Cork Bike Week: From bats to tricycles
The annual bike extravaganza kicked off this past weekend, and there's a list of cycle-themed events as long as a peloton. We have a look at some of the highlights.
Cork Bike Week kicked off this past weekend with some of the best and biggest in show as cargo bikes rolled into the plaza at Marina Park next to Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
The annual event, which is part of National Bike Week, runs from May 14-22 and comprises of hundreds of events all centred around the bicycle and its potential.
“The events provide a great opportunity for people to discover or rediscover the joy of cycling and allow people to gain confidence cycling on public roads in the safety of numbers,” Tom Hennessy, one of the lead organisers of Cork Bike Week and a member of Cork Cycling Campaign, an advocacy group for cycling and cyclists told Tripe+Drisheen.
Indeed, many of the events scheduled throughout the week are cycle tours to scenic spots or around the city.
Cycling infrastructure in the city, especially the addition of segregated cycle lanes along streets such as South Mall, have been key to getting more people to cycle Mr Hennessy said.
But “while improvements have been made, Cork has a long way to go to ensure all people feel safe while cycling,” My Hennessy cautioned.
“There are many benefits to cycling and it should be a key focus of any progressive city’s transport policy,” Mr Hennessy said, noting that cycling is “environmentally friendly, cheap, healthy, and fun.”
Cork City Council has come in for criticism from cycling advocates who say that the official cycling data funnelled in the city’s transport plans for the next decade is outdated, and as a result the city’s targets for getting more people to cycle are not ambitious enough. Read more here about that story.
Highlights
One of the highlights of the first weekend was the Lee to Sea Greenway cycle. Cyclists from Cork Cycling Campaign and Lee to Sea Committee carried water from the Lee in Inniscarra all the way to the sea in Crosshaven, with cyclists joining in at different stages of the route as the peloton meandered through the city to Crosshaven.
Another highlight from the first weekend of Cork Bike Week was the cargo bike exhibition at Marina Park.
Mr Hennessy, who has been riding a cargo bike since 2019, but went all electric this year said the meeting of cargo bike owners was a great opportunity for people who are considering going down the route of a cargo bike, as well as to test out the bikes and ask questions.
Since opting for an electric cargo bike, Mr Hennessy said they’ve become a one-car family and the cargo bike has become the go-to mode of transport for getting his shopping done and ferrying his son around.
For the 50 kilometre cycle to Crosshaven on the first weekend of Cork Bike Week, Mr Hennessy transported a 15 kilogram speaker up front in the cargo basket.
“It was an absolute pleasure of a cycle. Electric bikes and not electric cars should be the focus of transport now and for the future,” he said.
What’s in store for the rest of Bike Week?
Ibop: One of the signature events of Bike Week in Cork is Ibop - the family-friendly disco on wheels that will close our the week of cycling. Ibop premiered at Bike Week in Cork last September and the editions since regularly attract a crowd of around 50 people (and dogs) on bikes
“The idea is simple, a large speaker is placed in a cargo bike, a cycle bus is formed, and the cyclists take over the streets for a disco on wheels. It’s loud, fun and a little wild but is very well managed by experienced campaign stewards ensuring the event is safe and open to al,” Mr Hennessy said, adding that you should make sure you bring your bells and whistles.
Time, date, place: 12: 45 pm, May 22, meeting on Grand Parade, Cork city centre
Graffiti tour: The past few years have seen some prominent artists such as Dublin-based ACHES and Conor Harrington from Bishopstown come to Cork and leave their mark(s) on walls around the city. Joe Breen will be leading a cycling tour to some of the city’s art works.
“The premise of the tour is a social graffiti tour around Cork to observe some of the wonderful unofficial and officially sanctioned graffiti and murals,” Mr Breen said.
Time, date, place: 12:45 pm, Saturday May 21, meeting at Cortado Coffee on the Marina
Bats and bikes: Tying in with the organisers of biodiversity week, there will be a cycling tour leaving the city centre heading out to Ballincollig Regional Park along the River Lee by the Mardyke and the Lee Fields. Along the way there’ll be a break for a picnic before the journey back to the city, and as the sun sets there will be opportunities for bat watching.
Time, date, place: 7 pm, Thursday May 19, meeting on Grand Parade, Cork city centre.
Adapt and adopt: The idea behind this hands-on workshop is to show the potential and adaptability of bicycles, especially for those with special mobility needs. Attendees are invited to get to grips with various bikes such as tricycles, handcycles, rickshaws and tandems on a car-free road. There will be help and advice on hand from Cope Foundation and Cork Community Bikes.
Time, date, place: 2 - 5 pm, Thursday May19, Lee Rowing Club, the Marina.
Bike doctors will also be showing up at a range of venues all this week including Fitzgerald’s Park and Cork University Hospital to fine tune your bike and provide tips about maintenance and repairs.
Make sure to visit the Cork Bike Week 2022 website here for a full list of events. And happy cycling.
