Here's one of the decorated cruisers that the Fort Collins Downtown Business Association was hoping people would bring out.

Fortoberfest

It’s a small miracle that I managed to get Colleen to come to Fortoberfest. Presumably, the two-wheeled part of the inaugural festival’s motto of “bikes, bands and beer” did not interest her all that much considering she does not own a bike (the one which she had owned was stolen), much less six like normal people such as myself. But she didn’t mind strolling around Old Town Fort Collins with me, bouncing between the music sets, beer booths, and, yes, bicycles.

She even did her best to seem enthusiastic when I told her, “Let me show you a bamboo bike.” Alas, Panda and Boo Bicycles (both Fort Collins-based purveyors of frames made from the tubular renewable resource) were nowhere to be found. It would have been amazing if they had made it down considering the two companies’ representatives had been at Interbike, the continent’s largest bike expo, in Las Vegas the previous four days.

No matter—the weather was lovely, music was playing, and colorful cruisers dotted the closed roads. And there were enough bike booths to keep me interested, and few enough of them to prevent Colleen from getting bored. She even encouraged me to stop by “The Bike Wizard” where a cycling buff quizzed festival goers on bike trivia.

There I correctly answered all “expert level” questions correctly, including correctly naming a structural tube (“chainstay”), the parts of a wheel (spokes, nipples, hub, rim), and some of the forefathers of mountain biking (Gary Fisher, Keith Bontrager, Tom Ritchey, and Steve Potts of Wilderness Trail Bicycles), to earn a brass handlebar bell and a headlight. These will probably go on the Huffster:

More schwag I won from the Bike Wizard.
More schwag I won from the Bike Wizard.

I also managed to win Colleen a stylish brown cap. Here she is modeling it. Personally, I think it goes quite well with her lizard necklace:

Colleen modeling a hat I won for her by answering "expert-level" bicycle trivia questions correctly.

Maybe now this bicycle-deprived woman will even want to get a bike? In any case, we had a great time.

Here's one of the decorated cruisers that the Fort Collins Downtown Business Association was hoping people would bring out.
Here's one of the decorated cruisers that the Fort Collins Downtown Business Association was hoping people would bring out.
The Rio Grande margarita truck.
The Rio Grande margarita truck.
Cruisers outside Gearage.
Cruisers outside Gearage.
New Belgium cruiser in bike parking.
New Belgium cruiser in bike parking.
One could visit The Bike Wizard to test his own bike knowledge and win prizes.
One could visit The Bike Wizard to test his own bike knowledge and win prizes.
Niner Bicycles now has a headquarters in Fort Collins.  (They started out of Los Angeles.)
Niner Bicycles now has a headquarters in Fort Collins. (They started out of Los Angeles.)
A Big Shot fixie.  Big Shot is based in Fort Collins.
A Big Shot fixie. Big Shot is based in Fort Collins.
Black Sheep are custom built bicycles made in Fort Collins.
Black Sheep are custom built bicycles made in Fort Collins.