Cork Cycling Arts Festival
Celebrating Cycling Culture in Cork!
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→ Cycling Advocacy Meeting | → The Sense of Cycling Art Exhibition | → Cycle Through the Planets | → Cork Songs Cycle Tour | → An Óige Cycle | → Critical Mass Cycle | → Cycling Shorts Movie Night | → Bicycle Spa | → Bicycle Polo | → Documentary Movie Nights | → Sunday Picnic | → Bicycle Treasure Hunt | → My Lovely Bike
At A Glance!
At A Glance
Cork Cycling Arts Festival proposes various events from Monday 20th to Sunday 26th July 2009.
See!
- The Sense of Cycling – Artists interpret cycling through photography, print, video and sculpture.
- “Klunkerz” – The story of the mountain bike from Marin County, California
- “Road to Roubaix” – An epic one day cycle race from Paris to Roubaix
- “Bicycle shorts” – Bicycle themed short movies from independent directors
Learn!
- Cycling Advocacy Meeting – With guest speaker John Franklin (UK). Author of “Cycle Craft”
- Historical Cycle Tour – A guided cycle tour of Cork with local historian William Hammond
- The Bicycle Spa – Pump it, pimp it, fix it.
Ride!
- An Óige Cycle – Join the regular Thursday fun cycle
- Critical Mass Ride – We are traffic
- Cycling Picnic – Family fun along Corks most loved cycle route
- Cycle through the planets – Cycle through a city scale model of the solar system
Play and compete!
- Bike polo – Invented in Ireland its your turn to try the latest urban sport to take to the worlds capitals by storm.
- My lovely bike contest– A tire-to-tire beauty contest.
Download "Cork Cycling Arts Festival" E-Flyer (PDF)
Cycling Advocacy Meeting
Let’s Talk About Cycling…
Venue: WW6 Lecture Hall, The West Wing of the Quad Building, UCC
Date: Monday 20 July – 7:00pm to 9:30pm
Free Entrance
This year’s Cork Cycling Arts Festival starts off with a public presentation and discussion centered on the theme of cycling in the city.
We will have a broad spectrum of guest speakers including Mr. John Franklin, author of ‘Cyclecraft-The complete guide to safe and enjoyable cycling for adults and children’. Many of the cycle training courses in the UK are based on his highly regarded book. For more details see his website www.cyclecraft.co.uk.
The speakers will be followed by a general discussion with audience members that should lead to a lively debate!
The public meeting is organised by University College Cork and Cork Cycling Campaign.
Download "Advocacy_Meeting" E-Flyer (PDF)
The Sense of Cycling
Artists Explore the Cycling Experience
Venue: Unitarian Church, Princes Street & Civic Trust House, Popes Quay
Date: Tuesday 21 to Saturday 25 July – 11am to 6pm
Opening: Tuesday 21 July – 5pm
Free Entrance
Artists mastering different art forms including video documentary, sculpture, photography will display their bicycle related artwork for one week in the Unitarian Church.
This year artists include:
Blood Sweat and GearsDocumentary photo & Video
--> Blood, Sweat and Gears is an extraordinary window into the life and mind of legendary cyclist Mick Murphy, known as the Iron Man. Mick won the Rás in 1958, training with weights made from stone, drinking blood and eating raw meat. He was also known as a circus performer, a boxer and a wrestler. Cork Cycling Arts Festival is delighted to host this photographic and video installation by Chris Hurley for the first time in Cork city. The full length film reel will be showing at Civic Trust House, Pope’s Quay from 9-5.30pm from Monday 20th – Friday 24th with late opening on Friday until 10pm. Selected photographs and clips will be on view at the main space exhibition in Princes Street during exhibition opening hours.
I love dust
Graphic design
Elizabeth Bick and Mark Graham are part of a team of graphic designers based in the fishing village of Emsworth on the south coast of Britain. I love dust have a special place in their hearts for all things bicycle. Their illustrations are now the featured cover art on one of cycling’s most colourful magazines ‘The Ride Journal’.
Tom Campbell
Illustration
Cork based artist and bike lover Tom Campbell displays some of his finest bicycle inspired artwork.
Barry Semple
Bike scuplture
Barry Semple is an artist and bike activist based in Dublin. Cable bike was built as a concept cable car bike as part of his final year project in model making and design at Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology. A beautifully hand crafted piece and made entirely of salvaged bicycle parts.
Belinda Walsh
Shadow puppetry/bike sculpture
Belinda Walsh is a student at Crawford College of Art and Design. Taking inspiration from bicycle sculpture she has seen on her travels she created this stationary cycling spectacular that combines bicycle sculpture and shadow puppetry.
Rob Ireson
Bicycle sculpture
For many years Rob has been chopping and welding bikes together to make unusual and useful machines.
