Costume booth! Bike parade! Giant Mercury cover with your face on it! All on the Waterfront tomorrow for the Tour de Fat.
- via BikePortland
New Belgium brewing hosts its annual ridiculous bike parade, jousting party and beer drinking fest tomorrow on the Waterfront. Your friends at the Mercury are handing out free costume materials (think shirts, spandex, sparkles) starting at 10AM — the parade starts at 11.
Bike fun like this is a big part of what’s great (and unique) about Portland’s bike culture. It’s good to have events that highlight the non-aggro, non-bike versus car aspects of riding a bike around town.
Since it’s right downtown, Tour de Fat ropes in a broader audience than similar events like Multnomah County Bike Fair. Last year I got so drunk with random German tourists that I had to wait out a hangover at 4PM in the Powell’s café. Just a warning.
So is it safe to say that this is your favorite corporate public relations event?
Exactly. I showed up a couple years ago expecting cheap beer, at least– nope. Long lines and $4 a pint. Why not buy a six-pack and join the countless examples of homegrown bike shenanigans happening all around you?
Definitely attend Tour De Fat if you need your wacky bike culture repackaged, placed in a corral and attended by dozens of clueless tourists.