Mountain Cog

067 – Beer & mountain bikes go together better than peanut butter and jelly. (Brian Vance, Catalina Brewing Company)

February 20, 2024 Mountain Cog - Joshua Anderson & Dane "Guru" Higgins Episode 67
067 – Beer & mountain bikes go together better than peanut butter and jelly. (Brian Vance, Catalina Brewing Company)
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Mountain Cog
067 – Beer & mountain bikes go together better than peanut butter and jelly. (Brian Vance, Catalina Brewing Company)
Feb 20, 2024 Episode 67
Mountain Cog - Joshua Anderson & Dane "Guru" Higgins

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Recorded onsite at the brewery, the boys chat with Brian (owner of Catalina Brewing Company) about beer, the brewery, and content spanning a ton of mountain bike topics (including: bikes, epic adventures, bike art, and more) . 

Some interesting nuggets include how a 125cc moto smashed the rear window of Josh’s truck, an epic mountain bike ride in Tucson that requires riders to send their bikes down a zipline whilst they repel down a cliff, and oh yeah, why the brewery has a stripper pole.

Cataline Brewing Company
Catalina Brewing Company (CBC) is a small (nano) craft brewery that manufactures and distributes a variety of craft beers designed and created from local materials with the southern Arizona market in mind, and centering around a mountain bicycling theme and the incredible outdoor spirit that exists in the Arizona Southwest. 

In addition to great beer, amazing mountain bike theme (including lots of MTB related art) the brewery offers some tasty food, frequently holds live music and other events, and lots of leisure sport options including a large collection of pinball machines.  Go check it out… not far from the loop (near the I-10 crossing) and you won’t find outdoor bike parking because they want you to bring your bikes inside.

Address: 6918 N. Camino Martin, #120, Marana, AZ. 85741

Map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/wgzq27VML1MUZSZn9

Web: http://www.catalinabrewingco.com/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/CatalinaBrewingCo/

Insta: https://www.instagram.com/catalinabrewingco/

Listen to Mountain Cog
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Other Podcast Sites

Socials
Instagram
Facebook

Email
mountaincog@gmail.com

Show Notes Transcript Chapter Markers

Send us a Text Message.

Recorded onsite at the brewery, the boys chat with Brian (owner of Catalina Brewing Company) about beer, the brewery, and content spanning a ton of mountain bike topics (including: bikes, epic adventures, bike art, and more) . 

Some interesting nuggets include how a 125cc moto smashed the rear window of Josh’s truck, an epic mountain bike ride in Tucson that requires riders to send their bikes down a zipline whilst they repel down a cliff, and oh yeah, why the brewery has a stripper pole.

Cataline Brewing Company
Catalina Brewing Company (CBC) is a small (nano) craft brewery that manufactures and distributes a variety of craft beers designed and created from local materials with the southern Arizona market in mind, and centering around a mountain bicycling theme and the incredible outdoor spirit that exists in the Arizona Southwest. 

In addition to great beer, amazing mountain bike theme (including lots of MTB related art) the brewery offers some tasty food, frequently holds live music and other events, and lots of leisure sport options including a large collection of pinball machines.  Go check it out… not far from the loop (near the I-10 crossing) and you won’t find outdoor bike parking because they want you to bring your bikes inside.

Address: 6918 N. Camino Martin, #120, Marana, AZ. 85741

Map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/wgzq27VML1MUZSZn9

Web: http://www.catalinabrewingco.com/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/CatalinaBrewingCo/

Insta: https://www.instagram.com/catalinabrewingco/

Listen to Mountain Cog
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Other Podcast Sites

Socials
Instagram
Facebook

Email
mountaincog@gmail.com

Josh:

I got a funny story to start instead of a pod or instead of a dad joke this week. Okay, so I don't know if you noticed, but you didn't notice because I pointed it out the back window on my truck is smashed out. Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah, so this is like an instant karma story. So I took my son and his four buddies or three buddies out to some dirt jumps that were like way out in the desert. I live on the east side of town, like kind of way out by classic cave.

Josh:

The one's behind Walmart Read, a ranch actually, and there was an OG dirt jumper out there.

Brian Vance:

Okay.

Josh:

You know mid 30s and he was just giving the kids a bunch of grief. And they call me to like this guy's like blocking our trail, telling us we can't ride here. I mean this is like DIY, jumps out in the middle of nowhere.

Dane:

Nobody's helping us. Yeah, like the hidden jumps. Yeah.

Josh:

And they're like they're industrial or industrious. They, you know they'll build the jump. Still, they'll get in and help. They know how to do it. As a matter of fact, one of the kids builds the best lips of any jumps I've ever seen. He's an amazing builder. He's been riding BMX forever and I just got so frustrated because I'm like you got this. Like you got this like next gen of kids that are like keeping the sport alive, when so many kids are like playing video games. Right, and you're being an asshole to them.

Josh:

Yeah that's. I was like I'm going to jump and I drove my truck like way out in the desert and put the three of them had BMX bikes and one of them had a little 125 motorcycle. So we put that in the back of the truck and I cranked out my radio I was listening to the chats it's a punk rock band Open the windows and gunned it to spit, you know, rocks and dirt all over the guy, which I did. But then my truck caught traction and it lurched forward at a speed I was not expecting.

Josh:

And then you hit the brake A giant berm, and that motorcycle that was in the back of my bed went through the back window.

Dane:

I thought you were going to say that guy through rocks.

Josh:

No, no, that guy's got a great story.

Dane:

Like some assholes, dad came out here and so I thought that was going in a totally different way. No, it's the karma.

Brian Vance:

I'm sure he posted on his OG thing.

Dane:

Yeah, look at karma dude.

Brian Vance:

Yeah, Look at karma.

Josh:

And then the only duct tape I had at the house because I haven't got it fixed yet was purple duct tape. So I've got like purple duct tape duck in the duct tape the back of my window, so like that's the whole more tacos.

Dane:

Oh, yes, right on.

Josh:

That's awesome. Oh, you got tacos. Now Dad's got tacos. All right, so we are, we are. If you hear some some background noise, that's because we're in a bar. Yes, we're in a brewery and drinking, heavily drinking heavily. I've gotten through, I've gotten through most of a flight and I picked the one that I liked and I'm drinking that one.

Dane:

Which one?

Josh:

It's the red IPA. Oh yeah. Yeah, it's my newest. Yeah, it's tasty, I like it a lot. Nice, and we have a. We have to come up with a new acronym, right, so we can't say special anymore. We talked about that last time, outstanding. We have a unique, unique.

Dane:

How's it unique and stupendous, stupendous yeah.

Josh:

Yes, how about stoic. Stoic. Are you stoic? Do you believe in stoicism?

Dane:

I think so. Yeah, yeah, I think he's pretty stoic.

Josh:

Would you like to introduce yourself, sir?

Brian Vance:

I think the acronym stands for before. I admit to that. I don't think it's an acronym.

Josh:

The stoic.

Brian Vance:

We're going to make it up later it's a philosophy. Okay, all right, I'll go with that.

Josh:

Would you like to introduce yourself, my friend All right, so my name is Brian Vance.

Brian Vance:

I own Katelyn and Brewing Company out in Northwest Tucson. Slash Marana Been here as of next month, eight years.

Josh:

Eight years, wow, eight years.

Brian Vance:

We're sitting in the side room, which is the game room. We added three years ago.

Dane:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

So we've got. You know, we expanded and there's pool tables and pinball. The pinball is a hit I never knew. So we were like mountain bike people.

Josh:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

So I didn't you know. I'll forget that in a minute.

Josh:

Yeah, why are the hell are we talking to a brewmaster in a mountain bike podcast? There's a reason.

Brian Vance:

There's a reason, yeah, so we're like I'll talk about the mountain bike thing in a minute, but like we're in the mountain bikes, right. So I have no idea that there's a lot of people in the pinball machines, as much or more as mountain bikers can be. There's so many people that come from all the state to play games here all the time.

Dane:

I have never once seen a pinball on the trails.

Josh:

So I pinballed out a trail before. Yeah.

Dane:

So I never see them on the trail. What are you talking about?

Brian Vance:

They can't be so yeah, anyway, so yeah, so we're. You know, kelly and Brune company were mountain bike based. We're the first not bicycle based brewery in Tucson, nice, and it was specifically mountain biking, because that's what I do.

Josh:

Right.

Brian Vance:

So we met, we met, we met, and we met, and we met, and we met, and we met, and we met, and we met, and we met, and we met, and we met and we met and we met and formed the plan right in at the 24 race 10 years ago.

Josh:

Yeah, sitting around the campfire, drinking his home brew, which was an IPA, which is actually the grandfather of the beer you're talking about.

Brian Vance:

I'm drinking a red IPA right now Red IPA which is 0240. Yep, 0240. What is the 0240 stand for? It's a brand new IPA which is a home brew. This was 10 years ago. There was three breweries in town and not dragon yet, so an IPA was a foreign, brand new concept for us in Arizona.

Josh:

Tucson I should say yeah, they were just getting started.

Brian Vance:

So then you know he's like, oh my God, this is great. What is this? He explained it to me, and that was at two in the morning.

Josh:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

Around a campfire with our mountain bike sitting over here. So I said, well, let's do this, fine. And then when we opened, that beer became called 0200 for two in the morning.

Josh:

Oh, interesting. So is 0240 like the 40th variation or the fourth variation? Or how does it work? Fourth, fourth variation?

Brian Vance:

So it keeps you know. So we went from 0200, the recipe changed a little bit and a little bit and a little bit, and 0230 is the current go to. But this one we made as a red IPA, just to be different.

Josh:

So it had to be a different name.

Dane:

Right.

Brian Vance:

So, yeah, it's the same recipe with a little twist, but yeah, so that's the longest recipe we've had eight years long.

Josh:

And just tweaking it a little bit. So it must be a good seller for you guys, great.

Brian Vance:

And IPAs back then were like something, but now they're everything Like the market is, and it changes, of course. And then, you know, then Dragoon came on another great brewery in town and they put their really good you know Dragoon IP out there and it blew up the market. And so it's just been a good thing to hang on to.

Josh:

Always have an IPA. Always you have to.

Brian Vance:

Something like people will walk out if you don't have one on tap.

Josh:

Yeah, my wife would walk out.

Brian Vance:

She'd be, like you know, my.

Josh:

IPA. We're leaving, yeah.

Dane:

So I've noticed in that something I admire about the brewing business is that you guys all seem to be friends. Oh, 100% yeah.

Josh:

Really. So you know all the other other breweries in town. Yeah, we're very friendly.

Brian Vance:

We, you know we try really hard to go each other's anniversary parties and whatever events. That's cool, Very, very amazing. That's cool.

Josh:

Bike shops aren't that way by the way.

Dane:

Ah, they're, you are. I would like to try and change that, and I've actually talked to a lot of owners at bike shops and I think we all want to do that. I think that's something that we could do.

Josh:

I want to have like a bike shop monthly or something, yeah.

Dane:

But I really admire that. That's almost inherent, you know, whereas I think we're going to have to work at it in other industries. I've been in other industries besides bikes and there's always a little competition and it doesn't seem to be that way, and I really admire that. I got to say we do a monthly.

Brian Vance:

we have a brewery's guild Arizona brewery's guild that we're all part of, and we do meet monthly, yeah.

Josh:

And is that like up in Phoenix or down here in?

Brian Vance:

Tucson. It goes well. It's because it's Arizona based. It moves from Flagstaff to Phoenix to Tucson.

