March’s Psychedelic Robot Ride just finished, and what a night it was! We broke the record for attendance once again – over 500 riders after a year and a half of rides (unofficially counted on Lincoln right after Regroup #1). In fact, given that January brought 315, February 380, and this past ride over 500, we’re still seeing 20-25% growth per month. You heard that right, Bike Party is the only thing still growing in this economy!
Volunteers worked double-time to keep such a large ride on route and together, and the efforts paid off in spades. More to come on that soon… The police were fantastically helpful tonight, courteously helping to block traffic and guide the route from time to time. Councilman Oliverio (SJ District 6, Willow Glen & West SJ) came out to ride and lend support, giving a hint that some in city government might really be serious about their pro-bike “green vision.”
Watching the sea of red blinking lights ride up the crest of Almaden Rd under the train tracks, this rider couldn’t help but think that it was a glimpse into the future – this town really is headed in great directions. Riding home, encountering Bike Partiers on their way everywhere I rolled, I knew it was true: this really is a cyclists’ town.
So give props where props are due (*ahem* Thanks to the SJPD and Mr. Oliverio), give a holler and a “Bike Party!” yell to the friends you pass in your commute in the next month, and perhaps most fun of all, share your comments and reflections on the ride in the comments below! All near-topic and civil comments welcomed…
John
March 21, 2009
First timer last night, we had a GREAT time. Just a really fun ride. Can’t wait to do it again and am really looking forward to the ride on warm summer nights.
Plus the redheaded girl who was in the silver down vest with knicker tights and running shoes…. hot.
stuffie
March 21, 2009
this was our first time (my gf and I)… LOVED IT!! Thanks for orgnizing such a great idea & ride.
We couldnt stop talking about it the whole night after coming back home. We are defiantely fans from now on.
We’ll be there next month!!
Fran Reid
March 21, 2009
dude the bike party just gets better and better!!
my favorite parts are the dance party sessions at the regroups. love that musical couch!!!!
KEEP ROCKIN IT AND NEVER STOP!! the world is our playground!!!
<3 Fran!!
Add me on myspace!
http://www.myspace.com/francinereid
Ben
March 21, 2009
Admin,
What you were doing was not merely creating traffic, as you claim. You were bullying those around in into allowing you to disobey the rules of the road.
You cannot compare what you were doing last night to simple rush hour traffic. You were deliberately causing a public disturbance, and you know that.
You also cannot bully people by dictating when they can and cannot go to a public mall. Telling me to stay away from the mall on certain days of the month kinda violates your claim to friendliness.
A truly friendly group would have allowed the 10 cars waiting at the parking garage intersection to pass.
I’m not doing this to start a “flame war.” I’m doing this to advise you that if you are trying to make a statement about sharing the road, annoying people is not the way to go about it.
I understand that part of your purpose in being an advocate for bike riding is because it’s good for the environment. I totally support that (you may recognize my car as the Prius that was doing it’s best to not run any of you over).
I also support sharing the road with cyclists. But the inconveniences you face as a bike rider, are not only NOT my fault, but they are also completely avoidable. I know which routes not to take my car on at certain times of day and in certain weather and road conditions, and so should you.
I’ve never in my life had any problem with cyclists… until last night.
Jacob
March 21, 2009
I am not a cyclist, but I understand people who are. Riding your bike is a good thing to do. It’s good for your body, good for your wallet, and good for the world… When I drive up behind cyclists on the side of the road, I generally pull to the middle of the road to make sure to avoid running them over. However, last night… had I been driving my own truck, instead of riding shot-gun in someone elses car, I’m not sure I would have hesitated to let a couple hundred cyclists plow into the side of my vehicle so that the people who were politely waiting at the stop sign could drive around me, as was their right since they had come to the stop sign and did what the sign told them to. Also, cars and bikes may not have a right to the road, but the people occupying them do. If a bicycle can keep up with the flow of traffic, and its rider will follow the rules of the road like I do, they are more than welcome to use the same lane as my truck.
