Darla Knudsen and several family members were spinning bicycle pedals while rolling through Bend on a recent sunny afternoon. After a slight uphill climb, the relatives coasted while they clinked plastic cups of blackberry cider.

“Drinking, working out — my style,” said Jessica Kelly, wearing sunglasses and a broad grin. She and her husband, Bryan Kelly, both Sisters residents, were showing their out-of-town extended family Cycle Pub, the roving party vehicle that is powered by legs and alcohol (and steered by an abstaining tour guide).

A rolling — and often shrieking — landmark in Bend, the Cycle Pub is the party vehicle that combines two of Bend’s most popular activities: the satisfaction of bellying up to a bar and the joy of a bike ride. And it’s one that local residents love to hate. The mobile bar snarls traffic, slowing residents often en route to work or on errands or trying to enjoy the city they live in.

Cycle Pub is completely legal, however. The city of Bend has approved the venture since its 2011 founding, a Bend Police spokesperson said. That it interferes with traffic is tolerated.

Cycle Pub owner James Watts also works with the Oregon Liquor Control Commission to ensure that the leg-powered vehicles, which are essentially rolling bars, are properly licensed, insured and permitted.

Boozin’ and cruisin’

The Kellys and family hatched a plan to ride the Cycle Pub over drinks the night before.

Before the ride, Cycle Pub guide Tyler Weale ran some rules past the group: Do not throw anything off the vehicle, including alcohol. Do not leave the vehicle with alcohol, an action which is not covered by Cycle Pub’s liquor license. And so on.

After learning the ground rules, it was time for fun.

“OK, friends. Pedal, pedal, pedal!” Weale hollered when a traffic light turned green. The family put the cider cups back in their holders, grabbed the railing in front of them and churned their legs like they were in a spin class. (Cycle Pub should not be confused with CycleBar, a luxe spin studio that opened earlier this month.)

“Whose idea was this?” Knudsen said with a laugh. “Seriously, who came up with this? Because it’s pretty cool.”

Cycle Pub has been mixing riding and sipping craft beers, ciders and wines (no liquor) since 2011. Customers have the option to visit any of nearly a half-dozen taprooms within a two-hour rental window, which, depending on the party vehicle, begins at $180. Clients rent one of two vehicles that can accommodate parties of four to six or eight to 14. Cycle Pub does not mix and match groups.

Watts, who also co-owns Silver Moon Brewing, partners with the Bend Tour Company, which serves as the hub of Cycle Pub operations. Watts first noticed similar vehicles while visiting Germany. He is one of the first to bring cycle pubs to the States, he said. Watts’ fleet includes two large, tramlike vehicles and three smaller German-made, six-passenger vehicles like the ones Knudsen and her family recently rode.

Watts, along with Bend-based Snowline Manufacturing, now designs and manufactures Cycle Pubs similar in appearance to San Francisco cable cars. They have sold nearly 50 models to about 40 operations that offer craft beer tours in places like Houston, Detroit and Denver and smaller locations like Boise, Idaho; Lincoln, Nebraska; and Bozeman, Montana. Some companies have bought several. It’s a business extension that Watts said was “accidental.”

“People loved it,” he said. “They would say, ‘Hey, where can I get one of those? Can you build one of those for me?’ That’s where we decided to spawn a secondary piece of the business that would take people through the process that I navigated in order to get the bike on the road, gain local city approval and so forth,” Watts said. “We’re shipping bike No. 48 to Dallas.”

Watts partners with Bend Tour Company, which offers tours on Segways and electric cars.

This spring, Watts added the electric Tuk & Roll, a six-passenger, three-wheel taxi, modeled after the motorized rickshaw cabs called tuk-tuks, popular in parts of Asia.

But Cycle Pub is Watts’s bread and butter.

“Our (Cycle Pub) mantra is: We want to offer a fun, upscale experience,” Watts said. “It’s not an opportunity to over-indulge. It’s not about getting drunk per se; it’s about trying world-famous craft beers.”

