Take a Fat Tire Ride in Milwaukee

If you enjoy bicycle riding and beer, consider joining in an unofficial club event: the Fat Tire Tour of Milwaukee on June 12.

This 20+ mile ride through the streets of Milwaukee is marked by frequent stops at local watering holes — it is not an endurance ride. Recreational riders in good shape will be able to enjoy a day in the fine city of Mu-wau-key celebrating the “Amazing Healing Power of Beer.”

The theme for the 26th annual ride pays homage to the Brew City’s bowling heritage and the movie “The Big Lebowski.” Among the stops are:

• Cafe Hollander, site of the start and finish.
• Riverside Park.
• The Art Trail.
• Long Wong’s Chinese American Sports Bar, the recommended lunch stop, with a special Fat Tire buffet.
• Kochanski’s Concertina Beer Hall.
• Holler House, the oldest bowling alley in the nation with manual — as in a person does it — pinsetters.
• Lakefront Brewery, site of the annual Beer Keg Bubbler. Also the site of the fine bike parking shown above.
• Wolski’s Tavern.

Club members Jeff and Nancy Willems and Billy Luebbers and Linda Becker have participated in this ride in the past and give it an enthusiastic thumbs up. It’s not really an event you can describe, but it’s certainly one that, if experienced, is never forgotten!

Registration for the Fat Tire Tour of Milwaukee is $24.95 through April 1; $30 until June 4; and $40 for on-site registration they day of the event. Every FTTM rider receives a six-pack cooler bag with the “Amazing Healing Power of Beer” logo, an event T-shirt, stickers and the opportunity for other swag and prizes at most of the stops. (Remember to bring plenty of cash, because though amazing, the beer is not free.)

Get more details and a registration form here. And while you’re there, check out the long/movie-length version of “Amazing Healing Power of Beer,” a documentary made during the 2008 event that features our very own Nancy Willems.