By Eddie Selover
I didn’t know what to expect on the Sanford Limo Cycle Tour, except I knew it was some sort of pub crawl. My friend Dennis Cobb set it up, and Dennis is a man of discernment, great taste, athleticism and solid drinking abilities… so I trusted him with the details. Rebecca and I just showed up at the appointed hour. We drove down an obscure Sanford side street and finally arrived at a funky little industrial park with a couple of offices. Went in, read the rules, signed some waivers: drinking in public, blah blah blah. Then we met our fellow passengers: friends of Dennis we really didn’t know. Couples, mostly; a dozen of us. We did the usual tentative, friendly-but-awkward greetings, and then we met Jake, our driver, and Courtney, our bartender.
Yeah, you read that right: the Limo Cycle is basically a bar on wheels. You sit on either side of it, on a bar stool that’s shaped like a bicycle seat and comes equipped with pedals. 10 of the 14 seats have these pedals, and to make it go at all, you all have to keep pumping them pretty fast. It’s a little bit disconcerting, because as hard as you’re working, the thing goes about 5 mph (well, 7 if you really get going). Sanford appears pretty flat, but we discovered it has some subtle but definite grades that really impact you going “uphill.” Jake kept up a pretty funny flow of wisecracks from the driver’s seat the whole time.
You bring your own beverages on the tour, which are stored in an ice chest under the bar. No bottles or glass of any kind; if you bring wine, they pour it into a plastic pitcher. You can’t serve yourself – you have to ask Courtney to pour. This works out fine, as you’re busy pedaling anyway, and working up quite a sweat. The Limo Cycle has a canopy with little fans and misters to keep you cool, and a great sound system you can connect to your phone or iPod. So what with the music, the constant and somewhat absurd effort, and the alcohol, we found the ice melting pretty quickly with our little group, and soon we were a merry band of loudmouths inching through the streets of downtown Sanford, holding up traffic and toasting and waving wildly to the al fresco diners that line the sidewalks there.
We hit some pretty sweet bars, too. The Imperial at Washburn Imports is an improvement on its excellent sister location in Ivanhoe Village, with a larger and better-appointed bar and a nice exotic jumble-shop atmosphere. Good quiet place to talk and get better acquainted. We finally ended up at Buster’s Bistro, way down a torn-up street lit only by an eerie floodlight. The end-of-the-world vibe contrasted nicely with the elegance of Buster’s, which serves only Belgian beer from a row of 18 taps. I’m not a big fan of Belgian beer, which tastes a little too much like mince pie for me, but there was a cool live band and we were all pretty slammed by that point anyway.
Then it was back to our Limo Cycle and we pedaled our way back down the darkened residential streets of Sanford… quieter now, like friends who’d had the full tour.
More info…
The Limo Cycle is available for rental 6 days per week (Tues – Sun), 10:00am – 10:00pm (10:00am -8:00pm on Sunday). You can bring your group of 8-15 and the entire cycle is yours for two or more hours. Pricing starts at $175.00 per hour for the entire cycle.
Smaller groups can join the Sunday Funday tours at 12:30pm and 3:00pm. Bring at least 5 folks and grab a seat for just $30.00pp.
Through April 30th, Lymo Cycle is offering our small group outings on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 5:30pm or 8:00pm.
The Limo Cycle is a “bring your own..” event. You’re welcome to bring beer, wine, soft drinks and snacks, or visit local pubs and enjoy a drink there. Reservations are required 48 hours in advance for all of the rides and are subject to availability. They go out rain, or shine and only cancel for the most severe weather.