Bike & Brew

Day 6 -- The big payoff

It's our last day, and we're starting to miss the trip already. A pack of us decide to stick together for these final 17 miles; we have all morning, and we take it slow. The route winds along a bike trail through the harbor town of Sausalito, then up a steep hill on a lightly trafficked road to the Golden Gate Bridge. The massive red bridge towers over us as we ride on the bike/walkway, and we dismount occasionally to negotiate around some of the hundreds of tourists. But that's OK, we want to stop anyway, to absorb the tremendous views of the San Francisco skyline, the bay, Alcatraz and the Pacific.

We bike into San Francisco, breezing through the Presidio area, near the waterfront and along major thoroughfares. The traffic's not uncomfortable, in part because we manage to hit the red lights just in time to run them. We pass along many piers and arrive at Gordon Biersch much too soon. It's easy to spot by the grain silo out front. The brewpub is in the old, brick Hills Brothers Coffee Building. As you walk in the front door, the brewery is visible behind glass on your left, and several of the cyclists stop to ask a brewer questions about the brewing process. The interior design is chic and post-industrial, with lots of stark metal, and the place vibrates with the noisy clatter of staff and patrons. There's a large bar on the first floor with shiny chrome tap handles and a blackboard describing the beers.

We're seated upstairs near a large front window that looks out onto the Bay Bridge. The German-style beers -- Märzen, dunkel, several weissbiers -- are all crisp and flavorful. We chow on garlic fries while perusing the menu. Our entrees are delicious and exquisitely presented; my crabcake appetizer on its green serving plate is almost too pretty to eat. We debate which was the best beer of the trip and decide they were all pretty good. We all agree we could keep riding, and even my knees feel OK.

Then it's goodbye, and back to the real world.

The California Microbreweries Tour wasn't what I expected. It wasn't as beery as I had anticipated; I thought we would spend more time at the brewpubs and drink more beer. Judging from comments made by the others in the group, some beer education would be welcome. The stop at Mendocino was the only time a brewpub employee talked beer with us, although Gordon Biersch's brewer chatted with those cyclists who saw him working. Some of the riders were really interested in beer, and it's a shame that I was the one answering their questions. Additionally, as a Beer Traveler, it killed me to know that we were passing through towns with brewpubs and not stopping in them. Of course, visiting them all would have made the trip three times as long.

In many ways, however, the tour was better than I had hoped, with great food, outstanding accommodations and fine service. The attention to detail is impressive, as is the concern of the guides for each participant's well being. Although Backroads gave me a writer's discount, I think the trip is well worth the full price. And I'd love to go again, just as soon as my knees heal.