Sam Lingo models his Official Wyman Run 2003 T-shirt, and a tallbike.

Texan Rusty Lipsey, with son (right) and friends, made the trek to Louisiana with four of his moto-kustoms.

Ernie Dopp was there with a flock of his vintage beauties. His 20" Schwinn Phantom Ghost Restoration was a hit.

C.G. Mouch with his hot-rodded Dyno MoonBike. Powered by a tricked-out BikeBug, it was visually striking.

The Louisiana Bicycle Festival at Abita Springs had its second go-round on Father's Day, June 16. Once again, a good time was had by all. The event is under the auspices of artist John Preble's UCM Museum, a low-brow cultural icon in this recently-bike-crazy historic community between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. The Tammany Trace bike path here has wrought a profound effect on local life; being responsible for cycling becoming a major recreational activity among the town's citizenry, of all ages. The Bike Fest is shaping up to be the perfect community celebration reflecting this new spirit- a community-wide bike-oriented block party, unlike any other bike meet we've encountered.  BR&K's Dave Wilson, a resident of nearby Baton Rouge covered the event for us last year, with the result that we participated in the event this year, by sponsoring the KustomBike part of the festivities. Festival-goers voted on the "People's Choice" Kustom Bike award. The winner was young Miles Hamaker, who created an Art Bike using what passes for a local natural resource- Mardi Gras beads. The beads, tossed to parade viewers during New Orleans' annual big event, are accumulated by everyone around here. They made their appearance as part of the garnish on several bikes, along with balloons, streamers, feather boas, and the like. Miles took them to the extreme, however, covering the entire surface of his creation with the beads. It was quite a tasty machine, with obviously great appeal to the fun-loving crowd. Entrants in the event covered a wide spectrum of creative bike types, from the mild to the extremely wild, including several denizens of the BR&K Gallery. The KustomBike entries numbered 34, submitted by 22 builders. Rusty Lipsey was one of the out-of-town BR&K contingent, who travelled from Texas with four of his motorized creations, including his kustom recumbent chopper, and his Moto-Shark Cruiser from BR&K's last issue. Also in from Texas was Sam Lingo, who came with one of his early-bike creations. Sam is a member of the Wyman Centennial Run of 2003, and is doing the basic construction of the 1903 California Replica Road Bike, which will be ridden by Rif Addams from San Francisco to New York City, next year. The eclectic bike parade, escorted by a pair of cruisers of the extremely-bike friendly Abita Springs Police Dept., wended its way through the town, starting at 1:30 PM, to great public acclaim. Abita Springs is like a fantasy of the bike-advocacy crowd, in which the good guys win. What a concept! It's a safe assumption that next year's event will be even more fun. It's for sure that BR&K will be there again.                                                                    Jim Wilson

The Louisiana Bicycle Festival at Abita Springs had its second go-round on Father's Day, June 16. Once again, a good time was had by all. The event is under the auspices of artist John Preble's UCM Museum, a low-brow cultural icon in this recently-bike-crazy historic community between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. The Tammany Trace bike path here has wrought a profound effect on local life; being responsible for cycling becoming a major recreational activity among the town's citizenry, of all ages. The Bike Fest is shaping up to be the perfect community celebration reflecting this new spirit- a community-wide bike-oriented block party, unlike any other bike meet we've encountered.  BR&K's Dave Wilson, a resident of nearby Baton Rouge covered the event for us last year, with the result that we participated in the event this year, by sponsoring the KustomBike part of the festivities. Festival-goers voted on the "People's Choice" Kustom Bike award. The winner was young Miles Hamaker, who created an Art Bike using what passes for a local natural resource- Mardi Gras beads. The beads, tossed to parade viewers during New Orleans' annual big event, are accumulated by everyone around here. They made their appearance as part of the garnish on several bikes, along with balloons, streamers, feather boas, and the like. Miles took them to the extreme, however, covering the entire surface of his creation with the beads. It was quite a tasty machine, with obviously great appeal to the fun-loving crowd. Entrants in the event covered a wide spectrum of creative bike types, from the mild to the extremely wild, including several denizens of the BR&K Gallery. The KustomBike entries numbered 34, submitted by 22 builders. Rusty Lipsey was one of the out-of-town BR&K contingent, who travelled from Texas with four of his motorized creations, including his kustom recumbent chopper, and his Moto-Shark Cruiser from BR&K's last issue. Also in from Texas was Sam Lingo, who came with one of his early-bike creations. Sam is a member of the Wyman Centennial Run of 2003, and is doing the basic construction of the 1903 California Replica Road Bike, which will be ridden by Rif Addams from San Francisco to New York City, next year. The eclectic bike parade, escorted by a pair of cruisers of the extremely-bike friendly Abita Springs Police Dept., wended its way through the town, starting at 1:30 PM, to great public acclaim. Abita Springs is like a fantasy of the bike-advocacy crowd, in which the good guys win. What a concept! It's a safe assumption that next year's event will be even more fun. It's for sure that BR&K will be there again.                                                                    Jim Wilson

Chris Chalmers' "Kiddy-'Bent" was under continual use by the festival's younger participants.

C.G. Mouch with his hot-rodded Dyno MoonBike. Powered by a tricked-out BikeBug, it was visually striking.

Families were the predominant festival-goers, or at least the most noticeable.

Ernie Dopp was there with a flock of his vintage beauties. His 20" Schwinn Phantom Ghost Restoration was a hit.

A guy named Mark wore this fetching high-heeled "slipper bike" in the festival's bike parade.

People's Choice Winner, Miles Hamaker's Mardi Gras beaded cruiser. Miles' prize was a Mongoose MBX comfort bike, donated by the local Wal-Mart store.

Created especially for the Fest, Host/Organizer John Preble's "Horse-igator" Bike was one of the more striking ArtBikes on display.

The horse was a popular motif among the ArtBike crowd.

There weren't many LowRiders on hand, but the ones there were tasty.

Texan Rusty Lipsey, with son (right) and friends, made the trek to Louisiana with four of his moto-kustoms.

Steve Struck (center), of Baton Rouge, was a hit with festival-goers by bringing a trailer full of his whimsical wildbikes, free for all to ride and play with.

There was a generous quota of tallbikes present, including this tall tandem.

Sheilah Ware was stylin' with her animal-accessorized muscle bike. Only artificial animals were harmed in its creation, however.

Sam Lingo models his Official Wyman Run 2003 T-shirt, and a tallbike.

Tyree Willis (83), who rides the bike path every day, is admired by BR&K's Jim Wilson, who doesn't.

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