New beer honors Pershing Bikeway

North Park’s The Original 40 Brewing (OG40) will release Ready to Pedal West Coast IPA on Thursday, December 5 in honor of San Diego’s Pershing Bikeway. The 2.3-mile bikeway and pedestrian path, which opened in July, starts in North Park and ends at C Street in Downtown San Diego.

Ready to Pedal is 7% alcohol-by-volume (ABV) and it features tropical, fruity, dank flavors with a clean, crisp bitterness. The beer will be available on draft and in four-packs of 16-ounce cans.

OG40 is also launching monthly Bike & Brews Community Rides in honor of Pershing Bikeway, and the first ride is on Tuesday, December 3. Riders will meet at OG40 at 5:30 p.m. and the rollout is at 6 p.m. The 6.6-mile roundtrip ride along Pershing Drive to Bottle Rocket Bar and Grill in the East Village will have an easy to moderate pace. The ride leader is OG40 beertender Preston Bewley, and riders are encouraged to wear lights and reflectors. Participants will have a chance to win raffle prizes upon returning to OG40. The community rides will be held on the first Tuesday of every month.

“As a proud San Diegan and a North Park resident and business owner, I wanted to recognize this great enhancement of our city and neighborhood with a great beer,” said OG40 owner Steve Billings. “San Diego is known for its bikeways and West Coast IPAs, among many other things, so it only made sense to do a little something for San Diegans who like to ride and drink beer.”

Pershing Bikeway, which runs along Balboa Park, celebrated its grand opening on July 27 with SANDAG and City of San Diego officials, community members and bike advocates.

SANDAG says Pershing Bikeway improves north-south connectivity and enhances access to Balboa Park for people who bike, walk, or roll between North Park and Downtown San Diego. The bikeway serves surrounding cultural institutions and Naval Medical Center San Diego, and it includes a set of road improvements that allow bicyclists to continue through the intersection of B Street and 19th Street while all other traffic is stopped.

“It is because of business owners like Steve Billings that North Park was recognized this year as one of the 16 Most Up-and-Coming Neighborhoods in the U.S. by Travel Mag,” said North Park Main Street Executive Director Mark West. “North Park Main Street applauds the tremendous job that Original 40 routinely does uniting the community through outstanding crafts beers and fantastic events for all San Diegans.”