Cycle Through the Planets
A Cycle Through the Solar System…
Venue: Leaving Unitarian Church, Princes Street
Date: Wednesday 22 July – 7pm - 8pm
Free participation
Cyclists who take part in the “Cycle Through the Planets” bicycle ride release and discharge the festival organisers and associated partners from any and all claims, demands, actions and/or liabilities on account of any injury to them or damaged or stolen items of equipment which may occur from any cause whatsoever, including negligence or other fault on the part of anyone released hereunder, during their participation in or transportation to or from said ride.
Download "Cork Cycling Arts Festival" Safety Statement (PDF)
Bicycle Polo and Bar-b-Que
Reviving ancient Irish sports
Venue: Lower Grounds, UCC
Date: Saturday 25 July – 5pm
Free participation
Bicycle polo is now a trendy urban sport being played in major cities around the world. It was invented by Irishman Richard J.McCready in 1891. His magazine ‘Irish Cyclist’ was the first to publish the rules of the sport. Due to the popularity among urban cyclists with fixed gear bicycles the sport is now enjoying a revival and is thriving in the Dublin area with five teams regularly competing.
Bicycle polo is not played with a standard bicycle. These bicycles have 26 inch wheels with heavy gauged spokes and fixed wheel gearing. The handlebars are short and the pedals are rubber. Add a chain, tyres and tubes to complete the bike, there are no other accessories, that’s right, no brakes. The mallets are a lot smaller then those used in Horse Polo and the ball is slightly larger. Mallets vary in sizes to suit the player. The Sticks are made from bamboo cane with a wooden head.
The Bicycle Polo Association of Ireland are keen to see the sport spread throughout the country and the Cork Cycling Arts Festival is the perfect opportunity to allow people to see for themselves.
All equipment will be provided on the day. People are free to participate or if curious just sit back and enjoy an exhibition game. They also recommend shin guards!
Download "Bicycle Polo Timetable"(PDF)
Cork Songs Cycle Tour
A lyrical journey through the streets of Cork
Venue: Leaving from Emmet Place
Date: Thursday 23 July – 7pm
Free Participation
Are you ready to discover the rebel capital as you've never seen it before? Enjoy a fun, friendly bicycle tour of Cork discovering the city’s songs and history with Cork Folk Festival director William Hammond. Last year this cycle proved to be one of the festivals most popular events.
Cyclists who take part in the “Cork Songs Cycle Tour” bicycle ride release and discharge the festival organisers and associated partners from any and all claims, demands, actions and/or liabilities on account of any injury to them or damaged or stolen items of equipment which may occur from any cause whatsoever, including negligence or other fault on the part of anyone released hereunder, during their participation in or transportation to or from said ride.
Download "Cork Cycling Arts Festival" Safety Statement (PDF)
An Óige Cycle
Stay Young At Heart
Venue: Leaving from Emmet Place
Date: Thursday 23 July – 7pm
Free participation
An Óige, the Irish Youth Hostel Association (IYHA), is the Hostelling International's association for the Republic of Ireland.
The Cork Kerry Regional Group organises short and long group cycles every Thursday night during the summer.
The meeting point is located on Emmet Place at 7 pm in front of Cork Opera House. All are welcome.
There is a social gathering for all after the cycle in Tribes Café on Tuckey Street from approximately 9.15pm to 11pm. Meet old friends and new, indulge the taste buds and catch up with all the latest…
Cyclists who take part in the “An Óige” bicycle ride release and discharge the festival organisers and associated partners from any and all claims, demands, actions and/or liabilities on account of any injury to them or damaged or stolen items of equipment which may occur from any cause whatsoever, including negligence or other fault on the part of anyone released hereunder, during their participation in or transportation to or from said ride.
Download "Cork Cycling Arts Festival" Safety Statement (PDF)
Critical Mass Ride
We Are Traffic!
Venue: Daunt Square, Saint Patrick’s Street
Date: Friday 24 July – 6pm
Free participation
Critical Mass is a grass-roots, non-political, non-commercial and self-organised movement therefore remains independent of any leadership or organisation.
Critical Mass rides are organised everywhere in the world to celebrate cycling and to draw attention to how unfriendly cities have become to cyclists and pedestrians where cars have the upper hand.
In China, both motorists and bicyclists have an understood method of negotiating intersections without signals. Traffic would "bunch up" at these intersections until the backlog reached a "critical mass", at which point that mass would move through the intersection. That term was caught on and later applied to this US-born movement.
Critical Mass rides are organised every last Friday of the month and cyclists meet at 6 pm in Daunt Square.
Cyclists who take part in the “Critical Mass” bicycle ride release and discharge the festival organisers and associated partners from any and all claims, demands, actions and/or liabilities on account of any injury to them or damaged or stolen items of equipment which may occur from any cause whatsoever, including negligence or other fault on the part of anyone released hereunder, during their participation in or transportation to or from said ride.
