Pedalers turn out for fun on wheels.

Byline: Greg Bolt The Register-Guard

Six-year-old Violet Ivy knows exactly why Bike Day is her favorite day.

"Because of the bikes!" she said, flashing a banana-seat smile. "And I love bikes!"

She wasn't alone. Saturday was a day for all things bike as the Science Factory and the West Eugene Wetlands Partnership celebrated pedal power in the third annual Bike Day event.

If it involved a bike, you could do it on Bike Day. Free tune-ups? Check. Bike safety course? Check. BMX course? Check.

Considering that bike derives from bicycle, Bike Day actually is something of a misnomer. It didn't really matter how many wheels you had under you as long as it ran on pedal power.

It could have been as few as one or as many as five and still qualify for Bike Day. And talk about misnomers, how about a three-wheeled unicycle?

That was just one of the contraptions the McCornack Unicyclists brought, along with about a dozen grade-schoolers to ride them. As many as 40 kids show up early every day at McCornack Elementary School to learn and practice unicycling, and the best are regular entertainers at Duck basketball half-time shows.

They start as early as kindergarten, and many are riding within a few weeks, even before they learn how to ride a two-wheeled bike, said club organizer Edwin Jaffarian. Ten-year-old Yerin Hong turned heads as one of the masters of the giraffe unicycles, including the three-wheeler (all three are stacked one on top of the other).

"It's pretty cool because not many people know how to ride them and you can kind of show off," she said.

Ditto for 9-year-old Amber Tollerud, who's been in the unicycle club for more than three years and looks like she could balance a glass of water on her head while she rides.

"It's cool and it's unusual. Plus it's really fun," she said.

But it wasn't all kids Saturday. Plenty of bike lovers of all ages showed up, including Russell Morton, one of the founding members of the innovative bike trailer manufacturer Burley Design Cooperative and a true believer in the bicycle lifestyle.

"You can do everything on a bike we've come to believe we can only do in a car," he said. "I love my bicycle."

Morton said he rides so much he once saved enough money to take a six-month leave from the company and do a little world traveling, although he noted there's no way to get to Hawaii on a bike.

The day included a few bicycle luminaries as well, including former mayor and Eugene bike queen Ruth Bascom and former bike mechanic and current U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (he of the Peter DeFazio Bridge). Current Mayor Kitty Piercy and Oregon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury also made appearances.

Turnout for the event has been growing every year, said Science Factory Executive Director Joyce Berman. Scores showed up this year, including many who started the day on the Fern Ridge Bike Path in West Eugene before biking to Alton Baker Park.

But as much of a blast as people had, it seems unlikely anyone was enjoying it as much as young Violet, who couldn't get enough of two-wheeled (not counting the training wheels) fun.

"Bike Day is the best day ever!" she said.