Tour de Fat’s First Stop in Durham Brings in Over $10,000 to Support Bike Commuting Event Takes Place at Diamond View Park at American Tobacco

500 cyclists fill the streets of Durham for a parade in the city’s first Tour de Fat.

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American Tobacco and Durham broke a record for the largest bike parade crowd ever for a first-year city in New Belgium Brewing’s Tour de Fat.   The event raised $10,144 for three organizations that promote cycling as a viable form of commuting.  1,500 bicycle and beer enthusiasts filled Diamond View Park, with 500 participating in the bike parade on Saturday, June 25, 2011.

Tour de Fat is hailed as New Belgium Brewing’s traveling celebration of all things bicycle.  In its 12th year, the national tour will visit 13 cities in 2011, including Durham.  The event includes a costumed bicycle parade, New Belgium beer, eye-popping entertainment, local food, crazy bike contests and more.

For the first time Tour de Fat gave away a bike in exchange for a car.  Steve Hinkle, a Duke University campus minister, won the contest with his video application.  He traded his 1992 Toyota Corolla for a hand-built New Belgium commuter bike in the car-for-bike-swap.  Hinkle committed to commute via bike for the next year.

Entertainment at the stage in Diamond View Park delights the crowd during the daylong event.

“It’d be a great opportunity to use my time and energy as a campus minister at Duke to leverage that conversation with students and faculty to think about cutting our carbon footprint and car usage and finding other ways to get about town,” said Hinkle.

Tour de Fat benefitted he North Carolina Active Transportation Alliance, Triangle Spokes Group and the Durham Bike Co-op.  All three “promote cycling as an alternative form of transportation.”

“We’re eternally grateful that New Belgium chose to bring Tour de Fat to Durham and help support local, regional and statewide bike advocacy efforts,” said Alison Carpenter with North Carolina Active Transportation Alliance, one of Tour de Fat beneficiaries. “We’re excited to use the proceeds from Tour de Fat to further our mission by hosting an inaugural statewide bicycle summit in North Carolina next year and improving our outreach efforts.”

The bike parade took place during the morning, and entertainment went on all day.  Performances by the likes of the Daredevil Chickens Club and Squirm Burpee Circus kept the main stage hopping.

Thanks to American Tobacco for these capcom photos..