Josh:

Right Flagstaff's got a bunch of breweries as well up there For sure.

Brian Vance:

Yeah, and we're. You know we Tucson are very collaborative, we're very friendly, we help each other. When we first opened, the guys that own Barrio were extremely helpful, for example you know there's so many, I can name every. I can tell you every brewery in town what we've done with them and how well it went.

Josh:

Right on.

Brian Vance:

It's all good, all good stories. You know, I hear it's not the same in the other areas of Arizona, but so I really feel fortunate that we're down here in Tucson and it's that way. Yeah, yeah, so theâu Ranth family will make it to Arizona, but they don't know. There's probably. It's just we know that there's room for all of us and we all have a different model. You know this one over here has. They're really into the beer, like the guy went to school. He went to college, he has a degree doing beer.

Josh:

Right.

Brian Vance:

And he knows what he's doing. All the really high-end beer lovers go there.

Dane:

Yep.

Brian Vance:

Yeah, because they talk beer.

Dane:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

You know, and our motto was hey, we're bikers, we just like to have a good time. Mountain bikers specifically, you know just like to have a good time.

Dane:

We're not serious about anything. I mean, the place is full of bikes Like. There's bikes on the wall, there's pictures, there's artwork Artwork Interesting Dan Higgins creations. Yeah, there's some stuff I've built which I'm super proud of, by the way.

Josh:

I love walking the first thing we walked in here and he's like I built that and I built that, I did that and I did this.

Brian Vance:

I was like okay, oh, and when new people come in here, they're specifically a bicyclist. They see this stuff and they go wow what's up with this trader on top of your cold room? Behind your bicycle I go. That's my keg trader.

Dane:

Yeah, it's a beer bar, yep.

Brian Vance:

Yeah, and my friend Dane, we were bicycles. Built this thing because we were sitting at the 24-hour race drinking hand and beers out to the riders.

Josh:

Wouldn't it be great if we had a keg?

Brian Vance:

Well, what if you could take the keg to that one?

Dane:

Yeah, so we were, it was by our.

Brian Vance:

So the race starts at our campsite, and we were just handing beers out.

Dane:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

And someone says you got to take this beer down to the whiskey tree. Yeah, and I'm not carrying all those down there and Dane goes. I'll build you a trailer.

Dane:

Yeah, so the next year we had a trailer, yeah, and then there we are.

Brian Vance:

Yeah, you know, and it was just so much fun. It's just, we just have fun here.

Dane:

And then you ride the trailer down the rock drop.

Brian Vance:

Yep, I think it's the only trailer that's ever been down the rock with a keg. With a keg in it. Yeah.

Dane:

You're with a keg in it. Yeah.

Josh:

Definitely the only trailer with a keg in it. Yeah, oh yeah, for sure, yeah.

Dane:

We, so we built a. Brian got a fat bike.

Josh:

Yeah.

Dane:

And so we needed a fat bob. So now there's a second trailer.

Josh:

That's the fat bob.

Dane:

Beer bob 2.0. And then second version, 2.2. 2.2? 2.2,. Yeah, we had to put a brake on it, because a fat bike with a keg in it is hard to stop.

Josh:

Super, oh wow.

Dane:

So it has a brake on the trailer Interesting.

Brian Vance:

It's pretty cool. It pushes me down the rock.

Dane:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

And it bounce. It can't slow down, I can't keep, I can't keep it slow enough. Yeah, because it tries to walk around me right. Yeah so then I go too fast and it's bouncing everywhere. But actually people kind of love, oh yeah.

Dane:

Like.

Brian Vance:

Hootenholler and the fact this thing's bouncing everywhere.

Dane:

There's a little bit of like thrill there, you know, is he going to die?

Brian Vance:

Is the beer still OK I think it's really what they're thinking Probably.

Dane:

That's most important. It's usually on Sunday when he does it. They do it Sunday at noon 05.

Brian Vance:

Yep, I wait until the noon. Riders pass through.

Dane:

Yep.

Brian Vance:

And every Sunday.

Dane:

So yeah, so that way he's not interrupting any racing, right yeah?

Brian Vance:

The long story is the beer bob, the first one. Yeah, we took that thing and people were just digging it, yeah, and one day one year I was out there riding it around and it was kind of I'm sitting there watching people coming on the rock top and I go, I think I can do that.

Dane:

I think I can do that. There's people on regular bikes that don't think that I know yeah. I know Well, I've been doing it, and my son and that was on your single speed.

Brian Vance:

Right, yeah, yeah, but for Rigid full rigid Yep Yep Full rigid single speed Full rigid single speed.

Dane:

With a keg trailer going down the rock drop. Oh wow, yep. So.

Brian Vance:

And so I go. I think I can do that. I've been riding a long time here in Tucson since the 90s, you know and so you're an OG. Yeah, I'm one of the original. I was, you know, part of the original clubs here. Samba was the club and then SDMB and I was the president of that for a while and Right. I helped build and lay out a lot of the trail. It's just all good things.

Josh:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

I've been riding a long time, so when you grow up riding in Tucson, you can ride stuff.

Dane:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

Nothing here is built. Yeah, it's like rugged, you got to know how to ride.

Dane:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

So I think I can do this right. I'm looking at that. And then I taught my son how to ride down and I think originally he was the youngest kid to go down the rock drop and that's no more.

Dane:

No, he was younger. He's doing it, but last year he did the jump right Over people. 10 people, 10 people.

Josh:

He jumped over them so that no, I think I was there, I think I saw that. Yeah, that was my son, yeah, that was his son on that bike.

Dane:

Right the Rocky. Yeah, the red one, the red one, yeah, that's his rocky.

Brian Vance:

But my son's been going. He's 18 years old. He's been going to every year of his life, every year, from from zero to 18. He's been there and he just it's his place.

Josh:

And that's crazy. That's crazy to think someone's been there every year of their life.

Dane:

Isn't that crazy. That is nuts. Yeah, I mean, it's been around a while, but yeah, it's 22, 23 years now 24 years.

Brian Vance:

Yeah, so he's been there 18 of them and yeah. So when he jumped that, that picture of him jumping over 10 people made it onto several front pages of several Yep Publications.

Dane:

Publications. That's awesome, super cool.

Brian Vance:

Yeah, it's really cool, yeah, neat, and next year we're going to this year. Gosh, it's coming up this year, we think. Based on where the people ended and he landed, we think we can fit five more.

Josh:

No, why don't you go with four more? Just the devil who? Someone's going to draw the short straw, Whoever gets the end it has to be, it's always you. Yeah, yeah.

Dane:

Whoever, you're not too fond of put them at the end.

Josh:

So there's so many interesting things in here. I just had a great time. We were walking around for quite a while kind of looking at all stuff, but I noticed that you have a stripper pole.

Dane:

Yes.

Josh:

And then, I got the thinking and I was like well, when I drove in, I passed fascinations, so did you pick this location? Because of the proximity to fascinations?

Brian Vance:

No, which is? Which is an erotic shop, by the way, they've only been there a couple of years.

Josh:

So you were here, for they came here because of you. Yes, yes, there we go. So what's with the stripper pole? Just out of curiosity.

Brian Vance:

Again. We have a good time here. So a friend of mine owned this stripper pole.

Dane:

I do not come here enough, my friend of mine owned the strip pole.

Brian Vance:

She had it in her backyard by the pool. She was moving and I said what are you doing with that? She goes, I don't need it anymore, I'll take it. So yeah, there are several Better like a garbage.

Josh:

Find stripper pole To donate its stripper pole.

Dane:

Yeah, from a retired stripper Just tell me that you cleaned. Oh yeah, of course, all right. At least once a month. Yeah, at least once a month.

Brian Vance:

Oh Jesus. It usually sits outside because we have the stage and the dartboards, but we actually move the dartboards.

Josh:

Actually now it can stay inside.

Dane:

As of today. This just happened. This just happened, so you got I feel like the room we're in now could be a good place for it. I mean, you got the border lights. You could dim the lights.

Brian Vance:

Well, I have.

Dane:

No, I have stage lights over there you could put VIP. This could be the VIP room VIP. You'll see the red rope. Oh, you got a red rope and I have a sign over there that says VIP.

Brian Vance:

I put on the red rope, you could have bottle service Like the whole deal.

Dane:

There you go. Well for sure, yeah, done all that, I'm late to that party.

Brian Vance:

But yeah, no, the pole was just an add-on and actually just a side story. You guys remember the Wildcat house?

Josh:

Yeah, yeah, remember the cages. It's Brother John's now. Yeah, the cages.

Brian Vance:

The cages came up on the market and I wanted them so bad. Oh, and they wouldn't sell me one. They only wanted it was only two or none.

Josh:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

And I, but as I was negotiating, somebody grabbed them, so I missed it.

Josh:

I was going to have the cages here too.

Dane:

A bit of a stripper pole in the cages, in the cages Be perfect, so I got a little quick story, just a quick story, and this is a Tucson thing, so the Tucson people will understand this. But I used to go to a club in town called the Fine Line.

Josh:

I don't know if you guys have ever heard of this. I don't know this. Yeah, this is a new one for me.

Dane:

You know alternative music. It was cool they had a. The dance floor was open to under 21. So, we're in high school, we could go there, and then they had a bar where you had to be 21. And in there were big speakers and they were tall and we would dance on them, and so I just wanted to give you that visual of me in high school dancing on speakers.

Josh:

Can we get a picture of you on the stripper pole before we leave today?

Dane:

I had. Yeah, oh, absolutely. Now that I know that it's cleaned at least once a month, I'm good.

Josh:

What day of the month, though, that's the one that matters.

Dane:

So yeah, so so yeah. The cages at the, at the Wildcat house, same thing.

Josh:

Yeah, If you have any stories to tell me about this guy. This guy just joined as our co-host. I don't know him well. My last co host.

Dane:

I'm not too racy, I'm kind of giving you an all right now.

Josh:

Well, listen my last co-host.

Dane:

I'm learning things right now.

Josh:

By the way, yeah, okay, so my last co-host was addicted to S&M.

Dane:

That's what I heard.

Josh:

And then in the last podcast I found out that this guy does Roman Greco naked wrestling with Travis?

Dane:

No, no, I just like to With Tyler.

Josh:

With Tyler, and then I also found out.

Dane:

That's how we, that's how we solve our problems.

Josh:

You solve your problems and that you have. You also mentioned in the last podcast that you have a fetish for short women. Just short people in general, short people in general. Yeah.

Brian Vance:

I don't want a pigeon hole into just women, because I'm kind of open to, but yeah, the shorter the better. So and I've got stories, oh glasses.

Josh:

I've got stories. Oh, glasses yes. So yeah, I guess all my co-hosts have to have weird kinks.

Dane:

Yeah, yeah.

Brian Vance:

You know I need a phone book to sit on right now, cause I'm feeling a little bit. You feel a little bit, it's true.

Josh:

And you guys are about the same size because you guys keep, you keep buying his bike. He keeps buying my bike. I love it, it's a favorite story.

Brian Vance:

I did go down that path a minute ago, but I do love it when somebody comes in here and says you guys are a bike place and what's all this stuff? Yeah, I tell the stories about the beer, bob and the other things and the art here and the things there, and I go my friends built this stuff. The tap handles All the tap handles are custom made with bike parts.

Josh:

I saw them yeah.

Brian Vance:

And I go. My friends have done these things here.

Josh:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

They're just, they love what they do, they, and they're always, always circled around to well, who was it? Well, here's his car, you know, dane from beer bikes.

