Bike Ride with Gary Fisher and...other Bromptons!

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to join a bike ride with mountain biking legend Gary Fisher.  Mr. Fisher basically created the genre, and nowadays is going around the country to promote utilitarian biking.  This ride was sponsored by Trek of Tucson and Borderlands Brewing to benefit the Living Streeets Alliance.

Mr. Fisher was quite cheery and generous with his time, signing a bunch of autographs and posing for tons of photos.  I think some 200 cyclists turned out for the ride.  One of these cyclists rode up in his wife's orange Brompton.  Instant camaraderie!

The ride itself was a little annoying due to the start and stop nature of trying to move 200 cyclists through major traffic, but it all worked out due to the efforts of El Grupo volunteers dictating traffic.  

As we rode, Mr. Orange and I spot another Brompton!  And this one was the one I posted about last weekend.  Just like magnets, we clung together throughout the ride, and hung out together once we reached Borderlands (where we met up with Mrs. Orange).  We discussed lots of topics regarding Brompton ownership and we all had the same kind of commuting habits and dreams of touring long distances (inspired by the Path Less Pedaled).  I think we're on the path to something good here!  We exchanged emails and hopefully we'll get something organized soon, like maybe some kind of club or meetup group.  Definitely exciting times this week!

The Trek Store

Me & The Man.

The crowd gathers.

Mr. Orange and his (wife's) orange Brompton.  And Rosa's (in the background) is delicious.

En route.

The second Brompton waiting at a stop.

Since I forgot my lock, the second Brompton owner was kind enough to lock mine with his.

Party at Borderlands Brewery

Bromptons of Tucson

Yo Colorado! Part 3: Bonus - New Belgium Brewery

I was fortunate enough to be able to go on a tour of the New Belgium Brewery in Ft. Collins, Colorado.  Tours usually book up weeks in advance... I got the last spot for pretty much the only day I could go, and they were able to accommodate my buddy Saul, even though he didn't have a reservation.

Instead of me writing on the history of New Belgium, I'll let you read their version here if you want to.

One of the most impressive things about the company is that it is employee owned, so everyone has a stake in making a quality product and everyone profits when they do well.  They are consistently named as one of the best places to work in America by Outside Magazine.

They are also very energy conscious, capitalizing on opportunities for not only minimizing energy loss through innovative processes, but also utilizing alternative sources of energy.  New Belgium was the first brewery to harness wind power in the United States.

New Belgium is the third largest craft brewery in the United States, behind Samuel Adams and Sierra Nevada.  But New Belgium is only sold in 28 states, while the other two are sold in all 50 states.  Apparently lots of big names in the industry had taken tours just to see what all the hype was about, namely Guinness and Samuel Adams.

In addition to checking out the big machines used in the brewing process, we got to sample a few types of beer, including sour La Folie.  Sounds gross, but it's actually very good if you give it a chance.

On to the pics!

New Belgium Brewing HQ

A slide and a foosball table?  What kind of business is this?

How many bottles on the lamp?  I think it was 154 if I remember correctly

Electric car pump

Rare La Folie sour brown ale

Massive oak barrels for some of their more experimental beers

Badge of honor

The enzymes and $#*% are collaborating together to make some kind of mixture...

Hmm...beeeer.

Salud! or Prost! or something.

Spongebob Squarepants

Decisions, decisions

These are the company issued bikes after your first year of employment.

With the new headbadge, we are now kindred spirits.  And share magical powers.