Kalamazoo Bike Week

Kalamazoo Bike week starts this weekend and we’re excited to again be participating and sponsoring two events. Bikes are special to us. From sponsoring two bike races, the Iceman Cometh Challenge and the Copper Harbor Trails Festival, to bike parking at the Café, we have always supported those who travel by gears. Here are the two events we are sponsoring this week: Pedal Your Bell’s Off: A Bike Week Scavenger Hunt We’re kicking off the week with Pedal Bicycles for a special scavenger hunt on Saturday, May 14. Riders will travel to landmarks across Kalamazoo. The more places you visit, the more chances you have of winning prizes. We’ll announce the list of locations at the event on Saturday. Bikers will meet at the Eccentric Café’s Beer Garden. Registration begins at noon and the ride will take place between 1 and 3 p.m.. There is no pre-registration. There is a suggested donation of $10, which will benefit the Markin Glen Trail, a single-track mountain bike trail that under construction. Use the hashtag #PedalYourBellsOff to document your journey on social media. For the latest information, check out our Facebook event. 4th Annual Bell's to Bell's Bike Ride The following Saturday, we’re hosting our 4th annual bike ride from the Eccentric Cafe in Kalamazoo to our brewery in Comstock. The 14-mile roundtrip will take place on the Kalamazoo River Valley Trail. Registration begins at 11:30 a.m. at the Eccentric Cafe & the ride kicks off with a safety demo at 1 p.m. You can pre-register here. All ages are welcome. Once we reach our Comstock Brewery, you’ll be given a tour and then ride back to the Eccentric Cafe for beers and a chance to win raffle prizes. There will be a bike valet at Comstock Brewery from 1-3 p.m. during tours. All donations go to the Kalamazoo River Valley Trail. See a full list of Kalamazoo Bike Week events and safe riding!

Bikes and Bell’s have a long standing relationship. From sponsorships (Iceman Cometh Challenge and the Copper Harbor Trails Festival, for example) to bike parking at the Café, we have always supported those who travel by gears. We will continue that tradition during Kalamazoo Bike Week. Below is what we have planned at the Eccentric Cafe. In addition, anyone who rides their bike to the Café during Kalamazoo Bike Week (and can prove it) will get a $1 off their beers during their visit. And, as always, if you forget your lock, just ask the bartender to borrow one. For more on Kalamazoo Bike Week, go here. Cheers and safe riding. May 13 Kalamazoo Bicycle Film Festival – Bike Shorts, 6 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. (must be 21 or older for later showing) Details: This festival is a celebration of bicycles and the culture that surrounds them. The films will feature a wide spectrum of experiences, stories and images of bicycling. Some will make you laugh. Some will make you think. The common theme is that they are all for, about or inspired by bicycles. Admission is $5. Read more about the films here. May 17 Annual Bell’s to Bell’s Bike Ride, noon (registration), 1 p.m. (ride begins) Details: We are challenging our employees to ride to work instead of driving during Kalamazoo Bike Week. The goal? 455 miles or the distance from our Comstock brewery to the future site of Upper Hand Brewery in Escanaba. You can help us ride back and raise money for future Kalamazoo River Valley Trail expansions. All you have to do is join us for our annual brewery to brewery bike ride – a 14 mile ride along the KRVT and some surface roads that will begin at the Café, head to our Comstock Brewery for a tour, then head back to the Café for a ra­ffle and drinks. Bring your ID, bike lock and helmet. Suggested donation is $10.