Riders dress to the nines for Provo’s first bike prom

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Riders begin the bike portion of Provo City's Bike Prom. Photo by Miranda Facer
Riders begin the bike portion of Provo City’s Bike Prom. (Photo by Miranda Facer)

A flood of well-dressed bikers cruised Provo streets Friday, May 16, for the city’s first Bike Prom.

“It’s National Bike Week, and we’re holding Bike Prom to promote biking in our community,” said Eric Layland, an event planner for Provo City.

The evening began at Kiwanis Park with a group bike ride around Provo. Rec Center employees and local volunteers guided bikers along a short route that stopped by notable Provo areas, including Brigham Young University and the river trail.

“The ride was beautiful,” said Maddy Wood, a senior from Farmington who is studying business management. “We saw parts of Provo I’ve never seen before and beautiful houses.”

Many female riders wore dresses or skirts, and most male riders wore slacks and button-downs, though there were a few suits and tuxedos.

“We’re not worried about (our dress) inhibiting our biking abilities,” said Alicia Christiansen, a Provo resident originally from Las Vegas. “We’ll still be leading the pack.”

When riders reached the Rec Center, they valet parked their bikes and went inside to freshen up before the dance portion of the event.

The room was decorated with a massive balloon arch, streamers and a disco ball. Riders drank a wide array of mocktails and ate hamburger skewers, fresh fruit and strawberry shortcake. They also took photos with their dates in a photo booth.

Wood and her date, Stephen Nelson, a BYU graduate from Boise, were the first on the dance floor.

“We love cutting a rug; it’s fun,” Wood said.

Around 9 p.m., the prom was in full swing as couples danced to remixes by local DJ Kid Machine.

Layland said his team learned about past bike proms held in Salt Lake City, Phoenix and Chicago and modeled Provo’s after information they gathered from their research.

Nelson said he is a fan of community events. “If they’re starting a tradition, I want to be a part of it.”

Provo Rec employees said the city will host a bike prom again next year following this year’s successful event.

Layland said, “We had over 100 people pre-register for the event, which was well above what we hoped for.”

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