing lessons. With that to look forward to, we started out this past weekend with a solid first cleaning. I’m sure you’ll agree the results are impressive.

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The accumulated funk from years of sitting unprotected outside

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Dirty Deck; Liken Gone Wild.

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Much better – she’s actually kinda good lookin’ under all that grime!

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A much cleaner cockpit; neigh ready to bear Dukes upon the sea towards unknown adventures, spoil and plunder….

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There are some minor repairs still to be done, rigging to be replaced, and another round or two of cleaning, but what a keen reminder of the restorative powers of elbow grease. Will certainly update again as the Sea Senorita nears launch.

Stable report 1
Stable report 2
Stable report 3
Stable report 4
Stable report 5
Stable report 6
Stable report 7
Stable report 8

Hope you have enjoyed Year 1, and really do not have much more to say here then stick around for the future, it is going to get intersting

Here are the basics, the cat is Italian, his names is Orazio, eats lasagna all day long and once in a while will have a Limoncello as an after dinner digestivo. Oh yeah, he looks like he is scared S**t

Here are some of the details for April 19th

“The Great Causeway Challenge”

• Biathlon (30 Mile Bike & 10K Run),
• 30 Mile Bike Race/Ride Only
• 10K Run Race Only
• 5K Run Race Only

and a Kids 1 Mile Fun Run, on Saturday, April 19, 2008 to benefit Pediatric Services for Southern Ocean County Hospital.

Seems like there are a lot of events to choose from and a very worthy cause, so encourage anyone in the area who wants to start their spring running season to head over to Long Beach Island (LBI) and have a good time

With this in mind, I am most pleased to introduce you to the newest, and yet untested member of the DOFB fleet; Traditional Tactical Craft: Bombardierous Hibernous 11c.  Code name: THE RAMMER.

Technical Specification:

Gross weight: 14 lbs

Dimensions: 72″L x 15¾”W.

Load Capacity: 648 lbs

Passenger Capacity: 11

Displacement: 1.375 Metric Ton (Crystalline H2O)

Operating Environment:

• Temperature: Sub 38 Deg F
• Humidity: 20% – 100%
• Altitude: 0 – 11,450 feet

Weapons Array:

• Vector-based Thrust Ram
• Non-lethal Urine Inducing Screech
• Optional Side Mount 80MM Snow Cannons

Fuel: Grog, pride and blatant disregard for the laws of physics

Governing Safety Standards: Camden Snow bowl Rules of Engagement, V7.4

Optional accessories:

• Front mount flask
• GPS beacon
• Anti-glare shield
• Second stage scat-fission thruster cans

For christ’s sake — a little snow already eh?

Two days into the trip and I have already made my way to Agra, where the Taj Mahal is. All I have to say about the Taj and the trip there is that it was amazing, incredible happy I did it and will never do it again.

Here are some pictures from Agra and the Taj and of course a roadblock that kept our bus from moving for awhile.

I have to say I do not mind going out for a 5 mile run in February with shorts and a long sleeve shirt. Not freezing my a$$ off on the way to subway in the morning. Maybe I need to move a warmer climate, I do come from a desert people, but while I ponder these questions I have to say I do not mind the effects. For those that are out there reading and enjoying these mild temps, get out there and get your winter base miles in and RUN. You really have no excuse when it is this warm out.

In the meantime, I think we may not be the only ones enjoying this weather

The only issue that you can have with Bocas del Toro is the rain. When we first arrived it poured for about 30 hours straight and the people on the islands told us it had been like this for 4 days straight. But for those with patience, a nice day in Bocas is unbeatable (see pics below). The beaches are beautiful, empty and between the reef and the beach, some of the biggest waves and best surf around.

Special thanks to our hosts at Hotel Tierra Verde (Cookie and Ivan) on the island of Carenero who were incredibly nice and helpful and to the people at Al Natural where we spent one of the best New Years eve’s and had a night that cannot be repeated online.

I want to give a special thanks to our guardian angel in Panama, Mandy. She made everything happen for us and our whole trip would not have been the same without her. Also, if you go to Panama City I recommend the Canal House in Casco Antiguo. It is a new hotel and staying there feels like staying at the home of your extremely rich uncle, and his staff listens to your every word.

Here are some pics from Panama City, hope you enjoy

Let it be known that the Dukes are hard at work to unite the blogs so you can follow all shenanigans and feats of strength as we roll into 2008.

In the meantime I encourage you to follow the individual blogs until the unification occurs and keep your eyes here before the Dukes evacuate the NYC for the Christmas to New Years Eve stretch run.

http://tastytuesday.tumblr.com/

http://dukesofflatbushmc.tumblr.com/ 

This is a great little book with 101 Bacon Recipes, which I may decide to carry around with me at all times and best of all it is spiral bound. Check it out

The high-speed, unbeleivable, illegal, bittersweet, hilarious, danger-packed true story of Team Polizei, from my father’s revelatory deathbed confession to my search for the truth behind the greatest secret in racing history. The Driver follows my attempt to duplicate Claude Lelouch’s Rendezvous (albeit around Manhattan), the creation of Team Polizei, the discovery of the now-infamous Polizei BMW M5, our debut on the 2003 Gumball 3000, my ignominous capture on the 2004 Bullrun USA, and many more adventures so far known only through snippets on YouTube…culminating with my delving into the true history of the Cannonball Run and U.S. Express – the underground cross-country races from which modern endurance rallies descended – and the long-secret record whose true story has yet to be told.

An extended confession of almost every moving violation I’ve ever committed, written with the help of scores of law enforcement personnel, dozens of judges, several attorneys and hundreds of rally drivers, friends and fans, The Driver is the first-ever insider’s account of modern underground automotive endurance events, and the truth behind the mythology in which they are clouded.

Here are some pictures that may give you a taste but can never really describe it unless you were there. Could have been the show of the year and one for the ages. Daft Punk comes to North America once a decade so if you are elsewhere in the world and they are playing sell your stuff and buy ticket

Here are a couple of links of video of the show

http://youtube.com/results?search_query=daft%20punk%20keyspan&search=Search

In the meantime I have been searching for something that is very hard to find, an Oink invitation. For those who do not know Oink is a music site, that is very hard to join as it is by invitation only. I have been searching these interwebs for weeks and based upon message boards people are begging to get in.

I am assuming there must be a treasure chest within, so I ask if anyone has an invite for this musical Eden can you please send to me at dofb@dofb.com