Jogging, Bikes and Beer: What Could Go Wrong?

I’m a lucky beer lover.

Part of that luck is that we’re living in the time that we are…an era where the quality and variety of beers is unsurpassed.  This is a result of two things:  bars and distributors who are providing imported and rare beers from around the world and the presence of brewpubs, microbrews and regional breweries providing local markets with niche brews.  Of course, some areas provide a stronger selection, both in terms of local brews and bars with interesting beer lists.  Which gets me to part two of why I’m lucky.

Philadelphia is quite possibly the best beer city in America.

Although people in Northern California and the Pacific Northwest would beg to differ, I’m standing by the assertion.  The Philly area recently landed two out of the top 16 bars in RateBeer’s list of the top 50 beer bars in the world.  The scary part is that #16 is an astoundingly good Belgian place (one of my favorite varieties) and it’s a half block from my subway stop for work.  Such easy access to my drug of choice is not always a good thing.

In recent years, the Philadelphia beer community has moved to cement the city’s reputation through the implementation of Philly Beer Week, a beer-a-palooza that includes a few hundred events at bars and breweries throughout the region.  In the past, they’ve had guided tastings with the late beer god Michael Jackson (no, not that one) which sort of sparked the whole week-long celebration.  You can read my write-up of one such event.

Obviously, I’m on board with pretty much any celebration of beer.  However…

I like to mix my beer and my parties.  I like to mix my beer and my food.  What I don’t like to mix is my beer and my exercise.
But that’s not stopping the organizers of a couple of PBW events that “will combine running, biking and craft beer.”

The second-annual Philly Beer Week (PBW) 2009 (Friday, March 6 through Sunday, March 15) will include beer runs and bike rides among its more than 500 events.

Saturday, March 7

Le Tour de Philly Brew, a scenic yet strenuous 60 mile ride starting at Yards Brewery (901 North Delaware Avenue) leaving at 10 am sharp with stops at General Lafayette Inn, Iron Hill North Wales for lunch and Manayunk Brewery before recovering back at Yards. Limited to 25 riders.
Contact / bicycleja@yahoo.com.

Dock Street to Dock Street – BrewLounge Scavenger Run, a five-mile scavenger run starting at 10 am at the Vietnam Memorial Plaza at Dock and Front Streets, ending at Dock Street Brewery (701 50th Street), including a post-race buffet that is free for participants.
Contact / bryan@brewlounge.com.

Monday, March 9

Run and Drink with the Brewers, a 5k run through Philadelphia’s beautiful Fairmount Park starting and ending at the Bishops Collar (2349 Fairmount Avenue) with Adam Avery of Avery Brewing, Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head, Brian O’Reilly of Sly Fox and Tom Kehoe of Yards Brewing on a “pace scooter” handing out beers.  Refreshments from Avery Brewing at Bishops Collar after the run.  Run is limited to 100 runners.
Sign up / www.phillybeerweek.org.

Saturday, March 14 – Visit your Local Brewery Day

The Brewery Bike Ride, a leisurely 14-mile ride open to all skill levels that will visit five of the breweries within Philadelphia’s city limits.  11 am start at Nodding Head Brewery (1516Sansom Street), then on to Dock Street, Yards, Philadelphia Brewing Company and ending up at Triumph Brewpub.
Contact / jesseleekeenan@gmail.com.

Oh, it’s a leisurely 14-mile ride that has you stopping at five brewpubs.  Well, if you put it like that…

I plan on doing a lot of drinking that week and I’m sure I’ll be packing on a couple of pounds, but I think I’ll wait for the following week to start burning off those calories.