In celebration of my 28th birthday (and the last official entrance into my….sigh….late twenties), we decided to invite some friends and family members on a bicycle built for 16. Advertised as “slow fun,” which describes more and more of the things you start to do upon entering the late twenties, the Pedal Pub is a truly unique experience that lets you get your drink on and exercise at the same time. What could be more Minnesotan than that? Ice fishing while eating hotdish……maybe.
Dain was sweet enough to design a super awesome invitation for the festivities, and we ended up having 15 people on our two-hour tour along with our driver, Sheila. There are actually only 10 “pedaling” seats on the pub, with room for a bartender in the middle, two non-pedaling seats, and a bench in the back, which was perfect for those who couldn’t participate due to being vertically challenged. You do have to be 5’3″ tall to reach the pedals so be warned that if you invite shorties it’s just like pulling dead weight. So they better be really fun. And if you’re thinking to yourself drinking + biking = hospital, fear not: they do provide helmets to those who wish to add another layer of safety. Dain Larson. What a gem.
Another nice thing about the Pedal Pub is that there are 7 different routes throughout Minneapolis and St. Paul, and you can even create custom routes. We started at St. Anthony Main and then went on a Dinkytown/Lower Nord’East route. After Sheila described all of the commands and signals we would use, we proceeded down University Avenue into Dinkytown with the wind in our hair and a whole lot of honking and staring. My favorite was the man in a car behind us videotaping us with his iphone. Total spectacle. It’s kind of like riding in a bumpy go kart while keeping one hand on your drink at all times, and with the weight of 15 on board, you quickly become a hot sweaty mess if you are one of the pedalers.
We wanted to get in a lot of time on the Pub, but we also stopped in at two local bars. First, we hit up the Bulldog Northeast, where they have amazing cupcakes. The cupcake of the day was Strawberry Champagne and let’s just say, the birthday girl was in. Then we went to the Vegas Lounge, which is not at all like the Vegas that comes to mind. It is definitely more of a local hangout from what we could see in the dim light, but it was an amusing stop. This receipt that we received in the mail a few days later kind of sums it all up:
Thanks Mom. Consider it filed in my imaginary birthday journal on our refrigerator.
If this sounds like a good time to you, here are a few things to consider before you go. Everyone on the Pub needs to sign a few waivers and be 21 years old if anyone is drinking (18 otherwise). Only wine or beer are allowed (in plastic bottles or plastic glasses if you’re rocking the boxed wine Tour de Franzia style or an entire keg….which they have room for). It goes rain or shine. We hit a lucky streak having nice weather on April 9, but that was sheer chance as Minnesota weather rarely plays nice. And if you spend the entire day celebrating like you are still in college, the next day might hold something like this:
And make you feel really old. But it was the perfect birthday celebration. My first Pedal Pub experience was actually a bachelorette party last fall on the main Nord’East route, soI can assure you that any fun-loving bride or groom would be thrilled with this as a bachelor/bachelorette party. Just remember to book it early if you want a summer weekend because it is really popular.
Finally, a big thanks to all of those who joined us. It was an amazing way to ring in the big 2-8, and thanks for all the birthday love.
We are continually reminded how blessed we are to have friends and family that are such entertaining companions for all of our escapades.
