'Bikes and Brews' Returns July 15

Contributed by Beverly Area Planning Association

Chicago, IL -- Bikes and Brews, a festival of craft beers and pro/am cycling, are on the bill for the Beverly Area Planning Association’s 14th annual Beverly Hills Cycling Classic on Friday, July 15.

The pro/am racing event will feature top riders competing in the Prairie State Cycling Classic’s Intelligentsia Cup, plus an expanded festival serving beer from several Chicago craft breweries, food truck specialties, music by Coyote Riot and a children’s area. Paralympic champion cyclist Joe Berenyi will be the race starter.

The Bikes and Brews festival opens at 4 p.m. on the grounds of Beacon Therapeutic Center, 107th and Longwood Drive in Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood. The race course runs from 105th to 108th places on Longwood Drive, Hoyne Avenue and Seeley Avenue.

The schedule for the Prairie States Cycling Series Intelligentsia Cup is: 4:30 p.m. Master’s Race, 5:30 p.m. Women’s Race,6:30 p.m. Family Fun Ride on the race course, and 7 p.m. Men’s Race. All the competitions are for category 1, 2 and 3 professional and elite amateur cyclists. Beverly Bike/Vee-Pak Racing Team is the major sponsor of the Beverly Hills Cycling Classic, and team riders are expected to compete.

Breweries already lined up for the festival are Horse Thief Hollow, Revolution Brewery, Argus Brewery, One Trick Pony Brewery, Blue Island Beer Co. and Half Acre Beer Company. Coyote Riot will perform from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. in the festival area. Food vendors include Roost and Fat Tommy’s. Dappers Game Zone, a mobile video and game truck, will be open in the children’s area.

Suggested donation for admission to the festival area is $5 per person, $10 per family; admission to the children’s area is free. BAPA will use a portion of the proceeds to provide new landscaping for 107th Street hill.

Beverly Hills Cycling Classic sponsors are Beverly Bike/Vee Pak Racing Team, BAPA, Mike Haggerty Buick-GMC-Volkswagen, Beverly Bank and Trust, AT&T and The Beverly Review. Sponsorship opportunities are still available. Call Margot Holland,773-233-3100 or email mholland@bapa.org.

The BHCC is planned and presented by BAPA. For information or to learn more about being an event volunteer, call 773-233-3100 or email bapa@bapa.org.