Lastly, I'd just like to say a special thanks to John Preble who sponsors this event through his UCM Museum. Without John, this annual event would never have taken place.  John's wife, Ann, is going through a difficult time, having recently had a stroke due to complications with pancreatic cancer.  We should all keep Ann and John in our thoughts and prayers during this time.  Hopefully, next year Ann will be well, and able to join us again for the Louisiana Bicycle Festival at Abita Springs.

Far Left: One of John Preble's Mardi Gras-beaded artbikes. Left: "English Craig". Above:  Singer Vanessa Niemann "Gal Holiday"  with her '52 JC Higgins.

On Saturday morning, we hooked up with C.G. Mouch and convoyed into Abita Springs without any delays.  Along interstate 12 there were a few downed trees, damaged roofs, and omnipresent blue tarps still visible compliments of Hurricane Katrina.  The people of Abita springs have worked hard over the last year to clean up and repair their beautiful little town.  John Preble, the owner of the UCM Museum said that the museum came through the hurricane without a scratch. The main evidence of the hurricane in Abita Springs was the lack of grass on the field where the Bike Festival is held.  This is due to the same area being used by FEMA up until two weeks before the festival.  . This year I got more time to talk to C.G. Mouch about his bikes.  I've loved his full custom Phat Chopper named "Soooo Long" ever since I saw it on BR&K years ago. Soon afterwards it won "Best of Show" at Abita Springs in 2003.  It turns out to be even more impressive after listening to the story behind it.  C.G. bought the Phat chopper brand new in 2002 along with the last fender and tank set built by Phat.  He told me that only 12 tanks and fenders were ever produced, so he was very fortunate to get the last set.  Along the same line is the wheels on Soooo Long.  C.G. used his natural charm and good nature to convince Stephen Hutchinson of Wild Wheel Werks to build a set of wheels for Soooo Long.  This was only the second set of wheels Stephen had made, and I believe the first set that was ever sold.  The Phat frame had to be modified to fit the engine in it, and a new custom made extended crank was machined to fit the pedals so that they would clear the sides of the engine.  His "Moon Eyes" bike is also an impressive motorized creation.  It's powered by a 1960's "Bike Bug" motor that was originally sold by Sears.  The motor has been fully restored and painted in the classic black and yellow colors to match his Dyno Moon Eyes bicycle.  Like all of Mouch's toys, this one is also finished to a show car quality.  C.G. was kind enough to let me ride this bike in the parade this year, and I can vouch for the fact that it will scoot along!  If you get the chance, don't miss the opportunity to chat with C.G.  He has the talent to turn every event into a good time for all. . After we unloaded C.G.'s beautiful custom bikes and set up his canopy, we struck up a conversation with Sid Martinez of Covington, Louisiana.  Sid had an incredible story to tell about his vacation riding solo across America.  It took Sid 110 days starting on May 4th, 2005 to cross the country from the Atlantic coast of Virginia to the Pacific coast of Oregon.  Sid's bike is a Specialized Sequoia road bike that weighs in at 32 pounds with all of Sid's accessories.  Add to this 55 pounds of luggage, and the total weight that he pedaled across America comes to 87 pounds.  I thought I had done good to pedal my 45-pound Dyno Roadster on the MS 150 a few times, but Sid put that into focus with his monumental effort.  Sid kept in touch with the world via a Palm Pilot with a fold-up wireless keyboard that he carried with him on the bike.  He also came up with an inventive cooling device for his water bottle while pedaling through the desert Southwest.  He carried a spray bottle of water that he would use to soak a sock that was wrapped around his water bottle.  With the low humidity of the desert, this created an evaporative cooling effect that kept his drinking water nice and cold even on the hottest days.  When asked how many flats he got, the amazing answer is "none".  Sid swears by the Specialized Armadillo tires that took him through the entire trip.  He wore the rear tire out, but the front tire is the same one that he used from coast to coast.  Sid had a lot of stories to tell including visiting the "Blue Ridge Cookie Lady" who gives out free cookies to touring cyclists, to a memorable hail storm in Missouri.  Amazingly, Sid made it back to Covington just in time to evacuate from Hurricane Katrina.  He showed us some great maps for bike touring that were sized to fit a handlebar bag.  He got all of his maps and a lot of inspiration from www.adventurecycling.org   Even though Sid's bike was basically stock, he received an Honorable Mention for his amazing trek across America.

Abita Springs 2006 By John Youens with photos by the author. Abita Springs was a blast once again this year.  It took Nancy and I a bit longer to get to our first night's destination in Baton Rouge Friday night because of heavy rain and traffic in Southwest Louisiana.  We watched the radar loop on Intellicast.com and tried to wait until the worst weather had passed, but our timing didn't work out.  During one stretch of highway 190, we were stuck behind three semis going 40 miles per hour for about 50 miles.  Luckily, the Louisiana Bike Festival didn't start until the next day.

