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Pedal power: Bike tour sign-ups under way
By Donna Stinnett,Sunday, July 8, 2007

Bicycles. Bluegrass music.

In Henderson in mid-August, those two things go together like cornbread and sorghum molasses.

This year is no exception. The fourth-annual Pickin' and Pedalin' Bike Tour is set for Saturday, Aug. 11, and held in conjunction with the 22nd-annual Bluegrass in the Park Folklife Festival.

The bike tour, which features three routes of varying lengths, benefits Habitat for Humanity. There's special savings for those who register for the tour before July 31.

On the day of the tour, bicyclists can choose from three routes: a 12-mile, 38-mile or 62-mile route starting from the registration tent in Audubon Mill Park on Water Street, which is also the location of the Bluegrass festival.

Since it's a tour and not a race, riders can start at their leisure between the hours of 8-10 a.m. Riders who choose to start early may not have all the benefits of the rest stops, which are set up to include refreshments, restrooms, rider support and live bluegrass entertainment.

For information and early registration, visit www.pickinaandpedalin.com.

The Downtown Henderson Project's annual all-you-can-eat pancake and sausage breakfast also will be available from 7-10 a.m. that Saturday morning, and tickets are $6.

As for the Bluegrass festival, it starts on Thursday, Aug. 9, with the Fiesta in the Park and runs through Saturday evening.

Thursday's fiesta music program features two bands, Mariachi Estrella and John England & the Western Swingers.

Friday's schedule is an expanded program from past festivals with music getting under way at 3:30 p.m. and running until midnight.

Friday bands are: The Blind Corn Liquor Pickers, King's Highway, Timberline Drive, Kickin' Grass and Carrie Hassler & Hard Rain.

Saturday's music begins with a breakfast concert by Keith Vincent and runs the rest of the day with music by River City Bluegrass, Wildfire, Kickin' Grass, Timberline Drive, Dave Peterson & 1946 and Cadillac Sky.

For more information about Bluegrass in the Park Folklife Festival, visit bluegrassintheparkfestival.com

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Really rollin': Popular bike tour held in conjunction with bluegrass fest only in second year

The Gleaner-Henderson KY
By DONNA B. STINNETT, Features, August 6, 2005

It might seem a bit daunting to collect eight helmets and air up eight sets of tires to go on a bicycle ride, but that's not usually an obstacle for the family of John and Ann Hodge.

And it was no big deal on a beautiful Saturday morning last August when the entire Hodge clan rode the 10-mile route of the Pickin' and Pedalin' Bike Tour, which was started last year as an event of the Bluegrass in the Park Festival.

"It was a fun event.... well-organized, thoughtful," said John Hodge, who said he appreciated all the volunteers and the music that was played at rest stops along the way.

"It was family-focused and a celebration of bicycling in Henderson," said Hodge, who was joined by wife Ann and children John, 14, David, 13, Sarah, 11, Hannah, 9, Grace, 7, and Samuel, 4.

Samuel, who was 3 at the time and spent most of the ride in a bike trailer, even rode a couple of miles on his bike with training wheels.

Hodge said his family decided in the last day or so before the tour to take the 10-mile route.

"For us with a lot of little ones, it was weather dependent," Hodge said. "But it turned out to be a beautiful day."

It's not unusual for the family to go out together on a pretty Saturday, though it's usually a shorter ride.

"The distance was probably farther than we would normally putter around. We go through town and hit the highlights," he said, "which means anywhere there's a milkshake."

But he added that the flat course that was broken up into segments made it very conducive to a family outing.

"We'll be looking forward to going back out, it was such a positive event," Hodge added.

That's going to be possible on Saturday, Aug. 13, when the second "Pickin' & Pedalin' Bike Tour" takes place, once again during Bluegrass in the Park.

Last year, organizers were astounded when 75 people pre-registered for the ride and 350 showed up.

