A Gertrude sized recap: Boise Goathead Fest 2019

Whether you are a seasoned Tour de Fat goer, an OG Goathead Fest attendee, or experience this wonderfully weird bicycle fest for your first time, the second year of Boise Goathead Fest was one for the books!

For me, this was my first Boise Goathead Fest, and a returning Tour de Fat fan. I can’t describe to you all how Freaking. Stoked. I was to be not only involved, but getting to dig my hands into the many pots that make Boise Goathead Fest a reality.

I worked closely with our breweries, who all graciously donated 8 kegs for the fest. Holy cow! Not only is that a pretty big risk for breweries to take (I thank you all for showing up and for enjoying their delicious brews), but is such a big commitment to our bicycling community. It is a great reminder of how unique Boise is. We just… support each other, we celebrate each other, we show up for each other!

Speaking of showing up for each other, lets talk about Nonprofits. Tour de Fat was a fundraiser for BBP, Treasure Valley Cycling Alliance and SWIMBA. Last year when we were given the opportunity to transform Tour de Fat to the Bona Fide Boise fest it is becoming, we all knew that meant bringing in other nonprofits that impact our bicycling community daily, from youth riders, to safe infrastructure, to the protected trails. This is what I like to call: Collective Impact.

This idea of collective impact brings me to what drives our goals for Boise Goathead Fest, and something I personally feel very passionate for as a budding bicycle advocate.

The reality is that bicycling isn't always fun, even for us advocates in the community who ride everyday. It can be intimidating to maintain, to bike with distracted drivers, to hear news articles about collisions, and to navigate inadequate infrastructure throughout the Treasure Valley.

To me, this is why Boise Goathead Fest is so important for our community; it is a way to bring us together to celebrate biking, and isn't directly stemmed from the constant challenges we face on our two wheels. It's a reminder to all of us about why we keep working; because bicycling is SO FUN, for everyone, and should be a welcoming environment.

This weekend, we all made collective impact by showing up. YOU made collective impact.

In June and July, you, me, neighborhoods, businesses, all of us, collected 5,300lbs of Goatheads. Not only that, many of the collections were before the #nutlets even spread. Our hotspots we identified and picked at last year had little to no goatheads to collect this year, so the effort is working and it will continue to bring us closer to a goatheadless city. No punctures, no problem!

Ed Lenhart, our goathead collection champion who collected over 1000LBS! GO ED!

On Saturday, 5000 powerful pedalers gathered in front of the Capitol to launch the parade. It’s hard to pinpoint my favorite moment from the weekend, but looking at the crowd gather in front of the Capitol steps is probably that moment for me. I think all of us at the nonprofits needed that moment. A moment of seeing 5000 individuals show up for our bicycling community, 5000 individuals that believe in the work we put in day in and day out. Thank you!!

The support we get from our community helps BBP keep doing what we do best, promote the social benefits of bicycling by continuing events such as Boise Goathead Fest to connect our community, promoting the environmental benefits by recycling and reusing bicycles generously donated to us throughout the years and personal benefits by providing funding to our youth and adult programs to keep you all safely riding.

I can't give thanks to you all enough, and your participation, help and support for Boise Goathead Fest is truly invaluable. Thank you all for the kind words and support over the weekend, it makes the long days for our team so dang worth it. I absolutely cannot wait until next year.

Until then, Keep Riding! -Nina