Two hundred yards from the Canadian border, four cyclists stand with their thumbs sticking up in the parking lot of a duty free store. They’d just been turned down by the border patrol for attempting to cycle across and are now hoping to hitch hike into the Great White North. Cars roll past the desolate duty free, paying no heed to the cyclists. Then Ronnie LaDuke, along with his golden retriever, whom are on their way to Retriever Field Nationals, graciously packs his truck with the four bikers and all their gear and shuttle them across the border.
Hitch hiking across the border is only one of many endeavors the Bike and Brew Tour cyclists have endured. As rain rolls down the windows of the Deschutes Brewery in Portland, Tracy Montigny and Caroline Renkin share tales of their whimsical cross-country brewery tour. “Our mission is to create awareness of good beer by bike… and blog” says Montigny. Their goal has led the two, along with Sara Morrisson and Anders Scholl, on a snake route across the states, with a brief stint in Canada. Beginning in Brooklyn, the crew headed northeast to southern Maine and looped back down, beginning the westward ho.
Their route, which they planned using Beermapping.com, is the only premeditated logistic of the trip. Each day carries uncertainty of where they’ll stay and sleep. “A lot of the time we’ll be drinking at a pub, conversing with people and they’ll invite us to stay in their backyard or on their couch.” Renkin says. But finding a place to lay their head at night is wearisome at times. “Sometimes it’s really tough to be social at the end of a long day riding,” Montigny says. Regardless, they’ve been fortunate finding shelter in the oddest of ways.
“One day we rode eighteen miles in the wrong direction and ended up where we began,” Montigny recalls. In Holland, Michigan, the crew finds an appealing bike path leading out of town and decides to follow it. Eighteen miles later a water tower reading “Holland” comes into sight. “Then it dawned on us,” says Montigny. “We were back where we started.” Already physically exhausted, now the cyclists are emotionally drained… “Except Anders.” Renkin declares. Tired and discouraged, the crew once again crosses paths with man and his dog. Mr. Bolt inquires about the group’s disposition and offers them a ride in his Tahoe. Since only three riders and their bikes fit into the vehicle, Anders volunteers to pedal the rest of the seventeen miles to Grand Haven. Along the way, Mr. Bolt shares stories of his son, Andy, who has biking adventures of his own. Fast forward a month and the four cyclists are crashing at Andy Bolt’s house in Elkton, Oregon. That’s the way things have been falling in place for the tour.
Now in Portland, the Bike and Brew Tour is only a short distance from their final destination in Seattle. But the show may go on. From Seattle, Tracy and Caroline will be heading south to Australia and New Zealand. There, if they can get their hands on a couple bikes, they hope to set off on a Bike and Brew Tour Down Under.
