The Planning Stages

Greetings from San Francisco! Team Popped Biscuits held a summit here in our fair city over the weekend, with team members flying in from afar to discuss the broad scope of IPRR08 and our strategies.

Much discussion was had over bottles of Chimay in Dolores Park, Bacon at the Squat & Gobble, and over Pilsner at Mojo Cafe/Bike Shop...





There have been some changes to our Team Infrastructure, the details of which are confidential and non-binding at this time. But, know this: these changes have been made with kicking ass in mind.

Where's my beer?

-greg

Letter to Robert

hey there!

things in NZ are great.

We're hoping to roast a whole pig in the next few weeks, and you're
the guy I'd turn to for advice on such a front. Anything you could
pass on would be great, even if it's just email addy's to bother other
than your own.

It's for an after harvest BBQ party kind of thing, and one of the
other interns volunteered to cook for it (He went to CIA after
graduating college, and from what I've seen he's a really good cook).

So please! Any advice (like edible meat yield v. weight when
purchased, cooking times, etc) would be wonderful! Thanks!

--
robert
--

Hey Robert - Sounds like you're having a great time. A bunch of us a living vicariously through you, you should know. ;-)

We always buy about a 100# fully dressed pig for Island Pond. With all the sides we put out it easily feeds 75 people (with plenty leftover for the next few days). Of course we also have those hot dogs, but that should give you a sense of what size you need to get. Generally 1# per person.

We typically rub it with my pig dust (recipe attached) 28-30 hours before we want to eat and then put it on the smoker and start the fire. We do our best to maintain 250-300 F throughout the cooking process. I have a gallon on apple cider vinegar on hand that I infuse with even more pig dust (a cup or two with the gallon) and poor over the pig throughout the cooking process.

We pull it off the fire one hour before we want to eat and let it rest. The pickers need heavy dury rubber gloves (that sucker is hot) and it takes a combination of six pickers and runners (get empty steam pans and move full ones to the table) to get it all done.

Serve with Singy Jim's Northern Gold BBQ Sauce and you're good to go! ;-)

I've also read of people who cook a whole hog in a box and/or butterflied, but I haven't tried either of those. Either of these methods could cut the cook time dramatically.

http://tinyurl.com/6brr7z

http://cuban-christmas.com/pigroast.html

I think that should get you started. Good luck!

Jim

The Winds of Change Are a Blowin'

ISLAND POND, VT.

Voters oust constable known for ticketing.

Longtime constable Ted Miller, whose ticket-writing efficiency won him widespread notoriety during his 25-year tenure, was ousted yesterday. Darren "Bucky" Tardif, a 28-year-old landscaper, outpolled Miller 316 to 268 in Australian ballot voting on Town Meeting Day. Tardif and others had accused Miller of taking aim at out-of-state drivers, ticketing them so often that word about the citations prompted would-be visitors to steer clear of Island Pond. Miller, 59, says he does not care where a car is from, but will pull it over if the driver has violated the law. (AP)

Notes: There's a lot out there on this story. I found an article mentioning that Bucky will have limited power, but most importantly, this change won't be put in place until March 2009. So please continue to come to a FULL stop at all stop signs, vigorously follow the speed limit and for heavens sake, do not dangle anything from your rear-view mirror!

It's also important to note that Bucky currently mows the lawn/volleyball court at the farm. Let's hope that continues.

Oh, eight

Hey all! Just wanted to chime in and wish all y'all a great '08!

Even though team Popped Biscuits is scattered about the country right now, we're looking forward to Road Rally 2008. I'll be flying back from San Francisco for the event, without doubt.

I've also already started the official team Popped Biscuits Road Rally 2008 Soundtrack!

Eager? You bet!

-greg

2007 Road Rally - Middle of the Pack

First of all, I've heard grumblings that we're not getting the official RR 2007 results out more expeditiously. Well, it's a slow news season from one RR to the next, so we need to spread out the posts to fill the void. As long as we profile the Top 3 sometime before March, we're doing ok.

Now on to the Middle of the Pack...

#4 - 902Speed0



When they arrived at the starting line wearing their team uniform, all the way down to the signature Speedos, this team showed signs of concern. Little did they know that they were wearing a competitive advantage. Later in the race they were firing on all cylinders and completely attacked the rally course. They decided to cut and run, arriving a full 35 minutes before the 2nd team to arrive. If they'd been able to pick up a couple more Scavenger items along the way they would have cracked into the Top 3. In the end, 902Speed0 earned valuable experience that will serve them well in 2008.

