All the Beer, None of the Belly

Bikes and Beer. Besides starting with the same letter (at least in English), what is it that connects these two most fantastic of human inventions? When I've got nothing else to write about, I'll periodically reflect on that question here. One quick answer, though, is calories. As the name and theme of my home brewery suggests, I'm a bicycle nut as well as a beer nut. One of the benefits of being both is that the side effects of one hobby offset the side effects of the other. I know I'm not the only home brewer to make "brewing (and drinking) more beer" a New Year's resolution--probably the only such resolution I've ever actually kept--but I might be one of the few that actually lost weight after doing so! Most of my riding these days comes in the form of bike commuting to my day job teaching Geography at Santa Monica College. Depending on the specific route I take, and on other factors such as the wind in my face or at my back, I burn roughly 800-1000 calories a day on my two-way commute. That's the equivalent of at least three pints of the beers that I brew--proper British-sized pints. This means that (most nights at least) I'm ahead of the curve and can add an extra slice of cheese, pizza, or other vice without regretting it the next morning when I hop on the bathroom scale. Drink lots, Ride lots--rules the live by.