Pachyderm Pedalers & Watermark Return The Beer:30 Cycle Event

Last fall an interesting cycling club calling themselves the Pachyderm Pedalers unleashed a unique fundraiser for Cycle-Re-Cycle of Benton Harbor by partnering with the fun-loving team at Watermark Brewing Company of Stevensville. To put it mildly, it was a rousing success. So much so that they’re going to do it again.

The second annual Beer:30 will be held on Saturday, September 14th, 2019 with all proceeds once again benefiting Cycle-Re-Cycle of Benton Harbor. The Beer:30 is a cycling tour around Southwest Michigan’s “Craft Beer Country.” As in the inaugural run, the event will begin and end at Watermark Brewing Company in downtown Stevensville.

Michael O’Hearn is Board President at Cycle-Re-Cycle. He says, “We were thrilled with the inaugural year turnout in 2018 with 140 cyclists participating,” and add, “The money that was raised through the generous support of Watermark Brewing Company and the Pachyderm Pedalers was an important contribution to our overall operating budget.” The check presentation was for $2,341.00

Cycle-Re-Cycle is a 501(c)3 non-profit in Benton Harbor, dedicated to improving the lives of Southwest Michigan residents by promoting bicycles and cycling throughout the community. They do that through programs, advocacy, and partnerships that change the way people think about cycling and explore how a bicycle can be a vehicle for positive social change.

The Beer:30 run was created by the local cycling club Pachyderm Pedalers, which began gathering a couple of years ago on Thursday nights for a bike ride and a beer from Watermark Brewing Company. What began originally as just a few cyclists riding together has turned into a weekly event called Pedals to Pints that has been attended by as many as 80 people a week this summer.

Pedals to Pints welcomes riders of all abilities on any bike to join in and ride. Greg Collins is a founding member of the Pachyderm Pedalers. He says, “We decided to leverage the interest in this weekly group ride into an event that could contribute something back to our local cycling community and that’s when the idea of the Beer:30 was born.” Collins says, “Some of us often go out for 30 mile rides around the area and there happens to be a number of great craft breweries within that riding distance,so we thought, ‘What time is it? Beer:30!'”

This year’s Beer:30 will include routes of 15, 30, 45 and 60 miles with rest stops at participating breweries and sponsors along the way including:

Hop Head Farms in Baroda
Lehman’s Orchard Brewery in Buchanan
Journeyman Distillery in Three Oaks
Green Bush Brewing Company in Sawyer
The Haymarket Taproom in Bridgman

The event starts and finishes at Watermark Brewing Company in Stevensville where donuts, donated by Red Coach Donuts in Stevensville, and coffee will be served before the ride and a post-ride party will take place after the ride.

There will also be a raffle for some generous gift packages from our sponsors including:

North Pier Brewing Company in Benton Harbor
Silver Harbor Brewing Company in St. Joseph
Infusco Coffee Roasters in Sawyer
South Shore Health and Racquet Club in St. Joseph
and a brand new beach cruiser bicycle

Watermark Brewing Company is also generously donating a coveted “Mug Club Membership” as one of the raffle prizes. Other significant sponsors include: