Last year’s attendance was an all-time record for the Cupertino Bike Fest, and this year maintained the same high level. Most notable for returning visitors was the all-day-long hustle and bustle of the festival. Right up until it closed at 1:00pm, the 11th Annual Bike Fest was full of community members making crafts, playing games, getting their bikes fixed, or trying out cool new e-bikes from Mike’s Bikes.
Walk Bike Cupertino at the Bike Fest
As always, Walk Bike Cupertino was integral to the success of the festival. Three of our board members (Jennifer Shearin, Helene Davis, and Seema Lindskog) acted as Bike Fest “Leads”, planning the festival logistics throughout the year under the leadership of Safe Routes Coordinator Birgit Werner and also supervising key activities during the festival. As in previous years, Walk Bike Cupertino did free all-ages helmet fittings, gave away free helmets for children through the Santa Clara County Office of Public Safety, and provided experienced local walking and biking information.
Rides continue to show high participation
About 180 participants enjoyed the 1.5 mile Family Ride and a whopping 90 participants pedaled for 9.5 miles on the Park Review ride. That’s exactly in line with last year’s numbers, though the mix of participants for the two different rides changed. This year, younger participants were encouraged to go on the shorter ride, which is easier for them to complete and includes the scavenger hunt. That increased the numbers for the Family ride by 30–and offset the long ride by 30 as well.
Returning favorites and new activities
The festival included returning activities and fun new ones, too. Returning were the popular “spin-art” booth where participants could ride and create art and the “Sledge-hammer” stationary bikes, which allowed two participants to race to see who could make the tower of LED lights rise to the top first. New activities included a craft by Eco Valley using recycled t-shirts to create tassels and jewelry; bike helmet decorating with Tino Eco including origami; and bike license plate creating with the Saratoga Bike Club. This year also brought bike art! Active Circle created cool chalk mosaics, and Eco Valley created a recycled material sculpture. Of course there were the perennial favorites: bike blender smoothie making, button making, the Bike Rodeo, and face painting. Event participants did not need to bring their own bike to enjoy any of the festival activities, except for the two chaperoned bike rides and the Bike Rodeo.
Birgit Werner (left)
Making the festival happen
Making the festival happen is a year-long endeavor. Birgit Werner, Safe Routes to School (SR2S) coordinator, assistant SR2S coordinator Chelsea Biklen, and Walk Bike Cupertino Board members Helene Davis, Jennifer Shearin, and Seema Lindskog met monthly to plan and organize. About 40 student volunteers also helped on Bike Fest Day, with several students acting as lead volunteers of specific booths. City staff member Matthew Schroeder from the Transportation Department, again helped with before and after logistics. Mayor Sheila Mohan spoke at the festival. Vice Mayor JR Fruen and Councilmember Kitty Moore also attended, sharing in the enjoyment of the participants. Thank you to all who helped make this a great day for all the residents, including Eco Valley for running the Sanitation Booth, but especially to Birgit Werner, who made it all possible.
We hope you can join us next year at the Bike Fest, or at the spring Earth Day Festival in 2025!
The information in this article is solely the opinion of the author and Walk-Bike Cupertino and does not reflect the opinions of any other organization or entity. For more information, contact WBC at info@walkbikecupertino.org.