Devon
March 21, 2009
Ben – simply having cars wait a few extra minutes to keep the whole party riding together is not “bullying” or “annoying people”.
Anyways, it was my third ride with SJ Bike Party, and it was a great ride as usual, and I definitely will be returning in the following months.
Em
March 21, 2009
Note to Ben:
Stop your QQing. I have come across the bike party on two separate occasions while driving and had to wait as all the cyclists went by. I didn’t go and cry about it, but instead I joined the fun.
The ride was awesome sorry you had to wait a few minutes to get out of the mall.
rocco
March 21, 2009
first time at a sjbike party. heard about last summer but was too lazy to check it out. im glad i finally went last night! definately was a good time and definately will spread the word to get more bicyclist out the to experience the fun and chaos! LOVE IT!! keep peddling =)
Kristina
March 21, 2009
I LOVE BIKE PARTY. its the thing i look forward to every month. It keeps getting better and better. I am happy to see the next ride to be a helmet ride.
THe crazy raves during the breaks and the enthusiasm of the whole group is by FAR the reason why so many people come out….who wouldnt want to be a part of the party?!?
Scott Lane
March 21, 2009
Sweet ride, incredible impromptu support from the SJ Police and a real great fun time had by all.
With the numbers getting so much larger than I expected, we probably need a bunch more for those to help with planning and esp helping direct the flow of the ride.
amek
March 22, 2009
you know what was the worst part of the whole fucking ride. was some jackelope tried running into me at about 60mph on blosom hill road in his big white lifted truck. wtf. anyhow drunkards and skib skab skalleywags i really appreciate meeting some kool kids and some drunk fucks that enjoyed the road as much as i.. it was a perfectly lengthed road and even though the coppers were close by, they kept theyre distance and managed to let us party. so glad they werent out to prove what kind of gun toting pwer they “might have” but all in all great long ride and the more and more we gain to come on the ride the more we should learn to respect whos on the right and left. and i wish our “party” spots would last longer than 10 mins. id like to meet some of you dick heads and wendy cooper look a-likes.
watani
March 22, 2009
this is my 15th or 16th ride, one of the volunteers for sjbp and 1st time “dressing” up according to the theme.
my cardboard rendition of a robot looked great but was certainly a challenge to wear. riding from j-town to dick’s center was a crack up as many passer-by’s had the “WTF” expression as i partied towards/past them. i couldn’t help but to laugh out loud at every single “shock & awe” i received. a poor design, i admit, that limited my high cadence and pain in my wrists, so, eventually my “outfit” got kicked to the curb. so, my priority was to help keep sjbp clean, on route and enthusiastically fun, which required my biking skills.
i would like to say that san jose police department weren’t all angels. many of us do recognize that local police have a lot on their plate to ensure that they are “protecting and serving” the public. but in my eyes, it’s inexcusable when police act like they ARE the law, “intimidate” us, and deny our rights. fellow cyclist and photographer from sjsu was almost arrested because he was photographing a cyclist being “apprehended” off of his single speed bike with toe-clips – the end result looked like the cyclist getting tackled. it wasn’t a pretty apprehension and it wasn’t a pretty fall for the cyclist either. the officer that almost arrested the photographer said the camera is “bothering” his eyes, which is ironic when their 3 squad cars had their lights flashing.
on a much brighter note, it was a great ride and a great route! met a lot of new people and saw some really cool bikes. all the robots looked cool and i wished i got a picture of all of them. next time, i’ll be better prepared =). i can’t wait for the “battle of the helmets” ride!!! should be another epic ride!!!
ride on!
Ben
March 22, 2009
Devon… if I’m caravaning with another car and run a stop sign or stop light in order to keep up with them, that is breaking the law. The same holds true for people on bikes. Sharing the road means obeying it’s laws. Just because there are 500 of you doesn’t mean you’re allowed to just do whatever you want. You were using your size in numbers to force us to let you do what you wanted. That’s bullying.
Em… I’m not crying about anything. This whole thing started as me trying voice a concern for your group and how it’s presenting itself. Perhaps not surprisingly, people got defensive. Not surprising at all: They’ve been a little rude about it too.
