The third annual Rebel Pedal is Cork’s cycling parade and picnic (OK a party in the open) is on Saturday 19th of September. (Yes, the ninth year CEF has held a bicycle parade in the city, but the third Rebel Pedal. ) Its organised by Cork Environmental Forum in conjunction with ‘European Mobility Week‘ and coinciding with ‘Europe No Car Day’.
This unique festival provides a safe environment for many who would be nervous of cycling around the city and shows what a pleasant experience it really is. Last year there were around 650 cyclists involved so you won’t be the only one out there.
And its not just bikes, local groups supporting the parade include Cork Cycling Campaign who are organising feeder rides from various suburban points to the starting point of the parade, and Cork Community Bikes who have provided spectacular pedal powered creations for the parade. There will be two pedal-powered smoothie makers at the picnic party - courtesy of Cork Circus Company.
I spoke to Adam D’arcy of the Cork Cycling Campaign and Patrick Treacy of the Cork Environmental Forum about the day.
(Will) So who are you?
(Adam) My name is Adam D’Arcy (originally from Limerick but live and work in cork City) and I am part of the Cork Cycling Campaign (Part of www.cyclist.ie). [We campaign] for better conditions for cyclists - less cr*p cycle lanes and more bike friendly streets. I’m an architect by profession.
(Patrick) I am the development coordinator of Cork Environmental Forum (CEF), a not-for-profit organisation that works to foster and promote sustainable development in County Cork. CEF was started in 1995 by the then county manager to implement local agenda 21 actions in the county. The management and membership of the organisation are drawn from the four pillars of society (Business & Commercial, Public Sector, Community & Voluntary and Individuals) who work together on a varied programme of work. CEF now also has one full time and one part time staff member.
(Will) What is Rebel Pedal, and what are you doing as part of it?
(Patrick) The Rebel Pedal is an annual bicycle parade and picnic party in Cork City, organised by Cork Environmental Forum with the support of Cork City Council. It will be held on Saturday 19th September 2009 during European Mobility Week.
(Patrick) The event highlights the positive aspects of cycling as an easy, healthy, joyful and family-oriented activity as well as a convenient transport means in Cork City. Anyone and everyone is welcome on the cycle - experienced cyclists and those who will dig out the old bike from the garage or borrow one.
(Patrick) In September 2008 over 650 people took part and partied their way to the Atlantic Pond where a large picnic party was waiting with juggling, clowns, massages, music, dance performance, face painting for children and cycling workshops. Registration is open now on www.rebelpedal.ie where you will also find lots of photos and videos of previous years’ events.
(Will) So This only started last year?
(Adam) The Rebel Pedal, or Rebel Pedal Parade started off about 10 years ago as a short cycle around the city organised by the Cork Environmental Forum with the idea to cycle with the Lord Mayor on ‘Car Free Day’ which was always on the 22nd of September. This was and is an international event to encourage commuters out of their cars and to start using public transport, walking, cycling and car sharing. They usually got a small group - about 6 or 7 cyclists and on a good year about 20 or 30 people cycling.
(Adam) Then in 2007 the day happened to fall on a Saturday so they decided to go for it and promote it to make it into a much bigger event. So in 2007 about 400 cyclists turned up and in 2008 about 700 cyclists took part. It attracts all ages and cycling abilities and ends with a festival atmosphere with street performers, music, face painting (of course), bike doctor [who] does a bike check-up. This year they hope to get 1000 cyclists.
(Adam) In the meantime the ‘Car Free Day’ has become ‘Mobility Week‘ which is a Europe wide initiative organised in cork by city council traffic promotion division.
(Will) And what are you doing this year?
(Adam) I have helped to organise the rebel pedal with the CEF and other groups during the last 2 years. I led one of the ‘feeder parades’ from the suburb of Wilton during those 2 years. There are about 4 feeder parades leading participants from the suburbs to the start point in the city centre. This year I will be away but am trying to help out as much as I can.
