New Belgium Tour de Fat!

It’s that time of year. The time of year when New Belgium Brewing Co. throws our town a wild party on the Waterfront to honor two things we seem to like a lot around here: bikes and beer. The Tour de Fat consists of a 6 mile group ride 10am to noon and a Waterfront party noon to 5pm this Saturday, 8-15-09. Kids are welcome and admission is free but, due to space limitations, you may have to wait to get in, especially in the afternoon. So get there early for the parade.

To give you an idea of what to expect at the Tour de Fat, here are some highlights from the last time I went. I was immediately given a Goodwill-fabulous costume (which I still have) from the free pile, since I made the egregious faux paux of showing up in street clothes. It’s a costumed event, people. Interpret that as you will, and dress accordingly. Properly attired, I test rode freak bikes, some large, some small, some beyond description. My buddies and I heckled a comedian as he told jokes while making pancakes on stage. We watched a thrilling contest to see who could ride their bikes the slowest (a surprisingly difficult skill to master, let me tell you) and got to see the Sprockettes, Portland’s very own bike cheerleaders, who will be performing this year, too.

More than a traveling party about beer and bikes, the Tour de Fat also raises awareness about bike commuting and donates all the proceeds from beer tokens to local nonprofits. Thinking about trading your car for a bike? Here’s your chance to do just that and garner some well-deserved public recognition to boot.  Enter New Belgium’s contest and win an awesome hand built cruiser. To enter the contest, post to the event’s Facebook page. Fan them while you’re at it.

The Tour de Fat should not be confused with any of the following:

Tour de Crepes: Not a bike tour but an excellent crepe cafe on Alberta. 2921 NE Alberta St.,  97211

Tour de Lab: An 18 or 40 mile bicycle tour that takes you to all three Lucky Lab pub locations (first to Hawthorne, then Multnomah Village, ending up in Northwest) on Sunday, 9-13-09.  Register by 9-10-09. Fun!

Tour d’Organics: Bike to variety of local organic farms for delicious samples and much-needed rest, as this tour route can be physically demanding. A benefit for Organic Atheletes (hard core vegan triathalon folk) and a local animal shelter. Happenin’ 8-30-09.

Tour de Coops: a self-guided walk to check out some of the best chicken coop set-ups about town. Already happened this year.

Tour de Cure: A bike tour based in Hillsboro and benefitting diabetes research. Already happened this year.

Whew.

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