My house does not have a garage. It does, however, have a room that used to be a garage, and the previous owner decided to ‘convert’ it by putting down crappy carpet (with no pad) and put in a sliding glass door instead the garage door. Voila! Instant room.

We basically took the room back to it’s garage-like state by filling it with bikes, camping gear, skis, work benches, and a full-size dedicated beer fridge. It’s been a little over a year since I moved into this place, and it is quite amusing to see the constant state of flux in that room. I have no idea how it happens, but bikes come and go on a weekly basis. The room has, at almost all times, a minimum of 9 bikes, 3 bike frames, 2 unicycles, and an impossible wheel.

Last count (earlier today), we had recently added 2 bikes. This actually surprised me a bit, because I thought we added 3, but apparently one left sometime that I didn’t notice. These things happen, and I take them in stride. The only minor complication is that we really only have 7 hooks in the ceiling, which means that currently 4 of the 11 bikes are on the floor. Did I mention it used to be a one-car garage? It’s a bit crowded.

Yet somehow, we are still working on the motivation to build up 2 of the 3 frames which are in there.

I don’t know where I was going with this except that any non-bike enthusiast may find these numbers absurd (especially considering that one of the three tenants of this house only contributes a single bike to the total count). However, when the latest bike showed up today while I was out on a ride, I barely even questioned it.

It’s all a matter of perspective.

Made in the shade is tomorrow at Fort Tuthill. This is a beer festival that happens every year up here in flag. Tickets are $40, which includes admission, live music, and 24 tastes. It starts at 3:00 and should be a lot of fun.

There is also a homebrewing competition and Rob and I have 2 entries in it. We submitted our Molasses Oatmeal Stout, and the most recent brew, our ESB (for those of you who loved the Hefeweizen so much, we didn’t have enough of it left for the competition, it was that good). They both tasted pretty darn good to me (and several other people polled), so I’m hoping we get some good feedback. The next brew is scheduled for this sunday, and we’re taking a crack at an irish red.

Should be delicious.