We met Dennis, assistant Wooly Pig brewer, at a Paradise Garage gravel ride out of Bladensburg months ago. Fast forward to this past week and we reached out to see if he wanted ride the Wooly Pig Start 36 route. The morning of the ride Dennis messaged that he wasn’t able to make it but Kevin the owner of the Wooly Pig Brewery would be there to ride. Kevin rides a cool old Salsa El Mariachi (see photo below). Dennis’ wife Casey (sp), who we met at Bladensburg, also showed up to ride. We had nine total for the day.

This route has a lot of gravel (70%) and close to 3800 feet of climbing. There are services in Fresno but that’s only 6 miles from the end so plan accordingly. Temps were in low 60’s and overcast at start. By the end the temps were in the 70’s and sunny.

We hung out at the brewery and grabbed a beer and some food. The brewery books food trucks every weekend throughout the year. The brewery dogs were wandering around and were friendly. I learned that the wooly pigs are slaughtered and butchered by a local butcher and the brewery sells a variety of cuts including bacon, brats and pork chops so there were only a few onsite but I didn’t see them.