The Tralee Blog

As I already wrote yesterday there is currently a great new festival underway in Tralee. Although I was quite sure that the Kerry Bicycle Festival was going to be a success at the time I wrote it I didn’t know any of the guys who organized it then, nor had I visited any of the events so far. I had the chance to change that fact yesterday evening as well as today and it turned out to be great fun indeed.

Unfortunately other commitments didn’t let me arrive in time for the opening of the discussion in the Samhlaiocht Gallery, but I happened to be there for the best part of the session and so I met many great people with very interesting ideas. Besides some smaller projects there were talks about a promising new cycleway along the old North Kerry railway line between Tralee and Fenit. Although there are apparently still some problems to be solved it was clear from the discussion that this idea would be greatly appreciated by everybody in the room - which had been filled to the last seat. The Mayor of Tralee, Miriam McGillycuddy, was actively involved in the discussion and proved to be a great supporter of the idea of cycling. Hopefully the town council will follow some of the ideas mentioned yesterday.

The second part of the evening - after a short tea break - was filled with some very entertaining short movies, all bicycle related in one way or the other. I enjoyed it!

Today at noon I came back for more and took part in the supervised family cycle from the Ashe Memorial Hall in Denny Street to Blennerville and back. Even considering the good weather and the weekend (which made it a very easy decision to get out and cycle) I was surprised by the great number of people who joined the event. The pace of the cycle was leisurely, so the younger participants had a chance to keep up with the crowd. To ensure a safe journey we were accompanied by a kind cycle garda. Just see the gallery, but remember that some of the pictures were take while cycling. So please excuse the quality.

                                                                                             In the afternoon performances and a workshop took place in the town square (you can see the stage on the last picture) while the closing event for the inaugural festival will be the country cycle to Ballyseedy Wood tomorrow. Don’t forget your picnic basket!

The very personal experience I took home today: I never saw so many people smile before, even the drivers and passengers of the cars that had to wait and let us pass didn’t look too angry.

Congrats to the hosts and thanks a lot for putting that much thought and effort into your idea. Ireland surely needs more bicycles and far less cars on the road - and this is exactly the way to promote cycling. I look forward the Kerry Bicycle Festival 2009!