Scarf Ride Reflections…

Good ride tonight friends!

Keep bike party rolling with a positive attitude and we could change the way cycling is viewed in San Jose forever!

Always a good time.

Reply

J

Wonderful planning through the lighted neighborhoods! Loved how it started and ended in downtown–the pedestrians seemed to have enjoyed the festive atmosphere of the holiday season. Thanks for making San Jose livlier!

BIKE PARTY!

Reply

Garrett Birkel

http://garote.livejournal.com/174467.html

Agreed. The BIRDs were all very very helpful, even instrumental, in guiding the party. Spirits were high. And November’s ride taught us a lesson about wearing warm clothing, so many more of us were prepared this time!!!

I got kind of confused at the Santana Row mall and missed a gathering spot, but I still got some pretty good pictures:

Can’t wait ’till next month! It better not %$&#@ rain!

Reply

Scott

From the weather to a cool couple (that have a friend in Bike Party) directing riders at Lincoln and Glen Eyrie… this was sweet. There were so many good sights and sounds this Bike Party it was all that I’d hoped for.

There were riders that stopped at intersections and directed traffic? Why? Cuz they said it needed to be done. This is what makes BP so great!

And to all of the great folks that helped develop the ride, helped lead this ride and have been great ambassadors and becoming great friends, hats off to you yet again! Y’all rock!

That and neighbors cheering us on, young and old alike. And those reindeer on Glen Eyrie that were wooly mammoth sized and Willow Glen overall looking as great as ever…

What doesn’t make it so great? I’ll answer that in another email, but it centers around riders that have the wrong attitude, don’t know the route and don’t care to ride legally or stop where they’re supposed to. Most of these riders will not be reading this since they couldn’t spend 5 minutes to print out the great “visual” map & turn by turn directions developed by volunteers.

Reply

b5125125

I’m sad I had missed most of this ride due to a total blow out on my tire that was beyond repair. Thank you to the many people who offered to help. The tire was old, but gone thought many BP an wasn’t worry about it.

I had my daughter out for the first time she like it and talked about trading her tricycle for a two wheeler and can’t wait for the next BP. Also wanna say a Big Wasup to my wifie and the rest of the gang who where able to finish the ride.

Reply

Please look out for the 1-2 test rides that we will have this January. We need more volunteers to help us with key turns, helping us get fully into and out of regroups and to have an even better vibe.

Thanks to all of those volunteers, whether long term or for the very first time this month.

Thanks as well to those with the sound systems, whether on the ride, in the regroup or helping us exit the regroup. It was good to hear more small music setups in backpacks and on racks too!

Reply

Katie

Great ride last night! Its really great to see more and more people step up to help out each ride. Even small things like calling out “stay to the right!” or coming with your own ride directions make a big difference in the ride. And major props to all the people giving directions at intersections!

The route on this one was also really great. The perfect balance of downtown stuff and swanky Christmas lights! Great job, route planners.

I already can’t wait for next month! (Or the next test ride…)

Reply

Bill

Love to those who directed traffic. Good job!

Nevertheless, this ride for me set the record for most times I’ve fallen victim to the herd mentality, following those in front of me until realizing we were off route. After the Pruneyard, I was among 50 or so who took Bascom for a few blocks before someone (me) finally pulled out the directions. I’m proud to say I led a very small subgroup back to the ride, though most refused to listen to me and kept going down Bascom. I hope they made out alright.

Did the cops shut down the t-shirt stand? What was up with that?

Reply

Wuss912

It was a great ride but i overheard someone say to a bird who was giving directions “stop telling us what to do” what is wrong with these people?

Reply

moo

I thought last night’s route was awesome. Riding through the neighborhoods lit up with Christmas lights was a lot of fun, and having the brass band playing was an unexpected bonus.

Since I had done a test ride and was generally familiar with the route, I knew that following the group leaving the Pruneyard down Bascom was the wrong way to go. However, I still was confused by a few things:

1) The directions called for a regroup at the Pruneyard parking garage. However, when I got there, most of the bicyclists were in the front lot near Outback, and the garage had mostly police cars that looked like they were trying to block the entrance. Not really sure of where to go, I ended up staying in the parking lot. After leaving, I attempted to go through downtown Campbell, but no one followed.

