SAN DIEGO–Every year, Tour de Fat draws thousands of people to its bike-loving, beer-drinking, wacky festival in Golden Hill Park.
For one person, Tour de Fat on September 24 will become a pivotal life moment in which s/he pledges to trade four wheels for two in a promise to live life by bike for one year. The San Diego County Bike Coalition calls on locals to submit creative videos to compete for the title of 2016 Tour de Fat Car for Bike Trader.
Each year, the New Belgium-sponsored Tour de Fat challenges one person at each of its nine stops to rise to the challenge. The lucky contender joins its motley crew of circus performers and musical acts on stage to hand over the keys to the car they’re giving up. Once the new commuter has committed to a full year without a car, the swapper is awarded with a $2,250 stipend to build the bike of his/her dreams, and the price of his/her car is donated to the respective bicycle organizations in each city. In San Diego, proceeds benefit the San Diego County Bike Coalition and the San Diego Mountain Bike Association.
“This is an opportunity that comes with adventure and eye-opening perspective that you can only get from outside of a car,” says Executive Director of the San Diego County Bike Coalition Andy Hanshaw. “Tour de Fat has gotten one person to submit a video and swap a car for a bike in every city it’s gone to since its inception. Of all the places in the country to commit to living a year on two wheels, it doesn’t get better than San Diego. We must continue the tradition, and all it takes is a short video and some life-changing ambition.”
The Bike Coalition asks San Diego, “Who’s up for the challenge?” Any interested candidates must create a two-minute video submission that addresses why they want to go car-free.
The San Diego’s Tour de Fat September 24. The event is free to participants and kicks off at noon with a festive bike parade in Golden Hill.
For more information on the Bike Coalition and how it’s making San Diego County a better place to ride all people who ride bikes, visit www.sdbikecoalition.org.