Dane:

She go there.

Brian Vance:

I've never bought anything but things from Dane.

Josh:

From.

Brian Vance:

Dane and uh, except for no, no, no, actually the bike, the Rock, the Kona.

Dane:

Kona, you got from Sabino or.

Brian Vance:

I got it in North Carolina.

Dane:

Oh, okay, nice.

Brian Vance:

I've never bought an Arizona bike, not at your place.

Dane:

Wow, I did not know that. That's amazing. Yeah, do you? So I just want to, I just yeah, I just want to let everybody know that, brian sent a.

Brian Vance:

Brian.

Dane:

Brian.

Josh:

Say hi, say hi, this is Christina. Hi Brian, I'm just a little bartender.

Dane:

Brian sent a text and got a beer, which I think is pretty bitchy.

Brian Vance:

I was lucky.

Dane:

I went to pick up my phone and I was like who's texting me?

Josh:

You?

Brian Vance:

always on your phone. What do you mean?

Dane:

I think this should be a regular thing on the podcast.

Josh:

Yeah, Come to the, come to the brewery. Can Christina come home with us Um?

Dane:

all right. So, uh, you mentioned something about the bikes and stuff. You mentioned the art and I got to tell you the art in here is amazing. So I know a couple of them. I know David Grant made one of them. I'm looking at one behind you. That's awesome. It says Pierce.

Brian Vance:

Yeah, yeah, Tyler, Tyler Pierce. He's a good friend of of Leafs.

Dane:

Oh yeah, our friend Leaf.

Brian Vance:

Yeah, he does a tremendous amount of adventures he's a very adventurous. He bikes like all over the place. Did the Iceland last year, I mean there's all the time.

Dane:

Yeah, he's awesome.

Brian Vance:

This place. This is Tyler's back, where Tyler grew up.

Josh:

Right now.

Brian Vance:

Up, northern Arizona, uh huh. And it says secret, can't tell you.

Josh:

Can't tell you the location.

Brian Vance:

It's seriously.

Josh:

Do you know the location?

Brian Vance:

Yeah.

Dane:

I went with them. Oh wow.

Brian Vance:

On this, on this trip this picture that you're seeing.

Dane:

You got to tell me off there Cause it's out, so you've been to Ayipa Canyon yeah. No, I have not. That's somewhere you definitely should.

Josh:

I don't know, is that the one where you have to hike in for like?

Brian Vance:

five days, yeah Well, no, five days to the whole thing. How many miles is it? I don't know. It's just like mountain biking.

Dane:

It's irrelevant how long does it take? Cause I'm going to say if it's more than three miles, it's probably five days. For me it's a few miles and you're hiking in the water On the bike I'm fine, but if I'm hiking I'm slow and you're in the water.

Brian Vance:

It's rugged. Right Super rapid, but it's beautiful. Absolutely, it blows it away.

Josh:

Oh my.

Dane:

God, it's amazing.

Brian Vance:

Okay, so yeah.

Dane:

Northern Arizona. That's what that is, cause my mom's cabin's up there, so I'm up there a lot, so you're going to have to share, so it's actually bikeable.

Josh:

Nope, nope.

Brian Vance:

You bike to the edge and then you leave the bikes, you hike down and then you have to hide the bikes and then, when you get done, you come back out. That's what that trip was. It was almost like yeah, it was all fat biking and kind of backpacking ish, until you got to the edge and you had to just stash them, go in.

Brian Vance:

And there's one point I'm not going to do go one point. This is the best part of it to strive to give you a picture. There's one point on the hike that there's no way to get from where you are past this waterfall except for jumping off the waterfall into the water below Wow, and you can't.

Josh:

You don't have a chance to go check to make sure it's safe and you go down and then you have to come up.

Dane:

It's going back Long way, okay. It's a long way that way if you wanted to, but you jump blind.

Brian Vance:

You jump without knowing these people, people live up there know this canyon.

Dane:

They know everything about it.

Brian Vance:

So anyway, yeah, cool stuff Did you ever do San Diego when you had to repel, or not?

Dane:

Yeah yeah, we never repelled. They put a zip line at one point so they could send the bikes down. I was on that, but it was the catwalk where you had to go through the catwalk and then somebody went up and put anchors in and did repelling and then they put a zip line. It's pretty crazy.

Brian Vance:

Yeah, so I did that with the with you know, with the guys that know how to. You have to go with the right people that know how to zip, know how to repel. Yep, yeah, and we did the zip line with the bikes. First guy was repelled down a road. This is the mountain biking trip down the backside of Mount Lemmon, yeah.

Dane:

So so San Diego Ridge is one of the ridges that we look at when we look at the mountains, and you know, the idea is that you're at the top of Mount Lemmon Right, 7,000, 9,000 feet 95. 95. And then you could ride that ridge almost all the way down and you end up at Charlo Gap at the top, and then you ride out Charlo Gap.

Brian Vance:

So, as a downhiller, as a downhiller, I'm looking at that going awesome. Yeah, it's not, it's not easy, but it's a very. It's a back country trail.

Dane:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

It's no, no nonsense. You have to bring everything at emergency blankets, you know, spot Yep yeah.

Dane:

We got. So we got on this trail and there's a section called the catwalk and there's a huge rock, neural or something that you can't get by, and then a cliff, pretty much, and so what you have to do is actually descend down on a super narrow trail around that and then back up and you have to carry your bike it's not wide enough for you and the bike and then get around and so it causes, you know. So what we're talking about is people going up and anchoring on that neural and and then zip lining down.

Brian Vance:

Wow, it's crazy. So the first person repels, takes the rope out, and we then we tie our bikes on the rope with pulleys and then just just drop your bike, drop them down the rope. And then, once the bike's rolled down there, everybody repels down the rope and pull the rope out, put everything back away and go. This is the only I think I've ever heard of mountain bike ride that involves repelling.

Josh:

I've never heard of a bike ride that involves repelling.

Dane:

It was amazing. It's pretty crazy, super, super amazing. It's been quite a few years.

Josh:

So what's the trail? What's the trail that it comes off of?

Dane:

It's called San Mignego. It comes off of um Sutherland, from the, from the uh.

Brian Vance:

Meadow trail. Meadow trail.

Dane:

So when you get to the top there's Meadow trail, and I think you hit Sutherland, but I'm not sure. It may just be called San Mignego, and then we used to ride a trail next to it called CDO.

Brian Vance:

Okay, so you'd race off, uh off of San Mignego. That drops to the bottom, so three miles up, yeah.

Dane:

So, but yeah, San Mignego is one of those great concept trails. You're like, oh, it's going to be all downhill. No, it's, it's not, it's not.

Brian Vance:

It's a long ride. Bottom line is I will. I've told this to everybody that comes at this brewery. We do get a lot of out of town mountain bikers.

Josh:

Right.

Brian Vance:

They say, hey, I'm traveling through, I'm a biker, that's cool, I'm here, for I get a lot of time.

Dane:

That's really cool, right on.

Brian Vance:

Almost more out of town or visitors than to do locals because, it. You know locals are riding. They got your own little watering hole. No-transcript. Every out of town or that comes into town sees this comes over. It's a conversation all the time, so I'm always talking about one. Here's the bike shop you should go to.

Josh:

Guru bikes yeah.

Brian Vance:

And two, we've got my opinion. I traveled for work for about 20 years and I've ridden all over the country. You name what I've ridden there.

Josh:

Right on.

Brian Vance:

Tucson has got some of the most beautiful, amazing and rugged trails. You go to some places they're all smooth and built, but here Mount Lemmon specifically is an extremely rugged mountain.

Josh:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

And if you can ride down the backside of Mount Lemmon, which is a true back country, be prepared, no nonsense.

Dane:

Yep.

Brian Vance:

If you're a beginner, you probably really shouldn't even try.

Josh:

Right.

Brian Vance:

Great, amazing experience. It's just awesome. Yeah, you know.

Josh:

Well, you got a great location here, being like real close to I-10 for folks that are coming down from.

Dane:

Phoenix or coming down from.

Brian Vance:

Northern.

Josh:

Arizona, they're going to go right past your shop. So if you're a mountain biker and you're driving through Tucson, you best stop at Kettlebrook.

Brian Vance:

We are the first brewery when you come to town or the last when you leave town. Yeah, mike, whatever you're my cousins whenever they're coming through town, they'll stop in here and get a growler.

Dane:

So I used to come and get growlers and take them to our family reunions. Oh yeah, that's great yeah.

Brian Vance:

And we have indoor bike parking because we understand, you know how valuable the bikes are. Yep so we have a sign on the door that says indoor bike parking. We actually got one time. We got one bad review one time that said there's bikes all over the place. No they don't know actually. Okay, the two bad reviews. I'll tell you the two.

Brian Vance:

One said one said how can they call themselves a bike bar? There's no. There's no bike racks. Yeah, no, we don't want you to leave your bikes outside. We want you to bring your bikes inside. Yep, we've got room inside. Bring them inside. Put them around the brewing tanks Yep, you know yeah.

Dane:

Be secure yeah.

Brian Vance:

And the other one was non-bikers. One time said we're in here and there's a bunch of bikers and they smelled funny. So that was like, yes, you know, I mean those are good, those are good.

Dane:

My response would be to that, like okay.

Josh:

Yeah, yeah, probably true, yeah. What's the closest trail to you here? Is it like Honey Bee or?

Dane:

Sweetwater.

Brian Vance:

Sweetwater.

Josh:

Probably the closest Sweetwater.

Brian Vance:

Honeybees. They got Tortolita, so we probably Yep Right. Tortolita and Sweetwater, yeah, honeybees a little bit further out. Yeah, starpass, starpass, which is you know? And then it goes from there, and then 50 years.

Josh:

50 years, not too bad. My wife went and rode that yesterday with some friends.

Dane:

So you still have the chain on the loop.

Brian Vance:

Somebody stole the chain. Is it still? I mean, it's still accessible, it's open, okay yeah.

Dane:

So this is a cool thing that a lot of people don't know you can ride the loop and there's a gap in the railing Right.

Brian Vance:

You can cross the wash and boom, you're here.

Dane:

So yeah, we're right across the loop.

Josh:

Yeah, and I ride the loop all the time.

Dane:

So it's right at the end of the now it's next to so it's between?

Brian Vance:

I would tell people it's between the train tracks and Topgolf, Topgolf.

Dane:

That's what. So if you see those big nets, yeah, right next to it.

Josh:

Yeah, I mean it's right, before you cross underneath it. I just wrote it, like last week yeah.

Brian Vance:

So if you're coming that way, after Topgolf, there's that little hill down Yep and then look for the red caps for the water flow, or it's right there.

Dane:

Yeah, if you go under the train tracks.

Brian Vance:

You missed it.

Josh:

Yeah, Vice versa. Right yeah, If you're going, I guess clockwise.

Brian Vance:

Yeah.

Josh:

Once you go under the freeway, then it's a left, right, right.

Dane:

We used to do a loop ride and we would ride to here and just ride on the loop and you just come straight through. Yeah, so we yeah.

Brian Vance:

The season last season and the season's coming up again where we would do loop rides from here to other places Right on. So like we'll go from here to a couple of dive bars this way, or we'll go from here to 1912 that way, which is another really good local brewery Right, and then we'll go to the next place or this place and we just go there and then come back and it's a lot of fun.

Josh:

That's super cool. Yeah, we've talked about the loop a lot on the podcast and it's a you know, I don't know.

