Celebrating Strasburg, Colorado, a small, friendly town in the plains east of Denver...
No bicycle video today, but how about seeing how the awesome sub I eat whenever I ride to the Byers Country Store is made?!:
Actually, what you see there is two subs being made (kind of three actually). This time my wife and son met me at the store and we had lunch together. So, first is her sub…and then his and mine (he eats the half with no vegetables).
A big five bulls recommendation for the Byers Country Store!
Earlier this week I posted about Augie’s birthday road-trip to Kansas. One highlight of it was a visit to the Kit Carson County Carousel…a historical marvel. Although the video (which includes the carousel’s history and it in action) was also posted, I was able to download a high quality version from Facebook and make this “official” version with higher volume and a fancy Strasburg Rocks!intro and outro from a Fiverr gig:
As is noted in the video, it costs only twenty-five cents. I can assure you it’ll be the best twenty-five cents you’ll spend. 🙂
Oh, Kit Carson County Carousel is a definite We Recommend and gets 5 out of 5 bulls…thank you Robbie for the awesome experience!
Although I should be able to do basic maintenance on my own bicycle, space and time constraints meant I wanted to find someone else to do it and a friend recommended Andrew at Bring the Bike Ltd.  I am glad she did.
I am just back from an anniversary dinner and am looking forward to an afternoon bike ride on my freshly cleaned and tuned two-wheel transportation.  Andrew did a bang-up job for a great price, and I know I’ll be a repeat customer.  I am not sure of everything he does, but I do know it includes tuning and repairing! 🙂
And he’s a really nice guy on top of it!
So a “We Recommend” and 5 Bulls from Strasburg Rocks! for Bring the Bike Ltd.
Sometimes on Strasburg Rocks! I do reviews of local businesses…this time I want to throw up a quick video one of some in-ear bluetooth headphones that I highly recommend:
I got them for a discounted price to provide my evaluation…and I’ll admit they are better than anything I could have imagined. You can buy them on Amazon here.
Oh, they say, “DJ Headphones”…and I think they would work well as that too…but I recommend you get them to exercise with…or for “normal” listening…
Now to go collapse downstairs as I battle some strange chest thing I’ve been fighting all week. 🙂
It hit me yesterday, when I stopped on my bicycle ride to grab a Bug Juice for my eight year-old (not to mention a thirst quencher for me), that I hadn’t done a review of a place I visit more than any other business in our small town: the Strasburg Convenience Store.
As a “convenience store it definitely” is convenient. It has anything you might expect, has reasonable prices, and is open most of the time a regular human would be awake. 🙂 (Okay, I’ll admit I don’t know its exact hours…but I’ve only once been on the road earlier than it has been open, and I think it closes at 10PM most nights.)
What really makes the store an awesome place is its employees. Not a single one is a grump, and most are as congenial as they come. I have to especially do a shout-out to Dave, who was a friendly face the first time we visited Strasburg. Snowstorm and all he was working and gave us some pointers on where we might buy a house. Now, I could mention more names, but they are all great…although…okay…Amanda and Chantelle do seem to be there a lot when I arrive and are also superb! 🙂Continue Reading
In the “you’ll never know what you’ll find on Strasburg Rocks!” category is this review of an album I purchased last night. 🙂
“Invincible” is Shayne Leighton’s new, debut EP (6 songs). It is titled after her remake of Pat Benatar’s hit of the same name. Now, to start off, I think it is always dangerous to do a remake of a classic song…and especially when that classic version is done by an artist who defined the female side of her genre during the time it was recorded.
But, you know, Shayne pulls it off! Is it as good as Pat’s? That’s an unrealistic question to ask a guy who was a rock-lovin’ hormonal teenager when Pat was in her heyday. 🙂 Instead, I’ll say that Shayne’s version is very good, doing justice to the original. It is a great addition to an EP where all the tracks are strong.
Having said that, it’s not my favorite tune on the album. Instead that award goes to “Midnight Man,” the fourth track. That song is so good I basically had it on repeat half the time I was mowing the back lawn this afternoon. It’s a catchy work that speaks to how desire and temptation combined with rationalization can lead us to doing what we know is wrong. Maybe that wasn’t the author’s intent…but that’s the message I heard. 🙂
I highly recommend purchasing this EP (Amazon Music | iTunes | Spotify). I give it 4 bulls (out of 5). In case that seems low…with music it is near impossible for me to give 5 bulls. I grew up when groups like Led Zeppelin and Queen were ruling the rock music scene, and 4 bulls is as much or more than I would rate some recent releases from my favorite bands. Four means it is really good.
Great work Shayne! I look forward to seeing what your future holds, both for you and my listening ears! 🙂
You can check out the album’s title song below:Continue Reading
Between Internet radio (we have redundant TDS and Bijou connectivity in our home) and SiriusXM satellite radio (which I also listen to mostly over the Internet)…I don’t really have a need for “normal” radio anymore.
But I miss it…along with a former hobby of mine, shortwave listening.
So, I decided to save up some money and get a new shortwave radio, settling on the Tecsun PL-880. I could not be happier. However, instead of repeating why here, please check out my short Amazon.com review.
If you have never listened to shortwave radio, give it a try. There are much cheaper options (e.g. down toward the $30 range)…so you don’t have to spend $150 on the Tescun PL-880 to start (although, it is so sturdily and beautifully built and performs so well, it’s worth that even if you only listen to AM and/or FM). Two great sites to check out as you consider this purchase (and associated hobby) are SWLing.com and RadioJayAllen.com.
Strasburg Rocks! recommends this device and gives it five bulls!
I could probably live off pizza…well, if I was willing to be 500 pounds. 🙂
Not only could I live off pizza, I’ve worked for a pizza restaurant (delivery)Â and a good friend of mine back in New Hampshire owns a pizzeria. I know good pizza and I know bad pizza…
And The Pizza Shop has great pizza!
What makes it more incredible that I can say that is I am more of a thick crust type (“pan pizza”) and The Pizza Shop pizzas have a thin crust…but…well…mmm… 🙂
Although I have to go back to unpacking (time to brave the 7 year-old’s room), I wanted to take time to review Pauls Homes and their local representative, Ron Morse. The image you see here is the home we just moved into after closing a couple week back.
Also today Strasburg Rocks! introduces its rating system, zero to five bulls.
Before we get to the punch line (just how many bulls do Ron and Pauls Homes get?), here is our review in the form of an e-mail sent to Paul’s boss earlier today:Continue Reading
We’ve already had a few meals in Strasburg, and two have them have been at The Patio Cafe right downtown (56471 East Colfax Avenue). Last week it was breakfast, this week lunch.
It’s been a long day…so I’m not going to try to say much more than it’s worth every $$$ you will spend there. The food is appetizing, the atmosphere is hometown-ish, and the service is both great and friendly.
I haven’t yet figured out how I will rate establishments on Strasburg Rocks!, but if it were stars I would probably give The Patio 4 out of 5.Continue Reading