2) It was hard to get people to loop around Santana Row before the Domes regroup. Many people saw the crowd at the Domes and headed directly there. Oops.

Reply

MustangRider

I am going to start with the negatives, then as it should be done end it all on a positive note!! I would like to BOOOO the Moto-cycles. Im not a GREEN person at all…but breating 2 cycle fumes for a half mile as he and then they as there were 2 of them sped by me sucked ass!! The 2 “other” t shirt venders selling at the first meet up point. One of them didn’t even have the SJBP logo on them, it was some thing for a bike around the bay?? WTF Support Solomon( it think that is his name) who has been there for quite a while putting out kick ass t shirts ata great price. Not trying to gouge the market. I do not know if this is fact but, it is what I heard, some of the profits from his sales goes back into helping the Bike Party roll on. I would also like to BOOO to po po for shutting down the T shirt sales at the pruneyard meet up. They didnt have a “permit” to sell the t shirts….BOOOOO… Well atleast they essentially gave him a warning. I guess they could have sited him rite off the bat. Enough of the negative, the route was possibily the best yet. I would attribute some of that to the holiday decorations in all the neighborhoods. The Mommoth sized reindeer…. wholly crapolla…. they were ginormous to say the least. The brass band as well….unbelieveable to say the least. The camera suv was pretty cool as well…cant wait to see the videos…Are they gonna be on YouTube? It seems everytime there are more and more traveling boomboxes..cudos on that. The small steps and improvements are making a difference. The summer months are going to be epic with all those things coming together and the numbers will be way up as well. I love the parking garage meet ups as well..can see all the people there and the train coming into the garage as well. Keep it up and keep on rolling BIKE PARTTYYY!!!

Reply

There was so much to love about last night’s ride!
The ride through the neighborhoods was ‘magnifique’. I know for many of us it caused a re-awakening of our dormant — if not lost — Christmas spirit.

My favorites of the evening was our timely arrival at the neighborhood event where the band played while neighbors gathered to sing Christmas carols.
I am sure they were pleased to have the impromptu, overflow audience of Bike Party revelers ostentatiously displaying our appreciation. That was priceless my brethren; we did our Bike Party community proud!

My personal, top, display of the night was the 6 houses on one that one block that combined to do a group, singular themed light display.
I thought it gave a glimpse of perhaps how those six neighbors got along so well that they united to pull off beauty. I guess they answered the call to the question of: Can we all just get along?

I found the Santana Row “funcusion” amazing and delightful by the “confusion”.
It was a perfect example of serendipity. Why? Well, it created an effect that there were a million bicyclist coming from everywhere!
We were like coming and going from every direction for about 30 minutes — just beautiful and innocuous chaos followed by a total re-group across the street.
You couldn’t have planned this part of the ride any better and I think it came out quite well. The folks at Santana Row seemed quite intrigued and some asked loads of questions about Bike Party.

(((Oops! I love the idea of the Food Drive, but next time please be more visible. Folks need to know where to go directly to drop off the goods, especially when nuts like me arrive loaded up with and extra 15 pounds of canned goods. This is just a small heads-up! I know you blokes know how much love I feel for you’s and the Godly work you do…))))

Happy Holidays Bike Party Community and a grand THANK YOU for putting together an outstanding route that knocked the Scrooge out of many of us by having us discover and appreciate the essence of the South Bay Christmas spirit on a bicycling evening through the neighborhoods.

Reply

louie

That was one of my favorite rides so far! A little too sparse between groups (kinda took away from the feel of riding in a large group) but overall the route was sick! I loved going through santana row! wish we could have rode through downtown campbell instead of around it but that was still cool. I think everyone was stoked on the start/end in downtown. Super dope ride guys!
Pray for dry weather on next month’s ride!

