Martin Krieg & Festival Story

The Center Spread
- Festival pushes nationwide bike trails

Greetings from the Greenway

Washington, DC
Anthony Williams

Pittsburgh Reception
Gil Gimore, Dave Rabinowitz

Columbus Reception
Sharon Bouchonville

The "Good Times" ran this ad for six months
Thanks again for putting together such an amazing
event .. a truly memorable celebration of biking and very informative cutting edge vendors and organization reps.. ..
.Annie Coleman

Indianapolis Reception
Chris Detwilerr
Martin, It was a fun event. I liked the music and talking to some of the booth people there. The swing dance band definetly stole the show. My daughter really like swing music. And Martin, I didn't know you could swing dance. You're not bad. The body builder guys were great and the mayor is
cool.
Tony Plotkin
Grainaissance

Chicago Reception
Jim Muellner
RRRRight on, Martinabe.....my 86 yr. old bones are still dancin from that dazzling day,,,,
Mary Duffield
Andrew Heckman
NBG Mayor's Ride Benefit
Great fest on Sunday! My kids and I loved it. Good speaches and it was fun to see the Mayor test riding my old quadracycle that Armadillo Cycles has resurrected. Congratulations.
- David Foster

Des Moines Reception
Jim Redd
Chicago Critical Mass
Dear Martin,
Very nice job yesterday. thank you so much for putting that event together.
It's the reason so many of us live here--your creativity, zeal, and enthusiasm speak volumes about our community. Muchisimas gracias hombre!
Christopher Krohn,
Santa Cruz Mayor

Boulder Reception
Jerome Heddiger
Wicks Aircraft
Hi Martin
I had a great time at the Fest. [..]Thanks for everything!!
Rocky Brown
2002 for Andrew
Final Report
8-11-02
(pg 1 of 3)
Every time I get out in public here in Santa Cruz (which is hardly enough), every one I see who made it to our Fest (over 2,000 through out the day) talks about one of two things:

1- It's quality and how well it was produced or
2- They deliberate on the air show.

As for the former, I can't say THX enough to Greg Arrufat or his famous wife Mary Mccaslin who truly helped me pull one rabbit out of the hat after another. From getting us a professional high profile stage to working with the awesome talent we had procured in making sure their audio needs were met by the sound production company, one of the best in America, that Greg also got for us to Mary even serving as m/c on the duck pond stage and etc, etc, we couldn't help but produce a truly epic event.

Another shining star was Terry Pershall. His company, Post LeMond sponsored the valet bike parking area for our two wheel guests as well as the festival itself. And far more than being a main financial sponsor of our event, Terry helped to get everything from raffle prizes to walkie talkies to musical talent and he greatly assisted us with his own experience of having produced other benefits and festivals.


As for the air show, over and over again I hear how much people enjoyed Perfection on Wheels. From the young and old, I hear how amazingly talented were the performers and how professional the show was; how it is a memory that will stay with them for a long time. Even the POW people loved it as per:

Thanks Martin!! It was a lot of fun and we definitely would love to come back. The people had a great time and everyone had a great vibe going on. Dennis, Adam and myself waited for awhile after the show to say good bye but you were ver busy with the raffling and we needed to get on the road back to San Diego so sorry for leaving w/o saying bye. You rock and again the event was very fun. [...] Rock On!!
Todd
POW

For those who brought kids, I've heard more than one report about someone or the other's children who were hypnotized by these two wheel dare devils. So much so, that I even listened to the story about one little boy who was so inspired by Perfection on Wheels that as soon as he got home he was busy trying to pop wheelies on his bike. A bike still outfitted with with training wheels!!

As for the Duck Pond stage, we had two, it was chockfull of some of this area's beast instrumentalists. The day began as David Adams and his high velocity Smokin' Bananas drove it hard from the water locked performing area. The crowd on the grassy knoll in front of them grooved and swayed as all six Bananas played like the veteran rockers they truly are.

Next up was Wes Anthony and his band called Banned Together. The salsa set they played even had a fair number of people dancing on the dirt packed sidewalk. Exceptional performers each and everyone of them, they were also truly masterful.


Banned Together on the Duck Pond Stage

After the riders break I will discuss later, another local music veteran with a huge following, Richie Begin, played tunes from his masterful repertoire with fellow guitarist Paul Logan. The crowd that gathered to hear them, loved their music as well.

For me, the main stage is where all the action was. I looked out on an area the size of a football field filled with makeshift restaurants, booth vendors and people test riding many different types of bikes, from the high wheelers that Jim Langley had on display to trikes and two wheel

recumbents. Another one of our main sponsors, Family Cycling , looked busy as well. John Brown, who has been with the NBG since its inception and also helped me birth the idea of an interconnected two wheel America, looked pleased as people crowded around his amazing antique bike collection. Off in the distance, I saw two jump houses (supplied by Action Fun Jumps) filled with kids and our security volunteers in the bright green vests that coordinator Dona Million had procured for them from the local Granite Rock construction people. With the city's guidance, Dona had these volunteers positioned at strategic locations throughout the park as they kept things in order through out the day.

