When we talk about drinking bike tours, we don’t mean the stag do group-pedal city centre-blighting freak show pictured above. We mean something more cultured, a trip to a craft beer brewery, riding through the pretty rice fields that produce sake, or seeing the sugar canes that are used to make rum. Then you get down to the business of getting wrecked. If you want to that is.
From cider to beer, via cocktails and gin, this guide to the world’s best drinking bike tours will help you find a ride according to your favourite drink. Unless that drink is WKD…
1) A Cocktail Bike Tour In New Orleans…
“We like to enjoy our city; meaning we like to bike and we like to drink…” so says the Confederacy of Cruisers of their historical New Orleans drinking tour. The ride includes five cocktails at different spots and the best kind of history lesson ever.
One that starts its story in the city’s rum smuggling days, when the French Quarter was “so rambunctious that a modern day Bourbon street reveller would either shudder or blush at the city’s antics.” You’ll hear about the drinks and the drinkers and how both have massively shaped the city itself. And it all starts at 10.15 am yikes!
More info at Confederacy Of Cruisers
2) A Gin Bike Tour In London…
From the Gin Craze in the first half of the 18th century, to the bathtub-made concoctions that were popular in the 1920s, London has always been a good place to drink gin.
And what better way to experience it than on this Gin Bike Tour. You’ll get to sip, taste and learn about the marvels of gin making at a boutique small-batch distillery in south London. Then you’ll knock back a G & T and ride on for a history tour of industrial era London, plus a taster trip around some food markets.
More info at Tally Ho Cycle Tours
3) A Tequila Bike Tour In Guadalajara…
Take an adventurous ride amongst the stunning spiky landscapes of the agave plant, which is used to make both tequila and mezcal. It’s easy to see why the region is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Or for a mellow ride, tour the historic city of Guadalajara and visit a tequila factory for a tasting. Both tours look awesome though the riders do look kind of wobbly in the photos, altogether now…It’s the curse of Tequila…
More info at Tierra T/Vayable
4) A Whisky Bike Tour In Scotland…
Starting at the coastal village of Longniddry, you’ll ride past the very fields that provide the grain to make whisky at the Glenkinchie Distillery. You’ll later tour its production area; learn about Scotland’s most famous drink and of course get some tasting in.
The ride itself also includes a lunch stop at the village of Gifford, which was founded by a 13th French century nobleman, who was thought to be a powerful warlock, and his ruined lair still stands nearby. Mwahaha.
More info at 2 Wheel Tours
5) A Wine Bike Tour In Savoie…
The vineyards of Savoie Mont Blanc are the perfect place for a bike wine tour. First up they’re stunning, with a sweet mountain backdrop, next they provide friendly local guides with cool stories about the lives of industrious peasants and hardy mountain folk. And these are also the highest vineyards in France with Gamay, Champagne, Mondeuse, Crepy and of course Vin de Savoie all grown and therefore quaffable here.
More info at Alpes Flaveurs
6) A Craft Beer Bike Tour In Vancouver…
Vancouver is one of the best cities to ride around drinking beer, especially if you go with Cycle Tours as they have their own leather beer bottle holsters, which attach to your bike as you cruise about. The craft beer scene here is growing big time, and alongside a beautiful ride through Vancouver’s historic and most interesting neighbourhoods, you’ll get to visit three distinct breweries, sampling up to nine beers on your travels, and hearing the stories behind each from the friendly folk that work there.
More info at Cycle Vancouver
7) A Cider Bike Tour In Guernsey…
Learn about the island’s history, ride through some lovely countryside and then the real fun begins when you end up at the Roquette Cider Farm. You’ll get a tour of the dreamy apple orchards, a quick run through of the production process and then the all-important tasting session will begin. Suitably refreshed you’ll then head off to the Mint Brasserie for a cider-themed menu of fresh local produce. Sahweet.
More info at Donkeys Days Out
8) An Absinthe Bike Tour In Switzerland…
The production of Absinthe aka the Green Fairy was banned for over 90 years in Switzerland. Now legal since 2005, the bitter liquor that some say makes you feel quite trippy is very much back in the game. Absinthe is made by distilling a blend of plants including wormwood which only grows in this region. The Green Fairy cycle trail is a great way to learn about this once-maligned drink and its smuggler-tastic history. It’s also a brilliant place to try it.
More info at Neuchatel Tourisme
9) A Sake Bike Tour In Japan…
Nikko is a centre of Buddhist and Shinto mountain worship, so your ride will be full of chill vibes as you weave your way through this magnificent landscape of mountains, lakes, waterfalls, and hot springs. At night you’ll stay in classy traditional inns known as ryokans. Later in your trip the narrow mountain roads will take you past farm villages and rice fields, the latter having provided the raw materials for your Sake, which you’ll taste and learn a thing or two about on a trip to a brewery.
More info at Oka Tours
10) A Guinness Bike Tour In Dublin…
No historical bike tour of Dublin, which takes in the Dublin Castle, Temple Bar area, and St.Patrick’s cathedral, would be complete without a trip to the Guinness brewery. And this tour is no exception. Even if the brewery looks a little like it belongs on the A40. The tour promises to teach you all about the city’s literary and rock n roll traditions and the (mostly messy) personalities that shaped the city’s character.
More info at Uniglobe
11) A Prosecco Bike Tour in Italy…
There’s apparently a global Prosecco shortage brewing so if that’s your fizz of choice why not cut the chase and head straight to the source? There you can enjoy a sweet afternoon’s cycle ride, with a beautiful vineyard and Italian countryside backdrop. The promise of tasting aplenty at local wine producers should keep you going on the climbs, as should the cold cuts and cheese platters.
More info at Gennaro D/Vayable
12) A Beer Bike Tour In Colorado…
Bob Williams, founder of Beer and Bike Tours in Fort Collins, Colorado loves taking visitors on a mountain bike tour, followed by a trip to the town’s famed microbreweries. Fort Collins is no bigger than Brighton but home to 14 breweries, it’s also surrounded by epic Colorado MTB terrain and it boasts 300 days of sunshine a year – result!
More info at Beer and Bike Tours and you can read an Mpora feature on the Beer and Bike Tours here
13) An Ouzu Bike Tour In Greece…
All this talk of the Grexit, aside from making us feel bad for the Greek people and confused with the maths of it all, reminds us what a cool and beautiful country Greece is. And that we should go there right away. Fans of the national spirit Ouzo can combine a trip to a factory with an awesome ride in the Peloponnese region, amongst olive orchards, citrus groves and vineyards, with lovely views of the coastlines and mountains along the way. Just pack some spare cash in your saddlebag.
More info at S-cape Travel
14) A Rum Cycle Tour In Cuba…
Cycle the length of this idyllic Caribbean island, through jungle, fields and valleys of sugar cane plantations, which will provide the rum for your daily post-ride Mojitos. The tour also gives you a chance to soak up the less literal spirit of Havana, Trinidad and Santiago: the music, the beaches, the retro cars, the crumbling colonial buildings and the rich revolutionary history. You’ll also get to visit the Australia Sugar Factory, where Fidel Castro set up his HQ during the Bay Of Pigs crisis.
More info at Exodus
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