A popular attraction

The Cycle Pub rolled down Industrial Way. On board, Jason Knudsen, visiting Central Oregon from Chico, California, with his wife, Darla, churned his legs while connecting his smart phone via blue tooth to a Cycle Pub speaker. He cued country singer and comedian Tim Wilson’s “The Booty Song.” Weale turned the vehicle onto the sloping Colorado Street Bridge across the Deschutes River.

“Coast for me,” Weale said.

Behind the Cycle Bar, more than 10 cars crept bumper to bumper. In slowly passing, most drivers took care to give room to the vehicle, which is twice as wide as the bike lane. Weale directed the group to resume pedaling to keep their momentum up the incline near The Pavilion. Blackberry cider cups rattled in their holders, occasionally dribbling onto the round, bar-top surface that detaches for easy cleaning. As the Cycle Pub neared GoodLife Brewing, the group’s first destination, the clan took turns playfully accusing each other of not pedaling.

Weale explained that the group could refill their growler or have a drink inside the taproom or outside in its yard. As the group ambled to the bar, Weale stayed with the Cycle Pub, which he parked in the shade while keeping an eye on the group’s belongings. Weale, 23, recently graduated San Diego State University, where he earned a degree in recreation and tourism management. Working his second summer as a Cycle Pub guide, Weale earns minimum wage and whatever tips his guests pass him after a ride. He guides about five to 10 tours a week. He intends to tie his private pilot’s license into his tourism degree. He’s currently attending flight school to earn his commercial license. As for Cycle Pub, Weale enjoys his tours, which are different each time he takes a party out. Some intend to pedal hard and visit as many taprooms as possible.

“They want to fill their growlers and go,” Weale said.

Others enjoy soft pedaling and lingering at their stops. As Weale talked, Kevin Knutsen, standing on the far side of parking lot, took notice of the party vehicle.

“What is that contraption!” he said, grinning as he strode over. “I must know.”

“Cycle Pub,” Weale said, explaining the gist. “It’s exactly what you think it is.”

Knutsen, who was visiting Bend with his wife and daughter from Burlington, Washington, liked the concept.

“You mean we can pedal around and drink?” he asked. Weale explained that if minors are on the ride, no one can drink, due to an OLCC rule. Knutsen was taken aback, however, by the two-hour ride’s $180 price tag.

“But that’s so cool,” he said, adding that he could see a Cycle Pub take off in Bellingham, Washington, but not in his smaller hometown.

Weale said inquiries like that happen on every outing.

The Knudsens and Kellys returned to their seats. Darla switched her place so she could keep an eye on oncoming traffic. While pedaling along NW 14th Street and NW Galveston Avenue on their way to 10 Barrel Brewing, a motorist honked in frustration. Another driver honked and waved. In response to both interactions, the group waved their arms and cheered. After drinks and refilling their growler with more cider at 10 Barrel, the group stopped at Sunriver Brewing Co. — Galveston Pub a block away. Then they pedaled past Drake Park. More drivers eased by the party vehicle — one woman rolled her eyes and another driver muttered as they passed.

Despite these interactions, Cycle Pub has not had a single traffic accident, either involving someone falling off a seat or a collision involving a vehicle, Watts said. Both the Bend Fire Department and the Bend Police Department confirm that they have no record of any accidents or collisions.

Ariel Mendez, the president of Bend Bikes, said the nonprofit bicycle advocacy group doesn’t have a problem with Cycle Pub. He gets why it’s popular.

“Pedaling on wheels outside is a lot of fun. But a Cycle Pub is far afield from Bend Bike’s mission, which is to get more people to ride bikes in Bend,” Mendez said.

“I see Cycle Pub as really different. It’s pedaling and it’s wheels and it’s outside, but it has more in common with pedal boats than bikes.”

The party returned to the Bend Tour Company visitor center. Weale said goodbye to the group, who were disappointed they couldn’t continue drinking their cider at the tour company. He intends to guide Cycle Pub tours for the foreseeable future while he earns his aviation credentials.

“I’m pretty open-minded when it comes to outdoorsy things,” Weale said.

— Reporter: 541-617-7816, pmadsen@bendbulletin.com