#5 - Rage Against the Bananas



This team turned in a solid all-around performance, but fell short when it came to collecting optional items from both the Visits and Scavenger lists. However, they did contribute one of the most (least?) memorable photos of the year (Caution: May cause permanent scarring). You might notice the photo above is slightly blurry... they were so far out in the ocean that we need to crop it way in to get a look at them. Maybe they spent too much time in the ocean? But then, that is the Cape Neddick lighthouse in the background! These wily veterans might need to re-shuffle the team to find the right combination of speed, cunning and reckless abandon required to win the Road Rally.

#6 - Popped Biscuits



There is no team that enjoys the Road Rally more than the merry band of gypsies that goes by the name Popped Biscuits. There I said it... but I fear they're commitment to "smell all the flowers" along the way will doom them to "middle of the pack" status for years to come. Therein lies the conundrum... they embody the true spirit of the Road Rally, but will never win. Why care? Without PB, we wouldn't have photos like this of a K9 officer signing their egg (we recommend you try not to attract the attention of local authorities, but that doesn't stop PB). Or this photo of a moose, this photo of Joe icing his skull under a waterfall or this photo of Team PB hanging with Banjo Dan and The Midnight Plowboys. Well done Popped Biscuits. Well done.

#7 - Big Red



Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Routinely a top 3 finisher, Big Red now has to spend the off season working on the basics and re-tooling the team for 2008. In reviewing this campaign, it seems they just didn't have the drive when it came to the Optional Visits, picking up only 150 minutes in bonus time. Consider this... a rookie team (902Speed0) spent 82 fewer minutes on the road and picked up six more minutes of bonus time. Not-so-Big Red can take solace in the fact that they were the only team to correctly answer all of the Brain Benders. Congrats!

Look for the a summary of the Top 3 in the next couple of months.

2007 Road Rally: The Bottom Three

#8 - Mustang Element

Cruising in a vintage Mustang convertible, this team was on the road for nearly fourteen hours! They were almost flawless on mandatory items and did admirably well on the optional items, but their total time on the road was just too much to overcome. Maybe a little less time planning on the front end (they were still at the start line when Rally Officials left for the Farm) and more time scavenging is the secret for'08?

#9 - Fix Me a Sandwich

This all-rookie team did very well with mandatory items, collecting all of the visits and missed just one scavenger item. However, they fell short on the optional items, collecting only 24o minutes of bonus time (10 of the 36 total optional items). In order to improve their finish in 2008, they'll need to maximize each stop, collecting several items at each location.

#10 - The Regulators

This all-rookie team started their maiden voyage the right way - studying maps at the starting line. But the length and depth of this Rally seems to have broken them later in the day. They completed all of the mandatory visits, but skipped three of the mandatory scavenger items, adding 90 minutes to their overall elapsed time. Their optional items collected (both visits and scavenger) were thin, suggesting they just ran out of gas. They did very well on the brain benders and with a year of experience under their belt, we look forward to a better, stronger finish for this team in '08.

Road Rally Recap: The BIG Picture

The 2007 Island Pond Road Rally was run on July 20, 2007. Ten teams started (and finished) - the largest field in recent memory. While veteran teams anticipated a standard NH/VT course, Road Rally organizers threw them a curveball with a course almost exclusively in Maine!

The teams began their journey in Chelmsford, MA at 8:30am and arrived in Island Pond, VT between 6:50-10:15pm.

Final Audited Results:

1. Walk This Way - 765 minutes on the road/726 bonus minutes collected/39 minutes overall
2. Akina Speed Stars - 678/619/59
3. Straight Line - 740/659/81
4. 9012Speed0 - 620/468/152 (Rookies!)
5. Rage Against the Bananas - 655/457/198
6. Popped Biscuits - 710/485/225
7. Big Red - 702/462/240
8. Mustang Element - 825/442/383
9. Fix Me a Sandwich - 760/298/462 (Rookies)
10. Regulators - 697/179/518 (Rookies)

Thank you Storers!

Somehow "Thank you" seems entirely inadequate...

Once again, a sensational time - thanks to the Storer family for making it all possible.

Everyone, I would like to volunteer my time to put together a comprehensive photo gallery, so please contact me if you have any photos you would like to share (I know you do!).

In the meantime, enjoy this shot - many more to come..
-greg (team popped biscuits)