This past Friday a number of Buffalo’s bike, book and beer enthusiasts gathered together at RiverWorks to raise funds for the Buffalo BookBike. The event served as an unveiling for the masterful bike, which was built by Nickel City Cycles and furniture builder Adam Ianni.
Supporters of the benefit were treated to a number of book-related activities, including interacting with poets who wrote short order custom poems for customers (thanks to Just Buffalo Literary Center). There was also some pretty cool silk-screening going on, with guests walking away with freshly screened 
BookBike t-shirts (thanks to WNY Book Arts Center). And of course there was the highly anticipated tricycle race, featuring a number of local activists including 6’8″ Justin Booth from GObike Buffalo.
Mayor Brown made a guest appearance, and handed over a check for $500. He asked that the crowd step up and match the approachable fund. In the end, the Buffalo BookBike was unveiled, which is what everyone had come to see. The bike, with its oversized wooden cargo box, will deliver books to underserved Buffalo communities throughout the summer.
The unveiling party was pretty neat in a number of different ways. It was great seeing so many activist groups together under one roof. It was also fun to see kids participating in what would normally be an adult event. There should be more fun family oriented events of this nature, where the adults are doing their thing, and the kids get to roam around in a controlled environment (riding the trikes when the adults weren’t racing). It was a spirited affair, with books, and bikes, and beer. What more could anyone want?
Relay trike teams:
Team Buffalo: Newell Nussbaumer from Buffalo Rising, Aaron Lowinger and Geoff Kelly from The Public, and Dana Saylor: Community Changemaker
Team Book: Leslie Pickering from Burning Books and librarians from the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library – Central Library
(Winners) Team Bike: Justin Booth from GObike Buffalo, Pat and Nate from Nickel City Cycles, and Adam Ianni
Photos: Glenn Murray