Again, I was not annoyed by your numbers, or by having to wait in traffic. I actually think the whole event is a great idea, in theory. In practice it was less like traffic and more like a mob who forced me to allow them to break the rules of the road just because there were a lot of them.
I’m merely suggesting that if you want people to support your cause, you might be better off trying a technique that doesn’t bother people as much.
Kathy
March 22, 2009
My boyfriend and I were at the party on Friday and it was awesome (We were the couple with the Yoda and Gizmo backpacks)!
I think this month’s ride went a lot smoother than last month and the massive amount of yelling “BIKE PARTY” every 5 minutes was great!
It was also pretty neat how the SJPD started to escort us.
So Ben, expect us next month to grow bigger and the SJPD to escort us again so you don’t have to break the law because I’m sure if you saw 500+ bikers crossing a lane
and a SJPD police car..
you wouldn’t even attempt the light.
Anyways, on a lighter note: We’ll see you guys again next month with our backpacks on our back!!
Oh, and how about those guys who threw their water bottle at us in their mom’s mini van?! Haha! They were mad!
Jo
March 22, 2009
Ben, please direct your comments to a rants and raves site. SJ bike Party is a bike positive forum. We get harassed enough on a daily basis on the road from people in cars, we don’t need it on this site as well.
Bike Party is an ever enlarging community event, we still have some growing pains to work out. While constructive criticism is noted and can be useful, flaming is not.
jon
March 22, 2009
hell yes! with the summer comming up, bike party is going to just get better and better
Charlie
March 22, 2009
Would anyone be interested in starting a mid-Pen bike party on the weekend directly opposite the SJ Bike Party rides?
Not in competition with SJBP, in addition to it. I’d love to ride something like SJBP every two weeks instead of just once-a-month.
I think it’d be cool: start out at old Cubberly High School in Palo Alto, ride down Central Expressway, through downtown Mountain View, up El Camino, cut through the Stanford campus, down downtown Palo Alto, up Middlefield, back to Cubberly.
Let me know if you’re interested, charlie.wade@gmail.com.
Jacob
March 22, 2009
Kathy… did you even read Ben’s comment. He never said he was forced to break any laws… or even that he was prompted to. He said that a few hundred people on bicycles broke the law when they ran a stop sign, causing him (out of a desire to not injure any of these inconsiderate people) to sit in his car for an extended period of time until there was a break in the mob which was big enough for him to force his way through.
If we want to be part of the community of the road, perhaps we should treat the other members of that community (and the laws thereof) with respect.
G
March 23, 2009
I love SJBP …but mark my words if we don’t keep drunk assholes on cruisers in check they will ruin the fun for everyone. Devastation Crew or whatever you jackasses call yourselves…keep it cool. I witnessed these morons harassing motorists on Lincoln ave….yelling profanities at cops on Blosson Hill Road and generally behaving in a manner that will bring this whole fun ride down. Keep your drunken anarcho rhetoric to yourselves and just enjoy the ride before you f it up for everyone else. Good Times
GDO
March 23, 2009
Awesome Ride…Glad to see that SJPD was super cool about escorting us into downtown. This ride is getting big. Hopefully we can start to police ourselves better so that we can continue to enjoy it. The actions of the few can ruin it for the many so lets keep it chill and not harass people or cops. SJBP Rules!!!
Jonathan Powers
March 23, 2009
Ahh Yes the SJ Bike Party!!! I’ve been coming to the rides for a little under a year now. They have all been a blast.
I do have to admit that when I first heard about the idea from a friend who has been doing it pretty much the whole time, I thought it was lame.
I’m now in the middle of building my own FIXIE with him. I cant get enough of it. The rides are great the people are a blast. I do have to say that this past ride seemed a little out of control. People weren’t staying in one lane.
They were drinking in public (don’t get me wrong I had my buzz during the ride, but I did it in the proper manner).
I saw people throwing there trash on the street, I’m all for more people to come out, but if you cant respect for the earth, and the ride, then please just stay home.
