At New Belgian Brewing, we celebrate the autumn harvest by mashing pale and wheat mall

with ryan oats to create a creamy cornucopia of hoppiness, hoptober golden ale.

Five hops form a bonfire of citrus notes, 30 cheers and a bold finale.

Throw another log on the fire and enjoy, employ your own wind powered, committed to sustainability,

New Belgian Brewing. Follow your folly, ours is beer. Find your flavor online at NewBelgium.com.

With additional support from Kuat Racks and Patagonia, this is the shorts and you're listening

to the dirtbag diaries.

It's a ritual now, hone to perfection after almost six years.

I brew a jug of strong coffee, make a tub of pasta salad to avoid the horror of fast food,

and stuff almost forgotten items into one last bag.

Dan Ferry's our gear outside, and no matter the weather or time of day, takes a long

moment to visualize his plan of attack. He methodically finds a place for each piece

of gear. Tent, sleeping bags, kites, harnesses and shoes, rack, crash pad, boards, guitar.

Depending on the season, either stand up paddleboard or tooly packed with skis goes on top.

Grace Poucher Dan's lofted bunk bed in college before I showed up, refuses to budge from

the driveway, always fearing we might not take her. When Dan is done, we lock the house,

without the dog and her perch behind the driver's seat, and take off in the direction of our

destination of choice.

Our car rides follow a predictable rhythm. The real world follows us across the city limits

and into the surreal landscape of suburbia. Public radio provides the backdrop as we recount

our recent days at work. Question whether we paid a bill or remember to lock the back

door. Eventually our airwaves are overtaken by rush, limba and his ilk, so we queue up

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