Above: Lupe, the self-packing cat.

Above: LA rain for 50 miles at 40 MPH.

Nancy Youens, CG Mouch, Pete Danos, unloading "Sooo Long".

On Saturday morning, we hooked up with C.G. Mouch and convoyed into Abita Springs without any delays.  Along interstate 12 there were a few downed trees, damaged roofs, and omnipresent blue tarps still visible compliments of Hurricane Katrina.  The people of Abita springs have worked hard over the last year to clean up and repair their beautiful little town.  John Preble, the owner of the UCM Museum said that the museum came through the hurricane without a scratch. The main evidence of the hurricane in Abita Springs was the lack of grass on the field where the Bike Festival is held.  This is due to the same area being used by FEMA up until two weeks before the festival.  . This year I got more time to talk to C.G. Mouch about his bikes.  I've loved his full custom Phat Chopper named "Soooo Long" ever since I saw it on BR&K years ago. Soon afterwards it won "Best of Show" at Abita Springs in 2003.  It turns out to be even more impressive after listening to the story behind it.  C.G. bought the Phat chopper brand new in 2002 along with the last fender and tank set built by Phat.  He told me that only 12 tanks and fenders were ever produced, so he was very fortunate to get the last set.  Along the same line is the wheels on Soooo Long.  C.G. used his natural charm and good nature to convince Stephen Hutchinson of Wild Wheel Werks to build a set of wheels for Soooo Long.  This was only the second set of wheels Stephen had made, and I believe the first set that was ever sold.  The Phat frame had to be modified to fit the engine in it, and a new custom made extended crank was machined to fit the pedals so that they would clear the sides of the engine.  His "Moon Eyes" bike is also an impressive motorized creation.  It's powered by a 1960's "Bike Bug" motor that was originally sold by Sears.  The motor has been fully restored and painted in the classic black and yellow colors to match his Dyno Moon Eyes bicycle.  Like all of Mouch's toys, this one is also finished to a show car quality.  C.G. was kind enough to let me ride this bike in the parade this year, and I can vouch for the fact that it will scoot along!  If you get the chance, don't miss the opportunity to chat with C.G.  He has the talent to turn every event into a good time for all. . After we unloaded C.G.'s beautiful custom bikes and set up his canopy, we struck up a conversation with Sid Martinez of Covington, Louisiana.  Sid had an incredible story to tell about his vacation riding solo across America.  It took Sid 110 days starting on May 4th, 2005 to cross the country from the Atlantic coast of Virginia to the Pacific coast of Oregon.  Sid's bike is a Specialized Sequoia road bike that weighs in at 32 pounds with all of Sid's accessories.  Add to this 55 pounds of luggage, and the total weight that he pedaled across America comes to 87 pounds.  I thought I had done good to pedal my 45-pound Dyno Roadster on the MS 150 a few times, but Sid put that into focus with his monumental effort.  Sid kept in touch with the world via a Palm Pilot with a fold-up wireless keyboard that he carried with him on the bike.  He also came up with an inventive cooling device for his water bottle while pedaling through the desert Southwest.  He carried a spray bottle of water that he would use to soak a sock that was wrapped around his water bottle.  With the low humidity of the desert, this created an evaporative cooling effect that kept his drinking water nice and cold even on the hottest days.  When asked how many flats he got, the amazing answer is "none".  Sid swears by the Specialized Armadillo tires that took him through the entire trip.  He wore the rear tire out, but the front tire is the same one that he used from coast to coast.  Sid had a lot of stories to tell including visiting the "Blue Ridge Cookie Lady" who gives out free cookies to touring cyclists, to a memorable hail storm in Missouri.  Amazingly, Sid made it back to Covington just in time to evacuate from Hurricane Katrina.  He showed us some great maps for bike touring that were sized to fit a handlebar bag.  He got all of his maps and a lot of inspiration from www.adventurecycling.org   Even though Sid's bike was basically stock, he received an Honorable Mention for his amazing trek across America.

Above and Right: Sid Martinez' route across America and the bike he rode.

Joe Mayers and his wife Brenda returned this year with their truck load of bikes.  They really have a great attitude about using their bikes for the enjoyment of everyone.  Joe was constantly loaning his bikes out to kids to ride during the day.  The most popular one of all had to be the "Batman Swing Bike" which received the "Kid's Choice" award.  They have added a few more bikes since last year including a 1949 J.C. Higgins that Joe restored in a patriotic red, white, and blue color scheme.  The big news for the Mayers' is that they have moved to Abita Springs and built a brand new house that backs up to the Tammany Trace.  Joe can now ride any of his bikes out of his yard and directly onto the trace any time he wants.  We should all be so lucky!

