100 miles, four breweries on tap for Bikes 'n' Brew Century
Posted by Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor) on July 9th, 2009 at 9:09 am
Billing itself as "the premiere event for cycling microbrew lovers in North America," the Bikes 'n' Brew Century will offer a physical test, a visual feast, and a bounty of good beers.
The informal, 100-mile group ride (scheduled for July 18th) will take participants from Southeast Portland up and over Mt. Hood and down the backside to Hood River. Organizers call it a "fairly challenging" route but then add that, "frequent beer and food breaks will help dull the pain.
The ride is the the idea of Dan Tochen, a self-described "beer geek" who told us that "beer and cycling have always gone hand in hand with me and my friends." He says that one inspiration was New Belgium's Tour de Fat (coming to Portland on 8/15) . That event gave him the idea, but after attending it one year he thought, "Out of state beer and a 2-mile ride? This is Oregon, we can do better than that."
"This ride seemed like a great way to celebrate a lot of the things that I really love about Oregon."
-- Dan Tochen, ride organizer
Tochen grew up in Portland, but has spent a lot of time elsewhere. When he finally returned for good he thought this ride was a great way to "celebrate a lot of the things I really love about Oregon."
This is the fifth year that the Bikes 'n' Brew Century has occurred on some level. The first year, Tochen and his riding partner did it as a two-day trip (spending the night at Government Camp), but realized that they might as well do the whole route in one day.
Tochen is aware that because the ride involves drinking and biking, there would probably be "issues" around making it an official event. So at this point, he says, "we consider it a 'show up and ride with your friends' informal group ride."
Here are the breweries (and one donut shop) Tochen has scheduled stops at:
- Hair of the Dog Brewing (Portland, OR) (Tentative, depends on the brewmaster's schedule.)
- Joe's Donuts (Sandy, OR): not a brewery, obviously, but a great place for a rest stop nonetheless
- Mt. Hood Brewing (Government Camp, OR)
- Elliott Glacier Public House (Parkdale, OR)
- Double Mountain (Hood River, OR)
If you're interested in the ride, email "info at bikesnbrew dot com" for more details.
Email This Post
Possibly related posts 
Indeed we can do better than foreign beers and 2-mile rides. Cheers, Dan!
Recommendedsounds awesome. wish i didn't already have plans for bike camping. i think there is enough demand to do this quarterly. anyone down for the Fall??
RecommendedThis sounds like a great ride. I'll be there in spirit.
RecommendedHeh. For a few years now, a small group of beery bike friends have been riding what we like to call the Beer Century. Only, we measure ounces instead of miles. Usually only 20-30 miles around Portland, with many stops for beer, with the goal to reach 100 ounces. Some GC contenders have gone on to reach the gallon, and even approach the mythical double century. This years ride slogan -- "short on miles, long on beer..."
Man, for 100 miles, it doesn't sound like there are enough beer stops! :)
RecommendedMan, do they have it wrong! The original beer century -- which happened in May -- goes by the slogan "More beers, less miles!" The goal is 100oz without falling off your bike. It takes about 20 miles, and can all be settled in the SE. But hey, that ride can be cool too! Certainly better than a regular century.
RecommendedGee, I'd like to do this tour... 10 pubs (1000 miles) 10 days... (in Ireland)
http://www.celtictrails.com/html/ct_9centuries.shtml
Recommendedi enjoy the health benefits of riding my bike.
RecommendedHm, with all the good beer right here in Portland I see no need to ride 100mi over Mt hood. Of course I may be biased because I have yet to break 30mi in one ride. But I think I could hit 4-5 decent brewpubs in those 30mi. More if you count McMenamins.
Recommended:D
This sounds awesome. I too plan to be bike camping. A little last minute to commit to a century, but it sounds amazing.
RecommendedI mean, come one;
Four breweries in a hundred miles is a bad ratio.
I mean, if we( we as in us) were on a coast ride or something, we would stop at about three bars, and a few Minit Marts for beers.
If we were on a brewery ride, that number would be doubled or tripled.
Sounds like a case of false advertising to me...
Have fun though.. (Might wanna carry some beers in your bag it sounds like)
RecommendedMan that sounds awesome, how do we get back to P-town?
RecommendedBeauty, eh? ;-) This is *so* perfect - gotta be next best thing to GDR. I have *got* to do this. All those lame supported (blech) rides are for wussies! :-)
RecommendedWhat...no cross border beering (Salmon Creek or Walking Man)? It could have been a Columbia Beer River Crossing ride. ;-)
Recommended