Focus On 4th

Focus on Fourth compiled by Sands Spencer of the Fourth Avenue Merchants Association.

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Tour de Fat…You are invited!

When: October 25th

Where: 4th Avenue and 5th Street

illed as a “Ballyhoo of Bikes and Beer”, the Tour de Fat promises to be a day of fun for kids from 6 to 96 and beyond.

Morning fun rides leave at 9 a.m. with both road and mountain bike routes available. Led by Greater Arizona Bicycle Association (GABA) guides these are not races but social rides geared to seeing some of Tucson at a relaxed pace and in congenial company. Of course if you feel like racing…we’ll see you at the Ballyhoo!

Feel like getting decked out in a Victorian era dress and riding on a big wheel bike? How about leathers and a bicycle with a 4’ front fork raked out to there? Cruiser bike rides (costumes not discouraged) will be departing at 10 am. These are total fun and include some highly modified bikes (choppered, lowered, high-rise, big wheel, uni-cycles, and more) as well as traditional fat tire cruisers. Cruise the Avenue while showing off your ride and your rags. Riders come in as many different configurations as the bikes, so don’t be shy, drag out that old beater and come along!

Starting at noon and going through until 6 pm will be the Ballyhoo. This afternoon event will feature live music, food, bike and skate board demonstrations, good beer and goofy games. You’ll be able to test your bike riding skills in games like the Paperboy Challenge (where contestants throw newspapers at targets while riding a course); Slow Ride (where the winner is the person who can ride a measured distance in the longest amount of time no track standing!); Take a Little Trip; Pass the Gas; and more.

All of this is brought to Tucson by the New Belgium Brewing Company of Fort Collins Colorado, and profits will be going to BICAS (Bicycle Inter-Community Art and Salvage) our very own local non profit bicycle group. Ever wonder about the cool bike racks and trash can receptacles along 4th Avenue? Well, BICAS is the group that assembles those and other works of art (functional and pure) from used bicycle parts.

The Tour de Fat is an event that is happening in cities throughout the West, from Seattle to, well, Tucson. In each city the New Belgium Brewing Company selects one or two local non profits to benefit from the event, preferably ones with ties to bicycles and/or alternative transportation. If you are prepared to be impressed by a company that is actually succeeding in the market but retaining some social and ecological consciousness check out their web site at www.nebelgium.com; kind of makes you feel good about chugging Fat Tire Amber Ale, if anything is needed beyond the Fat Tire itself!

Tucson is the last stop on this season’s Tour de Fat schedule, so look for a blow out event to cap off this year’s already impressive accomplishments. Come on out on October 25th and join in the fun.

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