(Photos © J. Maus)
The Tour de Fat is making its annual stop in Portland on Saturday. In addition to good beer, live entertainment, a rollicking downtown bike parade, and other surprises, the show will feature what has become a highlight of the event in recent years — the car-for-bike swap.
Since it was founded in Fort Collins, Colorado in 1991, New Belgium Brewing’s Tour de Fat has been based around the idea of spreading the good word about cycling (the company gives all proceeds to bike-related non-profits). This year the traveling circus of bike fun will hit 11 cities. At each stop, one lucky applicant is selected to get a custom city bike made by Black Sheep Bikes. The only condition is that they must give up their car keys and commit to going carfree for an entire year.
Word has it that the New Belgium folks are still looking for just the right person for this ultimate swap. If you currently own a car and want to take the carfree plunge (in front of a few hundred strangers and friends), check out the details on New Belgium’s website (you’ll have to contact them with an essay about why you want to live carfree).
This year’s Tour de Fat will be a fundraiser for the Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) and the Northwest Trail Alliance. There will also be a ton of great performance acts, including our very own Sprockettes (who have been traveling with the tour across the country)!
Full details on the event and a slideshow of Tour de Fat photos from years past are below:
When:
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Saturday, August 15, 2009
Where:
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Waterfront Park (just north of the Hawthorne Bridge
Tentative Schedule:
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10:00 a.m. – Bike Parade Registration
11:00 a.m. – Bike Parade
12:00 p.m. – Performances Begin
1:30 p.m. – “Carpocalypse Now” – Funeral procession for the car belonging to the Car-for-Bike Trade volunteer
3:30 p.m. – Car-for-Bike Trade Celebration
5:00 p.m. – Curtain Closes
Acts: