LAST NIGHT: THE LONG BIKE RIDE HOME
Pardon the terrifically long post
It started out simple enough. John and I were to take a bike ride to St. Anthony Main. We've been on a bike kick lately and for the past couple weeks we've missed going out together. We loaded up on B12 vitamins, grabbed the camera and bolted from south Minneapolis through downtown to the outskirt of North East.
Minneapolis is beautiful this time of year. Nature finally gets to wake up from the winter nap. Even for a Sunday, people are out hustling & bustling. We got to Stone Arch Bridge ... I snapped a few photos:
Then, what happened could of been disaster, but ended up being quit kismet.
The shaft that holds the pedal to the crank fell off my bike. Just as I get off my bike a wirey haired, old man offered us the use of his crescent wrench. It was a good, temporary fix. We spoke to the man about his 6 year separation from his wife and bit about child support. We thank him and were on our way.
John and I decided that guy depressed us way to much to continue. We needed a cocktail. Actually, the cocktail was two-fold. Get over the depressing guy with the crescent wrench and as a final cocktail for John while he his the wagon for a little while. So, we landed at Vic's. Probably, a bit high-brow for us, but the sun warmed the air enough to wear short-sleeves and the river had not developed the fish stink for the year. After a couple Buds and martini's it was back on with the biking.
Disaster struck again. I get the wiggles and the pedal shaft is about to fall off again. We make our way up Hennepin Ave a short ways. John hollers out to some guys getting off bikes if they have any tools. We get a "mock-leatherman" from a fella named Tic-Tac. The guy graciously invites John and I to be on the 2nd Drunk Bike Tour: Northeast... seeing as though we had a base of cocktails in us and we loved biking that day ... it seemed like the match made in heaven.
Rules:
One drink in one bar, bike to the next bar, repeat.
By The Way:
 The night ended up as blurry as the pics to the right.
BOOM - The first stop for John and I on the tour (the tour had already made a stop or two before we joined). Boom is a Northeast gay bar. Outfront Minnesota calls Boom, the most open and inviting gay bar in the city. I would agree to that. At no point was there any shame or disguise. Patrons of Boom all bore smiles on their faces and one would know they were in a safe environment. The decor is fantastic with several flat screen TVs on the walls.
TIMES BAR - Classy. This was one classy place. The bartenders were dressed in ties and were very neatly groomed. The Times hinted at the English. Though, never being in England, I really have no idea... it just came across in flavor. No doubt there was a cloth napkin somewhere in there.
KEEGAN'S IRISH PUB - I suppose it doesn't get much more Irish than Keegan's. Their bar was built in Ireland and installed by Irish carpenters. Sunday's play host to an "Irish Music Session" ... Keegan's (I believe) imposed an extra 25 cents per drink to cover band costs during the music. If you like Irish music, Keegan's would be right up your alley. I sat outside.
NYE'S BAR - This is where the drunk started to pull ahead. I've been to Nye's several times. One can get a heckuva steak there. It smells as old as it looks. It was Sunday night, no band, no big deal. Someone gave us free smokes. We showed off tatoos.
LEGEND'S BAR & CAFE - At this point, most of the tour had caught up. We had tons of people. Blurry to me. My bike got the wiggles again, so I one footed it to the next bar.
I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE NEXT BAR WAS, I DO KNOW THEY HAD MUCH NEEDED POPCORN
U OTTER STOP INN - This is where John and I decided that's about it. I had the wiggles, we got free drinks here, we were rolling downhill real quick for a couple guys who have to work early the next morning. Kudos to those who kicked down a couple bars after us. After leaving the U OTTER STOP INN we attempted to fix the bike one last time. Hand-Eye coordination was poor. Then, saving grace hit us again ... this time, like a freight train! Guy helps us out. He's got the right socket! I'm saved.
We make the half hour or so bike ride back into Uptown... we load John's bike in the car and Jaime drives him home. I eat the leftover pizza (no crust, of course) and pass out hard.
posted by noah pshaw at 3:43 PM | (perm link) |
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PRODUCT: T-SHIRTS THAT SUCK
 This is a fun site! I've been a T-Shirt Hell fan for awhile, but these shirts are just as good and probably more becoming of myself at my age. Who knows. I do know that I want this and this shirt straight away.
UPDATE: I like the shirts, but the site is kinda horseshit. Cardinal sin #1, they used frames. Cardinal sin#2, their products don't have individual pages you can reference. The two links above, time out. Apologies to any readers who have clicked the above links.
posted by noah pshaw at 12:51 PM | (perm link) |
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