Art & Balloon Festival bicycle tour becoming an attraction

[August 27, 2012]  In order to catch a glimpse of some beautiful parts of Logan County, Chris Cicci said to get on a bicycle. Cicci is the sports director at the Lincoln Area YMCA and the event coordinator of the bicycle tour connected with the Lincoln Art & Balloon Festival.

On Saturday morning, bicycle enthusiasts were ready to explore scenic routes of Logan County. There were three different routes for riders to choose from: five, 15 or 30 miles.

"The 30-mile route is challenging but worth it for the very pretty landscape," said Cicci.

Many of the riders rode the course last year and were looking forward to enjoying the sights once again. A few avid riders rode to the Lincoln festival from Bloomington in order to do the tour.

One little rider, Kendon Hanson, was extremely energized to hop into his bicycle seat behind his parents, Nick and Jess Hanson. Although first-time participants, the Hanson family was already looking forward to next year’s bicycle tour.

Another couple, who were doing the tour for the second time, described how much they looked forward to returning to the Lincoln festival in order to ride again.

Cicci was proud of the turnout of 20 riders for the event. He hopes the event will grow in popularity in the coming years. The course is a wonderful opportunity to see not only the balloons, but also the wind turbines and Skunk Hollow bridge.

The point of the tour was not to race to the finish, but to take pleasure in the hidden scenes. Cicci said he hoped the tour would get more people interested in bicycling because it is such great exercise.

[By HANNAH MICHALSEN]