I headed to Green Lane Park at the northern end of the Perkiomen Trail for a bikepacking adventure with the Bicycle Club of Philadelphia.
So you’re dreaming of a bike trip that lasts many days, weeks or even months … perhaps out west, perhaps Europe, or maybe just closer to home. And to keep costs down and flexibility high, you think camping is the way to go.
A word of advice: Test it out with a simple bike overnight.
We explore a year-old brewery in Pennsylvania. Sugar crystals lining the beer glass, anyone?
Let me start by saying that for a couple of my friends, anything beyond a Michelob Ultra can qualify as a “weird beer.” So don’t be offended by the term. As for a cherry-red one with coarse white sugar crystals lining the rim — maybe we can all agree that it’s at least unusual?
First, the rolling hills of upper Bucks County mean the scenery is gorgeous, even if my iPhone photography skills can’t do them justice. The roads through the woods, with a stony creek alongside. And then the old stone homes.
But getting out of the river valley to the top of those hills? That’s another matter. Hard work! Or perhaps that’s the danger of just taking a random ride off Ride With GPS and there is an easier (and less trafficked) climb than Upper York Road? What should we have done instead?
The latest search for weird beer took us to one of the fastest-growing craft breweries in the U.S.
Two beers were in contention for the weirdest beer at Flounder Brewing, a fast-growing nanobrewery in Hillsborough, NJ. There was the “off-menu” pumpkin spice latte ale, with a milk chocolate cream to confound the flavor profile even more, as well as a beer called the “Pitmaster” described as an “amber ale brewed with smoked malts and maple syrup.”
Being a non-coffee drinker, the choice was easy: the Pitmaster. Just three bucks for 7 ounces.
The smokiness hit me first, as if I had barbecue in my mouth. That faded as I sipped more, putting the maple syrup more forward, horrifying my beer aficianado friends. I’d rather have the smokiness. (Actually, I’d rather have some real BBQ, but this bikes and BBQ ride isn’t for a few more weeks.)