On July 12 New Belgium’s 2014 Tour de Fat descended upon Palmer Square Park harder than the downpour that turned the festival into an impromptu mud pit. Although the rain forced cancelation of the opening parade, the festival was a success as attendees persevered through the bad weather for another year of beer, music and revelry. This year the festival raised around $25,000 for West Town Bikes, a nonprofit based out of Humboldt Park. The festival, which maintained the same frenetic energy as last year’s event, featured the musical stylings of Mucca Pazza, plenty of elaborate costumes and a shared love of cycling.
Tour de Fat Comes In With The Rain
Although the Tour Da Fat Parade was cancelled, over fifty parents and kids and bike-friendly folks rode in the monthly Logan Square Kidical Mass. We meet monthly at Palmer Square, second Saturday of the month10:30am. June’s ride coincided perfectly with the Tour Da Fat. Because of the proximity of many of the wee participants to Palmer Square the rain was unable to keep us away. We had a blast, rode past the western access to the Bloomingdale trail, looped around the Illinois Centennial Monument, and were back to the Festival an hour later. Don’t be afraid of rain- it’s why we’re all here.