10th Annual Bike HoCo Bike Ride

10th Annual Bike HoCo Ride

craft beer, , ,

Clarksville, MD October 14, 2018

Two of my passions met this Sunday — bicycling and beer. 62 riders braved the cold and wet, cycling either 26, 34, 45 or 63 miles for the 10th Annual Bike HoCo Ride. Afterward, many stopped by the APL pavilion for a beer and snacks.

10th Annual Bike HoCo Ride afterparty
After the ride   photo by K. McAliley

Bike Hoco is the Bicycling Advocates of Howard County. This organization works to promote cycling in Howard County and has been quite successful. They were instrumental in developing the county bike master plan and getting Howard County’s first full-time HoCo bike and pedestrian coordinator (Chris Eatough).

The ride is one of our fund-raisers, plus it’s an excuse to get a ride in. Naturally, I volunteered to pick out the beer. I chose ales brewed in Howard County.

Hysteria Tap Truck
Hysteria Tap Truck, sadly not available

Initially, I had images of having the Hysteria beer truck with tap handles serving beer to thirsty riders. Unfortunately, Hysteria and I couldn’t seem to connect. Instead, I turned to my friendly neighborhood liquor store —Allview Liquors.

Allview Liquors
Allview Liquors

Justin of Allview has been a great friend over the years. He loved the idea of using only HoCo beers and was glad to offer a significant discount to help out a great cause. Thank you, Justin! He helped me pick out beers that would appeal to most people. Also, I wanted to limit ABV because just about everyone would need to drive home afterward. Our final selection was:

  • Manor Hill Pilsner, a nice crisp, easy drinking beer,
  • Jailbreak Feed the Monkey, I believe HoCo’s only hefeweizen available in cans,
  • Manor Hill Grisette, a grapefruity farmhouse, only 4.8%
  • Reckless Illustrious Buddha, from Frisco’s brewery, this New England IPA is juicy and delicious. The newly named Reckless Ale Works (used to be Push) really got it right on this one. This was one turned out to be the most popular beer after the ride.

I picked up the beer Saturday, with one hiccup; the Pilsner was not delivered at Allview. Instead, I was forced to visit the Manor Hill Brewery (aw darn). After a quick email, a brewery visit was arranged.

Manor Hill Tap Room
Manor Hill Tap Room – located at the end of Manor Lane in Ellicott City. (Reservations required.)
Manor Hill flight and drafts
Naturally, once at the Manor Hill Brewery, we needed to do a little quality control. Everything seemed satisfactory especially the Citra Splendor.

As the riders toured through the county, many of the Bike HoCo prepared for the returning hordes. Unfortunately, the weather turned quite cold. An unexpected rain put a damper on this year’s ride (pun intended). We made a fire that a few of our intrepid cyclist gathered around to warm themselves.

10th Annual Bike HoCo Ride ,warming up in front of the fireplace
Warming up after the ride photo by K. McAliley

Cheers!

Warren