rdrummond

Anyone know of any touring routes designed to hit well-known breweries/brew pubs, etc. ? Like an "Ale Trail", but for bikes ?

jonc123

The following is in NW Arkansas. A 37 mile trail runs through NW Arkansas called the Razorback Trail. All of the breweries are near the trail; some are 10' from the trail, one is about 3-4 miles. Most are right near the trail. You have about a dozen breweries to choose from. One of them is a cider place. Some of the breweries are connected by side trails. I have been to every one of them multiple times.

Fayetteville Ale Trail

Razorback Regional Greenway | NWA Trails

Another area is Des Moines, IA. They have an extensive trail network with a bunch of breweries near the trails. I have been to some of the breweries.

I can send you a file that open up in Google Earth or a file that will open up in Google Maps. You can put it into Google Drive and sync it with a phone that has Google Maps. The one I have for Arkansas I have revised many times and it is accurate. I have many many hours into these maps. The one I have for Iowa I have been working on and have rode most of the trails in and around Des Moines. They have a very active bicycling/drinking population in Iowa. They like beer. They like bicycles.

I have camping on these maps also; haven't camped at many of them, I have a few favorites. Make note that at the end of Octocer, it seems that every campground in Iowa closes.

These maps look wonderful on my I-Phone. I haven't found anything online that is better; my maps have all the breweries and other wonderful places. I don't have the five star eats on these maps, I have the "interesting" places to eat at. I should say interesting places that have good food.

Minneapolis, MN. would be another possibility, I've only been to Surly Brewing up there and haven't worked on maps yet.

Get me your E-mail, maps are free.

Here is what a brewery in Ankeny, IA. looks like on a Saturday:



Here ya go, Ozark Hillbilly in IA, corn, beans and a Long Haul trucker:



An example of what my maps look like on Google Earth for the IA trails. I can't do screenshots of my I-Phone. Ignore the black line, it is for another purpose.



Change the video settings on Youtube to 1080/60 and you'll see what an I-Phone 6 will do at the hands of a dummy. This was on the High Trestle Trail in IA. The video is boring, but look at that nice concrete...

Caymandiver1

Doing the one in Fayetteville Arkansas this week.

jonc123

If you have a smartphone with Google Maps, you'll be amazed by the map I have. I usually park at the north end, head south and camp at the Cow Patty Campground. The owner is a lady named Patty.

I might see ya!

Have fun, and if you want more specifics I'll have the answers. I know the area well. Very well. My favorites are Fossil Cove, Bicycle rack and Columbus. You should have great weather from the looks.

Here is an example, zoomed way out of the NW AR area...this looks great in GE or Google Maps, much better than upload to FlickR...



And a bit more zoome in...

saddlesores

you dinna say where.....so....how about germany?

southern germany in particular, thousands and thousands,
dare i say tens of thousands of tiny breweries. almost
every small town and village has at least one producing
mainly for local consumption.

who needs well-known brews? the bestest stuff is local.

jonc123

Tens of thousands in the US. Yes, the best is local.

jonc123

High Trestle Trail Near Des Moines; this is a good thread, someone actually asking about touring some place!:

fietsbob

Ireland, Britain, Belgium, Bavaria, Bohemia, Or say Oregon Coast; Oregon Coast Breweries ? Oregon Craft Beer

indyfabz

The Finger Lakes has some good riding:


Finger Lakes Beer Trail | New York State's Premier Craft Beer Destination

VT_Speed_TR

Not cycling specific, but easy to follow routes and a passport card to Vermont's micro breweries

Brewery Challenge & Beer Trails » Vermont Brewers Association

mstateglfr 

I was pretty much ripped on in an earlier thread for suggesting that Iowa is a welcoming place for bike tourism, but it really is.

Between the hundreds and hundreds of paved trails, the small towns which are accommodating and frequent(10mi from town to town at most in any direction), and the cooperation of bars/breweries with the cycling population- its welcoming.
Yes, US20 isnt a good road to ride. Neither is the 101 out in CA.

