COEUR d'ALENE - The pedaling is real. So are the bicycle seats. The beer is too, when the bike makes its stops at local pubs.

Quadriceps felt the burn as a group of riders on Tuesday pedaled the trolley-looking "beer bike" up an incline from The Coeur d'Alene Resort to Sherman Avenue. A warm greeting at the summit was offered by a friendly Coeur d'Alene police officer as he rolled by slowly in his cruiser.

"It's kind of fun to get out in the community and have everybody pedal around and see what Coeur d'Alene has to offer," said Mark Brown, owner-operator of Socially Geared Coeur d'Alene.

Brown's bike turned right on Sherman and made its way east, and 10 pairs of riders' legs handled the stretch with ease. Brown's bike has a secret source of propulsion - 1 horsepower - when the riders run out of gas on a hill.

People on the sidewalks clicked away with cellphone cameras after spotting the odd 14-person bike. Others just stopped what they were doing and watched it crawl by.

Brown's $50,000 bike is his first attempt at entrepreneurship.

He's not quitting his day job at Kootenai Health as a perfusionist, though.

"I run the heart-lung machine," he said. "I stop the heart so the surgeon can work on it."

He protects the heart during surgery: Valve replacements. Coronaries. Aneurysms. Whatever the hospital does.

Along with being a first shot at entrepreneurship, he sees the beer bike being a way to get involved in the community.

With Tuesday's warm, sunny weather, Brown invited some guests for a short tour downtown, giving them a taste of the action and hoping they spread the word.

As the bike looped through town, a lady at a bus stop at First Street and Lakeside Avenue asked for a lift to the casino, but the bikers could only wave and cruise on.

"We won't allow anybody to get on mid-trip - for liability reasons," said Brown. "We have them sign a waiver when they get on, make sure nobody gets drunk and out of control."

Drunk-and-out-of-control has happened. Hijinks ensued recently when a group of women celebrated a divorce, Brown recalled.

According to Socially Geared's website, www.sociallygearedcda.com, the bike is perfect for bachelor and bachelorette parties, scenic tours, shopping, corporate retreats, or just "making your ex jealous of your amazing life!!!"

Basically he is just looking for groups who want to ride a bike together around downtown.

"We usually do about two-hour tours," Brown said. "We don't really have a minimum number (of people per group), but the more people you have, the less work you have to do."

It costs $25 per seat for the first two hours.

Business is starting to pick up, he said.

"We've got a few reservations later this month and into the summer," he said. This will be the first full summer of business for his bike, after debuting late last August.