Another #GCCUSA Century Ride

To be honest, when I wrote "I might attempt Century Ride # 4 this Labor Day Weekend" on 3rd Century Ride #GCCUSA, I was mostly kidding.

Century Rides are hard. They take a lot out of me. I didn't think there was any way my legs would be ready for another long ride before the end of the long weekend.

But ... honestly, I was feeling pretty good after a rest day, and I had Friday off work.

I got up early for a bike ride. 1000 miles were not going to ride themselves. I had to keep up with my commitment to the Great Cycle Challenge.

I knew I would do a long one. I didn't really plan for 100, but I thought I'd see how it went.

After 10 or 20 miles, I was fairly sure I wouldn't be riding more than 50 miles. My legs didn't feel like they had much in them.

3rd Century Ride #GCCUSA

It is September, so I've begun my Great Cycle Challenge. 

I've committed to cycling 1000 miles in September to help raise awareness and money for Childhood Cancer Research.

If you'd like to help out with a donation my "Rider Page" is at:

https://greatcyclechallenge.com/Riders/EricShepard

I'm extremely pleased with the support I've gotten so far. I've actually far exceeded my expectations for the amount of money I would be able to raise.

So ... with all those generous folks donating money to my "ride", presumingly expecting me to meet my 1000 mile goal, I certainly want to make sure I do my best to get all my miles in for the month.

My 2nd Century Ride

 I did my second Century Ride last Saturday. 100 miles on my gravel bike.

Yep, 100 miles.

That's right ... On my bicycle.
Yep, in one day.
No, my butt is fine.
Nope, I'm not crazy.
Yes, I know you don't like to drive that far.

If you've been following me, on this blog, you know I'm "training" for September. 

In September, I'm riding 1,000 miles to help raise awareness and money for the Children's Cancer Research Fund with the Great Cycle Challenge.

If you can afford it and are against childhood cancer, you should donate some money to help with the cause. If you want to help my fundraising effort ... you can donate at

https://greatcyclechallenge.com/Riders/EricShepard

Century Ride

I did a Century Ride last Friday.

Yep, 100 miles. 
That's right ... On my bicycle. 
Yep, in one day. 
No, my butt is fine. 
Nope, I'm not crazy. 
Yes, I know you don't like to drive that far. 

As you know if you've been paying attention at all ... September is the month that I'm riding for the Great Cycle Challenge. 

I pledged to ride 1000 miles over the week of September, and convinced a bunch of people to donate money to help fight childhood cancer.

The money goes to support the Children's Cancer Research Fund.

Anyway, 1000 miles is a lot of biking to do in one month. I've never done a century ride. I thought it would be fun to see if I could do it. 

If I'm honest, I knew I could do it. 

2019 Q2 SheppyBrew Stats

It is July already.

Really!??!

The summer is flying by. The year is flying by. I'm not sure where the time has gone.

But since the 2nd quarter is done ... it is time to share SheppyBrew's 2nd quarter brewing stats.

If you are curious to check out past posts like this one ... see Sheppy's Blog: Brew Stats.

The SheppyBrew Brewery didn't have very many brew days this quarter, but I brewed bigger batches so I still ended up with a decent volume.

This quarter, we brewed 3 "batches" ...

• Blackberry in Bed American Wheat
• 2019 BBD Blood Orange Saison Mango Pale (depending on how you count, this might be considered two batches)
• 1000 Mile Mild

Blackberry in Bed American Wheat (Bam-a-Lam)

1000 Mile Mild

As I shared in #GCCUSA 2019 Great Cycle Challenge, I'm doing the Great Cycle Challenge again this year.

Since the blog post, I raised my riding goal to 1000 miles.

I wanted to brew this weekend, and I thought it would be fun to make a beer commemorating this challenge.

I thought it should be low alcohol, and came up with a recipe for a English Mild.

1000 Mile Mild

1000 miles is a lot of bike riding for me to accomplish in a month, and in order to have a chance to complete the goal, I'm going to have to be pretty aggressive.

Of course, I wanted to get started out strong. The month started off on this past weekend, and I made it my goal to hit 100 miles by Sunday night.