"Many commented last year on how much fun the tour was and how they are looking forward to doing it again," said Nibby Priest, an avid bicyclist and an organizer of the event.

Priest said that this year's event will offer three lengths: 12-mile, 36-mile and 62-mile (metric century) tours.

"Both the 36 and 62 are totally new routes," he said. "The 62-mile route is simply spectacular. There is this one spot that you see a bend in the Green River . If you go and stand on the side of the river and yell 'Hello' just a few seconds later it will echo back to you 'hello'!

Registration will begin at 7:30 a.m. in Audubon Mill Park and the routes open at 8 a.m. It's a staggered start and bicyclists go at their own pace. The rest areas, which feature bluegrass entertainment, refreshments, restrooms, will close at 1 p.m. Riders in the tour must wear helmets. Registration fee is $18 and proceeds benefit Habitat for Humanity of Henderson.

Priest has some personal goals for the bicycle tour.

"It's to encourage Henderson folks to be more active -- to exercise -- and to appreciate the beautiful outdoors on a bike in a safe manner," he said. "It's to increase awareness amongst automobile drivers to share the road and to show elected officials that Henderson people want places to bike.

" Henderson never has recognized bicycling as a viable sport around our community/county," Priest added. "It is something every age level can do."

Local News: http://www.courierpress.com/ecp/gleaner_news/article/0,1626,ECP_4476_3982446,00.html

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Courier Press - The Gleaner
By Victoria Marty, Henderson Gleaner staff, August 8, 2004

Bicycles, Bluegrass Create Successful Combo

Somewhere out there is a 1940s-era washing machine that is getting quite a fine reputation.

First of all, the appliance was touted by now-deceased bluegrass legend John Hartford for years, and most recently, it made a comeback in Brennen Leigh's version of "(Good Old Electric) Washing Machine (Circa. 1943)" at the 2004 Bluegrass in the Park Festival on Saturday.

"He was quite the amazing picker," Leigh said of Hartford after she and the other three members of her self-titled band took a break from a 50-minute stint on stage.

Saturday's performance was the first time Leigh had been in Kentucky. She and her brother, Seth Hulbert, hail from Minnesota, but lately they've been spending an awful lot of time in Austin, Texas - their home base outside of concerts with band members Matt Raum and Daniel DiPietro.

Still, Leigh was happy to sing for an estimated crowd of 2,500 onlookers who spent the afternoon enjoying the breeze and sunshine under the trees of Audubon Mill Park, where the event was centered - if you don't count the 33-mile bike ride around Henderson County that took place that morning.

Roughly 300 bike riders descended upon Henderson on Saturday morning to tour the eastern portion of the county in the first ever "Pickin' and Pedalin'."

"It was a tremendous success," said Nibby Priest, one of the event's organizers, who added that more than three-quarters of the participants were from outside of Henderson.

"We expected 150 riders ... (so) it posed a little bit of a problem - we ran out of T-shirts, maps and handouts."

But that didn't bother Evansville bicyclists Tom and Margie Chappell and Carol and Keith Moore, who spent the latter part of the day after the ride at a picnic table listening to bluegrass tunes.

"They had it real well marked, so we couldn't get lost," said 59-year-old Tom Chappell. He and his crew rode 33 miles along Kentucky 1078 and Larue, Airline and Tom Smith roads, among others, before their favorite band, Canoe Creek, hit the stage.

"We'll do this again next year," said Carol Moore, adding that the day's trek was shorter than she's used to. She and her friends and husband often ride 100 miles per day on outings. But, she said, "this is a great set-up ... the route was really good and it1s a beautiful day."

The day's activities also included chess, checkers and basket-weaving for children and adults. One of the bluegrass festival's organizers, Ashley Denton, said the concert series was a hit.

"We couldn't have ordered more perfect weather, and the people have been in great spirits," she said. "We had a lot of new events like the Fiesta on Thursday and the bike tour (on Saturday), and we had great participation on both counts. We will have them again, definitely."