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page 74 Monday, August 27, 2012
2012 Art and Balloon Festival
Art & Balloon Festival bicycle tour becoming an
attraction
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]