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It was hot, but that did not deter the record turnout at this years Tour De Brew Bicycle riders.  We had over 170 riders for the 32 mile ride, which is more than double over last year!  One rider came from as far away as Portland, Oregon!  Other out of staters came from IL, MO, MN, WI, and NE.

We started at the Old Capitol Brewpub in Iowa City.  People gathered up and fortified themselves with pints of Pale ale and Paul’s lastest creation, Big Black Snake malt liquor.  I can testify to the power of the Big Black Snake   The two buses full of people who had parked their cars in Amana arrived around noon, and we began to push off to the next beers stop.   We rode through the nice new bicycle trails in Iowa City and Coralville until we got to Twelveth Street in Coralville.  We then pushed on in the 90+ degree heat to LL. Pelling in North Liberty where the THIRSTY Homebrew club was setup.  They had quite a spread!  A double IPA, a Mild, Pale Ale, Irish ale  and a couple of other brews were available from club members, plus a big keg of cold water which was very popular.

 From there we went on through North Liberty and past the Greencastle Airport.  It was so hot, that I could hear the pavement sticking to my tires!  Eventually we made to the John’s Grocery stop, underneath a big old oak tree near the intersection of Old Highway 6 and Highway 6.  There we gratefully drank a few pints of John’s Generations White Ale, and the citrus flavor seemed particularly refreshing.

 It was then just six more miles to the Millstream Brewery.  Everyone sat outside and enjoyed the fine weather, which was registering 98 degrees at 4pm.  There was brats inside the brewery and a place to sit in the shade, everyone seemed pretty happy, checking out each others bikes.

Thanks again to Team Wimpy, who used TWO buses this year to get everyone back and forth. 

Update: The Daily Iowan has a nice article with a photo montage of the ride!