Old Louisville Journal, March 2006

Wheel Fun Rentals

What better way to mark the advent of warmer weather and enjoy our beautiful riverfront area than by peddling your way along the paths! What? You don’t have anything to peddle? Not to worry, Wheel Fun Rentals will remedy that situation. In operation for six years at the riverfront, Wheel Fun Rentals is located on the corner of Brook and Witherspoon and a second rental location is due to open this spring near the new Tumbleweed on the riverfront. Rob Reynolds says this year they are adding monthly bike tours that will include rides through our very neighborhood, Old Louisville, as well as other nearby destinations.
Open Friday through Sunday in the spring and fall and every day during the summer, there is a specialty cycle to fit every whimsy. Slingshots, Deuce Coupes, Quad Sports, Choppers, and Surreys are all standard fare at Wheel Fun Rentals. Do those names bring back a feeling of nostalgia, or perhaps they have you scratching your head wondering, “Isn’t a bike just a bike?” No way…allow me to explain!
Surreys are made in Italy and is a family four wheeled cycle seating from three to six adults (with up to four pumping away at any given time) plus two children! Features include rack and pinion steering, drum brakes, and multiple independent chain drive peddling systems. Great for ages 10-99!
Slingshots are three wheeled bikes sitting low to the ground on a central pivot and “slingshots” the rider from side to side while bobbing, weaving, and turning corners. It’s a hoot to ride! For maximum enjoyment we recommend it for ages 6-60.
Deuce Coupe is a two-seater where both can peddle side-by-side. Adults or children can pedal and there’s a jump seat to carry those six and under. It’s great for ages 2-80!
Quad Sports are four-wheeled wonders straight from the past of the go-cart tradition. Formula One steering lets the single rider turn on a dime. Ages 6-60 love this one!
Choppers are designed for lone, laid back cruising and sightseeing. Handlebars and seats are designed for comfort and remind you of motorcycle choppers! Ideal for ages 6-60!
Of course, you can also peddle away on cruiser bikes, kid bikes, scooters and tandems at Wheel Fun Rentals!
Wheel Fun is great for visitors and residents alike. Bring your guests to the riverfront and go for a ride.
For information, check out the website at www.wheelfunrentals.com or email rentabike@insightbb.com .

Save the Date
Annual Spring Cleanup at Central Park
Scheduled for April 15th
Details to follow!

Neighbors in the News

Old Louisville resident David Dominé, a professor of foreign languages at Bellarmine University, has been nominated for the 2005 Kentucky Literary Award for Nonfiction. His book, GHOSTS OF OLD LOUISVILLE: True Stories of Hauntings in America’s Largest Victorian Neighborhood, is among the short list of some twenty books competing for the award, which will be announced on April 7 at the 2006 Southern Kentucky Book Fest in Bowling Green.
His next book about Old Louisville hauntings, PHANTOMS OF THE PAST: Ghostly Tales from America’s Most Haunted Neighborhood, will hit the shelves in early spring. Congratulations, David!

http://www.ghostsofoldlouisville.com

Editor Notes
March is that odd month when it could be warm with beautiful jonquils popping up all over the streets of Old Louisville, or it could be dreary and cold and we could get the biggest snowfall of the winter months. It’s always a month of anticipation for me. I’m a “March baby” and as such received a kite every year for my birthday. That gift always conjured up images of sunny weekend afternoons spent trying to get that kite airborne and keep it flying longer than my little brother’s kite. He was also a “March baby” and we had the keenest competition.
I’m past my kite flying days, well receiving one for my birthday, anyway. My attention turns, instead, to warm weather plans. As a life-long lover of plants, I look through the endless garden and seed catalogues I receive in the mail. I plan a new color scheme or two for the back garden. I think of the Second Street Garden Tour in July. I watch anxiously from the kitchen window for the first green shoots to sprout from the ground.
This is the time when Old Louisville begins to wake from the winter slumber. People and their dogs return to Central Park. Kids may be found playing on the swing sets in the park. Fitness enthusiasts aren’t quite as bundled up on their morning walks as in the recent few months. It’s truly a time to take back the neighborhood from the gray of winter. It’s also a time to think about “sprucing things up a bit.”
I want to paint an inspiring picture of our lovely neighborhood and then hit you with a nasty reality. My intention is to draw notice to the unsightly alley garbage I’ve encountered on my walks lately. Things are, quite frankly, getting out of hand. Boxes are piled with garbage and set out in the alleys. Trash cans are in various states of disrepair, tumbled over, and left in the alleys all week long. Am I mistaken in thinking we have a system whereby you could be fined for leaving your trash cans in the alley all week? It’s a true mess and an embarrassment in some cases, to walk down an alley with my dogs. I’ve had to change my route so as to avoid unsightly and, in some cases, danger

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