New Belgium Tour De Fat Passes $2 Million Mark

From New Belgium:

(FT. Collins, CO – 11 June 2012) – New Belgium Brewing’s Tour de Fat, the nation’s most colorful bike festival, has passed the $2 million mark for total funds raised for nonprofit organizations. Tour de Fat began 13 years ago and has grown into a 15-city nationwide tour focused on honoring mankind’s favorite invention: the bike.

At every stop, Tour de Fat brings together thousands of people for a costumed bike parade, New Belgium beer, a car-for-bike swap, live entertainment, local food vendors, bike competitions (like the “slowest race” and bike jousting) and much more. But the free event is truly focused on philanthropy. Money raised through beer and merchandise purchases is channeled back into each community through local nonprofit organizations generally focused on bike advocacy.

“This milestone shows that Tour de Fat really reaches into communities for much longer than one day at the park,” said Matt Kowal, Tour de Fat Impresario. “The stories we hear from local folks who are committed to community involvement inspire us. We couldn’t have raised more than $2 million without the tremendous support we receive in every city and we’re extremely thankful.”

Over the course of Tour de Fat, raised funds have made a tremendous impact across the country, with money going toward trail maintenance, safety education, lobbying for better bicycle communities and a wide variety of other impactful initiatives, including:

• Overland Mountain Bike Club has used funds raised from the Ft. Collins, CO stop to fund Outreach Days such as Take a Kid Mountain Biking Days, Educational Trail Days at trailheads, helmet programs for kids and to support high school mountain biking. Overland Mountain Bike Club also used the funds to build and maintain trails and to outfit its Mountain Bike Patrol members and make sure they have the proper first aid and mechanical training.
• Southwest Idaho Mountain Bike Association (SWIMBA), has used funds raised from the Boise, ID stop to buy new bikes for SWIMBA Bike School. Money also went toward BYRDS (Boise Young Rider Development Squad), which teaches kids skills and etiquette for road, cross and mountain biking. In addition SWIMBA gave some money to Eagle Cycle Park, which has a BMX track, cross-country and downhill trails and funds are going toward tail easements.
• West Town Bikes used funds from the Chicago stop to develop new programs, upgrade facilities, pay rent, and to allow the group to continue to be on the forefront of bicycle advocacy by offering direct services that aren’t found elsewhere in Chicago. West Town Bikes promotes bicycling through bicycle learning workshops, including mechanics workshops and youth programs.

This year’s stop in Nashville, the first festival of the 2012 tour, is what pushed the grand total to more than $2 million. The event benefited Walk/Bike Nashville, Ride for Reading, and SoundForest.