Dane:

I think there's 160 miles now it's nationally recognized one of the best bike paths in the country.

Brian Vance:

It's pretty amazing it's two years in a row best bike feature in the country, number one. Yeah, and I was involved again back in the days with SDMB, involved with the folks that had the brain storms of that. Steve Anderson, yep.

Dane:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

And I was, like you know, really really push this.

Dane:

Yeah, they just dedicated sweetwater to Steve, which is awesome.

Brian Vance:

Yeah, he just passed away last year and he dedicated the trail system to him, which is amazing.

Josh:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

Super. You know innovative guy Yep and I worked with him with SDMB to just yes, yes, please, let's do this you know right on.

Josh:

And it's an amazing things.

Brian Vance:

The loop, because again, I'm not going to. I'm not bashing road bikers at all, but I'm a mountain biker because I rode. I can jump off an eight foot rock. I'm going to ride around cactus. The snakes don't bug me, but a car stresses me out.

Josh:

Yeah, because at least it's your decision to get killed Right Someone else's.

Dane:

I always say that rocks, and trees, don't jump out at you.

Josh:

Yeah, you know, like you have to pretty much. They're not on their phone either.

Dane:

Yeah, you have to crash into them. They don't crash into you.

Brian Vance:

Yeah, so yeah I can jump off a snake, whatever he's slow, cactus, whatever you know. Again, I have a lot of mountain, a lot of road biking friends and you know, totally respect that. Those guys just kick ass, they ride hard, they do great things. They're riding up Mount Limit, for example, all the way up and down. I'm like I couldn't do that, yeah.

Dane:

You know, I can but my knees hate, you know but yeah, that's not for me.

Brian Vance:

So the loop has changed everything, because you're protected from the road. And it's just a wonderful thing.

Dane:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

And you can get from here to anywhere and vice versa, and it's just a lot of fun.

Josh:

Yeah, it was interesting. We had Sam Credio, who's the. He's the director of transportation and mobility A pothole guy, a pothole guy.

Dane:

Yes, yeah.

Josh:

And he says that the loop is actually managed by, like the people that do, the watershed in Tucson.

Dane:

I didn't know that, so I thought they have access. I thought Pima County was.

Brian Vance:

Well, that's the part of Pima County, the water.

Josh:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

Isn't it.

Josh:

I believe it is, but it's because they have access to the washes.

Brian Vance:

Yes, and so they actually maintain the loop.

Josh:

It's not, it's not city of Tucson. No, no, it's no, it's totally Pima.

Brian Vance:

It's not to Tucson because it crosses all the little areas. So, yeah, the pothole is when you know Steve Anderson and and and Joe Barr, another really good friend. He worked for the county.

Josh:

Right.

Brian Vance:

They were. They were the guys making this thing happen and, of course, chuck, you know that, yeah, yeah, it's named after him, right. So it's good stuff and I've got a book by a guy, local guy, that wrote a book about the loop and it has all the it's really cool we have, we have it here, we buy it, we have a bunch of his books here.

Dane:

Right.

Brian Vance:

The loop guide.

Dane:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

And it's really cool. And then just like the old school paper maps where each part of the map has a number, and then you go to that page and it has details on that section.

Josh:

Right.

Brian Vance:

And it tells you you know, here's the part of the loop and here's what you can do when you're there. Here's a restaurant, here's a bar.

Dane:

Yeah, here's a shop, yeah.

Brian Vance:

Here's the thing, and it's really well done and that's the loop guide is a. If you're really into the loop, it's a kind of a cool cool.

Dane:

I need to get some of those for the shop because that's pretty awesome. I can tell you I can. I'll send you his info.

Brian Vance:

They just he just sent me an email. It said he just published a bunch more.

Dane:

Maybe we can put that in the show notes. Yeah for sure, definitely yeah. We'll put a link to that in the show notes.

Josh:

And maybe we should do an episode on the loop in general. I mean, we've had kind of like transit wants to come on and then they're a shop that's like right off the loop and then we had right now uh, Jesus, who's a shopper after loop? And now we've got you who's a brewer?

Brian Vance:

Yeah, no, yeah, transit Transit. I also think that's a great great shop Transit's, another great shop that people really love. They're good people, yeah, they do good things.

Dane:

My sons just got great shops. They really do. We keep talking about guru bikes and I feel bad because there are so many good shops and they may not be as good as guru.

Brian Vance:

But I take that I'm just kidding. You guys know I'm kidding. Jen is a little cuter, though that's one thing she's got over you For sure, for sure.

Dane:

She's got way more style than I do, that's for sure.

Brian Vance:

She's a great lady. She does good things.

Dane:

Anybody who walks around in cargo pants or shorts as much as I do is definitely not on the style game, he's not in the middle style.

Brian Vance:

You guys both have the same amount of passion, right, she's super into it, you're into it. It's really cool. Good, like you said, good shops.

Dane:

Okay, I want to hear more about the brewery, but I also like to hear about your riding too, and then your son, who's riding, which is amazing. So do you get to ride at all?

Josh:

I think this is all of our struggle. Yeah, right, yeah.

Brian Vance:

So my, my history is. You know, I started mountain biking way earlier than I even knew. That was in early nineties. Friend of mine that doesn't mountain bike anymore said let's do mountain bike things. Yeah, you know, I was okay cool.

Dane:

And then nineties as full rigid 26, I bought a $600 bone. Sorry, let me back up.

Brian Vance:

My first bike was $300, something that was like whatever.

Dane:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

And very quickly I realized that's not going to work, so I bought a $800 GT Avalanche full, rigid, okay, and it was like $800. What the?

Dane:

hell, oh my God, I might get doing right now. I remember that. I remember when $800 was like the best bike, expensive bike.

Brian Vance:

And I wish I had that bike still. I gave it to a friend of mine and I wish I still had that bike. That was. That was a fun bike. Was it polished? No, it was blue. It was blue. Okay, but just love the look and the feel Was it the GT blue?

Dane:

Yeah, Like that. Oh nice Nice.

Brian Vance:

So I rode that bike back in those days. You had Wildcat trails and Starpass and you had Chiva Falls.

Dane:

Yeah. And you had the one on the one on Mount Lemmon, the pepper sauce, and then we did lemon.

Brian Vance:

I don't remember oh there's one on Mount Lemmon. It was the one. Oh my gosh, I just lost the name. Oh, butterfly.

Dane:

Oh yeah, butterfly.

Brian Vance:

Yeah, that's it.

Dane:

To the control road. Yeah, yeah, yeah, crystal Springs, crystal Springs, that's one, that's it the other direction. Yeah, yeah, that's all you had, yeah.

Brian Vance:

So you had a little tiny double C battery light that you could barely see and the Camelbacks didn't exist yeah. So you still had. So we had to have double water bottles, which was kick ass back then yeah, yeah. It was so much different.

Dane:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

It just rode all the time.

Dane:

Oh man, I remember riding Starpass trail and there wasn't trails out there, there was the old wagon route. Yeah, it went through the pass, yeah, and I rode. I don't even know where it's at, but I rode. My neighbor took me out on and showed me this trail for the first time. I was a neighborhood kid who just rode in the neighborhood and he actually showed me mountain biking for the first time.

Josh:

Right.

Dane:

And he. We stopped at a trail and he showed me this groove in a rock and he goes this is where the wagons came through. They made this groove I don't know where that is today Interesting, but we used to. I think it's 36th street, so you know the wall on Starpass trail, so that entrance, wherever that was through that neighborhood, that's where we used to come through. So it wasn't even 36th street. It was Well, yeah, yeah. It's amazing how different it is.

Brian Vance:

That wagon rode for a long time was. That was a. You had to pay a fee to get through that. People would drive up and over Starpass Really, and you had to pay this guy that had a house there, okay, a toll to drive through there.

Dane:

No way. And the house is. Is that the one where the foundation and the car buried?

Brian Vance:

Yes, I know where that's at yeah, I got to take. It's behind the rocks. Yeah To go. Yeah, and you know you can climb up and ride down that rock too. Oh yeah.

Dane:

And if you are looking at Starpass, have you've ridden?

Josh:

Absolutely Okay. I used to live in Starpass. Actually, for a year I lived there.

Dane:

When you look at Starpass, if you take a right and I'm, you know I got to tell you that we have listeners all over the world.

Josh:

Yeah, so we're talking about a deep, deep Tucson. Yeah, this is Tucson riding.

Dane:

So what we're talking about is an area that used to be Wild West and Indians and Cowboys, no joke.

Dane:

No, just we're out here and we're expressing how we've learned. You know all this culture in here, but then people would homestead out here and so this guy had a house, and right at Starpass you'd take a right. Instead of going through the pass, go around the mountain and there's an old foundation and a car buried which we all love to stand on and take pictures. But if you go right up the hill you go down the slick rock into Starpass.

Josh:

I don't think I've. I don't know where you're talking about.

Dane:

I might as well figure that out, yeah, so now a new section of trail takes you by there and we called it the beer garden, but I think it has a different name Beer garden further away. But don't you join that trail, yeah.

Brian Vance:

There was another name. I have to think about it.

Dane:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

It's just like. It's just like um Sweetwater.

Josh:

They change all the names. They made new names. I'm like I don't know. So new names.

Brian Vance:

That's what county made names, and we had our. We had our own.

Josh:

Yes, Our names, so like Desperado and stuff like that.

Dane:

That wasn't those are part of the new names yeah. No, yeah, desperado is a new name, so that happens all the time. So when I mean as old as I am, because I'm ancient, riding in Tucson we had names at 50 year, we had different names, we had fantasy island names, and then now that Strava and Trail Forks and all the things come out, they get kind of an official name. That wasn't really the official. Some guy who posted the first ride on there gets to name it basically.

Brian Vance:

So, just so you know, I've never used Strava, not once.

Dane:

I did, but I became a Strava asshole. You know, I just want to ride for me. I don't want to ride.

Brian Vance:

So so back to the real quick Sweetwater. Okay, Sweetwater. I found the arrow, Lost arrow.

Dane:

I found the arrow. I find the arrow. Yeah, there's a lost arrow and lunch lunch rocket, that's still one of the names.

Josh:

That's still one of the names and they kept that name.

Brian Vance:

They're the only name they kept, so I'm like. Yes, you know because I walked with the county that to help them decide where to put some of the trails Trail existed, wildcat Trail.

Josh:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

I'm like this is a great trail. It goes over here and over here and I go oh, there's an arrow in this massive swirl.

Dane:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

Yeah, arrow just stuck in this swirl.

Dane:

Yeah, every once in a while I stop and try and find it, because I don't.

Josh:

Is it still there?

Dane:

So yeah, and if you ride that trail, you got to look for the arrow.

Brian Vance:

That's interesting and, like I'm 50 years, you got this thing called lunch rock, right yeah? Big ass rock, that goes negative.

Josh:

Yeah, so we're rolling down it. You can barely see. You can't see it when you're on top of it.

Brian Vance:

You can't. You have to know, you have to know where to put your tire.

Josh:

Yeah, my wife's like just go down. I'm like, uh, yeah, no, screw you. So lunch rock you can do it, I'll take you.

Brian Vance:

I call the lunch rock as a joke one year, because we stopped and had lunch there and oh, so I've been calling it that for years I thought it was because you like, if you mess up, you eat your lunch like you.

Dane:

you like you would have been better.