Left: Joe Mayers. Above: Joe's "Trailer Bike". Right:  More of Joe's many cool bikes he puts our for festival-goers and their kids to ride.

Festival regular New Orleans tattoo artist, "English Craig" Jones and gal pal Vanessa Niemann showed up again this year with a beautifully restored 1952 J.C. Higgins and an all-original 1961 Thunderbolt.  Craig and Vanessa had to relocate during Katrina, but their place came through the levee breach without being damaged as badly as some.  An unexpected benefit for Craig came from the soldiers stationed in post-Katrina New Orleans driving up the demand for his tattoo artistry.

Far Left: One of John Preble's Mardi Gras-beaded artbikes. Left: "English Craig". Above:  Singer Vanessa Niemann "Gal Holiday"  with her '52 JC Higgins.

Another regular was the super-entertainer Wayne Spring from Albany, Louisiana who returned with his beautiful "Double Deuce" and his assortment of near-impossible-to-ride bikes and unicycles.  Of course, Wayne has no idea what the term "impossible" means since he can ride anything with wheels, occasionally while juggling flaming torches and balancing a spinning bike wheel on his head. Joel Robertson was there in his tie dyed T-shirt with a pair of beautiful, original 1935 bicycles.  One was an Excelsior which was the first bike ever made with balloon tires.  The other was a rare Vim which was built in Buffalo NY.  Both were equipped with cool vintage hand-operated "Ah-Ooga-style" horns.

Above: Wayne Spring on "Double Down". Right: Joel Robertson with "Vim" and "Excelsior".

Peter Danos returned with his red hand-built bike that won 1st place in the Kustom Cruiser category last year.  He also brought his new creation, a purple stretch chopper made from a mid-60s Sears Spaceliner frame.  This year, Pete's Spaceliner took home the "Best Chopper" award. Taking home the "Best of Show" award was Ernie Dopp with his "Indian Sidecar Bike".  A lot of work and love went into this bike, just like all of Ernie's creations.

Emily Danos with Dad Pete's "Best Chopper" winner.

Ernie Dopp's "Indian Sidecar Bike"- "Best of Show" winner.

The complete list of award winners this year at Abita Springs includes: Best of Show                 Ernie Dopp                    Indian sidecar bike Best Cruiser                    Kevin Dinwiddie      Four-person surrey Best Custom                    Ryan Essaied             Lowrider trike Best Antique                    Craig Jones               '52 J.C. Higgins Kid's Choice                    Joe Mayers                 Swing Bike Best Chopper                Pete Danos                    Spaceliner Custom Honorable Mention   Sid Martinez             Ride across America Best Cat                          Guadalupe Juanita Maria Rosalita Chaniqua Youens Okay, so I made up that last category, but she woulda' won if there had been a contest.  J Also Seen at Abita Springs '06:

Above: Another view of Ernie Dopp's "Indian Sidecar Bike". Right: Ernie with his "Fire Bike", last year's "Best of Show" winner.

Below: Ernie's "Town of Abita Springs" theme bike and details.

Above: English Craig's '61 ThunderJet headbadge and tank graphics. Right: John Preble walking the grounds, and Joe Mayer's "Batman Swing Bike", ridden by a young lady named Erica.

Above: Joe Mayer and his '49 JC Higgins.

Joe and wife Brenda- new citizens of Abita Springs

Above: Melissa Dunaway wowed the crowd with hot unicycle action.

Above: Mr. and Mrs. Elam bought their matching rod-braked Raleighs new in 1974.

Above:  Ryan Essaied and his lowrider trike. Right: "Suede Chopper".

Left: Dyno "Slick Daddy" with flames. Above: Abita regular Phil Rupp, with his matching bike and truck.

Left and Above: CG Mouch's "Mooneyes" motorbike, with John Youens in the saddle.

Above: CG's kustomized/motorized Phat Chopper sports genuine Phat fender and tank, first WWW wheels ever sold.

Left:  Wayne Spring again, on his "sneaker cycle". Middle: Larry Morreale on Giant Stilleto.  Right: Kevin Dinwiddie's "Surrey".

At The Parade:

Stephanie opted for pink hair this year. Last year it was blue.

Right: Vanessa rides again.

As usual, there were lots of tallbikes.

Left: English Craig, airing his ink. Above Middle, Right: As always, many novel rides were seen.

Lastly, I'd just like to say a special thanks to John Preble who sponsors this event through his UCM Museum. Without John, this annual event would never have taken place.  John's wife, Ann, is going through a difficult time, having recently had a stroke due to complications with pancreatic cancer.  We should all keep Ann and John in our thoughts and prayers during this time.  Hopefully, next year Ann will be well, and able to join us again for the Louisiana Bicycle Festival at Abita Springs.