A while back I heard about the 1st Annual San Diego Bike & Beer (I think via the citymaus tumblr), and just had to plan a trip down from SF for the weekend. And by lucky chance, two friends were already going to be in Southern California that weekend and drove down to join. In pictures:
The 29-mile route visited four breweries (Hess, Modern Times, Stone, and Mission), taking a roundabout path to circle the city and include scenic ocean-side riding:
Riding was a mix of rough roads, parks with spring wildflowers in bloom, and dedicated bike paths:
My favorite brewery was Modern Times (great saison and imperial stout, unusual monkey mural made entirely of post-its), though all four were interesting (Stone Liberty Station had great beers as well as a full restaurant):
The ride was mostly flat, punctuated by one steep hill. At least the view back from the top was great:
Overall it was a really great day– everyone I talked to was cheerful, the weather was phenomenal (warm and sunny with a friendly breeze), it was well organized (impressively so for a first year and 600+ riders!), and the breweries along the route were doing half-size pours instead of full beers (probably a wise idea).
Alas, all good things must come to an end… the next morning found me disassembling my bike and packing it away (13 minutes from bike to nondescript zippered case) before a day of additional beer tasting and a flight back.
