The "other" BELLE

 The Belle of Cincinnati

         One of the great things about commuting by bike is you get a chance to see things you overlook or take for granted while driving.  Like a lot of you I live in a city (Louisville, KY.) which has so much to offer if you just slow down and look.  

My days of leaving for work and retuning home  in the dark are fast approaching. As the hours of daylight slowly dwindle, I am faced with the gloominess of fall; which means my favorite bike route to and from work that takes me along a route to the Ohio river will become extremely dark and not the best way for me to bike to work.  That route along the Ohio River is usually a buzzed with all types of activities.  Currently in downtown Louisville there is construction of a new bridge and a redesign of the interstate interchange connecting the new bridge and an older bridge between Louisville, KY and Jeffersonville, IN.  Before these hours of daylight dwindled, I was able to capture pictures of another steamboat, The BELLE of Cincinnati; which will be taking part in the Centennial Festival of Riverboats October 14th - 19th, 2014. 

 This young paddle wheeler was built in 1988.  It is 225 feet long has four decks (3 enclosed, 1 open) and can carry 1000 passengers.  

Formerly called the Emerald Lady and used as a casino boat in Iowa and along the Mississippi, this river boat was purchased by BB Riverboats in 1998 and began restoration which was completed in 1999.  Upon that completion of that restoration the newly named "Belle of Cincinnati" left  New Orleans, LA. for her home port of Cincinnati, OH.

When the Belle of Cincinnati made it's inaugural voyage from New Orleans to its port in Cincinnati, OH., it carried a special item;  "The World Peace Bell" which is on display in Newport,KY.

Although the Belle of Cincinnati does not have overnight accommodations for it's guests, this does not prevent this esteemed ship from making special cruises along the Ohio River.  This visit to Louisville was one of those special cruises.  The Belle of Cincinnati is a previous competitor and winner of the Great Steamboat Race which is a premier event of the Kentucky Derby Festival held the Wednesday before the Kentucky Derby in Louisville on the Ohio River. 

  

Another one of those special cruises will take place Oct. 14th - Oct 19th when this paddle wheeler joins others in the Centennial Festival of Riverboats for the 100th birthday celebration of the Belle of Louisville.   For more information about this festival visit the following website: http://festivalofriverboats.com/

For more information about the Belle of Cincinnati visit the following website: http://www.bbriverboats.com/

 Ride your bike today and see what you have missed in your city