30 Days of Beer-King: Part Two

30 Days of Biking Mileage Counter: 166.5

It's a bit surreal to see that mileage total up there, but it's on the internet so it has to be true, right?

I wrote an extremely abbreviated post yesterday for two reasons: 1) I didn't have access to a computer and 2) I was having too much fun. If you're not following me on Facebook or Instagram, here's what I was up to.

One of my best biking friends suggested several weeks ago that we take a trip to the beach during the off-season to explore, ride bikes, and sample some microbrews. How could I say no? It just so happens that we decided to do this during #30daysofbiking. We rode in 2 states in 2 days, the first time I've done that during April, ever:

I wanted to ride but something about an 8 hour ride was off-putting to my counterpart

My friend Amy showed up to my house in Philly on Saturday morning and we took a drive down to Rehoboth Beach, stopping at 16 Mile Brewery on the way down (not pictured, because we didn't ride our bikes there). We had some snacks while there, but were understandably getting a little hungry by the time we parked in downtown Rehoboth. Luckily, there are no shortage of breweries with kitchens in the vicinity. Our first stop was Big Oyster Brewing/Fins Ale House (this is actually my second time here), less than 3 miles from where we had parked:

Not pictured: me gasping for air

However, they were a challenging 3 miles to ride, as we fought a headwind the entire way. It was a beautiful day otherwise, especially in the wake of the downright miserable conditions I battled in Philly the previous 2 days. After finishing there, we ventured another mile or so northwest on the Coastal Highway to Crooked Hammock Brewery (again, my second time here):

Can a hammock ever be straight? Let's be real here.

At this point, we were starting to feel a little gassed, which was concerning because I still wanted to do so much more! Good thing we had gone as far west as we were going to go, and the ride home would be much easier. We hung there for an hour or so before heading to what ended up being my favorite stop all weekend, Revelation Brewing (for my second time as well):

You might say it was a major revelation

Admittedly, I have a lot of energy. Amy wasn't sure she wanted anything there, but I ordered a taste of every beer on the menu. We ended up liking every single one of them, and she actually got a growler filled (I should have too). A tiny little space but plenty of character present, and very supportive of cycling culture. Their growlers are actually designed to fit in a large water bottle holder. Hehe.

As you can probably imagine, we were once again getting hungry. Revelation doesn't have a kitchen, so we were forced to ride onward to our final stop of the evening, Dogfish Head (which we both rode to last Summer...22 miles!):

Not my best picture. I blame the artificial lighting.

We ate, we had a couple more tastes (two were absolutely incredible and rare), and by the end of it all I was ready for sleep. We had made arrangements with a friend who has a place in Ocean City, MD to stay the night, so that's where we headed (via car, of course). That was Saturday.

I was excited for several reasons this morning. There's biking, of course, but I was also excited to bust out these awesome cycling socks I picked up at Lineage Brewing in Columbus last weekend:

Wait. How can a sock cycle?

I know. Lame. Whatever. Judge me. They actually are quite comfortable and functional. If you look closely, you can see the top of the arch has a vented area, which actually does work, believe it or not. I've never owned cycling socks before, and I may need to get more. Anyway...

I initially had a much more elaborate plan for Sunday that got scaled back due to a scheduling error (one brewery was closed - my error haha) and an overall feeling of laziness in the morning. We did, however, ride to some close by places that I visit almost every time I go down there, including Fractured Prune Donuts:

The best way to feel bad about riding a bike - donuts

They are absolutely delicious, satisfying to my soul, and every time I have one, I remember why I can't have them very often. Sugar overloads don't do well with me. I survived. After a short 1 mile ride, we headed to the beach very briefly and then back for a short nap. We had a bit more in store for the afternoon, including an 8 mile ride to Backshore Brewing on the boardwalk:

Not sure where the front shore is...

I'd put this place among my 2 favorites of the weekend (after Revelation) because it was an absolutely perfect day to ride and sit outside enjoying craft beer ON THE BOARDWALK. It's a neat little place, too. They serve their flights and some food on mini skateboards and surfboards, and they have a beer named after Charlie the Unicorn.

Sadly, we headed back and packed the car to go home shortly thereafter. We didn't hit everywhere I wanted to hit this weekend, but as you can see, we still did quite a lot. The silver lining is that this also leaves the door open for more exploration on my next visit to the beach.

9 days down, 21 to go. What an adventure it's been already, 30 Days of Biking...