We have literally the last Burley tandem. Burley still makes trailers to tow behind bicycles, but they ended their production of tandems in 2006. Tandems are typically custom built because they are much less common in the cycling world than single bikes, and they have to fit both the captain (front rider) and stoker (rear rider). Our tandem was on the Burley production line when they laid off all their assemblers. Management had to come in to finish ours. A couple of years ago, Robert got a special decal for our tandem to go in front of the Burley logo:
GTR 2019 became a study of biscuits. I love a good biscuit, and I make pretty good ones myself. Here's a batch of catheads I made a few weeks ago:
They're called cathead biscuits because they're as big as a cat's head.
I learned how to make biscuits from the mother of an old college boyfriend. Despite a less than optimal ending to that relationship, the biscuits made it an overall worthwhile endeavor.
By the way, one time I was pulling a beautifully golden brown skillet of cornbread out of the oven. I said to Robert, "I can't decide whether I like my biscuits or cornbread better." He said, "That's ridiculous. That's like saying, 'Which do you like better, breathing or eating?'"
The Blue Willow Inn
Our GTR 2019 foray into biscuits began at lunch on Friday. Friday's ride had a remote start in Social Circle, home of the locally famous Blue Willow Inn. The Blue Willow is a buffet of Southern cooking, e.g., fried chicken, several other meats, macaroni and cheese, green beans, sweet potato casserole, fried green tomatoes, etc. Robert and I hadn't been there in quite a while, and so going there for lunch after Friday's tandem ride seemed like a good option.
Robert and I have had some delicious meals at the Blue Willow in the past. In fact, we went there for our first anniversary. Also, although Robert and I aren't really fans of trough eating (buffets), the Blue Willow is trough dining at its finest.
I got a biscuit with my Friday lunch only by chance. I was about to exit the buffet room when I overheard someone ask another diner, "Would you like a biscuit or cornbread?" No wonder I had almost missed the breads; they were in rather inconspicuous drawers to the side of the buffet line.
I turned around to get a biscuit. (I'm very leery of getting cornbread at any restaurant because there's always a good chance it contains sugar - anathema!) The biscuit was a little smushed on one side, but it was crispier there, which turned out to be the best part.
Overall, I was disappointed in my meal. It wasn't nearly as good as I remembered the Blue Willow. However, that didn't stop me from getting a second biscuit. Strangely, the second biscuit wasn't as good as the first one. Maybe my palate was too jaded by then.
We shared a table with our GTR friends Alan and Joanne from South Carolina and their friends Eddins and Carrie, who were attending their first GTR all the way from Colorado. Eddins and Carrie described how, despite their best efforts with numerous recipes, they haven't been able to make decent biscuits. The high altitude of Colorado might play some role in this, but I suspect their biggest problem is that they don't have the right type of flour available.
A few months ago, Robert shared with me an article entitled Why Most of America Is Terrible at Making Biscuits. It details how the key to good, Southern-style biscuits is using a soft wheat flour like White Lily. Outside of the South, it's difficult to find anything but flour made from hard wheat, which results in terrible biscuits. I shared the article with Eddins and Carrie. I hope they take some soft wheat flour home with them and are able to cook up some delicious, fluffy, Southern-style biscuits.
Biking for Biscuits
Roger and Eve, our GTR organizers extraordinaire, had a fun extra for us this year. On Saturday's ride there was a bonus rest stop just for biscuits! It was at Buckeye's restaurant in Jersey, GA. Robert missed the turn, but I made him go back. He was skeptical about stopping for biscuits, but it was worth it. They were the real deal: big ol' fluffy catheads:
Roger joked that they finally figured out a way to get the fast riders to stop. I think he and Eve should drive alongside us while we're riding and hand us a musette with biscuits.
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