Chicago Cycling Groups, Brewery Routes and Coffee Shops
Updated October 25, 2021
Find Your Next Ride
Pairing bikes with coffee, beer, wine, and more.
Photo from Half Acre Cycling Club
Craft beer lovers also love cycling. Chicago's Half Acre Brewery sponsors the Half Acre Cycling, a USAC-licensed club of female and male cyclists in categories 3-5 in cyclo-cross, mountain, track and road disciplines, including USAC-licensed officials, coaches, and mechanics (not yet BMX, observed trials, and downhill). See their list of rides and meetups, and become a member.
The Intelligentsia Cup is an annual summer cycling race where riders are rewarded with Chicago's local coffee, Intelligentsia, and a post-race beer garden. Cheers to beers and gears!
Plenty of bars around town are popular among cyclists.
The Chicago Craft Beer Ride is an annual May event on the north west side packed with breweries, bars, and craft beer-biking participants. New Belgium Brewing's Tour de Fat is a traveling bike and beer tour coming to Chicago in July, where cyclists of all levels can participate. Here's a preview:
Chicago is becoming more bike friendly by the day. The Chainlink is a helpful resource to find bike-minded individuals. They also have a women's cycling group that goes on fun outings such as brunch, a great way to earn those mimosas. Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood is a great area for bikers, and home to some great bike shops with good coffee and conversation. Ancien, originally only in Wicker Park, now has a location in Hyde Park. Both locations offer pop up live music performances, events like wine tasting, and a cafe to sip coffee while your bike gets repaired. Tamago is another great option in Hyde Park serving delicious pastries with pour over coffee, served with a side of bicycle expertise from the shop's knowledgable owner.
As local bike shops are under increasing pressure to stay afloat, they are turning to new ways to connect and serve their community. While commuting by bicycle is on the rise, much of that increase is due to bike sharing programs, a category of bicycles local shops don't serve.
The National Bicycle Dealers Association took a survey in 2013 that found 12 percent of bike shops in the U.S. have coffee bars, 11 percent offer spinning classes, about 5 percent serve beer, and a growing 1 percent offer other services such as yoga, massage, and cafe/restaurants.
The most common service request is a flat tire change, which takes 5-10 minutes - more than enough time to order a flat white! Prepping a good bevv in tandem with bicycle service is an efficient use of resources.
Commuting via bicycle is growing in the US according to the League of American Bicyclists.