Saturday, July 30, 2011
Bikes Tired of High Gas Prices? Trade Your Car for a Bike at Tour de Fat
Posted by Josh Gross on Sat, Jul 30, 2011 at 5:00 PM
Tired of gas prices inching toward $4 per gallon and those financially crippling insurance payments every month? Tired of the ever-growing stack of parking tickets in your glove compartment? A beer company feels your pain and thinks their product can help.
Tour de Fat, the annual carnival of all things beer, bikes and bizarre is coming back to Boise on Saturday, Aug. 20, and the organization is looking to give a super-schmancy super-schmancy hand-built Black Sheep bicycle to an ambitious Boisean. The only catch: You have to give them your car.
From the Tour de Fat press release:
A highlight of Tour de Fat is the annual car-for-bike swap, and we’re still looking for a swapper to represent Boise in this challenge! At each Tour de Fat stop, one person hands over his or her car keys and commits to one year of living car-free. Each car-for-bike swapper will receive a hand-built Black Sheep commuter bike in return for their car.
Volunteers are chosen after submitting an application describing their desire to live sans-auto. To apply, go to New Belgium’s Tour de Fat Facebook page, click on events and your city of choice, and upload your application in one of three formats: video (two minutes or less, please), photo or the written word.
The primary requirement is that whomever hands over their keys will commit to a full year of bicycle commuting—unlike last year's honoree, whom this reporter spotted driving at The Hyde Park Street Fair a few months later. Busted.
So get in there, Boise. Quit paying through the nose just for the honor of driving a car and put the fun back between your legs where it belongs.
Comments (6)
Showing 1-6 of 6
Dear Josh Gross,
I am the honoree from last year, and feel deeply offended by what you say, that I am busted for driving A car to Hyde Park Street Fair. First of all, it was at the Les Bois (aka Crafty Bastards) Indie show last August that your paper puts on, that you put me down to my face by saying "That didn't last long." I do believe that was the very next weekend after I won the honor of trading my car and I was still in possession of my car. As a vendor at the show that hauls a canopy, 4 tables, hula hoops and jewelry there, I'd love to see you try that with a bike during the time frame within which we are allowed to set up. I have put on nearly 2000 miles this past year on that bike. How about you? I've joined the Treasure Valley Cycling Alliance, SWIMBA, and helped start the Ada Bicycle Alliance. I'm also doing a combo of air, ferry, train and tandem bike from Anchorage, Alaska to Boise, starting next Tuesday. I also represent the commuting community unlike many of the past year's winners, and I don't intend to stop riding once my year is up. I won't be selling this bike, nor trading it and I happen to be doing outreach for New Belgium on the Alaska to Boise tour.
So, until you put your money where your mouth is and figure out how hard it is to go from having a vehicle to not in one weekend, don't judge me. I highly encourage anyone to give up their car and find their freedom. It is definitely not always fun and not easy, but it is worth it.
Lisa Brady
like
dislikeHow unfortunate that you judge without truly doing your homework...shameful...bad journalism....Lisa is a great example of bike commuting and getting others to be more bike concious...it just proves you are not lucky enough to know her!
Regina H. Smith
Grrrrhhhhh!
No one put a gun to your head and forced you to volunteer for this.
I too am a bike commuter, and along with my wife, we pound out thousands of miles along Boise roads and the Green Belt. We would loved to have put our names in the hat for this bike but we didn't. You know why? BECAUSE WE KNEW WE COULDN'T LIVE BY THE RULES OF THE CONTEST!
You committed to not using a vehicle for a year and you failed...miserably.
If you cannot live by the rules, then don't enter the contest. I applaud your contributions to the biking community but it doesn't negate the fact you broke the rules.
Signed,
Big Dummy
Since when did BW readers become such literalists! If anyone embodies the spirit of bike commuting, advocacy and fun, it's Lisa. I highly doubt any of the other car traders have absolutely avoided riding/using a car for the entire year, and if they did, they weren't vendors selling their wares at an event, or residents of a very car-oriented state.
I've seen Lisa on that bike on many occasions, no matter the weather or time of day, and she's dedicated, to say the least.
Big Dummy, How did I fail miserably? Please check the rules of the car trade on New Belgium's website here: http://www.newbelgium.com/events/tour-de-f…. I cannot find anywhere there where they at New Belgium hold one to such a standard that one would not once set foot in a car. I cannot believe that you, and I think we know each other, would say that I am a failure. I am a fellow commuter and have been for a very long time. My support is fully behind the commuting community and I encourage everyone I know to do this as much as possible. It is proven that the commute to work is the very hardest of all to do, and I did not fail at this. I did learn to ride the bus in the winter months, chose to drive a 4 wheel drive during the big snowstorm in November and suffered a lot of other times.
Is it not the point of this contest to try to get people out of their cars and onto a bike as much as possible to reduce their carbon footprint? Is it not to change the way one thinks and perhaps turn that person who was lackadaisical in their commitment into a champion for the cause?
This article and subsequent reply from you, Big Dummy, makes me feel embarrassed for Boise. Your lack of support and failure to lift a glass for trying hard to make a VERY SIGNIFICANT change in my daily life just shows another reason why commuting programs fail. If it's not everyday, everywhere, then it is a FAIL.
Until I have someone tell me that I didn't inspire them to make at least one or two bike trips to work or the store, then I am not a failure. I have done what I should have done, which is be a HUMAN example of what can be done. I'm not perfect, I guess you are?
As the creators of the Tour de Fat we just wanted to jump in and give our two cents. Committing to commute by bike is something many of us at New Belgium do every day and we love that so many people have committed to join us by trading in their car for a bike at Tour de Fat stops around the country. Lisa is just one of many examples of people who are making the sacrifice to go car free, which can be easier some days than others. Although we would love for people to bike every day we understand that may not always be realistic. Swapping a car for a bike is no small task and we appreciate all of our swappers who are doing what they can to show everyone the benefits of two wheels. We looking forward to seeing everyone in Boise on August 20. Keep on riding
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