Anyways, there are a ton of bars and breweries along the trails or very close to the trails in Iowa. This is true in the central Des Moines metro as well as eastern IA.
Minnesota would be a solid option as I have been to a few breweries in the MPL area which are close to trails(that place is so full of paved trails that you can throw a feather and hit a trail).

jonc123

Have you met the guy that lives up your way that made his own wood bike frame? I met him at Firetrucker; forgot his name. Said he rode it in RAGBRAI. Made out of Walnut, I think.

mstateglfr 

Funny timing as I saw a review of a walnut frame bike on youtube a few days ago. It was interbike or whatever that huge bicycle trade show in Vegas is called.

Havent met anyone near me with a walnut bike. Thatd be a conversation starter for sure.
I have met a few guys who ride boos bikes as the founder is originally from Iowa and each knew/knows the guy. Boo Bicycles Home - Boo Bicycles


So was the walnut bike absurdly heavy or pretty normal?

jonc123

Hollow frame, I think he said it was about 7.5 pounds.

rdrummond

Hi all
Thanks for all the info. I may make a road trip to Iowa! (From Philadelphia area)

rdrummond

Thanks...I'm open to hearing about anywhere! Esp Europe...that's on my bucket list.

And "well known" is poor choice of words on my part. For example in the US there are guides to Ale Trails but they're assuming auto travel. Was thinking of same but for bikes. So by well known I meant "destinations worthy of pilgrimage "

jonc123

Maps sent.

robow

Can't believe no one has yet mentioned Wisconsin, home of cheese, the Packers, and beer ! You could spend several days just up around Madison riding their extensive system of bike trails and hitting several mid sized and micro breweries and all the while getting your cheesehead on.

rdrummond

thanks jonc..good stuff !

rdrummond

this is very cool...wonder how long it would take to ride to Des Moines....

jonc123

Just around the corner! I am curious, when viewing the maps did it retain the symbols such as the fork/knives for chow and the martini glass for breweries or were they replaced with balloons?

One more note...if you want to stay at the Cow Patty Campground at the southern end, it's about 6 or 7 miles down HWY 71, which is 4 lane, 45MPH and has a wide shoulder and low traffic at most times.

The Arkansas trail has a couple detours, they are doing some highway work. The first one is at the Northern end of the trail. Here is a picture below. The trail actually starts about a mile north of the Lowes at a lake. No overnight parking at the lake, I usually park at Lowes. I did ask. The black line that runs along the trail is the closed section, the only way to get through is to get on 71, it has a wide shoulder (45MPH) and is not bad for the short time you'll be on it. Where that black ends near the bottom is a business that is closed on weekends and trail users park there. I wouldn't park overnight. Might get towed. You can pick the trail back up there.



The second detour is not fun. Watch yourself. Be careful. The northern part of the detour starts at a nice rest area, bathrooms, water, etc. Ignore the red trail that leads off to the East, unless you want to go over to Ozark Beer. Detour in black. They have the detour marked OK, could be confusing if you don't pay attention. Here is a pic:

badger_biker 

This looks like Firetrucker brewery. I stopped there by car on my way back from a bike trip in Colorado. I need to explore what IA has for trails.

Minneapolis is loaded with breweries. I managed to make it to 4 and only put 1.7 miles on my bike!

jonc123

Yep! Firetrucker. Did you make it to Surly in MN?

KennyT

From one of your posts it looks like you are from the Philly area. If you want something closer to home check out this guys site Bikeable Brews It's for bike trails on in the DC area. He doesn't cover DC itself but there are at least 10 breweries in the District. Check out his Geospatial presentations and filter on Brewery. The W&OD has the majority of the breweries and is 40+ miles long. You can use the other trails to form a more varied trip. DC down the Mt Vernon to the W&OD. On the way back take the Custis trail back to the city. I have done this in many ways but I usually end up going out on the W&OD to Leesburg then crossing the river to the C&O Canal to camp. There are of course plenty of B&Bs and hotels if you prefer that route. It's all paved trails unless you end up going to the C&O. that is a little bit of road riding then dirt trail. gmap-pedometer.com You could also ride the canal back to the city if you have had enough beer and just want to take your time and camp.

badger_biker 

Yes I've been to Surly a few times. They have an annual Rails and Ales event with the light rail train that gets you to close to a dozen breweries.

I'll send you a PM with my email for your maps - thanks for offering that!