The base idea of the ride is to make drivers more conscious of bike riders. I ride a motorcycle and they don’t even THINK to look for me, I don’t blame them, from day one we are trained to look out for the bigger vehicle. Plus there are A-hole riders that make the good riders look bad.
So don’t think for second that they are looking for you. But that doesn’t give us the right to just ride however whenever. You still need to understand the rules and laws of the road and to make sure that you are obeying them at all times. Unless you feel like being side swiped by a car. (which I have been on a motorcycle, not fun)
There is a way to make this ride happen, still while having a blast and being safe and being RESPECTFUL.
Kathy I saw your back packs and they are awesome… we road with you guys for a while… I will be getting a back pack for myself soon…
P.S. there was a gorgeous Asian girl who was at San Jose state, next to a few of the palm trees with her friends. She gave me a smile that said hello Handsome, by the time I went over to talk to her she was gone. I was with my friends changing a tire… So if you read this my name is Jonathan, What’s yours??
Jonathan
March 23, 2009
P.S. Cant wait till next months ride. Over all this is and has been a very positive experience and I’m proud to be a part of something so fun & positive!!!
Jonathan
March 23, 2009
does anyone have video of the ride from that night??? please if you wouldnt mind sending it to me or letting me know where i can check it out @ jonathanpowers1@gmail.com
watani
March 23, 2009
my reflection…
this is my 15th or 16th ride and i plan on being at all future rides – rain or shine. and i will continue to volunteer as much as i can to keep this ride riding on infinitely. btw – we need more volunteers! =)
1st, i would like to apologize to ben, jacob and chris. forgive us in our imperfections. we understand that we cannot keep every single citizen of san jose happy and not incovienced. forcing to wait a few minutes, not 10, for us to get through simply means patience is needed – it’s just a few minutes.
i’m sure you guys can relate that nobody is perfect, right? i’m sure everyone has broken the law at some point OR every day. i’m sure you don’t come to a complete stop at every stop sign. i’m sure you don’t talk on your cell phone while you operate your vehicle. i’m sure you yield to oncoming traffic before attempting to merge. i’m sure you signal at least 200 feet prior to making a safe single lane change. i’m sure you drive at the speed limit.
i hear you guys loud and clear. however, i and many of us just disagree. i personally thinks it’s safer for a large group, such as ours, to not stop. ride as 1 vehicle, continue on so we can get out of everyone’s way and to keep our group together. we’ll just have to agree to disagree. again, i apologize for the 3 minute inconvenience we caused to you.
2nd, i can’t wait for next months ride – battle of the helmets!!!
Jacob
March 24, 2009
… you’re right in all of your assumptions regarding the way I drive, watani. I am only human, so I am flawed… but we must all adhere to the rules of the road or we relinquish our right to use it. Also, ten minutes or three minutes (and I’m pretty sure it was closer to ten) doesn’t matter. I wasn’t upset about the inconvenience (because I had nowhere specific I needed to be), what bothered me was the disregard for the rules of the road, and for the people who were not part of your group. For the safety of the people in your group, I suggest a demanding a strict adherence to the laws during upcoming ventures.
Jacob
March 24, 2009
p.s… that first line was sarcasm. my apologies.
mike
March 24, 2009
i had a blast. thanks for putting this on.
Sean
March 25, 2009
If you haven’t been on the bike party yet, then I ask what you are waiting for?
This event is one thing that I look forward to every month, and know that it’s always going to be a good time. Props to all the people who dressed up!
The bike party is continuously growing, and spreading conscious awareness that cars are not the only vehicles on the road. I hope that the bike party will make many motorists more aware that cyclists do exist, and with the help of the BP, are taking over San Jose.
I’ve been to over 11 rides now, and I can’t get enough. I can also assure that the bike party will never stop!
Cruise out for the next ride, and join us…. it sure beats waiting for us to pass you!
(for the battle of the helmets ride, you should just TRY to wear a helmet. Please, try. That way if you get tackled off your bike…….. you’ll be protected!)
John
March 25, 2009
I saw a posting on cragislist for an April Fools Day Critical Mass Ride in downtown San Jose.
