Your daily outdoor news bulletin for April 4, 2013 – the day the Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in 1968:
Pisgah Brewing Goes Non-Organic
Black Mountain, N.C. beer maker Pisgah Brewing is bucking the trend and ditching its USDA organic certification, essentially ending the organic beer movement in Western N.C. Pisgah has brewed organic since it opened in 2005, but rule changes by the USDA – removing an exception for beer – made it difficult to continue to produce certified organic brew mainly because there are so few organic hops in the market. The good news for Pisgah is that the organic movement in brewing seems to be on the downswing, at least according to Asheville Bruisin’ Ales owner Julie Atallah, who is quoted as saying, ““Organic doesn’t mean good, and beer drinkers, on the whole, will always seek out good beer over organic beer.” That’s the truth, but the real question is: Will it still get you drunk?
Yes. While this is nothing to celebrate over, it is also nothing to fret over unless you are one of those people who will not even think about putting anything in your body-temple that is not ‘orgo.’ If this be the case….drink water and save the beer for the rest of us, jerk.
Riding for $1 Million
A 23-year-old Annapolis, Maryland native is going to ride his bike to 30 Major League Baseball stadiums to raise money for those who have lost their hearing. Deaf by age 10, Jacob Landis underwent a procedure for a cochlear implant that gave him back his sense of hearing. A huge baseball fan, Landis is now hoping to raise $1 million to help others with hearing problems get the same procedure. His ride will cover 10,000 miles over 175 days, taking a counterclockwise loop around the U.S. and wrapping up in Miami. This is an ambitious project and we hope Jacob the best of luck on his journey. More info can be found on his blog at www.jacobsride.com.
The makers of the implant will donate $1 for every Facebook share of Jacob’s story, so log on and get to it.
Ghost Rider, Requesting a Fly-By
Branching out from the Blue Ridge – way, way out – is the story of the first men to see the summit of Everest, nearly 20 years before Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. In 1933 David Fowler McIntyre and Douglas Douglas-Hamilton flew two sing-engine, open-air biplanes over the summit of the world’s highest peak. Pretty crazy stuff, especially considering all the hubbub the helicopter rescues from base camp garnered last climbing season. With the current 2013 climbing season just getting underway, it’s nice to reflect on the pioneers of a bygone age. Plus, the story of the flight is pretty awesome.
