I brought some MORE SWAG to The New Belgium Bike Summit... and rather than trade... I tried to hook up some of the people at NEW BELGIUM! But there were exceptions...



New Belgium Brewery 

The 2013 New Belgium Bike Summit in Fort Collins Colorado

last week I attended The New Belgium Bike Summit
a gathering of bicycle advocates from all over the country
people from various bicycle advocacy groups from the 12 cities of the Tour de Fat tour met to discuss how to be more effective advocates and how to build a better Tour de Fat

sort of a you show me your... I show you mine
between bicycle advocates

Tour de Fat

12 Cities!
Washington DC June 1st
second stop on the tour... ATLANTA GEORGIA IS FIRST!



cool custom hood ornament on the company vehicle
approaching on the left is Ryan McKee

Ryan McKee, a New Belgium employee, was the speaker at one of the breakout sessions
and
Ryan lead the mountain bike ride
for that... Ryan McKee earned that MORE work shirt... that ride was amazing!
sure I would have loved to have traded some swag... but I wanted to say thanks

funny... the day prior to the mountain bike group ride I got Ryan to show me on a map how to get to dirt
good thing I only looped the flat land stuff and then zipped back to town
I would have surely gotten lost and ended up in Kansas or better yet... Wyoming!
either way... I would have missed the afternoon meeting

correct me if I am wrong... Ryan McKee is a designer with New Belgium
in house graphic designer... and I know he designed one or some of the New Belgium Cruisers
did Ryan design this years New Belgium Cruiser? 

this years's New Belgium Cruiser is a 29er... AND I WANT ONE!



this guy was from LA
it was this guy's Birthday... that earns him a shirt!
although we did not speak extensively 
we had a nice exchange when we crossed path through out the "summit"
I got a good feeling about him
it pleased me to see him wearing his MORE shirt later in the week



Terry of IMBA
hung out with Terry a fair amount
not so much in the training sessions
but in the bars and on the bike
nice guy
we did not talk much about the current engagement and the future marriage of MORE and IMBA
just shot the shit and hung out


 
this is Bryan... another New Belgium employee

not sure what he does there
Bryan lead the VIP Brewery tour and was on the mountain bike ride
it was fun hanging out with Bryan
on the tour... in the meetings... on the bike... in the bars
no matter where... good hanging with Bryan
or is that Brian?


Matt Moore of QBP and the LAB
Matt and I rode together on the day of check in
it was good to meet Matt 
he is a solid guy and a solid rider
smart and friendly too!





I just thought that these guys could all use a clean shirt
or some deodorant
but I did not have an extra four sticks of Speed Stick
so I threw some shirts their way


this woman was rad
on the mountain bike ride she represented San Diego well
strength-speed-and finesse
I was stoked to have a shirt in her size!
most definitely technical...  I am sure that she was capable of a lot more than these trails demanded of her
cool to see the MORE work shirt in action



that is Brad of the Denver Cruiser Ride
interesting guy
we drank whiskey and listened to jazz
live jazz
and lots of whiskey
primo jazz and primo whiskey


oh... and Joanna another New Belgium Employee
Joanna works with the Clips Beer and Film Festival
just by chance...
I needed a ride from Boulder to Fort Collins 
and
Joanna was going from Boulder to Fort Collins the morning I needed a ride
GO FIGURE!
nice meeting Joanna

the people at New Belgium are a special sort
chicken or egg?
does New Belgium make people special?
or 
do only special people work at New Belgium?
yes... special
why are you laughing?

they are special!

I went to The New Belgium Bike Summit unsure what to expect
sure... I figured i would have fun...
after all... it is Colorado
there is a special place in my heart for Colorado
but what was I to expect... what would I learn? what would I experience?

what I did not expect is to start the long weekend with an assortment of strangers
and then end the weekend with an assortment of friends

New Belgium is a special company
what this company does for cycling culture of the cities that host Tour de Fat is AMAZING!
Tour de Fat is part of the cycling culture in each of these cities
Tour de Fat facilitates the growth of their culture

Tour de Fat is new to Washington DC
I look forward to witnessing its growth
but let that growth be natural... not forced
so many good things are ruined with forced unnatural growth