 Even the NBG booth was a busy one as Velda Solomon who had come down from Sacramento with her husband Mel, and son, Chris, was busy selling festival T-shirts and explaining the NBG vision with the incredible scrapbook she had made. I also saw people walking away with the handsome little NBG brochures she had created at the 11th hour for our event. Copies of the "Good Times" magazine feature were also on hand as besides our event being on the cover, they also served as our program guide. Also in the NBG booth I saw Gayle Michael and her son, Todd, also busily answering questions and exchanging materials with what looked like an incessant swarm of interest.

Here is what Gayle reported:

Martin, I am bad at names so please correct me if I got any wrong. Hope this is what you had in mind:

I had the privilege of manning the NBG booth which was like a light house amid a sea of bicycles, music, vendors, and patrons, shining over the sun-drenched lawn of San Lorenzo Park. What an amazing event and what a wonderful opportunity we had to get the word out about the mission of the NBG and the amazing vision of bicycling as a viable form of transportation.


Rood and Gayle setting up NBG booth

There was a steady flow of people visiting the booth throughout the afternoon. Some were avid bicyclist and long time supporters stopping by to purchase the awesome T-shirts designed by Fred Piper, or inquiring where to purchase a raffle ticket for one of the fantastic prizes. We directed them to the nearby raffle table which was busy throughout the day. Others came by to view the 3-D Artist's conception of what safe bicycle pathways might one day look like, or to view the storyboard history of the National Bicycle Greenway Movement.

Many people who stopped by had never heard of the NBG.

They were drawn to the event by the killer music of the epic Prince Lawsha or Mark Russo and the Classy Cats, and had one question,"What is the NBG?" What an awesome experience to share the vision with them and see a light go on in their consciousness. There were fliers which we distributed to nearly everyone who happened by: fliers describing the mission if the NBG and containing the Website address so newcomers could keep abreast of our progress.

Some visitors were so impressed they asked where they could make future contributions. One lady purchased a T--shirt and overpaid, remarking,"Keep the change, it is my contribution to Martin and the NBG."

We had many people stop be to read the proclamations which were displayed across the booth; proclamations from mayors of 15 cities declaring their support of safe bicycle roadways. Most noteworthy was the arrival of our own Santa Cruz City Mayor with a Proclamation declaring August 11, 2002 NBG Day. He stopped by our booth enroute to his on stage presentation, after which the hand delivered Proclamation was received by us and proudly displayed along side the others. Many people returned to the booth to read the Proclamation and savor the moment.


L-R: Andrew's mom, Andrew, Krieg & Grandma

We gere also thrilled by the visit of Andrew Morton's mother and Grandmother who made a surprise appearance to honor their son's accomplishment on his last leg of the transcontinental relay. They were anxious to meet us and express their support. What a thrill.

My son, Todd,who also worked the booth was impressed at how many people he was able to meet and greet and introduce to the NBG. He had the inspiration to take a stack of fliers over to the Duck Pond stage to distribute to people who had gathered to enjoy the melodious sounds of Banned Together but were not quite sure what an NBG was.

All in all, amid the savory scent of warm cheese and epperoni pizza that was being sold to hungry guests, and offered to famished volunteers, and the incredible sounds of swing music drifting on the lazy afternoon air, like a beacon we were able to get the word out to many hundreds of supportive newcomers to the NBG scene. Awesome! I can hardly wait to see what the second annual NBGFEST will be like!

Master NBG graphic artist, Fred Piper, the man who created the NBG Fest logo and all of our promotional materials, had his booth behind ours. And not only


View from path above benchlands where the Duck Pond Stage is located

did he look busy but in the booth right behind his, Rita Benelle looked busy directing the efforts of all the kids that were busy coloring the mini NBG Fest posters Fred had created.

From the stage itself, after my general announcements, Ruby Rudman, of the Robin Anderson Big Band enchanted the crowd with a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem. Then it was Prince Lawsha when almost as suddenly the park had all the makings of a high fidelity concert hall worthy of a live recording. Prince, who left as soon as he was finished for a music tour of the south region of France commanded the immediate attention of all those present. It took just a few notes from his band, made up of much in demand musical artists who feel it an honor to get to play with the Prince, for their music to tell the audience that something special was about to occur; that all the performances ahead would all be paid stadium seating quality. People kept asking me why they'd never heard of these guys before. The answer: The only time the Prince has played in the US over the last couple of decades has been for the NBG; his last US performance was at our 2000 Lighthouse send off . This is so because, as he says, 'the US cannot afford him' and yet he is a strong believer in the NBG vision.

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Original Images and Sounds are Copyright © 2001 National Bicycle Greenway. All Rights Reserved.