BATON ROUGE, LA: For immediate release
2nd Annual Velo Louisiane Bicycle Festival Weekend
April 9- 10, 2011
Velo Louisiane is a statewide celebration of all forms of human-powered cycling. The 2nd Annual Velo Louisiane festivities in Baton Rouge
This FREE, FAMILY-FRIENDLY festival includes bike parades, demonstrations, competitions, and more! Check the velola.org website schedules, event locations, and updates.
Last year’s festival, attended by nearly 1,000 citizens, helped to publicize important considerations of bicycle safety and motorist awareness while being fun, engaging, and entertaining.
A number of important bicycle-related things have occurred around the state since the first annual festival Velo Louisiane 2010:
· The local Metropolitan Planning Organization received grant funding for a Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Campaign.
· Safety Campaign events and publicity have included a public workshop, the 1st Annual Rudolph Ride stressing the need for bicyclist visibility, especially at night.
· Bicycle-safety and bike-friendly-business concepts presented at the Baton Rouge Business Report’s Leadership Power Breakfast.
· BREC opened a refurbished and expanded cycling-sports facility at Perkins Road Community Park
· A groundbreaking ceremony for the nearly 2 mile Levee Path extension down river to Farr Park
· Refurbished multi- use paths in the Lakes Area.
· Revised Louisiana laws including: requiring a red tail lights at night; increased penalties for failure-to-yield (Pickholtz Law); refinement of Colin Goodier 3-feet law; allowance for cycling on paved roadway shoulders; right-hand signaling for right turns; limited liability of levee districts for walkways and bike paths;
· Complete Streets legislation requiring transportation planners to consider all roadway users in context sensitive setting;
· Share-the-Road specialty license plates.
Since 2010, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of cyclists on our streets whether for sport, exercise, or basic transportation. Research indicates the more people bicycle on our streets and roadways the safer bicycling becomes. This effect carries over to greater safety for motorists and pedestrians as well.
Velo Louisiane will begin to roll on Saturday morning, April 09. Here are some of the events for Saturday:
· 9 AM, Mayor Holden’s Annual Family Fun Ride. The midpoint of the ride will include a “Blessing of the Bikes” ceremony at Saint Joseph
Main Street.
Main Street.
· 9 AM, the 2011 Hooper Hustle Mountain Bike Race at BREC’s Hooper Road Mountain Bike Trails,
6261 Guynell Drive.
6261 Guynell Drive.
· 3 PM, BRASS Velo Covert group ride will explore “hidden” routes to Perkins Road Park
· 7 PM, BREC’s Perkins Road Community Park
· 7 PM, Chelsea’s Café, 2857 Perkins Road, will host the Velo Louisiane Bicycle Party and Social with Goldsprints Competitions, a Bike Art Show, and more.
Velo Louisiane continues Sunday with all events at BREC’s Perkins Road Community Park
Sunday’s main events begin at Noon at the Perkins Road Community Park