Cyclists pedal from New Haven to Ansonia and back to honor inventor of bike

Annual festival celebrates Pierre Lallement

ANSONIA - Sunday was a day for bikes and old-fashioned family fun at the third annual Pierre Lallement Festival of Bikes on Main Street.

The city's Cultural Commission and Economic Development Commission co-sponsored the event.

Lallement, a Frenchman, was living in Ansonia in the 1860s when he received the patent for the pedal bicycle, precursor of the modern-day bike. 

Cyclists make their way down Main Street at about 11:57 a.m. 
  

Children and adults joined the cyclists at Webster Hose Memorial Park on the corner of Central and East Main streets for the last leg of the trip.

A sign created by Sixth Ward Alderman Patrick Henri with help from students at Emmett O'Brien Technical High School will be placed n a prominent spot at event this year as the city celebrates its 125th anniversary.

A stunt cyclist from "Dialed," a Pennsylvania-based team, wows the crowd ...

    ... as do his teammates.

 This cyclist appears to fly over the Ansonia 125 sign across from City Hall.

New Jersey-based stunt cyclist Chris Clark performs.

And explains to a rapt audience how he does his work.

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Even P.T. Barnum (a.k.a. Dexter Dean of Naugatuck) was on hand to greet the cyclists as they entered downtown.

 

Reminder: Bike festival rolls into Ansonia Sunday

Ansonia to host bike festival

This fun event for all ages is co-sponsored by Ansonia's Cultural Commission and Economic Development Commission. See you there!

Events to mark Ansonia 125 scheduled

Anson Phelps, city founder

ANSONIA - Melissa Torres, event coordinator for Ansonia 125, has announced the first round of events celebrating Ansonia’s 125^th Anniversary throughout 2014. 

Mark your calendars and join in on the celebration. As more events are established, the event list will be updated and published. 

Scheduled events are:

April 26 - Earth Day Celebration at the Ansonia Nature and Recreation Center

April 30 - U.S. Navy Band and Drill Team Performance at Emmett O'Brien Technical High School

May 3 - Cinco de Mayo! at Crave on Main Street

May 4 - Ansonia Bike Festival on Main Street Downtown Ansonia

May 25 - Memorial Day Parade

May 29 - BHcare Block Party at the BHcare Corral

The annual summer concert series has been expanded to five concerts. They will be held July 9, 23, and Aug. 6, 20, and 27.

Look forward to these future events:

Family Camp Out 

Town Wide Tag Sale

Man Cave Contest

Autumn Festival 

Harvest Festival

For more information pertaining to these events or events you would like to add, please contact Melissa Torres at meltorres20@gmail.com.


This is a press release from Melissa Torres. 

Young and young at heart enjoy Ansonia's festival of bikes

Ansonia resident Thomas Perrin and his children enjoy the Sunday morning sunshine at the third annual Festival of Bikes in downtown Ansonia. Here they are riding in Veterans Park.

His children are, from left, Tamia Perrin, 3, Brianna Perrin, 5, and Thomas Perrin, Jr., Tamia's twin brother.

Perrin said he was pleased they had just received new bike-safety helmets from the Griffin Hospital Valley Parish Nurses. The nurses had 300 free helmets to give out at the festival.

Hamden resident Rich House, left, joins New Haven resident Matt Feiner, owner of The Devil's Gear Bike Shop in New Haven riding high wheelers down Main Street, Ansonia.

Matt Feiner seems to be having a lot of fun pedaling around Main Street. 
 

New Haven resident and avid cyclist Laura Burrone, who organized the commemorative ride from New Haven to Ansonia for the third consecutive year, speaks to the crowd gathered Sunday at Veterans Park.

Valley Arts Council President Rich DiCarlo of Derby works in Ansonia Sunday on a mural depicting the first bike ride taken by Pierre Lallement, inventor of the bicycle.

Lallement lived in Ansonia when he invented the bicycle in 1865. Tim Schmidheini, 14, of Ansonia, helps DiCarlo with the painting.