Did someone say cyclo?
Bikes and beer go together like Wallace & Gromit, so it’s worth noting that this weekend features an especially toothsome pairing: The Gran Prix of Gloucester cyclocross races on Saturday and Sunday, matched with the New England Beer Fest, slated for Saturday at the Cyclorama at the Boston Center for the Arts.
The Gran Prix of Gloucester — sponsored chiefly by Michelob Ultra, by the way — happens at Stage Fort Park, overlooking the harbor in Gloucester, a distinction that makes it one of the most scenic cyclocross courses in the country. That’s small comfort to the more than 500 suffering racers who’ll compete, who must propel their roadbike-style bikes over hill and dale — and often through ungodly muck and mire — at breakneck speeds, sometimes carrying their bikes as much as riding them. Cyclocross is that peculiar northern European sport that takes the most difficult elements of road biking, mountain biking, and cross country running and puts them all together into one hellish invention that’s difficult to master and even more difficult to excel at. And as any Belgian worth his salt can tell you, it makes for great spectating.
Crowds at this weekend’s festivities can expect to see some of the country’s best male and female racers duke it out, including Jesse Anthony (pictured) of Beverly, winner of six consecutive national titles in junior and under-23 categories. The schedule is the same both days: Racing begins at 9 a.m., with the elite women going at 1:30 p.m. and the elite men at 2:30 p.m. Admission is free, and food and other concessions will be available.
If you’re inclined to stay and hang out in Gloucester on Saturday, there’s an apres race party at the Rhumb Line Bar & Restaurant starting at 6:30 p.m., followed at 8 by a screening of ‘‘puresweethell,’’ a documentary film about the world of American cyclocross made by a pair of filmmakers from bike-crazed Santa Cruz, Calif.
If all that biking on Saturday leaves you with a powerful thirst, then hie thee to Boston’s South End for the New England Beer Fest. Billed as a celebration of New England craft beer, the event promises in excess of 125 beers from more than 30 breweries and brewpubs across the region. Sample concoctions like the Allagash Four, from Allagash Brewing in Portland, a quadrupel that’s aged in bourbon barrels and packs a 10 percent alcohol content; the Chocolate Bock from Boston Beer Co. in Jamaica Plain, a brew that uses Scharffen Berger chocolate in the mix; or the Biere d’Abbaye, an approximation of a Belgian-style Trappist ale made by the Shed Restaurant & Brewery in Stowe, Vt. New England-themed chow will be available to accompany all that brewski, and beer makers will be on hand to share a few tricks of the trade — or not — and a bevy of guest speakers will declaim on all things beery. Tickets will be sold for two sessions, the first from 1-4:30 p.m., the second from 6-9:30 p.m., and are available at the door and in advance from a variety of pubs and liquor retailers in the Boston area.
(nugget box)
Gran Prix of Gloucester cyclocross races
Sat & Sun, Stage Fort Park, Rtes. 127 and 133, Gloucester. Races begin at 9 a.m. each day. Free. Saturday’s post-race event takes place at the Rhumb Line Bar & Restaurant, 40 Railroad Ave., Gloucester. Party starts at 6:30 p.m., film screening is at 8 p.m. 978-283-9732. For general information on the weekend’s events, visit www.gpgloucester.com.
New England Beer Fest
Sat, the Cylcorama at the Boston Center for the Arts, 539 Tremont St., Boston. Sessions are 1-4:30 p.m., or 6-9:30 p.m. Tickets are $30 at the door, $20 in advance at selected liquor retailers and pubs in the Boston area. 21+. For event information and locations to purchase advance tickets, visit beeradvocate.com/fests/. 
posted by Ryan Amirault at Wednesday, October 26, 2005
