Let's start by saying this wasn't the most aggravating Bike and Brew I've done because of the Niantic Public House and Brewery, which was a charming place with tasty beer. It was just the most aggravating Bike and Brew I've done so far, and this brewery just happened to be the one I was visiting at the time.
I previously sent a bit of criticism the way of the Niantic Public House and Brewery, expressing dismay that they were closed on Sundays. This meant that I wasn't able to pair a visit there with my ride to the
Noble Jay Brewing Company, but it also seemed like shutting down for half the weekend wasn't the best business model. I mean, plenty of breweries aren't open
except on the weekends.
The brewery has updated its hours since that initial ride, and now welcomes visitors from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. So I opted to enjoy a nice ride on a sunny Sunday and check them out.
The initial plan was for a rendezvous similar to what we did at Noble Jay. I would head out via bike, my wife would meet me at the brewery with our daughter, and we would enjoy a day out before we separately headed home.
The first part of this plan went well. Instead of retracing the same route I took to Niantic last time, I followed Route 1 to the Niantic River. This route is fairly bike friendly with minimal attractions along the way, although there's a farm stand if you're in need of some fresh fruits or vegetables.
Niantic River Road offers a straight shot south with beautiful views of the river as it flows into Long Island Sound. There's also a small public put-in, Kiddie Beach, which wasn't looking too photogenic on my visit but is a good place to launch a canoe or kayak.
My previous ride to Niantic was on a slate gray day that didn't really showcase how beautiful this shoreline community is. I think this shot, taken from the bridge over the river on a warm sunny summer day, does a better job.
Downtown Niantic is a bucolic little streetscape with a bunch of restaurants, antique stores, an independent cinema, and other attractions. It's also one of the few places where people actually stop for pedestrians, since enough people are strolling around that people know to watch out for folks on the sidewalk.
Just about every time I ride into Niantic, I make a stop at the Book Barn. This is a fantastic used bookstore, with its main collection in the titular barn but many more volumes housed in other outbuildings throughout the property. The store claims to have some 350,000 books available, at the main site and a few other satellite locations in town.
It would be easy to spend a whole day here. The grounds are beautifully landscaped, with Adirondack chairs and other seating areas to sit down with a newly purchased book. They have games and places for kids to play. Best of all, they provide coffee and have a family of friendly cats roaming the grounds.
Unfortunately, this beloved site is also where the outing started to go a bit sour.
That would once again be a flat tire. I had a good year or two of riding in southeastern Connecticut, and now the back tire seems to go out every other ride. I suppose it could be a pinch flat or some such thing, but I'm starting to suspect that the sides of the street are just covered in a fine coating of ground-up glass.
No problem, I thought, I'll just patch it and use my portable pump to refill the tube. Except my patch kit was empty and I'd accidentally left the pump in another bag. The folks at the Book Barn suggested that I walk my bike over to Hole-in-the-Wall Beach, since there was a newly installed bike repair station there.
It was a fairly brief walk downtown, and I eventually saw the sign for the repair station. At about the same time, my wife texted to let me know that she wasn't going to make the rendezvous; our daughter was having a meltdown and refusing to get into the car. So much for Plan B of stuffing the bike in the back of her car and catching a ride.
The beach is certainly a nice destination for bicyclists. There's a small stretch of white sand on a cove, separated from another beach by a hilly park with bluffs offering beautiful views over the water. There's also a lengthy boardwalk running along the railroad tracks.
The bike repair station was located just off the parking lot for Hole-in-the-Wall Beach. Armed with a newly purchased patch kit, I got to work. The station only had one tire lever, but a wrench proved a suitable substitute. With the tube out, I planned to inflate it and identify the puncture.
Except that the Presta valve pump was absolute garbage. This may have been the point where I started saying some words that weren't suitable for small children.
So I trudged back into town with the various parts of my bike to ask Niantic Bay Bicycles to rescue me once again. And then I told them that it was one of those days where you really need a beer and walked the short distance to the brewery.
Niantic Public House and Brewery had been in planning for quite some time before it opened in November 2018. I'd visited once before, but it still seemed to be a bit of a work in progress. The space was sparsely furnished, and the bartender apologetically said she wasn't able to fill a growler because my preferred variety was down to its last keg. On this visit, they'd made a few improvements, including a popcorn machine that allowed them to serve a snack with each beer order.
I had to get home to relieve my wife of angry toddler duty, so I limited myself to one full pour. I got the Penguins Are Cute Porter, which was quite a tasty dark beer.
One stunning change since my first visit to the Niantic Public House and Brewery were a series of murals added throughout. Sea turtles, a key part of the business's theme, swam across the main part of the brewery, while beer-drinking dinosaurs lurked in the men's room.
And then it was back to Niantic Bay Bicycles to pick up my repaired bike and head back home. I mostly retracted my route, though I did decide to swing by nearby Williams Park to showcase this nicely landscaped New London venue with a statue of local hero Nathan Hale.
Also, my back tire got another puncture a few weeks later. I really hate these roads sometimes.
Total mileage: 16.14 miles
Previous Bike and Brew Outings:
Outer Light Brewing Company
Beer'd Brewing Company
Fox Farm Brewery
Shelter Island Craft Brewery and Greenport Harbor Brewing Company
Barley Head Brewery
These Guys Brewing Company and Epicure Brewing
Mohegan Cafe and Brewery
Noble Jay Brewing Company
Tox Brewing Company
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