Reply

Ed

Great ride last night. I wanted to thank all of the BIRDS and volunteers for there great help! There were alot of people helping with directions and it really helped to keep the crowd from getting off tract.

I also liked all of the great music, keep it up. This made the ride much more enjoyable.

My only problem was a flat that I got turning off of Campbell Ave. BUMMER! It took me about 20 min to get it fixed and back on the road. I was glad that I had an extra spare with me, this saved alot of time. I went from the front of the ride to the back. I almost lost sight of everyone… Thanks to the people who asked if I needed help.

This was my first ride with my son Will. It was great to have him there. I hope to have my daughter Ally join us on a ride in the future too.

Cant wait for the summer rides, Keep rocking Bike Party. We appreciate all of your hard work!

Reply

moo

follow-up question to my post above.

3) There was someone stationed at the turn onto Dana from Naglee advising us to go straight on Naglee and right on The Alameda. We followed his directions even though we knew the prescribed route had a turn on Dana specified. Was this a last minute change in the route? We guessed that the person knew what he was doing, since otherwise there wouldn’t be any reason to be guiding people past Dana.

Reply

Brian

I was really looking forward to going though the Hanchett neighborhood also since I used to live there 25 years ago. An individual told me it was a last minute change because of a request from the neighborhood committee. I would be disappointed it this decision was based on a few individuals input but can understand if it truely represented the neighborhoods given the time of year. I know a few of my old neighbors were expecting to witness bike party and were not given the chance. The neighborhood has some spectacular architecture and we should experience in a future ride.

Great ride overall. I thought the turns were much better marked this ride and want to also thank all the volunteers that helped out. GREAT JOB! I’ll second leaving the gas powered bikes at home next time. The smell of 2 stroke doesn’t allow the others to enjoy the smell of the dampness and other scents while riding. Hope to be able to participate in some of the test rides for the next ride.

Thanks BikeParty!

Reply

@moo – glad that you’re going to the test rides…

why the group would go down bascom after pruneyard?!? i’m guessing many are not reading the maps/directions — and others are following them – which affects all other aspects of the ride ;-(

1) i got there late so i’m not sure if the police blocked it, i got in fine.
2) domes – santana row was to be first – once again the first riders not following the directions
3) this was a last minute change ;-( the issues at Regroups #2 & #3 caused such delays and “other issues” that i think there was no choice but to scrap Rose Garden. which was hugely disappointing to me personally. cuz i know the riders would have loved it… but i’d think sjbp has to consider the residents as well.

bottom line issues you can all help with:
1) Get Involved! to direct riders (in teams of 2-3 ideally)
2) help getting out of start & regroups cleaner
3) print out the directions and maps…. and follow them!
4) shout out to others that aren’t following “How we ride”
5) help us get signs!
6) Winterize you & your ride!

Reply

Rapid Robert

I thought it was a GREAT ride on friday night! Perfect weather, real Christmassy vibe with all the light displays and spectator support amongst them, glorious confusion around Santana Row, parking garage upon which to flock.

The only problem I saw at Santana Row was that a plug of cars was always in the street, blocking the way down to Olsen. People were turning back toward Winchester too soon (me once), or doubling back up Santana Row, instead of going all the way down to Olsen. We all figured it out.

Great show on the route planning and turn directing!!! Excellent coincidence (was it planned?) that a band was playing on the route! I hope our group’s music didn’t blow their vibe too badly. I stopped for a few tunes, hope others did as well.

Reply

Nick

@Moo and others – yes, the last-minute change at Naglee & Dana was legitimate. This is actually a cool example of how Bike Party’s community organizing spirit works:

One of our local San Jose City Councilmembers who supports & loves Bike Party was out for the ride again and expressed concern that the last piece through Hanchett park (that Dana to Shasta set of turns) would be putting us really late at night through a residential neighborhood that’s one of the crankiest around. With a quick change to the route we could get the ride to Christmas in the Park sooner and avoid unnecessary complaints from residents. So we figured, hey, why not? He and I posted ourselves at the turn to let you all know, and it seemed to work out just fine. This is just another example of how volunteers who care can shape the spirit and direction of the ride for the better – with relatively easy actions like giving directions!

