{"id":6068,"date":"2012-09-25T13:18:09","date_gmt":"2012-09-25T20:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/?p=6068"},"modified":"2012-09-25T13:18:09","modified_gmt":"2012-09-25T20:18:09","slug":"tour-de-fat-returns-to-san-diego-sept-29","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/2012\/09\/25\/tour-de-fat-returns-to-san-diego-sept-29\/","title":{"rendered":"Tour de Fat Returns to San Diego Sept. 29"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by Cody Thompson, ThreeBZine.com<\/a>; photos by JJ Miramontes<\/em><\/p>\n

New Belgium Brewing<\/a> has been spreading the word about bicycling as a lifestyle since day one. \u00a0In 1989, home brewer Jeff Lebesch went on a biking trip in Belgium where he found himself riding a “fat tire” mountain bike from brewery to brewery. \u00a0Inspired by his trip, he came home to brew his first batch of amber ale and appropriately named it Fat Tire, clearly recognized by beer lovers across the country by the big, red, \u201cfat tire\u201d bike on its bottle or can. \u00a0To this day, his love for all things biking is still a large part of what New Belgium stands for.<\/p>\n

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The main stage at Tour de Fat<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As a way to spread bicycling awareness, while also raising funds for local bike groups, New Belgium hosts the yearly event, Tour De Fat. \u00a0Organizers describe the event as a “Ballyhoo of Bikes and Beer!” \u00a0But what exactly is<\/em> Tour De Fat?<\/p>\n

Tour De Fat is a 15-city, free admission, sideshow event with the goal of connecting people through bikes and beer, while helping to raise funds for each city\u2019s local bike advocacy groups. \u00a0Funds from San Diego’s event will benefit the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition and the San Diego Mountain Biking Association. \u00a0Attendees can support these groups in a few different ways. \u00a0One way is making a donation during the bike parade event registration. \u00a0Another is that guests will have the ability to purchase event specific merchandise, including New Belgium bike bells and Tour De Fat bike license plates. \u00a0Items are $5 apiece and all proceeds go directly to the local groups. \u00a0Of course, let\u2019s not forget the beer tokens that will be sold at the event. \u00a0$5 will get you one beer token, which can be used to purchase a New Belgium brew. \u00a0All token sales will also go to these local bike groups. \u00a0According to Alison Whitney, Social Coordinator for the San Diego Mountain Biking Association, the money their group earns from the event will go to building a new progressive skills bike park in San Diego where riders of all ages can practice skill sets from basic to advanced in a controlled environment. \u00a0In total, proceeds from this free event will bring New Belgium\u2019s total funds raised well past $2 million since its debut in 2000.<\/p>\n

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Host Matt Cowal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The sideshow gets underway at 11 a.m. September 29 in Golden Hill Park, with its legendary costume bike parade. Registration starts at 10 a.m. and riders are highly encouraged to dress up in flamboyant costumes and ride amongst each other for an approximately three mile tour through the South Park neighborhood of San Diego. \u00a0The parade route is a slow speed, flat course meant for all ages and abilities. After the conclusion of the parade, Golden Hill Park will be transformed into a Vaudeville showcase, with attractions like circus-type acts under a sideshow tent, custom built bikes for guests to ride and more bicycle games. \u00a0There will also be live musical performances on the Main Stage from Devotchka, The Cleverly’s, Yo-Yo People and Ssssnakenstein. \u00a0Oh, and don\u2019t forget about all the beer! \u00a0Beer selections for San Diego\u2019s Tour De Fat include Ranger IPA, the seasonal Red Hoptober, Blue Paddle Pilsener, Trip 13, Shift Pale Lager and of course- Fat Tire.<\/p>\n

The main event is the Car-for-Bike Swap. New Belgium is looking for one person to donate their car, and in return will receive the ultimate car-replacement commuter bicycle. \u00a0The willing participant will get to choose a local bike shop that will build their new ride, using an allotted $2,250 budget. \u00a0The car will then be auctioned off, and all money earned will go to local bike groups. \u00a0Whoever goes through with the trade will be asked to blog their experience for one year (also check out Brewery Rowe’s article<\/a> on last year’s “swapper,” Alison Whitney.)<\/p>\n

\n

Cody<\/em> <\/em>Thompson<\/em> was born and raised in America’s Finest City – San Diego, California. He showcases his passion for local bikes, bands and beers through his writing on the webzine Three B Zine (<\/em>threebzine.com<\/em><\/a>), which pedaled its way into the digital media world in June 2011. After being introduced to Sierra Nevada Pale Ale eight years ago, <\/em>Cody<\/em> knew he had found something magical, and wanted more. He recently decided to leap into the home brewing game and has brewed multiple batches. <\/em>Cody<\/em> now lives in South Park with his wife and their dog.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by Cody Thompson, ThreeBZine.com; photos by JJ Miramontes New Belgium Brewing has been spreading the word about bicycling as a lifestyle since day one. \u00a0In 1989, home brewer Jeff Lebesch went on a biking trip in Belgium where he found himself riding a “fat tire” mountain bike from brewery to brewery. \u00a0Inspired by his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[890,406,891,892,893,889],"class_list":{"0":"post-6068","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-san-diego-beer-beverage-news","7":"tag-golden-hill-park","8":"tag-new-belgium","9":"tag-san-diego-county-bicycle-coalition","10":"tag-san-diego-mountain-biking-association","11":"tag-threebzine-com","12":"tag-tour-de-fat","13":"entry","14":"has-post-thumbnail"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","wps_subtitle":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pdtr4y-1zS","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6068"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6068\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archives.csusm.edu\/westcoastersd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}