The breeze on your face, the freedom of the open road and the welcome burn in your thighs.

A good bike ride can cure many ills. Eighteen years ago, Amy Seltzer, still a newish addition to the Pikes Peak region, noticed that bikes were a popular community staple. A burgeoning artist herself, she imagined an intersection between bicycles and visual arts, and created ROLL Bike Art Festival, a celebration of bicycle-themed art.

“The first year was an explosion,” Seltzer said. “I knew I was onto something, because in 2005 we had our first ROLL, in the old Smokebrush building, and when it opened it was wall-to-wall people.”

Since that inaugural event, the festival has featured works by more than 250 artists, partnered with 150 organizations and taken place at 15 venues in the Pikes Peak region.

“It’s very important for athletes to be more sensitive, and for artists to be more active,” she said.

The free 18th annual festival, themed “The Road Less Traveled,” is Friday at Buffalo Lodge Bicycle Resort, and also features vendors, live music and food. The works will be up through the next year.

More than 20 pieces were juried into this year’s show, including paintings, photos and sculpture. Notably, three artists submitted artistic skulls, including Susan Dallam’s “Palmer Park Buffalo Skull,” a skull she decorated with bicycle images.

The festival is a chance for those in the biking community to catch up, after spending much of the year apart pursuing their cycling hobby across the country. And Seltzer also is noticing an uptick in interest surrounding the pastime, possibly related to the pandemic.

“We don’t have much information about COVID-19 that we know is a fact, but we do know getting and staying healthy is a really good idea right now,” she said.

“People are gravitating toward cycling and thinking this is part of the future — to get fit and healthy, and get out and get some sunlight and fresh air.”