Jonas Cole’s love of the Upper Valley is tangible, and his enthusiasm for exploring the region on an e-bike is contagious. “You see so much more by bike than you do in a car,” says Jonas, owner and founder of Vermont Bike & Brew, an outfit that rents and sells e-bikes out of a shop on Thetford Hill and offers self-guided e-bike tours around Central Vermont. “But riding a bike around here can be intimidating—the hills are no joke.”

The e-bikes at Vermont Bike & Brew are all pedal-assisted e-bikes, which means the motor only kicks in when the rider spins the pedals. They’re not mopeds and they don’t go 40 miles per hour. They’re still bicycles at heart, and they make bicycling much more accessible for people who might feel overwhelmed by Vermont’s hilly back roads. One of Vermont Bike & Brew’s many five-star reviews explains that the bikes “make the hills delightful instead of daunting.”

Jonas admits that he didn’t bike much as a kid; he didn’t even learn to ride a bike until the age of 13. “My family wasn’t into cycling, and I grew up on a notoriously big hill, so I wasn’t
inclined to ride.” In 2017, that changed when Jonas rode ane-bike for the first time. “A lightbulb went off in my head,” he says, noting that it only took 10 seconds for him to fall in love with it. Having spent the past decade teaching outdoor education courses in backpacking, canoeing, and rock climbing, Jonas immediately knew that he would use e-bikes to continue fostering outdoor experiences for others.

“I get to watch people every day having the same transformative experience I had that first time I got on an e-bike,” he says. “They’re life changing.”

 

Getting People Outside

“I like to help get people outside,” says Jonas, whose experience as a student on a trip with NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) gave him the tools needed to begin leading outdoor trips. After graduating from the University of Puget Sound, Jonas spent the better part of a decade guiding and leading backpacking, rock climbing, and canoeing trips.

While his love of travel grew, Jonas never stopped appreciating the place where he grew up. Despite not growing up as a cyclist, he spent a lot of time exploring back roads. “In fact, I wrote my college application essay on how well I knew my hometown,” he says.

Vermont Bike & Brew’s self-guided tours reflect Jonas’s intimate local knowledge. They range from 15 to 30 miles, stick mainly to little-traveled dirt roads, and maximize scenic wonder. Riders get turn-by-turn navigation on their phone and discounts at partner businesses. Vermont Bike & Brew handles transportation and maintenance of the e-bikes and teaches guests how to use them. 

“Our tours are a great option for entertaining out-of-town guests or if you want a new Upper Valley experience. We make it as easy as possible,” Jonas says. “We’re here to help people have fun.”

 

An Epic Birthday

Vermont Bike & Brew offers a unique activity for company outings, weddings, reunions, and parties. For groups with varying levels of fitness and ambition, e-bikes level the playing field and let the whole group share an incredible experience.

When South Strafford resident Rosi Kerr turned 50 last summer, she wanted to bring a grand idea to life. “For years, I had been interested in a creemee-to-creemee ride,” says Rosi, an avid cyclist, but “I didn’t know how to pull it off.”

The logistics of organizing a celebration with out-of-town friends and family members, a wide range of biking ages and abilities, and many guests who needed to rent bikes became overwhelming. Enter Jonas and Vermont Bike & Brew. “He said, ‘I can help you,’” Rosi says. “He
really took the sting out of the logistics.” 

In the end, Vermont Bike & Brew transported 27 e-bikes to Rosi’s home, planned their route—50 miles over two days for Rosi’s 50th—and connected Rosi’s group to Fable Farm, where they camped and ate wood-fired pizza. The route went through covered bridges, past cow pastures, climbed Strafford’s biggest hills, and included five creemee stops. Rosi praised the support she got throughout the planning process and the event. “Jonas made everything super easy.”

 

Small Business Partnerships

Every Vermont Bike & Brew tour features stops at adorable farm stands, historic general stores, and local cafes. Most tours start and end at a craft brewery, but the Farmstand Tour begins and ends at Sweetland Farm in Norwich. “It’s just really fun to watch him getting everyone fitted and ready in the parking lot,” says Sweetland farm store manager Shelagh Harvard. “He is personable and fun and just really excited about what he does.”

Both Shelagh and Jonas emphasize the importance of partnering with other local businesses. “The networking is critically important,” Shelagh says. “I know that in Jonas, I have someone who’s spreading the word in the community about Sweetland, and he knows the same for me.”

Other important partners include the bike manufacturers. The rental fleet at Vermont Bike & Brew uses bikes from Gazelle, a Dutch brand known for being upright and super comfortable, and they also carry Tern, an e-cargo bike known for being safe and well-engineered. Jonas notes that in addition to renting bikes he also sells them, and it is common for customers that started by renting e-bikes and taking tours to eventually purchase one of their own. 

“I’m inspired by the connections we build between our guests and partner businesses. I love when guests return from their tour raving about a delicious maple creemee or the adorable farm store they visited. If we create a new repeat customer at a partner business, it’s a win-win for everybody.” While Vermont Bike & Brew doesn’t make creemees or sell beer, guests are grateful for the adventure that introduced them to new local businesses and connected them to the
Upper Valley. “Those connections are why we do this in the first place.” 

Vermont Bike & Brew

Thetford, VT

(802) 274-2277

vtbikeandbrew.com