The Tour de Burnet
Six stops, ten miles, and one minor crash.
For years, a group of friends have kept this informal North Austin tradition alive. The general goal is to bike to Draught House and then drink your way north until you decide to quit. The stops vary by the year and the mood of the participants, and people can tap out any time they want. This year, I was invited to participate, and I made it through (with one minor crash).
Stop #1 - Get to Draughthouse
Five sober friends started at Pourhouse with more to join later. The plan was to meet at a friend's house near Pillow Elementary and then make the five-mile ride to Draughthouse. We grabbed our first beer of the day and chatted with Constance. Kev had a bike repair issue, and we were on our way to stop #2.
Stop #2 - North to Pinthouse
A quick sprint North across 45th St, and we were at Pinthouse for lunch and a beer. I highly recommend the Italian sandwich. Here, we were joined by our friend Rahul and the count was now at 6 participants.
Stop #3 - The Little Longhorn Saloon
After another quick side street ride over to Little Woodrows, we realized that a crawfish pop up made the beer lines untenable, so we crossed over to The Little Longhorn Saloon. At the Little Longhorn, our group reached its maximum count of 8 with the addition of Colton and Mallory. Sitting in the shade in the amazing weather was a high point, and being at Little Longhorn was a trip down memory lane. We were a little too early for bingo.
Stop #4 - The Burnet Go To
The Burnet Go To is a great craft beer stop and a favorite watering hole for many of the crew. We popped in and lost our first participant of the night, David D. In his defense, he lives really close. The BGT has an amazing craft beer selection and is a fantastic soccer bar. After another beer, we were off to the penultimate destination.
Stop #5 - Night Owl
Next step was the great little North Burnet dive bar, Night Owl. No drafts, but plenty of cocktails and as good a selection of craft cans as any bar in North Austin (excluding bottle shops). This is where things started to get a little sloppy (two beers and a cocktail here for me - it really is a pretty fun spot). At this point, Tooey biked back to his car and Colton and Mallory loaded the bikes int their nearby truck.
Stop #6 - Turnstile (The End of the Line)
Next, the remaining biker gang took the precarious path up Burnet and across 183, up to Turnstile Bar and Restaurant for the final stop of the night. With the end in sight, I decided to shortcut into a culvert and of course face planted, but we were finally at our goal.
From there, the night is a blur and my wife took me home, but I cannot wait to do it all again next year.
