PedalPub: It’s Slow Fun!
Posted on November 19, 2009 by
I joked to a friend recently that I have really strong opinions about mostly pointless things. It came up in the context of a small diatribe about proper concert etiquette, which, if you ask me, is far from pointless; basic consideration for others when in a public place is one of the few things that separate us from the animals, after all. Still, I may get a bit worked up when most people would least expect it, and I could perhaps stand to save my energy for the greater, more noble battles in life.
One killjoy-esque battle I do think is justified is the one against these ridiculous monstrosities:
Image courtesy Franco Folini
I haven’t been much of a regular barfly for several years now, but I still see one of these gas guzzling beasts ferrying a drunken troupe of bachelors or bachelorettes around nearly every time I head out for a night downtown. Every time I spot one, I cringe and have to resist the urge to chastise the riders with a likely ill-received “What would Al Gore say about this?!?” Surely there are more fun, more environmentally sound modes of transport for a night on the town than the likes of the Hummer limo, no?
Yes! Enter the PedalPub:
If you live in the Twin Cities (or, lucky you—the Netherlands), perhaps you’ve seen this minivan-sized party bike out and about. It’s a people-powered bar on wheels that groups can charter for the formal or informal event of their choice. It seats up to 16 riders, ten of whom pedal the 2,340-pound behemoth at breakneck speeds up to six miles per hour. The completely sober PedalPub-employed driver mans the steering wheel and the brakes. The optionally sober riders simply pedal on his or her command.
A group of friends and I spent Halloween afternoon tooling around St. Paul on the PedalPub, and I assure you, it was exactly as ridiculous a good time as you might expect. Novelty + exercise + fun friends + holding up traffic in a way that makes other drivers honk their horns not in anger but in the appreciation of whimsy = a fabulous way to while away a Saturday. I’m not sure if the photos from the day will do justice, but I present them to you anyway…
I would love to show you the PedalPub in action, but unfortunately none of us took any video that day. Lots of other people have, though, so feel free to watch any of the many PedalPub clips on YouTube and try to trust that my friends and I weren’t quite as ridiculous as many other PedalPub riders have been. (Oh my.)
So. Is the PedalPub truly a “green” alternative to a party bus or Hummer limo? I like to think at least mostly it is. We all carpooled or took public transport to the pickup and dropoff point (“safety first, safety always” where alcohol is involved, of course). And while a giant van had to haul the PedalPub across town on a trailer to our route start, at least no engine was idling on our account for the next four hours of the day.
Currently, the Minneapolis-St. Paul PedalPub franchise is (fortunately for us, unfortunately for you non-locals) the only one of its kind in North America. If you happen to find yourself near one, however, I highly recommend you hop on and give it a try.
That is a freakin’ awesome idea. Although, I might find it awful by the end of my pub crawl. I’ve ridden my bike home drunk from the bar before, and let’s just say a much better idea than driving drunk
Although I think that this is a good idea for a casual night out, I don’t know that it’s right for every occasion. Many peeps have a lot to drink at Bachelorette parties and I would worry about the lack of safety restraints with such ladies. Also, what about when it gets super cold there? Do people still use it?
Nicole, nope, it shuts down from November though spring. Our Halloween ride was actually the last booking of the season. And I understand your concern about the safety aspect, but since the thing does top out at about six miles per hour, it would be pretty hard to hurt yourself too badly even if you fell off. According to the web site, the Twin Cities outfit hasn’t had any problems thus far, and the worst injury during the ten years it’s been running in Amsterdam was a broken ankle when a woman tried to jump off while the PedalPub was moving.
Oh my goodness, that sounds fun. I wish they had one in Boston!