Feasting on Pork Butt

I was excited about the new "Feasting on Asphalt" premiere last night so I thought a fitting tribute to Alton would be to smoke a butt. So, to wear off some anxious energy awaiting the new episode, I dove into the spice cabinet and whipped up a good blend. After rubbing the butt real good, I properly wrapped it in plastic wrap for its rest in the refrigerator for a few hours. After getting the BGE to ~225 degrees, I rubbed the butt one final time, tossed some chunks of hickory on and closed it down. Now, normally, I simply wait it out but this time I added a couple handfuls of apple chips when the butt reached ~175/180 degrees. It's final destination would be a couple hours later at an internal temperature of 195. I've tried various temperatures and now believe that 195 is perfect. So, after 17 hours - and long after Feasting On Asphalt had reached its end - I took this hunk of meat off the smoker:


Pulling it was a trivial job resulting in this pile:


Sometimes I impress myself;) This was good. I mean, really good. I made two sauces to top it and was suprisingly partial to the slightly sweetened one. I'm still just playing around with the sauces so this makes a very small quantity but it was something like this:
1/4c - Cider Vinegar
1/4c - Water
2T - Ketchup
2T - Mustard
2T - Dark Brown Sugar
1T - Worchestire Sauce
1t - Chili Powder(generous t)
Few squirts of Hot Sauce (I used Goya)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste (I probably use a teaspoon or so)
a couple flakes of red pepper

I bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer for a while until it reduces and starts to thicken. I feel like adding the water; then reducing it back out again, does something happy with the vinegar - but it could be in my mind;)

Anyway, Alton didn't disappoint. He's ride for this journey was an R12GS - the perfect machine for it. Happy riding Mr. Brown!

Shenandoah River Ride

A little late posting my ride last Sunday. I headed west on Rt 50 with no clear route in mind. Immediately after crossing the Shenandoah River, I noticed a nice dirt road running parallel so it was an obvious choice. The road was well maintained:


Shortly, the fun alongside the river ended with this bridge:

Which had a view like this:

The dirt then gave way to unlined old roads higher in elevation:

Noticing those mountains in the distance made me want to see them closer. So, I went back up Rt 50 and took Blue Ridge Mountain Rd. which was a nice way to finish up. Unfortunately, I put the camera away and just enjoyed the curves of the mountain roads.