Pedal Power

The Thriller BMX bike show was a crowd favorite.

Urban cyclists now have their own Cleveland festival. The first NEOCycle, held Sept. 26-28 at Edgewater Park and University Circle, celebrated the region's two-wheeled movement with races, unique rides, BMX shows and food trucks. More serious cyclists competed in races at the Velodrome while those looking for fun donned glow sticks and costumes for the Night Ride. Live music from local heavyweights such as Jessica Lea Mayfield and the Cloud Nothings added another draw. The Hub, a festival village, offered pre-ride SpyngaFlow yoga sessions, bike polo, Ray’s Indoor Mountain Bike Park build-out and pedal-themed vendors. If you didn’t have time to give this year’s fest a spin, NEOCycle returns for another installment next fall, hoping to carve out a niche as a premier Midwest urban cycling fest.

New Moon Rising keeps the feel upbeat on Sept. 28.

Young pedalers conquered the kids' obstacle course.

Jessica Lea Mayfield & "Gossip Girl"

Music by Kent-based singer-songwriter Jessica Lea Mayfield was featured on last night's episode of the popular CW network show Gossip Girl. The song, "Kiss Me Again," has been popping up on satellite radio's Sirus XMU as well. If you haven't heard it yet, here's Jessica performing it for KSU's Folk Alley. Also check out our recent interview with her here.

Updates on some of our favorite people...

Some news from Clevelanders we've written about in the magazine:

The Black Keys are touring the U.S. and Europe with Jessica Lea Mayfield, the artist formerly known as Chittlin', who has released her debut album. (Click here and scroll about halfway down the page for our Jan. 2007 piece on Mayfield as a Most Interesting Person.)

Melinda Urick is joining a local Kurt Vonnegut Reading Society and, in her entertainingly vulgar way, giving women tips on knowing when they're about to get dumped and why they're better off anyway.

Browns Brady Quinn and Joe Thomas appeared at Wednesday's McCain-Palin rally in Strongsville. Quinn praised McCain for enduring adversity as a prisoner of war and for "fighting for what America stands for."

(Caption: Jessica Lea Mayfield performing at the Appalachian Uprising Music Festival in Scottown, Ohio, this June. Image from Flickr.)