It's not a party bus, it's a party bike -- with a pub! And it's ready for you and 14 of your friends to take on a distinctly new kind of pub-crawl -- one that's people-powered for a two-hour tour of some of Grand Rapids' best watering holes.
The
Great Lakes Pub Cruiser accommodates 15 people at a time, 10 of whom will power the pub using the bike pedals at the base of their barstools while the cruiser's pilot steers them to their next destination.
Teacher Laurie Ryan brought the idea home from Minneapolis after experiencing a pub cruiser there. She pitched the ideas to her girlfriends and four of them signed on as partners -- Dolores Keeley, Sharon Saladin, Diana Tomlinson and Bree Tomlinson.
"Normally when you bike, it's an individual pursuit. But when you bike on the pub, it's a social pursuit," Ryan says. "We took it out last Tuesday for the first time on the Grand Rapids city streets and we were mobbed! We gave away 400 business cards in an hour."
State law prohibits riders from imbibing alcohol while in transit, so the cruiser offers three routes around town; riders choose what pubs to visit, Ryan says. The routes cover the northwest side, the entertainment district and downtown craft brew pubs. Stops might include the Kopper Top, the Monarch's Club, Reserve Wine Bar, One Trick Pony, HopCat or Founders, as well as any number of other hotspots.
The cost for a weekend two-hour ride is $360, or $24 per person/15 people. The cost of "drinks and nibbles" is the riders' responsibility, although riders are welcome to bring their own coolers with soft drinks and food. The cruiser's bar will accommodate a keg for groups to use on private property.
Individual seat pricing is also available, plus the cruiser is available for rent for private parties.
Tours start April 14. For more information on routes and prices,
click here.
Source: Laurie Ryan, Great Lakes Pub Cruiser
Writer: Deborah Johnson Wood, Development News Editor
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