Today’s Headlines

• Biking In L.A. Notes State Has Changed Law About Sidewalk Riding.  But Nobody Can Figure Out What It Means
• More on the Expo/NFSR Lawsuit (The Source)
• The Tentative Victors Are Gloating Just a Little.  NFSR Presses On (Subway Blog, LA Weekly)
• Angels Flight Celebrates 109th Birthday with Penny Fares (Blog Downtown)
• Five Reasons to Be Happy for the State of Transportation in L.A. (City Watch)
• New Belgium Brewing Celebrates a Succesful Tour De Fat (press release after the jump...)

A quick scheduling note: we'll be on a light schedule today before taking the next couple of days off.  Monday, we're back with four days of Streetsies then another three day weekend.  On January 3, we'll kick of 2011 with a normal publishing schedule.  If there's any major breaking news, we'll be sure to cover it regardless of the Holidays.  Happy Holidays everyone, and be safe out there. - DN

New Belgium Brewing’s Tour de Fat Celebrates Another
Successful Season of Bike Adoration

Cyclists Inciting Change thru Live Exchange (C.I.C.L.E.),
Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition and Bicycle Kitchen/La Bicicocina
Received a Total of $6,555 from Tour de Fat to Continue Bike Advocacy

Fort Collins, CO, December 21, 2010– Tour de Fat, New Belgium Brewing’s traveling carnival of all things bicycle, is celebrating its 2010 season, reporting phenomenal attendance and tremendous amounts of money raised.  The philanthropic traveling bike festival donated $331,428 to non-profit friends, up nearly 20 percent from 2009, and witnessed record-shattering attendance with 70,250 cycling celebrants.

Tour de Fat rolled into Los Angeles on October 23, where more than 2,000 costumed bicycle enthusiasts swarmed L.A. Historic Park to increase awareness and participation in cycling as a sustainable form of transportation.  The event raised $6,555 for Cyclists Inciting Change thru Live Exchange (C.I.C.L.E.), Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition and Bicycle Kitchen/La Bicicocina to continue local bike advocacy.

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, Tour de Fat swapped a car for a bike with a local resident.  This 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 and commits to living car-free for the next year.

In Los Angeles, New Belgium selected Mariel Sevilla as the local car swapper.

“Los Angeles needs major improvements to its public transit system and its streets need to include more bike and pedestrian ways, but unless the residents of the city get out of their cars and on to the bus, light-rail, or on bikes, the city will continue to prioritize cars,” said Mariel.  “My only hope is to inspire my friends to reconsider their mode of transit, one trip at a time.”

“I donated my car, at the end of August and have been car-free ever since,” she added. "And I'm loving it!!”

New Belgium Brewing partnered with three non-profits in Los Angeles:

• Cyclists Inciting Change thru Live Exchange (C.I.C.L.E.) is a non-profit organization based in Los Angeles working to promote the bicycle as a viable, healthy, and sustainable transportation choice.
• Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (LACBC), founded in 1998, they work to build a better, more bike-able Los Angeles County.  LACBC is the only non-profit, membership-based organization working exclusively for the millions of bicyclists in Los Angeles County. Through advocacy, education and outreach, Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition brings together the diverse bicycling community in a united mission to make the entire L.A. region a safe and enjoyable place to ride.
• Bicycle Kitchen/La Bicicocina is a non-profit bicycle repair education space run by volunteers.  It offers workshop space, bike stands, tools, recycled parts and basic new parts, along with trained volunteer mechanics to help people build or fix bikes.

In addition to getting more cars off the road, Tour de Fat also composts and recycles 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.

“Tour de Fat brings together new and old friends to celebrate our best pal, the bicycle,” said Bryan Simpson, New Belgium Brewing Spokes Model.  “We join our non-profit partners in thanking all attendees.  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.”

For more information on Tour de Fat visit http://www.tour-de-fat.com and for more details on New Belgium Brewing go to http://www.newbelgium.com/.

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.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

About New Belgium Brewing Company
New Belgium Brewing Company, makers of Fat Tire Amber Ale and a host of Belgian-inspired beers, began operations in a tiny Fort Collins basement in 1991. Today, the third largest craft brewer in the U.S., New Belgium produces seven year-round beers; Fat Tire Amber Ale, Sunshine Wheat, Blue Paddle Pilsner, 1554 Black Ale, Abbey, Mothership Wit and Trippel, as well as a host of seasonal releases.  In addition to producing world-class beers, New Belgium takes pride in being a responsible corporate role model with progressive programs such as employee ownership, open book management and a commitment to environmental stewardship.  For more information, visit www.newbelgium.com.

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