Brian Vance:

Yeah, like you, like face plan, it was literally because they stopped and had lunch at that place. And you know, and then the guy that lives out there. I got all mad because that's not what it's called yeah, stuck, sorry, yeah, it did. It totally did.

Dane:

There's a another drop role at uh that I tried to name and I called it incisor. It looks like a tooth right. That you come down. Yeah, I didn't take off, nobody cares.

Josh:

So you need to create a strong, strong assignment.

Dane:

That's the problem, I don't have it on paper.

Brian Vance:

So to go back to the, you know the worldwide audience here. Yeah, yeah. Because I get all these people, literally that come from all over the world, through my brewery.

Dane:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

I get to tell these stories which I'm proud of Tucson, I love Tucson.

Josh:

It's amazing Yep.

Brian Vance:

And I get to tell these stories and the relevance is. This is a one of the most unique areas for writing.

Dane:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

There's so many different things. We have not lemon. It's 9,000 feet. It's in the trees, yeah, and then you have snow Star pass snow you have star pass, which is all volcanic.

Josh:

Yep.

Brian Vance:

And then you have 50 year, which is all granite. Yep, you can go back the way back in 50 year and you're riding on just slick rock. Yeah, yeah so now you're feeling like you're in Sedona.

Dane:

Yeah, yeah, huge slabs, huge slabs.

Brian Vance:

Yeah, so we have so much variety here as a mountain biker and on one hand we're like, don't talk about it.

Dane:

Yeah, you know when you're talking about it. You're talking about it. I want more people to talk about it On the other hand.

Brian Vance:

Well, yeah, because you want to buy tubes.

Dane:

And no, no, no, no, no no, no, you want to buy bikes and honestly I just, yeah, I've traveled all over and I've ridden so many places and I have not found a better place. I mean I just think Tucson's amazing.

Brian Vance:

Not Moab, which is pretty awesome.

Dane:

Everybody knows it.

Josh:

I wouldn't want to live there.

Brian Vance:

Holy crap, I just forgot the name.

Josh:

What state's it in?

Brian Vance:

It's in Utah, utah, the other place we always go, st George, it's close.

Dane:

Are you talking Gooseberry? Yes, gooseberry.

Brian Vance:

The backside of Gooseberry off the Mesa.

Dane:

Grafton Mesa, grafton Mesa.

Brian Vance:

Oh my God, I love Grafton Mesa, grafton Mesa is the only place I've ever found that I liked almost as much as some of the Mount Lemmon rides.

Dane:

There's a little town called Springdale. Let's write the entrance to Zion so you can go there.

Brian Vance:

We hiked Zion Angels Landing, I crawled so if you want to hear a story Brian and I were I still tell that story.

Dane:

So we get up. So Angels Landing has a pretty wide path that zigzags up most of the mountain. And then, right when you get to basically where it starts to spire, it gets flat again and it's narrow and you can look over both sides. We come around the corner and we get up there and I see the edge and it looks like you're in an airplane. That's how high up. I'm looking at tiny little buses down there that are in the canyon that are like like 10 centimeters long to me, that's how small they are.

Dane:

And I hit the ground and I got on the ground and I'm like the only way I could look over the edge was to be On your stomach. I'm totally embarrassed on the podcast right now, but I'm like crawling up to the edge just to look at it because I can't stand up.

Josh:

Do you happen to have any pictures of him crawling? Oh, no, so we got to the top.

Dane:

But that's not even the top, because that's the public. Top, that's the public. But then they have chains that you can climb out to the spire even farther and guess who stayed back? You said no, no way.

Brian Vance:

So it's all it's a paved, super windy, sweaty back thing. You get to that little plateau and there's a bathroom and several barrels of human waste from the bathroom.

Dane:

I don't remember that. See, I blocked that out.

Brian Vance:

So we got there real like okay, here we go, we're ready for the big.

Dane:

Thing.

Brian Vance:

I look over and he's by himself walking over to the edge and I just see him. Just they hit the deck and crab walk back off the edge.

Dane:

He's like no, I'm out. It was.

Brian Vance:

it's crazy because you're, you know you're. It's a vertical thousand foot cliff. Yeah, I mean it's just 100% vertical. The cars, like you said, are like matchbox cars.

Dane:

Yeah, it's so high, oh wow.

Brian Vance:

It's incredible, it's a beautiful thing, but when you walk up here's the thing is, when you walk up past that which you don't know.

Dane:

Yeah, it's all. You have to hang on the chains. Yeah, you have to hang on chains, it's a fin.

Brian Vance:

You're walking on a fin.

Dane:

Yeah, yeah, and you're hanging on the chains Like like 15 inches, 20 inches wide.

Brian Vance:

Sometimes yeah, yeah and then. But here's the thing you're hanging on a change and every now and then the chains have a gap and you're like you can bear the next chain.

Dane:

There's no way. And then, yeah, I'm not doing anything.

Brian Vance:

And then. But then you're, there's two way traffic.

Dane:

Oh shit, yeah.

Brian Vance:

So you're happened to like like reach around people and yeah, yeah, it was not going to.

Dane:

And when you get to the very tippy top, yeah.

Brian Vance:

There's no chains, oh, there's no, there's no fence. You're like on this top of this big, huge. You know what's it called, you know Spire.

Dane:

Make sure, that's what I call it.

Josh:

And we walk.

Dane:

You know like looks, yeah, it's a spire.

Brian Vance:

You walked over the edge and it's a vertical, it's, it's incredible.

Dane:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

We? Have you ever done the Picacho Peak?

Dane:

Yes, it's a small version of that Guess where I stopped. Very small, yeah, right before the chains, the.

Josh:

Picacho is a small version of what you guys did yeah.

Dane:

Yeah, same thing, picacho is amazing, it's a beautiful thing, great. Hike up to the top, to the saddle, yeah, and then they have chains that go up to the top. Yep, guess where I stopped. You stopped there.

Josh:

Buddy, I'll be right there with you when you get to the top. It's a 360.

Brian Vance:

You're sitting on something maybe no more bigger than this room.

Dane:

Yeah, right, yeah.

Brian Vance:

And there's a 360 degree view.

Dane:

And there's some people sitting there. I'm sure it's amazing.

Brian Vance:

We get up there, you know, we go up there New Year's Day, sorry, and we pop a thing of champagne and we drink you know whatever, and then you have to get down.

Dane:

Exactly so. What I learned from this discussion is I made the right decision. It was yeah, and if I want that view, all I have to do is Google it and find some video online.

Brian Vance:

So, anyways, Southwest is just amazing and you know this place doesn't amount to biking, but right around all of that with Gooseberry and all yeah.

Dane:

Gooseberry Hurricane. So this is near St George. Yep, there's Hurricane. There's Grafton Mesa, wire Mesa. We did so. We rode last trip there. I didn't get to go with Brian, but we went and rode Flying Monkey, which is crazy.

Brian Vance:

I've heard about that trail actually. Yeah, that's the one trail that I, because the people I went before didn't want to do it.

Dane:

Ok, so people are going to call me out, but I'm going to say I rode it. There are maybe some sections that weren't fully ridden, but then there's also Kong, which is off of that, and none of us Now a couple of my friends want to go hit Kong. But the first entrance to Kong is a huge drop to a narrow landing, and like it's insane, Like the trails are insane, and then right next to that are all the Red Bull rampage sites.

Brian Vance:

So that's what I'm going to say, because those people are their training. We were at Gooseberry one time and we stayed at one of the yurts there and the yurt is on the edge and you overlook the rampage, because right across the valley is the rampage.

Dane:

So we sat there on the edge and just watched.

Brian Vance:

I mean, and again the bikes look this big. That's how high you are on this thing compared to the rampage, it's a beautiful area. I would recommend all the people listening. If you're a mountain biker, you've got to go to Gooseberry.

Dane:

Gooseberry is one of the most underrated. Yeah, Moab's amazing, but Gooseberry is super underrated and there's so much riding out there.

Josh:

So come to Tucson first and then go to Gooseberry, yeah, so.

Brian Vance:

Yeah, and then come here and we'll tell you all about it. Yeah.

Dane:

So true. So what are you riding?

Brian Vance:

these days? Oh yeah, that's your original question.

Dane:

We never got to tell, yeah, that's OK.

Brian Vance:

So I started and then did wonderful things, rode all the time and then somehow got roped in to open up a brewery.

Josh:

And I can't answer about it.

Brian Vance:

So ask any business owner you know what do you do. Now, that's about it.

Dane:

No.

Brian Vance:

Totally do. Yep, yeah, so there's amazing rides out here all the time.

Josh:

You know as the NBA.

Brian Vance:

We just had this thing called the Eightest Days of Christmas, which you ride every day between Christmas and New Year's, and it's a fun time. We try to hit all the trails.

Josh:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

And I started that thing 10 years ago with me and a buddy, Graham, who does all my artwork still.

Dane:

Yeah, graham's awesome, he does my website.

Brian Vance:

Yeah, you know, and he's a mountain biker Right on. And one year we said we're both off, let's ride. Ride every day. You know, 100 miles later we rode every day. We rode all the trails. Now there's too many trails hit in eight days, but people are like STB took it over and they're doing a great job. So that's when you have to try to ride. You have to do these events. You have to. You have to have some reason to just stop the business for a minute and go do these things.

Josh:

Did you do the eight days this year?

Dane:

I did three of them. That's awesome.

Josh:

That's better than how many I did one maybe you supported one.

Dane:

Really well, I supported one. I don't even know if I was on the right, just supported it because was that that was? Oh yeah, I wasn't on that ride. So that's like that was our winter Haven ride, so we go through winter Haven in Tucson is a neighborhood that that decorates.

Josh:

Christmas Pretty amazing.

Dane:

Such a huge way and it's a huge event and all all Christmas. It's amazing. It's probably the biggest. I haven't been to a lot of places during Christmas, but winter Haven is just a major, for sure, and Tucson is the biggest, yeah it is by far, so we did a ride from the shop to Winter Haven.

Josh:

And you didn't go on that route.

Dane:

No, I think I had family obligations.

Brian Vance:

Yeah, I saw, you posted it, I wanted to go yeah.

Dane:

I can't remember why didn't, but it's the nice thing about the shop is we've got all of us are passionate. And so, if you, can't make it, somebody's going to make it and, and it's just amazing, like that's one thing we.

Dane:

I would say that I learned our group rides. I learned that concept of getting people together and having a good time, probably from Brian. I think I learned that more from Brian than anything I I would. I would give you a lot of credit for that, because before you I would go out with one or two friends, but Brian's rides always had just 10, 15 tons of people and I think I learned that from him. And one of the things that he's taught me also is patience in the ride.

Dane:

Right on, he's not hammering you know, we go out, we stay together, we have fun, we do things. It's not a it's not a hammerfest, and sometimes I got a little too caught up in trying to go fast.

Josh:

Yeah.

Dane:

And I didn't enjoy myself, and so I'd say I credit you with.

Brian Vance:

Thanks for that, because I do remember those days when there's people, there's a couple of folks, we know that race.

Dane:

And they're like oh go.

Josh:

Yeah, and you know let's go.

Brian Vance:

We actually got called quilters, quilters for a while.

Josh:

Yeah, yeah, like you're quilting, because you're, what are you doing?

Brian Vance:

making quilts? I'm like, yes, I love it. So he thought he was insulting us. I'm like we're going to use that. We're the quilting team. It's true.

Dane:

We're here.

Brian Vance:

Why are we? What are we doing? It's true, we're playing on this rock right now. Yeah, we're sitting on this rock looking at the sunset. We're having a beer Sessioning, we're doing whatever Photos Sessioning.

