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.