BOISE, Idaho — The Boise Bicycle Project hosted the fourth annual Boise Goathead Fest in downtown Boise on Saturday. Lost Grove Brewing and the Morrison Center also hosted the event.
Boise City Councilman Jimmy Hallyburton is the Executive Director of the Boise Bicycle Project and the Director of the Boise Goathead fest. He said the festival originated from a different festival that took place in Boise previously.
The festival also originated from something Hallyburton believes all Boise residents can agree on; goatheads are bicyclists' worse enemy, as they can easily pop a bicycle's tires due to their sharp exterior.
The event began at the Idaho State Capitol. Participants then rode through a loop in downtown Boise and circled back around. Once the ride was over, participants met in front of the Capitol once again to enjoy music, dancing, and food and drink.
Boise Mayor Lauren McLean was also in attendance, sporting a purple wig as she rode through downtown Boise.
Seeing everyone attending the event and following health and safety guidelines was the highlight of the event, according to Hallyburton.
"This is sort of the best part of the whole day," he said. "Thousands of people coming to ride as one big bicycle community together. And we haven't been able to do that for so long. So we're really, really excited."
The goal of the festival is to get rid of goatheads, continue to bring people together in a community-building way and to celebrate pedal-powered people, according to Hallyburton.
"We're so excited to be back here in front of the Capital in the park after a year off," he said. "Every human, pedal-powered thing that could be happening is happening today in Boise."
Something important to Hallyburton was keeping people safe. The festival had extra precautions, like mandatory masking and social distancing. They also highly encouraged anyone 12 and older to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to participate.
"We're excited to see people are being safe at the same time and showing that we can do these types of important community-building events if we take these important necessary precautions," Hallyburton said.
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