Grid Shots: Tour de Fat 2012

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The Bike Barbarian wields a new bicycle awarded to an attendee who traded in his car for the bike.

On Saturday the Tour de Fat bicycle and beer festival organized by New Belgium Brewing (a Grid Chicago sponsor) returned to Palmer Square Park in the Logan Square neighborhood. Steven helped organize a cargo bike contingent in the morning bike parade. The event raised about $25,000 for West Town Bikes, a bike education center based in Humboldt Park. I swung by at the end of the fest and snapped a few photos.

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A corral full of freak bikes available for test rides.

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Howard Wu and Reymel Matos (a former West Town Bikes student profiled in my chapter on West Town in Amy Walker’s anthology “On Bicycles”) pose with Reymel’s sound bike.

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Detail from the elaborately decorated stage.

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The winner of the bike rides his new steed down a red carpet into the crowd.

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Chase Wreyford rides a miniature bike, normally ridden by children.

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A group of four pedal a makeshift quadricycle, constructed by combining two bicycles. They’re pulling a guy on a skateboard.

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Penny farthing!

Final three photos by Drew Baker.

 

Published by

John Greenfield

John has lived in Chicago since 1989 and has worked a number of bicycle jobs, from messenger to mechanic to managing the Chicago Department of Transportation's bicycle parking program, arranging the installation of over 3,700 bike racks. He writes regularly for Time Out Chicago, Newcity, Momentum and Urban Velo magazines and works at Boulevard Bikes in Logan Square.

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