Hands down the best way to visit Richmond’s many breweries is by having someone else drive.
Parking at times can be a pain as is wondering how many beers you can responsibly drink – and for the vain among us is the worry of how many calories we’re consuming. Then there is the hassle of trying to wrangle a group of your friends into meeting at the same place at the same time.
All of the above are non issues during the course of a two hour brewery tour with Groovin Gears to several of Richmond’s craft breweries via their 12 seat bicycle bar.
That’s right – a mobile bar powered by pedals!
Now before you get prematurely excited (like I did) let’s all remember how much of a buzzkill the Commonwealth is when it comes to regulating alcohol. Like Reverend Moore in the 1984 classic movie Footloose, the Richmond City ordinances in place keep a tight reign on fun.
Much to my disappointment we were told that there is no alcohol allowed while you’re on the bike bar.
So, if you think that you’ll be mastering the motor skills required to keep your feet going a mile a minute while the upper half calmly holds a pint, sorry to burst your bubble. This sort of defeats the purpose of having a “bar” but don’t blame the folks at Groovin Gears, blame the Alcohol Beverage Control Dept. Though my dreams of tipsily tandem biking were crushed the tour was definitely still worth doing.
Despite it being a bright sunny afternoon the wind sent a chill through the air and I hoped we’d be pedaling heartily enough to warm up quickly. I was glad it wasn’t raining though I noticed the bike bar (which I’ll refer to from here out as “the party bike“) has some rain protection so it looks like weather won’t ruin your good time.
The Groovin Gears tour starts at their location in Scott’s Addition and this particular tour would cover three breweries in the same general area.
As our guide/driver explained the rules and the stops we’d be making I chose my seat and adjusted the seat height to a comfortable level. Once we were all set our guide cranked up the music and with a jolt the bike started moving. I then noticed that none of us were pedaling.
Good news for the lazy; the party bike comes equipped with a small electric motor which kicks in to get the bike moving initially and (I hoped) to assist going up any hills.
I’ll be honest, I expected it to be a lot harder to get the bike going. The pedals seemed to circle much quicker than the speed I was intending achieve so either our group was exceptionally in shape or in a more likely scenario – it actually is just that easy. Our driver confirmed that most of the bike’s momentum is from the passengers and the motor is usually only used for starting from a stop or perhaps assisting if the going gets too tough.
No going was too tough for us however as we were eager to head to the first of three breweries.
** It should be noted that if your group doesn’t book the entire bike then you’ll be paired up with whomever has also booked the time slot you’ve signed up for. This however is a great opportunity to socialize and meet some new friends, or perhaps scowl at anyone whom doesn’t seem to be pedaling as much as they should be.**
Our first stop was at Isley Brewing just around the corner from our starting point so if you have a phobia of riding party bikes in traffic have no fear, your first voyage won’t take long! Moving from the briskness of the fall air into the coziness of a pub like atmosphere always warms the soul and a glass of beer warms the other bits.
Unfortunately the stop lasted roughly 20 minutes which in my opinion is barely enough time to wait in line to order and then sit to enjoy your beer and chat with your fellow riders. I knew we had two more breweries to visit but I hate feeling rushed, and certainly don’t like having to quickly down a beverage which should be savored.
Alas, the captain of the party bike was waiting to drive us to the next stop so we headed back outside for our second round of pedaling.
Despite the chilly weather and a playlist of nightclub ready pop music blasting I was enjoying the way Groovin Gears’ Richmond Brewery tour was going so far, or perhaps that was the pint of Isley’s Choosy Mother porter already kicking in!
When I earlier questioned how much of our forward momentum was being generated by my pedaling companions and I and how much was from the built in motor I didn’t know this would bite me in the ass.
Let me assure you, that when your party bike begins to go up any sort of grade there is no doubt as to how it’s being powered.
It’s being powered by legs. Your legs, your friends’ legs, the prosthetic leg of the nice gent sitting a few seats away from you. I joked earlier about burning calories but as we headed to Hardywood for stop two my legs began to feel a little burn. I’m not ashamed to say I starting breathing a slightly heavily midway up a hill. You’ll definitely be getting some exercise on this tour.
Happily piling off the bike at Hardywood we stretched our legs and headed for the bar, overall pretty pleased with the tour so far. The lines to get a drink were short so it felt like we had a bit more time at this stop. I imagine if your group would prefer to spend more or less time at a particular brewery you could work that out with your driver, so long as the party bike is back at the garage when it needs to be.
While at Hardywood I may have doubled up on my beer sampling and decided that I’d be one of the people who sat on the back seat for the final leg of pedaling to our third and final destination before the tour was wrapped up.
It was the responsible thing to do as the two Farmhouse Pumpkin Ale’s which I’d consumed are up there in ABV. Plus it wouldn’t be fair to pedal ALL of the time….right?
I was told that Groovin Gears’ bike bar can seat twelve people total however there are 10 actual pedal spots and the seat in the back appeared to fit at least three more people easily so feel free to ask the folks at Groovin Gears if larger parties can be accommodated. Maybe someone could also lay in the aisle. Maybe you could hire a blackjack dealer to walk up and down the middle.
Something tells me though that if we can’t have booze somehow I doubt you could get away with gambling.
We ended our tour at Ardent which for this particular route is convenient as it’s just a few minutes’ walk from where we’d originally parked at the Groovin Gears garage, so we were given the option of riding back there when the official stop was over or we could remain behind to fend for ourselves in the land of IPA’s and Sweet Potato & Sage saisons.
Myself and a few others chose to be castaways and enjoy the crisp fall air on the patio so the party bike departed without us. That’s okay though, I had a fun time and there was a non moving bar that I could drink at waiting just inside…….
Overall I enjoyed the whole experience and would definitely do it again. The driver/guide was friendly and the reaction we got from other vehicles we passed was priceless. My only gripe was how short the in between stops seemed to be so it would be nice if the tour was maybe thirty minutes longer.
You can find a full list of tours and pricing at Groovin Gear’s website.
