‘Big bike party’ celebrates power of the simple bicycle

KITCHENER — Yoga geared to cyclists, free bicycle checkups, even the chance to win a new bicycle.

Those are some of the events lined up for BikeFest, a free community festival “which celebrates the power of the simple bicycle and its role in positively transforming our health, environment, and community.”

On the last Sunday in May, Carl Zehr Square in front of Kitchener City Hall will be filled with bicycles and those who love them.

“It’s a big bike party sort of thing,” says Danny Pimentel, who heads the city’s efforts to encourage cycling. “There will be free bike checkups, music, food, skills challenges.”

People can test their skills in balance exercises developed by CAN-Bike, or do a yoga session on the square, or take in a demonstration of bike polo.

“They’re going to have their bikes, and people can hop on them and try it out and see what it’s like,” Pimentel said of the K-Dub bicycle polo club. “I was amazed at the skills, at the balance that those guys have. They play with one hand on the bike all the time because they’re holding the mallet.”

The festival is aimed not only at cyclists but also at those who might like to get out more on a bicycle, with information and booths on cycling trails around the city, cycling skills and safety courses, Community Access Bikeshare and more, he said. Among the prizes on offer are two bikes, as well as bike locks, and a Bikeshare membership.

Organizers are encouraging people to come to the festival on their bicycles. There will be opportunities for people to get their bikes looked over, learn how to repair flat tires, and to park their bikes at a secure location for free.

When the festival wraps up at 2 p.m., cyclists can join the 2017 Cycle for Angels, a three-kilometre family-friendly, police-supported bike ride to promote sharing the road and to remember those hurt or killed while cycling.

More information is available on the city’s website at kitchener.ca.

The festival is at Kitchener City Hall on Sunday, May 28, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

DAVID BEBEE, RECORD STAFF Danny Pimentel, active transportation planning project manager for the City of Kitchener, uses a bike-fix station at city hall on Wednesday.