World-Class Entertainment and Fantastic Weather Brought out Thousands of People; Event Grew by 150% Since Last Year 

Ft. Collins, CO, May 17, 2013 – Tour de Fat, New Belgium Brewing’s traveling festival of bikes, beer and bemusement, raised more than $15,400 for Atlanta bicycling nonprofits last Saturday, May 11. About 2,500 bicycle and beer enthusiasts came to Candler Park for the event and 300 people participated in the bike parade.
 
Although it is free to attend Tour de Fat, proceeds from beer and merchandise sales and donations from bike parade participants went to local nonprofits. The beneficiaries this year, which are all focused on making Atlanta a better place to ride, are Atlanta Bicycle Coalition, Sopo Bicycle Cooperative and The Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association (SORBA).
 
“Some people put the fun in fundraising. New Belgium and Tour de Fat make it funtasticalraising!” said Matt Garbett from the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition. “Thanks to New Belgium, the volunteers, bike enthusiasts and Atlanta, we raised money for better biking in Atlanta and we'll see you again next year!”
 
A highlight of every Tour de Fat stop is the car-for-bike swap where one person commits to commute by bike for the next year. Aubrey Inman is this year’s swapper from Atlanta. 

“I am simply tired of driving my car and have wished to go car free for many years. I realize Atlanta is not the most bike-friendly city, but I like a challenge and think it is do-able,” Aubrey shared. “I want to be a part of the change from a world where we drive cars unnecessarily to a world where we bike in costumes regularly. I love what New Belgium is doing and am so glad to have the opportunity to do something so outrageous for a good cause!”

Because the track groove is just slightly wider than the typical bike tire, crossing at too shallow an angle can result in your tire getting stuck in the track groove, tossing you over the handlebars. 

The key to staying safe is to always cross at a 90 degree angle. 

And when it's wet out, better to hop off your bike and walk it across. Even the most experienced cyclist can go down on the tracks when they are slick. 

The Atlanta Streetcar project will include bike lanes on Edgewood Avenue extended west from Boulevard to Park Place (one block south of Peachtree) and most of Auburn Avenue. 

Bike lanes will run in the opposite direction of the streetcar tracks, to avoid bicyclists riding alongside the tracks. The hazard will come into play when you need to cross the tracks to make a turn, or where the tracks curve to create the looped route. Bike boxes and other safety designs will help reduce the risk to cyclists on Edgewood and Auburn. 

Read more to check out a video demonstrating how to cross safely, and to see pictures of the tracks.

"...last year, Bicycling Magazine rated Minneapolis the number one city in America for bike-friendliness. Atlanta did not enter the top ten, nor has it ever. What’s changed is that now, it wants to. Mayor Kasim Reed’s administration has announced this year a goal of being a top-ten cycling city by 2016. WABE’s Kate Sweeney looked into just what that means."

Did you know ridership in the city of Atlanta increased almost 400% from 2000-2009? The highest growth in the country? And that's despite the lack of a network of bike infrastructure. Imagine what will happen now that Mayor Reed and the city are committed to doubling mileage of bike lanes and trails by 2016. 

WABE's Kate Sweeney talked to the Georgia Tech creators of the Cycle Atlanta app (an innovative approach to crowd-sourced bike planning), City of Atlanta transportation planner Joshuah Mello, and ABC's Rebecca Serna. 

Photo credit Kate Sweeney / WABE View of North Avenue by bicycle from the Beltline        Listen