Download "Cork Cycling Arts Festival" Safety Statement (PDF)
Cycling Shorts Movie Night
So Bicyclicious...
Venue: Blackrock Castle Observatory
Date: Wednesday 22 July – 8:30pm
Free entrance
“Bicyclicious” is an original visual journey through cycling around artistic variations. The selection of heteroclite and surprising movies includes short films, video clips and visual experiments.
This event aims at presenting the work of international and local artists in line with the bicycle culture. You will be surprised by the inspirational power of the bicycle…
The short movies to be screened were produced in various countries and include both amateur and professional productions. Some of them are even exclusive films screened for the first time in Ireland!
The programme will be kept secret until the screening night. Please arrive early as seats will be available on a “first come first served” basis.
Cycling Documentary Nights
Klunkerz!
Venue: Unitarian Church, Princes Street
Date: Tuesday 21 July – 8pm
Free entrance
Long before the mountain bike entered our global consciousness, the cycling enthusiasts of Northern California's Marin County rode modified pre-WWII bicycles down the slopes of Mount Tamalpais. They developed their bikes through rigorous field-testing, often risking life and limb to do so. Some of these cyclists were Category-1 road racers looking for a new way to train during the off-season. Others were simply fun-loving hippies looking for a new way to commune with nature. Their early bikes were scavenged from dumpsters and junkyards. It was from these humble beginnings that a multi-billion dollar industry, a form of recreation for the masses, and an Olympic event, were born. These hefty steeds were affectionately known as Klunkerz.
Road to Roubaix
Venue: Unitarian Church, Princes Street
Date: Thursday 23 July – 9pm
Free entrance
Road To Roubaix is a documentary on the most prestigious one-day cycling race in the world, Paris-Roubaix. First held in 1896 and now in its 105th edition, the race is a grueling contest over 160 miles of narrow, cobbled farm roads in the Picardie and Norde-Pas-de-Calais regions of France with a finish in the historic Roubaix velodrome. Road to Roubaix is a visual narrative of an old-school, bare-knuckle clash of the finest athletes in the world with each other and one of the world's most unforgiving sporting environments. The filmmakers tell the story of the riders, the fans, the mechanics, and the unpredictable landscape that is the setting for the Paris-Roubaix.
Cycling Picnic
A Wonderful Afternoon to Rediscover the Joy of Cycling
Venue: Joe McHugh Park, Mahon
Date: Sunday 26 July – 1pm to 4pm
Free participation
People are warmly invited to get off their bikes and join the festive picnic event organised on Sunday 26th July.
The picnic will take place at Joe McHugh park, Mahon point at the end of the disused old railway line at the Douglas River Estuary Bridge. This quiet, safe and car-free greenway is a safe place for children and one of the rare cycling routes leading out of any town or city in Ireland.
This will be the perfect opportunity for families to enjoy a pleasant summer afternoon in a quiet place in nature, to chill-out and to strike up friendships with other cyclists.
This event is in association with Cork Food Web. Bring food to share.
My Lovely Bike
A Beauty Pagent for Bikes!
Venue: Civic Trust House, Popes Quay
Date: Friday 24 July – 8pm - 9:30pm
Free participation
Bicycle Treasure Hunt
A treasure hunt by bike!
Venue: Leaving Unitarian Church
Date: Saturday 25 July – 2pm
Free entrance
Test your wits in a fun Treasure Hunt by bike through the city centre streets in search of clues revealing the location of the hidden treasure!
Cyclists who take part in the “Bicycle Treasure Hunt” bicycle ride release and discharge the festival organisers and associated partners from any and all claims, demands, actions and/or liabilities on account of any injury to them or damaged or stolen items of equipment which may occur from any cause whatsoever, including negligence or other fault on the part of anyone released hereunder, during their participation in or transportation to or from said ride.
Download "Cork Cycling Arts Festival" Safety Statement (PDF)
Bicycle Spa
We won't just fix your bike...we pamper it
Venue: Unitarian Church, Princes Street
Date: Saturday 25 July – 1pm to 5pm
Free participation
Cork Cycling Arts Festival offers you the unique opportunity to attend three exceptional workshops on Saturday 25 July. All welcome!
“Fix It” This year we have the experts on duty. Rob from trailriders.ie will be bringing his mobile bike workstation to answer any bike related queries from internal 3-speed hubs to the latest disc brakes to puncture repair.
“Pimp It” Now that your bicycle is a finely tuned it's time to get street smart. Our bike stylists will be on hand to make sure you turn heads as well as the pedals while riding along the city streets.
“Picture It” Professional photographer John Downes will facilitate this workshop where you can pose with your freshly groomed bicycle for a portrait to complete the bicycle spa experience.