On Saturday, September 29, I checked out the New Belgium's Tour De Fat cycling event which was held in Golden Hill Park. The annual biking event/fundraiser includes a parade of costumed bikers as well as bands, unusual games and activities, face painting, beers, information on biking advocacy groups -- benefitting the San Diego County Bike Coalition and San Diego Mountain Biking Association. Estimated attendance this year was over 5,000 and organizers stated the amount raised to be $27,000 for the local biking organizations. It was really a refreshing afternoon of good times for a good cause.
I wish I had time to take more pictures but the one above speaks volumes to me as a rider. One of the many great things about this event is that it not only celebrated biking through parades and encouraged folks to ride their bikes to the event, but also provided ample space and structures for parking and locking the bikes.
Any company that wishes to encourage and support biking in this town can easily contribute and will definitely be ahead of the game by providing space for parking and locking (a larger example from Tour De Fat is above). Of the various businesses I frequent, many are not equipped with bike racks or adequate places to park bikes upon arrival.
San Diego is encouraging people to ride bikes, use public transportation and is making adjustments to street signage, routes and bike lanes to accommodate riders (see, SANDAG for more information on biking to work, bike lockers, and more).
