October’s Ride | Triple Rock & The Berkeley Hills

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Original photo by Stewf

This month we’ll be heading to the East Bay to visit Triple Rock in Berkeley. They’re one of the first brewpubs in the US and earlier this month scooped up a set of medals at the Great America Beer Festival.

Prior to drinking their offerings, we’ll be riding the Berkeley Hills. The ride will be hillier than usual, but we’ve also shortened it to 20 miles. If the weather holds up, expect some challenging climbs paired with some outstanding views of the bay.


Bike route 737331 – powered by Bikemap 

As usual I would encourage everyone to take public transit over to Triple Rock. It’s conveniently located three blocks away from the Downtown Berkeley BART station.

Right now there’s a 40% change of rain on the 30th. Keep a lookout on this site and our twitter feed (@thegrandcru) in case the ride gets rained out. The weather gods have been good to the Cru in the past, as we’ve never had to cancel due to weather. I’m hoping we can maintain the streak.

See ya’ll on Saturday!

Cheers,
Israel

P.S. If you’re one to plan ahead, next month’s ride will be on Saturday, November 13 in conjunction with the Bistro’s 5th Annual West Coast Barrel Aged Beer Fest.

September’s Ride | Mill Valley & Mill Valley Beerworks

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This month we’ll be heading north to visit the brand new Mill Valley Beerworks. They’ve only been around a few months but already have an impressive tap list. They also have some interesting house brews in the works (think: Juniper Saison.) Hopefully they’ll be serving their wares when we roll in later in the month.

The ride’s going to clock in at a pretty flat 25 miles along the bay with lots of scenic views. We’ll be congregating at Beerworks in the morning (you might want to get there early, as they have a yummy looking morning menu)  and returning post-ride to rehydrate.


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If you’re interested in joining us, hit the “Participate” link below and mark your availability.

On the evening of Monday, September 6 I’ll put up a new post with the date which works for the most people. Happy voting!

Cheers,
Israel

July’s Ride | San Francisco & Gordon Biersch

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This month we’ll be heading to the city and visiting Gordon Biersch. The Biersch (I don’t think anyone actually calls it that) focuses on lagers, something that’s pretty rare in craft beer these days. If you think lager = bland yellow fizzy water, I would recommend you join us this month.

The ride’s going to be based off of an old San Francisco Chronicle article. The ride’s titled “The Outer Limits” and was designed around a simple premise: stick as close to the water’s edge as possible. Lucky for us Gordon Biersch is located on the Embarcadero with a wonderful view overlooking the Bay Bridge. We’ll be congregating at the Biersch in the morning and returning there to rehydrate post-ride.


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If you’re interested in joining us, meet us at the Biersch on Saturday at 1130. We’ll be rolling out promptly at noon. The Embarcadero BART is just a few blocks away so I would encourage all of you to take public transit. See you on Sunday!

Cheers,
Israel

May’s Ride | Novato & Moylan’s Brewing

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This month we’ll be visiting Moylan’s – the sister brewery of Marin Brewing (which we visited last spring). Moylan’s is home to such favorites as the awesomely named Hopsickle. I’ve never been but it seems they usually have about a dozen or so of their beers on tap so you’re bound to find something you’re into.

The ride’s going to be a little longer and hillier than usual, but it’s nothing you guys can’t handle. As usual, we’ll work to make sure everyone gets back to Moylan’s safe and sound.


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If you’re interested in joining us, please fill out the doodle poll by clicking on the Participate link below and marking your availability. This’ll allow us to pick a date that will work for the maximum number of people.

Please mark your availability by Tuesday, May 4. That evening I’ll post the finalized date and carpoool information.

Get doodlin’

P.S. A big thanks goes out to Phil for putting this website together. If you have any suggestions for the site, please post them in the comments section and we’ll see what we can do.

From the archive: April 2010 Grand Cru Ride

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From the archive:

This weekend we’ll be enjoying the beers of Jupiter in downtown
Berkeley. They’ve got good house brews, a well curated guest tap list
and a really wonderful garden in the back that I’m hoping we can take
advantage of.

Here’s the beer: http://www.jupiterbeer.com/jupiter/

Here’s the ride:

View Larger Map

This month we’ll be rolling through around 75% dedicated bike path –
so it should be a beautiful stress free route. We’ll be riding the
Ohlone Greenway up to Richmond and then riding back talong the Bay
Trail.

Since Jupiter’s across the street from the downtown Berkeley BART
station – carpools won’t be organized. I encourage all of you to take
public transit.