Said it was a zombie themed bike ride, meeting at Cesar Chavez park. I didn’t catch the time when I first saw the posting, and now it has expired. I’m trying to find out more info. If anyone knows anything about this please contact me at JohnDixon@hotmail.com
I would love to attend, but can’t find out any specifics. Please Help!
watani
March 25, 2009
hey jacob. no worries, i’m civil.
however, what you are asking us to do is virtually impossible. it’s like me asking you and others in your neighborhood, to police and enforce every driver in your zip code to not break the law while driving their vehicle. right, that’s impossible.
the best that we can do, which we do, is remind everyone the basic rules of the road. we can demand all we want, but, it’s up to the individual to either adhere or not. if not, suffer the consequences, ie: getting arrested.
and if this eases you any more-so, a cyclist did get arrested that night (before we got to oakridge mall). i could have talked the officers out of it, but he kept digging his own grave.
jacob, you’ll never truly understand cyclists until you yourself becomes one. if you don’t want to, it’s ok, cycling is not for everyone.
Scott Lane
March 26, 2009
Charlie – Great idea for a bike party from Palo Alto… not sure if this is mid-pen tho. LOL I’ll email you. Getting some great bikers to help you should make it cool.
Nick – Looking forward to the next SJBP planning ride… we could probably even go over a route with some variations ahead of the next planning ride! (to speed up planning) And go for a pre-ride also?!?
John
March 27, 2009
G is right: that ‘Devastation Crew’ thing, they need to tone it down. I loved the ride and the overall tone and character of the riders.
But guys like those drunk clowns on the cruisers and other bikes are going to ruin it for everyone. Make book on it: the first time one of the SJBP riders has a physical run in with a motorist or (god forbid) a cop, it’s going to be over for SJBP right then and there.
A couple of clowns thought it cool to harass motorists who were just minding their own business as we passed… like just getting into their cars. And some young guys thought it would be cool to call the cops names as they passed us. Not cool, not smart, THOSE sorts of folks will ruin it for us all.
I think that SJBP organizers shouldn’t be expected to police riders any more than the rest of us, that isn’t their job. What they SHOULD do is encourage participants to shout down such behavior more and try to foster more of an atmosphere where such behavior isn’t going to be tolerated. Only if the whole group turns on such clowns will they get the message to be nice. That won’t happen unless SJBP organizers openly and more often encourage such shout-downs.
No one will be the person to first call out guys on their churlish behavior unless he/she thinks the rest of the group will back them up and also shout down the clowns.
(Maybe that should be the rallying cry: shout down the clowns.)
This is important, IMHO, because SJBP is going to get bigger and bigger. And as it does, it’s going to attract more dolts, only one of whom can ruin it all for all of us. Only if the crowd feels empowered to turn on such dolts and drum them out of the crowd will SJBP continue because if the crowd doesn’t, it won’t be too soon before one of those dolts ends SJBP.
nick
March 29, 2009
Wow, amazing how many folks have commented here. Of course, it’s still just a fraction of all those on the rides, so keep that in mind.
One thing to note: Bike Party has no “official” organizers – if you want something to get done, step up and make it happen. That deserves reiteration:
If you want people to be calm and positive,
STEP UP AND BE VOCAL.
If you want people to avoid conflicts with drivers,
STEP UP AND GREET DRIVERS WITH A SMILE!
If you want the ride to stay on its planned route,
STEP UP AND HELP DIRECT THE TURNS.
If you want riders to pick up their trash,
STEP UP AND PICK UP A BUNCH OF TRASH!
Maybe you’re getting the idea. I’m one of many Bike Party volunteers, and I can tell you we need MANY MORE volunteers to help keep the ride going safely and smoothly. So STEP UP!
Bikers will get nothing in this world by being quiet…
Scott Lane
March 30, 2009
Thank you Councilman Pierluigi Oliverio — You not only rided, but blogged about it extensively on San Jose Inside: http://www.sanjoseinside.com/sji/blog/entries/san_jose_bike_party/