Dane:

Photos Sessioning Photos People used to get mad at it.

Brian Vance:

I'd pick my camera out and take pictures. And then later on they said you know what, Thank you for those pictures, right?

Dane:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

We're just here to enjoy this. Right If you're just rolling through it. And those guys their mentality was they like to race, they like to commit, they like to win, that's OK.

Dane:

Yeah, no judgment.

Brian Vance:

We're back to our inclusivity conversation earlier no judgment. And if they said, hey, we don't want to right with you, I'm like cool, I'll see you at the end, you know?

Dane:

whatever I'm here playing, yeah, do your thing, you know.

Brian Vance:

But yeah, we Joby. You know my friend Joby. He was one of those. He was like, what are you doing? And then later on he's like, oh, this is great.

Josh:

I love these pictures. Yeah, so do you have any group rides that come out of this the brewery right now?

Brian Vance:

Right now we haven't. We did. There's a couple of trail systems not too far from here that we used to ride from here up and do the trails and come back Right, it's a seasonal thing, of course you know in the summer, you know it's a little hot, right so, and in the winter it's actually cold. So you have the other two seasons, yeah, but winter is like two days and summer is like five weeks.

Josh:

So yeah, you know whatever, Right yeah.

Brian Vance:

So that's another thing. Another thing to the worldwide people. I think it's hot here. It's really not that hot very long, yeah Well, because it's not cold at all.

Dane:

Yeah.

Josh:

Except for those five days, yeah, yeah, I always ask. Feels like today might be one of those days. That's right, it was a cool day.

Dane:

I always ask on the heat, is this your first summer? Yeah, that's the hottest. Once you get used to it it kind of goes away. I'll tell you two summers ago.

Brian Vance:

It was pretty darn hot.

Josh:

It was like a weird hot yeah.

Brian Vance:

Like humid, more humid, more whatever.

Josh:

Yeah, we had good months soon. Yeah, but I ride all year. I mean, I ride Same year. There's not a week of the year that I don't ride.

Dane:

Yeah, I wish I could say that, because it's not.

Brian Vance:

Let's pretend it's 105. It's not that bad, because at 6 o'clock it's 90.

Josh:

Yeah, so let's do it. And at 6 AM it's like 80. Yeah.

Brian Vance:

It's beautiful. Yeah, yeah, so no.

Dane:

Once the sun goes down, it's not beating on you, so. I actually ride more. I don't know if I've mentioned this on the cast yet, but I ride more in the summer than I do in the winter.

Brian Vance:

Same, because it's red and night, because we're not cold people. Well, it's not even.

Dane:

Because it's dark too. It gets dark fast. It's the dark. So it's weird because you say those two things and they contradict what I'm thinking. But it's my time at the shop, so the perfect riding time in the winter is the middle of the day, and I'm always at the shop and so my riding is usually super early or late at night, so you're cold. And so the cold is probably what it is.

Dane:

And so during the summer I do a ton of night riding and I tend to ride more. Plus, our season for the shop is slower.

Josh:

Yes, so I have a little bit the slop showing, see if some more time, a little bit more.

Brian Vance:

Yeah, but no, we've hosted several rides out of here and lately it's been a little died off a little bit. We did it. We hosted one of the rides for the eight-ish days.

Josh:

Yep.

Brian Vance:

And that was super fun. But yeah, we used to do once a week, once a week, and now it's. We have to be consistent, that's the problem. They can they depend on me being consistent and I can't be. Because tonight, let's say, my bartender calls out, or next time there's a birthday party, or I can't bail on those things.

Josh:

Yeah, you're running a business.

Brian Vance:

So I've tried to have other people run them for me and it works sufficiently.

Dane:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

But we're almost ready to start back up our bar ride. The bar ride's been super popular, because who doesn't like that?

Dane:

Right, right on my drink. You just go from bar to bar.

Josh:

Yeah, and then on the loop. How many bars do you go to in one set?

Brian Vance:

So there's the plan, and then there's the actual right.

Josh:

What's the standard deviation between those we?

Brian Vance:

have this grandiose plan to hit these and then come back, and then sometimes you get to half of those and then you have to call somebody to bring you back. We always have a backup plan, somebody with a truck, just in case you know.

Josh:

And yeah, so you're going to start doing those again.

Brian Vance:

Yep, yeah, we're getting towards that again and again it's riding bikes. You're on a bike, on a bike, you're on a loop, you're on a road, you're on a trail Yep, you know it's people love it.

Dane:

Yeah.

Josh:

So what bike are you riding these days? What's your numero uno? I know you have a couple, because I've seen a few throughout this establishment.

Brian Vance:

Yeah, I've actually been thinning the herd out a little bit for several reasons, but my go-to favor right now. Well, let me back up a second to paraphrase something we talked about earlier. You know I'm pretty loyal to whatever I choose, right.

Josh:

Right.

Brian Vance:

Because somewhat of an investment, somewhat of, even if it's not quite right, I want to be stubborn about it. So, back in the day I rode the GT Hardtail forever.

Dane:

Yep.

Brian Vance:

And somebody a friend of mine downhill raced back then, sold me his two-inch front fork.

Dane:

Nice as a downhill racer.

Brian Vance:

He goes. I'm going from two inches to four.

Dane:

And I might all take your two-inch forsy, I know.

Brian Vance:

And I used to ride two of the falls all the time and I'd go home and my kidneys and eyeballs would hurt because it was hard, it was just rigid. And then he gave me this two-inch fork and he was like this is the best thing ever. I rode that bike for a long time. So then I bought this other bike that had full suspension. It was amazing, but it was four-inch. I'm like, yes, I rode that for a long time. And then Dane here turned me onto this thing, this tightest bike that just loomed me away.

Josh:

Beautiful bike. Chris makes good bikes. It was pretty.

Brian Vance:

And it had all the suspensions and it had everything going on.

Josh:

Is that the one that I saw when you came in?

Brian Vance:

Yeah, yeah, so that's 20 years old now Is it raw, holy crap. Well, it was eight. So my son's this is how I gauge things my son's 18 and you brought the bike over when he was like two, so I'm gonna say 16 years old bike.

Dane:

Do you want to tell that story? When you brought the bike over? When he bought the bike? So, first I got to promise this. It took so much work to get him to get a bike Like it was. I think I took him out to lunch Like and we were friends, but man, I had to wear him down and his bike was 10 years old at the time.

Josh:

Right.

Dane:

So and it's clapped out. He kept bringing it to me to try and keep it going.

Brian Vance:

And I'm just like, you need a new bike.

Dane:

And finally he buys this bike and it's custom. I'm pretty sure we ground up, built it. Yeah, go ahead.

Brian Vance:

So, so quickly. The bike that you finally got me to go away from Partially is because I broke the triangle on South Mountain.

Dane:

Yeah, and I didn't even know it was broken. I rode South Mountain with a broken triangle, yep.

Brian Vance:

And I go home like, oh, I think I need a bike, yeah.

Dane:

Yes, yeah, and it's got just a thing.

Brian Vance:

So Titus is beautiful company in Phoenix. Yeah, that was doing great things. Yeah, they had this special with the Crank Kane brothers.

Dane:

Oh, crank brothers edition.

Josh:

Oh, that's right, you got the special edition, so I got for those that don't know, titus is kind of like the same owner of Pivot right.

Dane:

Yeah, so Pivot Chris Callis.

Brian Vance:

When Chris left Titus, then he started Pivot, yeah, he had the only and first green Titus Wappa with the orange features.

Dane:

Because they said that's going to be dumb.

Brian Vance:

We're doing silver with orange. I don't care, I want green and orange.

Josh:

Yep, I was the first and only.

Brian Vance:

Right.

Dane:

Ever.

Brian Vance:

Yeah, yeah, that bike was beautiful, it was so sexy so he built it for me, made it happen.

Josh:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

And I was at my house. It was the Cinco de Mayo party at my house, yeah, huge, like everybody.

Dane:

All the mountain bikers are there.

Brian Vance:

Back then all the mountain bikers were like 20. Yeah, there's like 20.

Josh:

All of them were there. Yeah, seriously, and I'm not even kidding.

Brian Vance:

And he shows up with a bike, brings it house, delivers it, walks it in. Everybody's just like oh yeah, there was just like this whole like googling, yeah, goggling, goggling.

Josh:

Goggling, googling, googling. Something different these days, oogling, oogling.

Brian Vance:

Oogling, there you go, oogling, yeah, and OG, og.

Dane:

And at the time at, his house he had built mountain bike course, Half a mile trail.

Brian Vance:

Oh nice At his house.

Josh:

Right on? Yeah, I still not. So did you take it out right then and try it out?

Brian Vance:

Absolutely. Oh yeah. Yeah, my son was like two and he's like please let me ride it. Yeah, yeah, because I lived in North Carolina for a minute for about five years, grew up here, went to North Carolina for work for five years and came back. What I learned in North Carolina was how to ride logs.

Dane:

Yeah, skinnies and skinnies, and so I built.

Brian Vance:

And so in my property I built skinnies and logovers and teeter totters and all these things that nobody here knew how to ride.

Dane:

Yeah, it's cool.

Brian Vance:

People come to my place and just practice riding these things. Yeah, it's so much fun. Yeah, I miss those days a lot but yeah. So anyway. So then that bike lasts me a long time, because I still have it. Yeah, it's still here.

Dane:

I still have it, just rolled it in tonight yeah.

Josh:

So with flat tires, yeah, 26 inches, yeah, and a coilover on it, you can't even buy tubes anymore.

Dane:

Titanium coilover.

Josh:

Is it titanium? Yeah, does that help what?

Dane:

is that, it's just a weight Just a weight, ok.

Brian Vance:

But the collover is amazing. I think I rode that thing on sunrise multiple times Big things.

Dane:

Oh, yeah, it took it to.

Brian Vance:

Just it took whatever I gave it to Gave it to it. So then, then he goes and he goes. All right, titus is gone. Now I have these Rocky Mountain bikes. Let me try this one. I'm like I don't want to. No, I don't want to. No, he goes.

Dane:

I'm Change is bad Because I'm your crack dealer. I'm like yeah.

Brian Vance:

Fine, and then I rode it down Bugsprings and I'm like OK.

Josh:

This is amazing.

Brian Vance:

I've never ridden Bugsprings this fast with less pain. Yeah, it's a beautiful bike.

Josh:

Right. So there I have that one, the Rocky Mountain Slayer. Rocky Mountain Slayer.

Dane:

Gorgeous bike.

Josh:

Circo what year?

Dane:

Oh God, I don't even know 16?, 16 or 17.

Josh:

So that's like pre like the big geometry. So have you ridden one of the new bikes Again?

Brian Vance:

No, I mean it's like the reason why I know it's night and day.

Dane:

It hasn't been 10 years yet. Oh my gosh. Well, here's what.

Brian Vance:

I'm going to give you another story, right. So back to my son. So I had bought that bike, and then I bought a pivot from Dane as well. That was a decent bike. Why don't I remember that? I don't know I bought that, I don't even know which one it was, you sold a lot of pivots, brother.

Dane:

I don't remember all the bikes I had. It was a used one right.

Brian Vance:

So I got rid of one of my bikes and my son was getting bigger. I bought a small bike from a friend and he immediately grew. So I got in a lot of trouble from the wife because I bought this bike for something and six months later he couldn't. It was too big. So I bought the wrong bike at the wrong time and I go oh, now what? So I bought a pivot used one just to get him through that.

