The Georgetown Waterfront is awash with opportunities to drink while afloat—pirate ships! party boats! cherry blossom-themed cruises (of course)!—but only one adds a cardio element. Following its debut in September, the Potomac Paddle Pub is returning this weekend for a summer of booze-cruising powered by cycling. It’s perfect if cracking open a beer during a spin class sounds like fun, rather than a stomachache waiting to happen.
Rather than plopping guests on a deck to take in the Potomac River views and sip on mixed drinks, the Paddle Pub puts them to work at cycling stations that partially power the journey.
Potomac Paddle Pub insists that you don’t need to be a card-carrying SoulCycle rider to competently hit the saddle: There’s a bathroom break halfway through the 90-minute trip, and a motor can take over if a crew gets tired enough to stage a mutiny. Though only 10 can pedal at a time, there’s room for six more of your laziest most jaded remaining pals to lounge at the front of the boat. A captain is on board to guide things along.
As for the booze half of “booze cruise”: The operation is BYOB—just beer or wine, no liquor—and BYO … food (coolers and ice are provided). Bring enough sustenance to fuel your group from the Georgetown Waterfront to the Columbia Island Marina and back.
On weekends, a group of 16 friends/bachelorettes/company team-building activity participants can rent the entire boat for $625. On weekday evenings, it’s $500, or you can reserve individual seats for $45 each (kids over 12 get in for $25).
On weekday evenings, individual seats are available for $45 each (kids over 12 get in for $25). But you still need to convince at least one other person to do this with you, as seats are only sold in groups of two.
Trips for this weekend—when temperatures are expected to hit the 70s—are already all sold out.
The Potomac Paddle Pub sets sail (?) Mondays-Fridays 3:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m., Fridays, Saturdays-Sundays 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
Lori McCue