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Bicycle Infrastructure

Eyes on the Street: Pedalfest Celebrates Everything About Bikes

3:36 PM PDT on July 24, 2017

A view of the parade of outrageous bikes at Pedalfest. (In the back is one of the amphibious bikes.) Photo Streetsblog/Rudick

The 7th annual Pedalfest in Jack London Square took place on Saturday, and was packed with bikes and bike lovers of all stripes. Presented by Bay Area Bicycle Law and Drake’s Brewing, Pedalfest is billed as Bike East Bay’s celebration of cycling, family, food, and fun.

An amphibious bike race set the tone: homemade bikes that doubled as aquatic vehicles raced from Jack London Square into the Oakland Estuary, across a stretch of water, and back. Rock the Bike brought its pedal-powered stage; Cyclecide, the "heavy pedaled bike rodeo," offered a few of its pedal-powered rides; and Whymcycles brought a crazy assortment of bikes that everyone was invited to try out.

Bike stunt shows, a chance to learn to ride a unicycle, Scraper Bike decorating booths, and of course information about local advocacy groups like Bike East Bay and Walk Oakland Bike Oakland rounded off the day.

There were lots of custom bikes to show off, including this golden scraper bike. Photo: Melanie Curry/Streetsblog
There were lots of custom bikes to ogle, including this golden scraper bike. Photo: Streetsblog/Melanie Curry
There were lots of custom bikes to show off, including this golden scraper bike. Photo: Melanie Curry/Streetsblog
One of the contestants in the amphibious bike race was this four-seater. Photo: Ginger Jui/Bike East Bay
One of the contestants in the amphibious bike race was this four-seater. Photo: Bike East Bay/Ginger Jui
One of the contestants in the amphibious bike race was this four-seater. Photo: Ginger Jui/Bike East Bay
Cyclecide's pedal-powered....dizzy machine? Photo: Alfonso Alvarez/Streetsblog
Cyclecide's pedal-powered....dizzy machine? The faster you pedal, the faster you spin. Photo: Streetsblog/Alfonso Alvarez
Cyclecide's pedal-powered....dizzy machine? Photo: Alfonso Alvarez/Streetsblog
Hometown pride: That A's bike is SWEET. Photo: Alfonso Alvarez/Streetsblog
Hometown pride: That A's lowrider is SWEET. Photo: Streetsblog/Alfonso Alvarez
Hometown pride: That A's bike is SWEET. Photo: Alfonso Alvarez/Streetsblog
Surfs up...and ready to pedal away. Photo: Streetsblog/Rudick
Surfs up...and ready to pedal away. Photo: Streetsblog/Roger Rudick
Surfs up...and ready to pedal away. Photo: Streetsblog/Rudick
Need a fallen tree branch removed but don't want to put another truck on the road? Just call Alameda's cycling arborist. Photo: Streetsblog/Rudick
Need a fallen tree branch removed but don't want to put another truck on the road? Just call Alameda's cycling arborist. Photo: Streetsblog/Roger Rudick
Need a fallen tree branch removed but don't want to put another truck on the road? Just call Alameda's cycling arborist. Photo: Streetsblog/Rudick
Anyone could try out the crazy bikes, like this mini penny farthing. Photo: Melanie Curry/Streetsblog
Anyone could try out the crazy bikes like this mini penny farthing. Photo: Streetsblog/Melanie Curry
Anyone could try out the crazy bikes, like this mini penny farthing. Photo: Melanie Curry/Streetsblog
At Pedalfest, you could learn to ride a unicycle....or watch unicycle tricks. Photo: Alfonso Alvarez /Streetsblog
At Pedalfest, you could learn to ride a unicycle....or watch an expert doing unicycle tricks. Photo: Streetsblog/Alfonso Alvarez
At Pedalfest, you could learn to ride a unicycle....or watch unicycle tricks. Photo: Alfonso Alvarez /Streetsblog
Scraper Bikes were in the house. Photo: Melanie Curry/ Streetsblog
Scraper Bikes were in the house. Photo: Streetsblog/Melanie Curry
Scraper Bikes were in the house. Photo: Melanie Curry/ Streetsblog
It's always nice to let other the kids work hard to make electricity so the rest of us can listen to good music. Rock the Bike. Photo: Melanie Curry/Streetsblog
It's always nice to let the kids work to make electricity so the rest of us can listen to good music. Rock the Bike. Photo: Streetsblog/Melanie Curry
It's always nice to let other the kids work hard to make electricity so the rest of us can listen to good music. Rock the Bike. Photo: Melanie Curry/Streetsblog
Cyclecide Rodeo brought their pedal-powered ferris wheel. Photo: Melanie Curry/Streetsblog
Cyclecide Bike Rodeo brought their pedal-powered Ferris wheel. Photo: Streetsblog/Melanie Curry
Cyclecide Rodeo brought their pedal-powered ferris wheel. Photo: Melanie Curry/Streetsblog
The bike valet was packed because of course the best way to get to Pedalfest was to ride. Photo: Melanie Curry/Streetsblog
Of course the bike valet was packed because the best way to get to Pedalfest was to ride. Photo: Streetsblog/Melanie Curry
The bike valet was packed because of course the best way to get to Pedalfest was to ride. Photo: Melanie Curry/Streetsblog

More photos of the fun, by Pamela Palma, can be found here.

Did you attend Pedalfest? Let us know what you saw and what you thought. And post your photos here too.

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