Tour de Fat: The Top 5 Reasons You Should Go

Tour de Fat is a wacky, ridiculously enjoyable bicycle festival. It’s coming up on Saturday, May 31st and we want you to be there. Here’s why (click the links to see snapshots from Tour de Fat’s past): 5. HAVE FUN. It’s more fun than you can count on one hand (and that’s a lot of fun). Think: wackier costumes than they have at Party City, an interactive bike pit including a bike with tennis shoe tires and a John Deere tractor bicycle, life size games such as mega jenga, a massisve dance contest, and a giant blow up marshmallow man. Yes, it’s weird. Yes, it’s hard to explain if you haven’t been there before. And yes you’ll want to come back year after year. This video gives you an inside look of what to expect. And did we mention it’s fun for the whole family? 4. BE A SHOWOFF. Arrive early for the huge group bike ride that leaves Yards Park at 11am, and you get to be a showoff. Show off your fancy or vintage or commuter or recumbent bicycle. Show off your wacky, tacky, silly, great costume. Show off your smiling face and your love for bicycles. 3. CHEAP BEER. And when we say “cheap” we mean in cost. Definitely not quality. This is one of the only places where you’ll find really good beer for only $5! New Belgium sponsors the Tour de Fat and they go all out stocking the event with kegs and cans of 12 (yes TWELVE!) varieties of their Colorado-based beer. Check out the beer list here. 2. IT’S FREE. The Tour de Fat is a free festival (besides the beer. No free beer. Sorry). Free fun. Free laughs. Free high fives and hugs. We’re going to ahead and say it: This is the best free event that DC has to offer. Plus, there is really good entertainment like The Reals, with folk-y Americana-tinged tunes, a hilarious puppet guy, a mini-circus act, Y0-yo people, heavy metal magic (we have no idea what that means, but we can’t wait to see), and, of course, Reggie Watts. Check out this TED talk by Reggie Watts to learn more about his amazing talent. 1. HELP WIN MORE BIKE LANES & SAFER STREETS. WABA is the main non-profit beneficiary of the Tour de Fat. It’s a huge fundraiser  for us. So by coming out to have fun, ride your bike, and drink beer, you fund our year-long efforts to advocate for better bicycle infrastructure and safer streets.  All proceeds raised from the Tour de Fat festival (that’s donations from the parade, beer sales, bartender tips, and merchandise) directly benefit WABA and our partner organizations: Black Women Bike DC, Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling, Phoenix Bikes, and Mid-Atlantic Off Road Enthusiasts. We really hope to see you on Saturday, May 31st at the Tour de Fat. The bike ride leaves at 11am (so get there at 10am to get ready) and the beer and music start at Noon. The grand finale is at 5pm. Yards Park is located at 355 Water St SE, right next to the Nationals baseball stadium. RSVP on Facebook for the event and pre-register for the bike ride to save time. See you there!