Loveland Colorado

New Belgium Brewing’s 2010 Tour de Fat Raised more than $330,000 for Non-Profit Organizations in 13 Cities

More than 70,000 people came to play at Tour de Fat, helping to continue bicycle advocacy and environmental stewardship

Fort Collins, CO, December 20, 2010– Tour de Fat, New Belgium Brewing’s traveling carnival of all things bicycle, is celebrating the end of 2010 by wrapping up its greatest fundraising season in history. The philanthropic traveling bike festival raised $331,428 for non-profit friends, which is up nearly 20 percent from 2009. 2010 also saw record-shattering attendance with 70,250 cycling celebrants in 13 cities. Tour de Fat kicked off in Chicago on June 26 and wrapped up in Austin on October 30.

Tour de Fat is free to attend, but money raised from the sale of New Belgium beers and merchandise helps local organizations continue their good work of bicycle advocacy and environmental stewardship. In 2008, Tour de Fat broke the $1 million mark and the grand total now stands at more than $1.5 million. To see videos from some of the 2010 tour stops visit http://www.tour-de-fat.com.

In addition to raising money at every stop, Tour de Fat also swapped 13 cars for bikes. This year marked the fourth year that Tour de Fat hosted the car-for-bike swap, where someone in each city trades in his or her vehicle for a hand-built commuter bike. The volunteer then commits to living car-free for the next year.

For example, in Chicago, New Belgium selected “Iggi” Ignaczak to become the first car swapper of the season. Iggi is an avid cyclist who is not afraid to ride his bike in the 16-below temperatures of a Chicago winter. His work commute now consists of six miles of bike riding each day, plus a 35-minute train ride, instead of the 18-mile, one-hour and 20-minute drive he had before. Iggi even built a bike trailer for his dog Winston, so he can go along on some of his journeys.

“People always ask me what I’m doing out on a bike in 10 degree weather,” said Iggi. “I tell them the story of Tour de Fat and how I traded in a car for the bike. Almost always, if not met with a response of ‘oh, you’re crazy’, people are impressed.”

“I can almost see the gears in their heads grinding, and considering if that is something they can do themselves,” he added. “I always say that if I can do it, so can they.”

In addition to getting thirteen cars off the road, Tour de Fat aims to minimize its impact by composting and recycling waste. The waste diversion rate for this season was 91 percent. Other Tour de Fat sustainable initiatives included traveling with a solar-powered stage, using biofuel sourced from recycled waste oils for trucks and transport, and having all vendors operate off the grid.

“We join our nonprofit partners in thanking all attendees,” said Bryan Simpson, New Belgium Brewing Spokes Model. “We’d like to high five each person who supported our efforts, but since that’s a little tricky, we’d like to thank everyone for their tremendous support.”

Tour de Fat Breakdown City-by-City

Grand Totals

$331,428 Total Funds Raised 70,250 Attended June 26, 2010 – Chicago, IL

$14,000 Total Funds Raised Non-Profit Supported – West Town Bikes 4,000 Attended July 3, 2010 – Milwaukee, WI

$10,000 Total Funds Raised Non-Profit Supported – Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin 1,750 Attended July 10, 2010 – Minneapolis, MN

$11,351 Total Funds Raised Non-Profits Supported – Midtown Greenway Coalition, Minneapolis Off-Road Cycling Advocates and Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota 3,250 Attended July 31, 2010 – Seattle, WA

$11,500 Total Funds Raised Non-Profits Supported – Bicycle Alliance of Washington and Bike Works 4,000 Attended August 14, 2010 – Portland, OR

$7,595 Total Funds Raised Non-Profits Supported – Bicycle Transportation Alliance and Northwest Trail Alliance 1,750 Attended August 21, 2010 – Boise, ID

$21,641 Total Funds Raised Non-Profits Supported – Southwest Idaho Mountain Bike Association, Treasure Valley Cycling Association and Boise Bicycle Project 6,000 Attended September 4, 2010 – Ft. Collins, CO

$52,260 Total Funds Raised Non-Profits Supported – Overland Mountain Bike Club, Bike Fort Collins and The Bike Co-Op 15,000 Attended September 11, 2010 – Denver, CO

$33,000 Total Funds Raised Non-Profits Supported – Bike Denver and The Denver Cruisers 8,000 Attended September 25, 2010 – San Francisco, CA

$38,505 Total Funds Raised Non-Profits Supported – San Francisco Bicycle Coalition and Bay Area Ridge Trail Council 7,000 Attended October 2, 2010 San Diego, CA

$9,965 Total Funds Raised Non-Profits Supported – San Diego County Bicycle Coalition and San Diego Mountain Bike Association 2,500 Attended October 9, 2010 – Tempe, AZ

$59,375 Total Funds Raised Non-Profits Supported – Tempe Bicycle Action Group, Bike Saviours and Mountain Bike Association of Arizona 13,000 Attended October 23, 2010 – Los Angeles, CA

$6,555 Total Funds Raised Non-Profits Supported – Cyclists Inciting Change thru Live Exchange (C.I.R.C.L.E.), Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition and Bicycle Kitchen/La Bicicocina 2,000 Attended October 30, 2010 – Austin, TX

$3,970 Total Funds Raised Non-Profits Supported – Yellow Bike Project, Austin Cycling Association and Austin Ridge Riders Mountain Bike Club 2,000 Attended