500 Cyclists show up to deliver first batch of Pedal Pale Ale by bike
The front of the pack on Highland Ave in East Liberty
About 500 cyclists showed up to escort this year’s first delivery of Pedal Pale Ale. The annual ride, now in its fourth year, has literally experienced exponential growth, beginning with a modest 60 riders four years ago and doubling every year since. Organized by the East End Brewing Company and BikePGH, the idea of the ride is to deliver the first batch of the seasonal ale by bike. This year’s ride was part of the Bike to (and from) Work Day events.
The East End Brewing Company’s Brewery in Homewood
Cyclists met at the brewery in Homewood for a quick look at the facility and to sign in.
Signing in. Thanks Snake Guy!
The crowd shot
Scott Smith, Brew Master, addressing the masses outside the brewery. Scott Bricker also spoke about the importance of BikePGH Membership.
Once the kegs are strapped onto the bike carts, we’re off…only there’s a catch. Nobody but the keg pullers know where we’re going. In order to redeem your free beer at the end of the ride at the super secret location, you must stay behind the guys pulling the kegs. The only hint this year was that, for the first time, we would be crossing a river.
Getting the kegs ready
This year’s ride went from the brewery in Homewood to the Over the Bar Bicycle Cafe in the South Side. In order to throw people off a bit, we took a detour to show off the new bike lanes on East Liberty Blvd. From there, we took Highland Ave into Shadyside, snaking our way through Walnut St.
Heading from the brewery to Hamilton Ave. Is that an octopus?
Cyclists enjoying the new East Liberty Blvd bike lanes
From Walnut it was on to Ellsworth until it ends at Neville St, in order to dip down into Junction Hollow to catch the trail.
Make sure to stay behind the three wise men
Once on the Eliza Furnace Trail, we dipped over to the Hot Metal Bridge, where we were greeted by an incredible sunset over the Monongahela River.
Hot Metal Bridge and its amazing view
We then made our way through the SouthSide Works to end at the OTB Cafe, an East End tap location. Looks like we should promise one free beer for all of our events.
Thanks to everyone and the weather who helped make this such an amazing event. Enjoy some photos from Jon Pratt and Brad Quartuccio.
Not a member of Bike Pittsburgh? Join today! We need you to add your voice! Bike Pittsburgh works to protect cyclist’s rights and promote the vision of making Pittsburgh a safer and more enjoyable place to live and to ride. For more info, check out: www.bike-pgh.org/membership
PA Jealosy « Beer by Bike says:
(May 19, 2009 at 2:29 pm )
[...] End Brewing’s Pedal Pale ale ride was cool, but it sounds like it was an amazing event! The Bike Pgh Blog documents the ride. Over 500 riders this year! And I thought the Beer Week ride was big! I [...]
erok says:
(May 20, 2009 at 10:12 am )
check out a discussion on the forums here: http://bike-pgh.org/bbpress/topic/so-alot-of-people-showed-up-to-the-pedal-pale-ale-ride
and more photos here: http://randomprecisionphoto.com/?p=524
Keg Ride 2009 « says:
(May 20, 2009 at 7:33 pm )
[...] that promoted biking in Pittsburgh (and of course drinking local microbrews). Check out the Bike Pittsburgh website and here for more [...]
erok says:
(May 23, 2009 at 9:03 pm )
here’s a really fun video of the ride:
http://www.vimeo.com/4680534
Only In Pittsburgh » Blog Archive » Pedal Pale Ale! says:
(Jun 01, 2009 at 7:03 am )
[...] A peak inside the East End Brewing Company’s Homewood location. For more pics of the event, check out Bike Pittsburgh’s post. [...]
Car Free Sunday 20.09.2009 « Advocating Sustainable Transportation says:
(Sep 29, 2009 at 12:33 pm )
[...] but sans the beer. I saw one of those in Minneapolis once. Speaking of bikes and beer, this Pittsburgh ride is genius. Turns out Pittsburgh has a car free campaign. And car-free celebrations [...]
The Bike Pittsburgh Blog Archives » EVENT: Sat. 11.21.09 – East End Brewing Co’s Reverse Keg Ride says:
(Nov 17, 2009 at 11:23 am )
[...] (ahem) our Summer Seasonal, Pedal Pale Ale each Spring. Namely – by bicycle, and this past summer 500 of you managed to play a part in our delivery ride, pulling 3 half barrels from the Brewery over to the S. Side’s Over The Bar Bicycle Cafe (OTB). [...]
The Bike Pittsburgh Blog Archives » 5th Annual Pedal Pale Ale Ride: Friday 5.14.10 says:
(Apr 27, 2010 at 1:21 pm )
[...] first one for free. And every year the amount of people that shows up doubles, leaving us in 2009 to lead over 500 riders, pied piper style, to the [...]
The Bike Pittsburgh Blog Archives » 700 (ish) show up to the Pedal Pale Ale Keg Delivery Ride says:
(May 21, 2010 at 12:26 pm )
[...] We weren’t on track to our “normal” exponential growth, but we still beat last year’s 500 mark. The dust has finally settled, and we were able to get a better sense of the number of riders, [...]