Josh:

Yep, yep, yep yep.

Brian Vance:

So my son, we showed up with a trailhead. He would literally jump out of the truck before he even shut the truck off, run around and grab the slayer and get on it.

Dane:

Look at me.

Josh:

I'm like what the hell?

Brian Vance:

And then I had to ride the pivot and the pivot just didn't do it for me and obviously didn't do it for him either. So then I go, dane, I got a problem and he goes. Well, good news is, my slayer I'm riding now. Year later I got to upgrade and get rid of. I'm like, all right, I'll take that one. So I bought a slayer one year and the very next year, the next year. So I have two slayers, one for me and one for my son.

Josh:

So you haven't ridden a modern geometry bike. You need two man.

Dane:

It's kind of tricky because the way that he rides he's riding a slayer as a cross-country bike, which is pretty modern, because it's pretty slacked out that makes sense and so, but that makes sense.

Josh:

But pivot has. I mean they're not super aggressive with their geometry right. I mean they're less steep or less slack than most, like the switchblade. I couldn't believe.

Dane:

Starting to change.

Josh:

Is it starting to change?

Dane:

So, like my new Mach 4 SL, which is their newest version, way slacker and it's their lightest cross-country bike and I could do bug springs on that bike. It's pretty amazing, wow. So they're starting to change. But yeah, there's, every company has their own philosophy.

Josh:

So what's the head tube angle on his slayer? Not a clue.

Dane:

Back to the. So one thing that you'll learn about me, Josh, is that I can't keep those numbers in my head.

Josh:

Okay.

Dane:

I don't even try.

Josh:

I'm gonna start bringing my laptop with me, so I can remember that.

Dane:

The slayer's pretty slack but I think we talked about this on my first podcast with you Is one of the things that Rocky does. That's pretty amazing is they are adjustable geometry, and so he can make it steep for Fantasy Island or he can make it slack for sunrise.

Brian Vance:

Yeah, you showed me that they won never touched it no, no, yeah, you ever will.

Josh:

So what do you have it set in? Do you know? I don't know.

Dane:

It's in the middle, if I remember correctly. Well, so every once in a while I'll change it for him if we're at a bike park. Yeah, you don't tell me that, no, I just do it when you're not.

Josh:

I gotta tell you I've obviously had relationships with lots and lots of mountain bikers. I've never met someone that is into the sport as much as you, that doesn't know every single widget and piece.

Brian Vance:

Not a techie. Super interesting, yeah. No same with the beer. I have no idea what I have ABV. This beer is that I'm drinking right now.

Josh:

Yeah, really Do you know what beer it is that you're drinking right now?

Brian Vance:

I think I ordered a peloton, they're all good, I don't know. Come in, they're all good, they're all good. But some people come in and say they go, hey, what's the something with that beer? What's?

Dane:

the percentage of this.

Brian Vance:

What temperature do you or what time do you put the thing in? I'm like I don't know. Do you like it or not? Having fun, we're about fun.

Dane:

That's what we have here and people do.

Brian Vance:

I cannot tell you the number one thing that I love about this brewery. That is my job to do, so I'm proud of it.

Josh:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

Was to make it a fun place to be.

Dane:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

And always someone new. People walk in here and go wow this is a cool, super vibe.

Josh:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

And I've never heard anything other than that you know what I didn't see?

Josh:

I haven't seen it. Do you have a Duke's Whirl in here?

Brian Vance:

No, yes, you do Wait. No, the last one's gone. I have a Duke Agatio.

Dane:

OK, oh, nice, nice.

Josh:

I didn't even know, he didn't yeah.

Dane:

Did he make some of your tap handles too? Yeah?

Brian Vance:

Yeah.

Josh:

Well and we're talking about Ryan Beamish, by the way I need more, I need more. And he's like eh no, I need more.

Brian Vance:

And he's like out.

Dane:

Ryan, come on, let's do it buddy, because he was making the chain ones. Yeah.

Brian Vance:

And I need more. And last time I asked him he goes eh, I don't have time for it. I'm like, oh well, something I need more.

Josh:

Ryan Beamish, we're calling you out, buddy. Oh yeah, Come on. We sold a bunch of Physogorical.

Dane:

We're just asking for three. That's it 30.

Josh:

Or 30.

Dane:

But three to start.

Josh:

Three. What are you using them? This is the tap handles. Why does zero mean? Why do you need 30 tap handles for?

Brian Vance:

Because when we put our kegs in other places, we have to give them a tap handle.

Josh:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

And they love our tap handles. They love Ryan's tap handles.

Josh:

Yeah, ryan Beamish.

Brian Vance:

Because they're like oh, this is super unique.

Dane:

Team Semper 5. Two cogs wrapped in a chain.

Brian Vance:

Yeah, and you just put the little sticker on there yeah, people love them. And then, unfortunately, why the problem is is that we don't get them back Because they keep them Right. So, that's the biggest you need to take deposits.

Josh:

Should we start a petition for Ryan to make more tap handles?

Dane:

You know I'll donate. Yeah, I'll donate some money.

Josh:

If it takes Chains and cogs I've got a whole bunch, so I give him bags of chains. I've got a bag of chains at the house.

Dane:

Ryan, Just hold them hostage. Just hold them hostage. Just be like. I can't give you these.

Josh:

I got to give credit for Ryan, though, because I came out two days before Christmas and there was a box at my front door and it was from Ryan and it was a Duke's world, which is awesome.

Brian Vance:

Thank you for the Mountain Cloud podcast. He used to bring them here. We'd sell them for him and we'll take more, by the way, because people love them.

Dane:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

But yeah, we still have his Agatilo thing that I won't sell Because it holds business cards. That's awesome.

Josh:

Maybe we should have him help like subcontract out or something. Figure out how he can get some other people to help make him. Maybe there's something we can do with Team Semper 5 or something I'll talk to him about this. Fundraiser.

Brian Vance:

Yes, there's, something.

Josh:

I mean, I know he's got a busy schedule.

Brian Vance:

Oh yeah, he's doing all kinds of stuff.

Josh:

Maybe we can help him take on a couple of apprentices or something and we can get him on.

Dane:

Yeah, that would be great. He does so much.

Josh:

And he is an amazing guy.

Dane:

Those are all a passion project. Yeah, yeah for sure he's not even I mean they sell by themselves. He's not even trying to sell them.

Brian Vance:

No, people won't sell them. Yeah, they never sit here long when we put them in. Well, it's the same thing. I'll go back with Dane, right? Dane has done so much artwork for us here I mean the beer bob.

Josh:

I got pictures of all that on my phone right now.

Brian Vance:

He took me around Did we talk about the beer bob, yet I don't even know we did Beer bob you went down, the rock shock on it or the rock drop on it. Yeah, beer bob, but all those other things, all those little things, all the little, the bar, the bars, they're all the stuff.

Dane:

Well, the bar itself. I built the bar, and then Eric Fairfield, who's a woodworker by trade, built the wood part and then did the poor, and so in the bar is epoxy. We, brian, called out to all the mountain bikers in town and said donate your old parts whatever they are, but put your name right.

Josh:

And whatever on them. Yeah, I was looking, I was reading some of the names in there. It's pretty cool.

Dane:

And so all these parts are in the bar. That the wood part, is what.

Brian Vance:

Eric did.

Dane:

And then he epoxy filled it. So when you go muscle up to the bar, you're looking at Tucson mountain bike history right there.

Brian Vance:

All the people in Tucson. That stuff, that stuff and there's 20 to 10 years old.

Dane:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

There's things in there. There's metals and rewards. There's there's. There's parts of people's bikes that aren't live anymore.

Dane:

Yeah, that we got there in there now, yeah, and there's, there's a great thing, just history, which is great. But all of that sits on what I built.

Brian Vance:

Hey, that's cool, so that's fine and it's all so one more shout out that when some of our other artwork, a lot of our work comes from bike is. Yeah, bike is we have a lot of artwork here from bike is. Yeah, we've either bought it or they've given it to us. Yeah, we go to the art show.

Josh:

We haven't. We haven't had bike is on the podcast. I guess they should probably do that. I think they'd be awesome. Do you know any of the folks over there?

Dane:

Oh yeah, I know.

Brian Vance:

So I barely know Colin and Troy, which I Well, troy's not really there anymore, so I, I can, I can. Yeah, maybe you can.

Josh:

You can make an introduction, because I love their whole concept and what they do.

Brian Vance:

They just had their art show, like two weeks ago. I just went, I went to go, I took the whole family, took the whole family. They had a kids table.

Dane:

My, my eight year old, was distracted and didn't kill anyone. It was awesome, that's was a win-win. My daughter and I bid it on stuff and we didn't win anything but it was pretty amazing.

Brian Vance:

I can show you some of the stuff we won.

Dane:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

I get asked about the stuff from them all the time yeah, Where'd you get that? Where'd you get that? It's, they do amazing things.

Josh:

I mean like so yeah, so, so like, let's talk for a minute about what bike is, in addition to the bike art, right? So? They have it's. It's a. It's a nonprofit organization. Yep. And and, like I, take all of my old parts to them.

Dane:

Yeah, we do too. Like anything that's that we're not needing, we can drop off there yeah. Um, you know, I've been doing this for a long time and back in the day they used to have people that will come out to the shops, which I really miss. I know they can't do that anymore, but they would come by with like a Bob trailer or something and pick up just whatever you got, whatever we got. It was great.

Josh:

So so they they help, so so they they have classes. They have full, like you know, like mechanics kit there. So we go and they have all the tools. You can rent a bench for a couple bucks or something, I can't remember what the costs are yeah, teach people to work on bikes.

Dane:

They teach people to work on it.

Josh:

They have all, all kinds of used parts super, super cheap. There's an art component.

Dane:

So they take these broken parts that are that are unusable and they turn them into art, which is amazing. So they're recycling their. It's a it's a great organization. I, I, I would love to spend more time there just doing art.

Josh:

Yeah, it'd be super cool, yeah, super cool. I think our we can just pause for a second. Okay, yeah, I'll just I'm going to clap because it should. It gives me a spike in the audio signal so I can see it Nice, and then I'll clap when we come back.

Dane:

Only drawback to beer is the P time.

Josh:

Yeah, maybe. I should keep this in the podcast. All right, that's true though.

Dane:

I like how Brian just kind of bowed out and like snuck out.

Josh:

He didn't even say that he's just like. I'll be back. I gotta go.

Dane:

He's like I'm going to go potty, yeah, Um so he's, he's, he's character. He's awesome. I I I forget, like I was telling Marie his wife how I've known him longer than her. You know, uh, like I don't even know. So one of the problems that I have is I don't even like counting the years anymore.

Josh:

That's how old I am, and so like how old are you? I'm 48. I just turned 40 and I'm on day, by the way, 50. So you got me by two years. You're not that much older than me.

Dane:

I feel old, so you talk about bike age.

Josh:

Yeah.

Dane:

And like, okay, I'm trying to remember your bike. Age is maybe the skill level you're at, or is it how long you've been biking, how long you been riding Me? I've been riding since I was.

Josh:

Like really riding though Cause. I've been riding bike since I was like five, but I was 22 in Mildenhall, england and Thetford Forest. Is when I really like, bought a mountain bike and said I'm a mountain biker now.

Dane:

So I got my mom bought a microwave and I got a free bike. It was my first mountain bike. It was a Forenzi which, ironically, I live on Forenzi Drive.