(Will) Why the parade and picnic?
(Patrick) The CEF has been holding a bicycle parade in Cork City since 2000. In the first couple of years there would only be 20-30 people taking part but the aim was to celebrate the joy of cycling around the city. These days the event is obviously much bigger but the idea is still the same and if anything it has become an even more family oriented day out and of course a bigger party!
(Adam) The idea is to have a fun event in the city where lots of people who may have a bike stored in the back of the garage, can use it as an excuse to pull it out and get back to cycling. The hope is that they will continue to cycle throughout the rest of the year to go to work or the shops or to school or just for fun. It gives the passersby a spectacle and the idea to take part themselves the following year. The event gives the participants the sense that they are part of a group and a sense of solidarity. They feel that they are displaying themselves to the city.
(Adam) Cycling makes lots of sense - it’s healthy, it’s cheap, it doesn’t cause any pollution or traffic congestion or noise, it’s faster than a car up to a distance of about 5km, it’s easy to maintain and store, it’s more in touch with nature and people and best of all it’s fun!
(Patrick) The picnic in the park at the end of the parade is an opportunity to bolster the community of cyclists in and around the city and encourage more people to cycle regularly. There will be entertainment and games for all the family and we hope to generate a feel-good factor around cycling and make many new connections between cyclists from different backgrounds.
(Adam) [Its] a great chance to meet and chat with all the other cyclists.
(Patrick) The Rebel Pedal has always attracted a lot of support from local cycling groups such as Cork Cycling Campaign, Cork Community Bikes and An Oige and this hopefully helped strengthen their groups by providing a focus.
(Will) Why Cork? It seems odd but why is this not a national event or spread out over different cities?
(Adam) The CEF are the ones who started this and they have put a lot of work into making it a big event.
(Patrick) Cork Environmental Forum is not a national organisation - our remit is to promote sustainable development in Co. Cork. Other cities in Ireland have organised their own European Mobility Week activities in the past and we would be very willing to help any other city or region who wanted to establish something similar.
(Adam) Sure, why not have this in every city in Ireland? and why not have it 2 or 3 times a year? Dublin does have a city cycle as far as I know and now there is a national Bike week in June. Bogota in Columbia closes off huge stretches of city roads every Sunday for walkers, cyclists and skaters and is a huge success. We could reclaim the streets from boring ol’ cars here too!
(Will) Note: Adam passed a link for the Limerick Car Free Parade so the idea is spreading.
(Will) Other than the parade, what makes this different from the picnic in the park?
(Patrick) What makes the Rebel Pedal picnic unique is that it is set up for cyclists and their families.
(Adam) With the Rebel Pedal there’s a sense of camaraderie and a feeling that people power can achieve things. The cycle is the main thing. The picnic is just the end of it.
(Patrick) Where possible the entertainment celebrates cycling, but really this is a relaxed and family friendly event open to anyone involved with the parade. As I said before the aim is to support the community of people involved in cycling around Cork City.
Anybody at all can get involved and it is free to register online at www.rebelpedal.ie , or on the morning of the parade. Please note that under-16s will have to be accompanied by a responsible adult (no more than 3 under-16s per adult).
It will start this Saturday in front of the GPO at 11:45am in Oliver Plunkett Street, Cork and the ride finishes at the Atlantic Pond where a bicycle-themed picnic party awaits the hungry revelers around 1pm.
For more information about the event please visit www.rebelpedal.ie.
Sounds like a lovely event, hope the weather keeps fine for the cyclists
Looks like a fun event, and improving the environment, kudos to the organisations involved. I work for the EPA in Boston, many folks here cycle into work, I like to get out on the bike but that would be a 40km commute for me though
Thanks for the above comments. The weather wasn’t hugely kind to us on the morning, but there was still a crowd of 450 taking part, showing what a large community of cyclists there is around the city. The event went really well, and I have a few new ideas for next year!