Category Archives: Lust

Hop in the Saddle Launches! Let’s Celebrate Properly.

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Signing session

Hop in the Saddle turned out fabulously. The monolithic effort of creation, production and fundraising was successful. When I stroked the artful matte cover of a fresh copy, I knew we’d done it. After many late nights, missed dates and empty bottles—not to mention caffeine/chocolate abuse—we proudly present this gorgeous pocket guide.

The perfect way to celebrate? Throwing a killer party, with a special happy hour just for our Kickstarter backers. After that, everyone’s invited.  And you won’t want to miss clunker roller racing (beer for the winners!), tunes from DJ Roxie Stardust, and free nibbles from Cheese Bar, Saraveza, Olympic Provisions, Hair of the Dog, Soup Cycle Grand Central Bakery and Tula Gluten Free Bakery Cafe.

And, yes, there will be beer, and it will be served from the world famous Metrofiets Beer Bike. Expect ales from Deschutes, Widmer, Hopworks and more. Plus beer cocktails by Jacob Grier.

With every purchase of Hop in the Saddle, you’ll get a free beer ticket!

We hope you’ll join us in celebrating some of our favorite things: beer, bicycles, community, indie publishing and getting it done.

Click here for the invite and RSVP >

When:
Thursday, November 15
6-7pm Kickstarter Backer Happy Hour
7-9pm Launch Party

Where:
Velocult (1969 NE 42nd)


Big dreams: the Beer Bike

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When we came up with the idea of offering a beer bike as a Kickstarter reward, one man seemed perfect for the job: Tony Pereira, custom framebuilder, craft beer drinker, infrequent homebrewer and proud member of the Team Beer cycling posse. We considered it a bonus that Tony’s my husband: he was already all too familiar with Hop in the Saddle and had consumed plenty of beer in the name of book research.

In a moment of creative genius, the four of us decided to create the king of rewards: the Beer Bike. It will come to life when a bold, bike-and-beer-loving individual decides to take the plunge. See, Tony didn’t want to design this bike upfront. He wants to design it with the person who’s going to ride it. That’s how he rolls: he makes every Pereira Cycle for specific riders, taking into account not only the specs of their bodies, but how they live and how they ride.

When it comes to the Beer Bike, the owner might request a back rack designed to cradle multiple growlers of beer. Or maybe he/she will want a bottle opener mounted on both the down tube and the stem. If it were me, I might request a little green hop cone painted on the top tube (I know! Fabulous!).

So, until someone snatches up this one-of-a-kind bike, we’ll all just wait, imagining our own perfect versions of the Beer Bike. Who will make their vision a reality? We can’t wait to find out. Find out more about the Beer Bike here. Remember, our Kickstarter campaign only runs until September 20, at which time the Beer Bike will no longer be available.

I’m a Cheater: How I Became Seduced by Beer

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Sorry, wine, I know you have always been the one I sought after…and the one I chose.

But it’s been a long hot summer, and beer is so cold and tingly. Mostly I’m talking IPAs that backhand slap you with bitter hops flavors then tickle you with floral herbaciousness. Then there are those delicate seasonal saisons I keep sipping at backyard barbecues.

Just try to spend a summer writing and editing about the incredibly vibrant craft beer scene in Portland and not be seduced by pint after pint of cool brew. For me, Lucy Burningham’s vivid beer writing was like Danielle Steele novels must have been for so many lonely women. It’s no surprise that at the end of the work day, her (Lucy’s not Danielle’s) words sent me barging through my front door, tripping over the dog, to get to whatever beer was waiting in my fridge.

My role in Hop in the Saddle was to be the straight up bicycle expert. But something happened along the way. I fell in love. Disgustingly. Like icky teenager-style infatuation mixed with deep-dip-kiss, become-my-life 20-something swooning. It’s so bad. I mean good. Pour me another.