Josh:

Nice.

Dane:

Which is crazy now, but this is an old mountain bike, it was the first time I've ever seen one, and we moved right in the middle of one of my seventh or eighth grade eighth grade. And when we moved I either had to switch schools or I had to figure out how to get myself to school, and so I started riding my bike to school so that I could keep going and finish the year out, and so that was my first mountain bike.

Josh:

Then what year was it Like to Hall? Or, oh God.

Dane:

So eighth grade? Whatever eighth grade is, is that.

Josh:

So my son's 14,. He's in ninth grade, so 13. So 13, yeah. So your bike age is 37? Yeah?

Dane:

and I was doing, I don't know how far.

Josh:

What's your bike age? How long you been like actually a mountain biker?

Brian Vance:

So when did mountain bikes first get invented? Oh God.

Josh:

Like back to like Downeyville and stuff like that. Like those guys.

Dane:

No, no, marin, Marin. So yeah, yeah, the clunkers, the clunkers, the clunkers, like in the late eighties, late eighties, is that right? I think it was seventies, seventies, okay, yeah.

Josh:

This is Gary Fisher time. I mean, I've had bikes forever right.

Brian Vance:

So what defined mountain biking? I was riding, like you know, banana bikes down the dirt road of my granddad's cattle farm.

Dane:

Yeah, does that count? Yeah, it counts.

Josh:

That counts. So how would you do, did you?

Dane:

take them off. Sweet jumps, that's what I want to know, so there was a cliff.

Brian Vance:

A cliff not just jumps, but a cliff.

Dane:

Way more manly than I was expecting.

Josh:

I want to see someone do a cliff in a banana scene.

Brian Vance:

Yeah, so my granddad's cattle farm in Texas. It was the only hill in the county and on part of the hill they dug out a bunch of rock.

Josh:

Right.

Brian Vance:

And me and my cousin would play on that and we'd ride our bikes down stuff.

Dane:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

And I remember one time the front wheel fell off and I hurt myself a lot.

Josh:

So that's back when you could be all right, yeah right.

Brian Vance:

So yeah, I mean been doing that kind of stuff forever, before mountain bikes really existed.

Dane:

I haven't gotten a text message, but you need a beer. I'm good, I'm good, I'm still Love it.

Brian Vance:

Can't do a half beer Half beer All right About time, yeah, so I don't know, I don't know. That's a good question, right? So when do you? Because when do you? So there's, when are you cognizant that mountain bikes are actually a thing?

Dane:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

And then what were you doing before that? That sort of qualify?

Josh:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

But I mean early 90s. I mean early 90s when a friend of mine said, hey, there's this thing called mountain bike and we should get one.

Josh:

Okay, so early 90s was kind of like 1993. So 31 years yeah 31 years.

Dane:

Yeah, so mine was, oh, late 80s. Yeah, late 80s. So I was telling Josh a story about how I got this mountain bike. My mom bought a microwave and I got a mountain bike free. Like that tells you how much microwaves were when they first came out.

Dane:

But I used to ride it back and forth to school and I could do wheelies because I had gears, but that I didn't really see as mountain biking. So saying the neighbor who took me. We were talked earlier about me going out to Star Pass and that neighbor taking me on a trail. That's probably. That's probably the first time.

Josh:

So how? So how were you when that?

Dane:

happened, I was still in high school. Was I in high school or junior? I was. It was like a freshman.

Josh:

You're a freshman. Yeah, so you're 14 years old. Yeah, so 36 years ago. So your bike age 36, you're 31.

Brian Vance:

Yeah, I remember but it's real quick Star Pass thing.

Dane:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

That was cause I got this bike and we were doing things and whatever this guy that we met took me on Star Pass and that was my first real feel of I'm actually mountain biking and doing a trail.

Dane:

I'm not on a road, yeah.

Brian Vance:

And he would be like, hey, be careful, there's a hole here, be careful, there's a rock here, be careful. And he would call it out. I'm like boom. And then it would be all freaked out and I couldn't do it. And then I remember like a year later I got the better bike and I'm like that guy kind of messed me up by telling me be careful.

Dane:

Cause now.

Brian Vance:

I just don't be careful.

Josh:

Yeah, relax, don't tense up, it works, you know what's crazy I haven't told this on the podcast before I started mountain biking in England, in East Anglia, where it's really flat and all the trails go through all the different forests, but we had these amazing like holes, like giant, like 30, 40 foot holes that you would. You would be right in the forest and be totally flat and you would drive dopped out in the holes Like a sinkhole or a dip.

Josh:

Like a hole, like a giant, like 50 foot by 50 foot hole. You know what. You're already laughing, so you know what this is. This was World War two. Those are craters. Those are bomb craters from World War two.

Dane:

It's not why I'm laughing.

Brian Vance:

but I have a story, but that's better. Yeah, that's better. It's a bomb.

Josh:

But like I started riding like in the bomb craters.

Brian Vance:

You know some barriers.

Josh:

And people in the mountain bikers would build jumps and all kinds of features and you would like ride up the walls of them and go down, and that's, that's literally where. Hopefully you're not making new holes.

Brian Vance:

No, no, this one didn't go off yet. No, no.

Dane:

I didn't run anything like that, so you guys realize we don't have that in the US. Like there are no bomb craters. Yeah, thank God, there's that one crater in Arizona where it almost hit the visitor center.

Josh:

I don't know what you're talking about right now, you know the meteor crater.

Brian Vance:

Meteor crater.

Josh:

Yeah, we get meteors, but we like inshallah we've had.

Dane:

But it just barely missed the visitor center. Nobody's going to get that joke, except you.

Brian Vance:

What a big time center are you talking about? Every time somebody posts that it's still funny.

Dane:

He just ordered a half a beer. That is not a half a beer, that's a full beer.

Josh:

That's a. That's a. That's a three quarter beer he's going to. She knows.

Dane:

Can I get the other half? Can you bring me the other half and then?

Josh:

you're going to have one and a half beers. I still charge them full price for that. Oh, so so.

Brian Vance:

I have a, so I was laughing when you said the whole thing, because this is a great story when I again this friend of mine that that doesn't live here anymore. That originally put me in a mountain biking.

Josh:

Right.

Brian Vance:

We used to go do whatever. We'd write down a happy valley, there's dirt roads and you're out there and you're doing things. There was not many trails.

Dane:

So we just do things like that yeah.

Brian Vance:

This guy we're riding. Literally I'm trying to follow him and I turn away for a second turn back. He's gone, yeah.

Dane:

He's gone. Drop it like a bad habit.

Brian Vance:

And I like right up and he's laying in the bottom of this random hole with the bike on top of him going help Cause back. Then you clipped in. Yeah, Clipped in clipped in, but like the strap Strap clipped in, yeah, strap so he's stuck on his bike in the bottom of a hole and I just laughed for as long as that's what you do.

Josh:

You first make sure they're not seriously injured, and then you laugh as soon as you realize they're not. They're not going to be paralyzed.

Brian Vance:

Yep, then you laugh. Yeah, it was still, to this date, one of the most funny things ever.

Josh:

Well, hey, man, this has been awesome, like if you are a mountain biker anywhere in the world, you come to the United States, come to the Southwest, come to Tucson we have amazing trails, and if you come to Tucson, you got to go to Catalina Brewing.

Dane:

Absolutely. It's amazing. Just for the experience, experience the history, the beer For the inclusive fun. A stripper pole, a stripper pole. There's the pinball machines, the new awesome dart stuff.

Brian Vance:

I mean, this is a it's a amazing, amazing place.

Josh:

man, Do you have any final thoughts for our listeners?

Brian Vance:

I mean, I guess we talked about a little bit, but hey, you know, do you yeah?

Josh:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

Do what you do. Do your roads, do your mountains, do your e-bikes, do your beer, do whatever makes you happy. Yeah, is the people we want here in Tucson, in our bike shops, in our breweries. That's what that's, that's the way to be and that's the mantra that they know. They know I've been friends for a long time because we have that same mentality. It's like we're just here to be happy and have fun.

Josh:

Yeah.

Brian Vance:

You know if you're, if you're judgmental or, if you're like, opinionated, that's cool too. We'll still be friends with you.

Dane:

Yeah, yeah.

Brian Vance:

But whatever, man, just we're not going to go down that road, we're just going to be like do you, I'm happy to do you with me, yeah.

Josh:

Right Versa yeah.

Brian Vance:

That's the way it should be. Yeah, period.

Josh:

So come to Arizona. Everybody's doing everybody else, I think, we.

Brian Vance:

That's the after hours party, so.

Dane:

Well, and I got to say it again, stripper pole, yeah, so Right.

Brian Vance:

Nah, but bottom line is yeah, we love it down here. We've you know. I mean, it's just a great community, and I wanted to use the word community. I was thinking about it. So one of the most the biggest words that a ton of my customers have used is the community that this, my brewery, has created. Yeah, you can be a biker or not a biker, it doesn't really matter.

Dane:

Yeah, right, I've got a ton.

Brian Vance:

This is Thursday night. Thursday night is my regulars night, yeah, a ton of people out there right now that are just friends there.

Josh:

I see them all come up and they're all coming up and, yeah, they're peeking around the corner. If they're peeking around the corner, looking at you, we've had like 20 people coming. It comes out. They're just called friends. Now, yeah, from all walks of life.

Brian Vance:

I have a you know, I've a 90 year old guy that just loves being here and, as you know, and his wife, who's super like salty Mexican lady. That's just awesome, yeah, you know. And then just, and then Jeff handy, who's you know, and all walks of life. Yeah, it's just a community.

Dane:

Southern.

Brian Vance:

Arizona and Tucson is just. It's a great community.

Dane:

Every time I come here, I know somebody. Yeah, it's awesome. Yeah, you've introduced me to several people. Yeah, yeah.

Josh:

So that's super cool, so do you so enjoy it, come in and.

Brian Vance:

I'm going to say, I'm going to say, I'm going to say, I'm going to say and yeah, we love people that come from out of town and out of state and see Arizona, Tucson we love it, you might just move here.

Josh:

I'm from Detroit and I can't get out of here. Yeah.

Brian Vance:

So, yeah, we tell people that, yeah, you know, the reason why we have hot summers is to kind of push out the you know the people from California.

Dane:

Only the strong survive.

Brian Vance:

Yeah, right on.

Dane:

It's a beautiful place. Or those with air conditioning. That's awesome.

Brian Vance:

Yeah, Catalina Brewing hey thank you so much for spending some time with us.

Josh:

We really appreciate it.

Brian Vance:

No, thanks for having me Hang on.

Dane:

Oh, that was awesome.

Brian Vance:

Hopefully that concludes when you're happy.

Dane:

No, it is great.

Brian Vance:

See, I'm talking to just like we're an hour 20. You just like, oh it goes, it's all right, Get it. Get it, Marty. Yeah, the only reason I know my wife is still here is because of the dogs.

Josh:

Hey, what's up. This is Josh the Mountain Cock podcast. You got questions, comments or feedback. Well, we'd love to hear from you. Shoot us an email. You can send it to mountain cog at gmailcom, digging the show. There's a couple of things you could do to help us out. First, you could tell your friends about Mountain Cog, and also it would be great if you'd give us a good rating and review over at Apple Podcasts or Spotify or wherever you listen. We appreciate you all. Go ride, keep the rubber side down.

Brewery Owner Shares Mountain Bike Connection
Craft Beer Community Camaraderie
Annual Tradition and Stripper Pole Story