Bikes Abound at Forecastle Festival

This weekend's Forecastle Festival at the Belvedere in Louisville gave a glimpse of what "bike culture" could look like in Louisville. Dozens of bikes were locked along both sides of the entrance walkway, and another couple of dozen bikes were parked in the new valet bike parking racks set up by Bike Couriers Bike Shop just inside the gate. Some people walked their bikes or rode them (not a good idea in a crowded pedestrian environment) within the festival.

I saw more people wearing courier bags, bicycling hats, and bicycle-logo shirts than at any recent local event that did not have a bicycling theme. Many of the folks who came to the Bicycling for Louisville booth in the Activism area told us that they rode to work, rode everywhere, loved various types of riding... We didn't need to convince them that bicycling was a good idea!

We got a surprise bonus for participating in Forecastle this year. Visitors to the Activism area voted for their favorites among the 50 advocacy groups represented, with the top vote-getter receiving a $500 donation from Finlandia Vodka. They chose Bicycling for Louisville! Thanks to Brown-Forman (owner of Finlandia) for this generous donation and to all of the Forecastle Festival attenders who voted for Bicycling for Louisville. This donation will help us carry on the advocacy and education work that you have read about in this blog. If you would like to support our work or to volunteer, please visit our website.