DRAFT Magazine

Al Thom photo by Jason Henry

The Beer Runner: What are your beer runner credentials?

Al Thom: Well, Tim, my mother is British, my father is German, and I grew up just outside Milwaukee - so that explains the beer. I was always into dirt and bicycles, so I blended the two. Like so many others, we learn over time that there is craft involved in any true endeavor - be it bikes or beer - and one typically transcends Huffy’s and PBR’s to IF’s (Independent Fabrication) and IPA’s. As a mountain biker, you appreciate total freedom off road, and you throw friends into the equation and it leads to capping-off the ride with a well deserved refreshment - which often leads to discussions about both crafts.

BR: How did you start racing for Chicago’s Half Acre Beer?

AT: I did my first Cyclocross race last year and happened to park next to the Cuttin’ Cruiser - a “race prepped” bus under the command of the Chicago Cuttin’ Crew - a group of Chicago racers with roots in the bike messenger community. Hanging with these guys are a few of the Half Acre Cycling team. Julie from Half Acre is jonesing on my Indy-Fab and before you know it, a dozen or so of Chicago’s hardcore bicycle community are admiring my bike’s hand-craftiness, and most of them have a hand crafted Half Acre Beer! All these guys were super-cool to me for my first race, and offered me post-race refreshment and encouragement. I became hooked on ‘cross and I made the determination that I probably had to be on this Half Acre Team because everybody was so cool (and they had good beer).

BR: What’s your favorite Half Acre beer?

AT: The Lager is still my favorite at the moment, but I am really excited about the Big Hugs Imperial Stout coming out soon.

BR: What’s the best part of being a bike team sponsored by a beer company?

AT: Um…Duh! Seriously - although I had been racing mountain bike for a few years, I was never on a team. I often raced with a number of other guys on teams, but none of them ever said - dude, wanna join our team? I made up my mind that I would get serious for ‘09 and find a team and there were three criteria in my quest: 1) beer sponsor 2) nice looking kit 3) awesome people. Having met the fine folks from HAC I was able to tick all three boxes immediately. I’ve been part of the team for a year and I can tell you they are much more than a bike team with beer!

Half Acre Cycling team photo by Mike Campbell

BR: Which bike season has the most beer? Mountain? Cyclocross? Road?

AT: Although our team is made up of riders that compete in all four disciplines, and we sponsor (BEER) at least one race in each category, as a dirtbag, I can only speak for myself. I wish I could say that mountain season gets the nod, but we lack a MTB race series in the Chicago area, so we often travel to Wisconsin (WORS or WEMS), Indiana (DINO) or southern Illinois (PAMBA) for MTB events and often, the travel exceeds 3 hours, so hangin’ and kickin’ back a couple usually isn’t in the cards. However, the Chicago Cyclocross scene rivals any in the nation! The Chicago Cyclocross Cup is a sea of humanity that flows from community to community for 10 love-filled-family-friendly-incredibly-intense weeks of mud and cowbells - and yes - beer. It brings a tear to my eye that the season just ended.

BR: What kind of reputation do you have among your teammates? What kind of reputation does your team have among other racers?

AT: I am the FASTEST (old dude), or I’m just a bike-loving, beer-drinking dirtbag - not sure which. Team-wise, I think we are well respected as a fast growing team comprised of some real hardcore racers and people that give back to the bicycling community, and most importantly, we all recognize that riding bikes is supposed to be fun!

BR: What’s your most memorable race with your team?

AT: The Chequamegon Fat Tire 40 mile race in northern Wisconsin. Ten of us from the team entered, and eight of us rented a cabin. It was a good opportunity to get to know/party/hang with my teammates at one of the biggest Mountain Bike races in the country. Chris and Zach are two of my mates that race road and dirt, and our pre-ride warmup the day before was on the highway where they showed me proper paceline techniques. On race day, we figured we should attempt to stay together in a paceline. It worked surprisingly well - until my legs blew up on the firetower climb. We had a really good time racing, then heckling the finishers whilst enjoying our namesake brew. Also memorable was our teammate Jeremiah crashing at mile 15 and separating his shoulder. He made a sling out of a spare tube - and finished the freakin’ race in under 4 hours one-handed - in PAIN. That was memorable!

BR: Anything else to add?

AT: Craft brewing and hand built bicycles have a LOT in common. Both crafts have necessary guidelines to follow that have been handed down for generations - certain standards that must be followed, yet both crafts encourage experimentation and individuality. I think that this shared commonality should be brought together. Wouldn’t it be heaven if the Hand Built Bicycle Show and the Craft Brewers Show were held together in the same city - same convention center at the same time!?!

Thanks to Jonathan for tipping me off to the HAC team