Nicely done, all around!

Reply

Scott

Happy Holidays SJ style – esp Willow Glen style – is what was so cool about this ride. The most complicated route to be sure, but the one in which “visual” and turn by turn printable maps were offered.

Million dollar question is how do we get riders to print the map and to follow the route?!? Every turn, every aspect of these rides are designed by the route planners and modified ahead of time for a reason. Change it and something gets lost – other riders and other killer scenes…

This was a killer ride, but would have been even more insanely good if the first 50 (or 100?) who go their own route and others follow them. Santana Row and other portions were messed up due to the “this is how we roll” attitude as well as having to nuke part of the ride. ;-( If you want to change a ride go join a test ride and do it the right way… don’t go your own way on Bike Party and mess it up for everyone else.

So for 2010 lets have more riders step up and ride right, ride tight and ride ONLY the right route.

Reply

moo

Re: Million dollar question

Printing the map and directions is easy, but following them not so much. Speaking for myself, if I’m at the head of the pack, I make sure I know where I’m going. For example, on this ride, a friend of mine and I somehow arrived at the Winchester/Forest turn in between packs of riders. We stopped, verified the directions, then hung out for a while at that corner to make sure the pack behind us made the turn properly. If I’m not in front, I’m more concerned with not running into the riders in front of me than I am with trying to read the directions in dim light while riding. I try to familiarize myself with the route beforehand (especially the key turns), but I’m generally not able to remember every turn. This is much more of a problem when riding through neighborhoods that are otherwise unfamiliar to me (this wasn’t a problem on the Mountain View ride, which I could have navigated without the directions at all).

I’m not sure how to make this easier. In some cases, having a simplified route sheet with just the important turns noted would help (i.e. omit notes where it’s obvious where the route should go). Unfortunately, I think would only eliminate a few lines. Ultimately, I think the bulk of the riders are going to follow the herd no matter what we hand out, so the best answer may resemble herding cattle and leading the lemmings.

I think most of the riders will follow someone that they think knows the proper route when given a choice. I’ve never been at the very front of the ride, so I’m not sure how things go astray. Are people deliberately trying to steer the pack off the route? Or are people following riders who may have decided that they’ve been out long enough and are abandoning the route to go home? If so, somehow making it more clear whom to follow might help. The posted signs help too, and of course the volunteers who manned the corners are invaluable.

@Nick, great work on getting that last-minute change at Dana in place. Especially after hearing all the complaints after the Mountain View ride, I think it makes sense to avoid those types of neighborhoods near the end of the ride.

Reply

Jahlaen

I will admit that this ride was off the chart in so many ways, but primarily due to the Christmas season.
I know the route was the most complex ever put together and it reflects how ambitious the planners were in putting it together.
But no need to be too critical because many riders were challenged even if they had a well detailed map of the route in their possession. Heck, some riders were competing to see who could hit each and every liquor store along the way. And with that kind of distraction — no wonder many were misled.
But for the rest of the clear thinking majority the challenges were a non issue.
Personally, I found this Friday’s ride to be the most stimulating, spiritual and edifying. Edifying in the sense of discovering that there is a beautiful Christmas spirit in the heart of Silicon Valley that is comparable to any part of the U.S. or the world. And the beauty is that it’s beyond materialism.

And… and it took a Bike Party tour of the neighborhoods to uncover this spirit…

Happy holidays SJBP!

Reply

bmxer

bike party is funnier when i have no idea where i am

Reply

Rapid Robert

I’d like to explore other ways to make a map of the route that’s easy to read and follow in the dark, shows only the information we need to stay on course, and is fast to make. What are good suggestions for such a map? I think it should show:
a) main roads through the area for orientation,
b) the names of all the streets used,
c) the locations of the regroups (maybe called out with a detailed view, like would’ve helped at the Pruneyard and Santana Row),
d) locations of train and VTA stations, and
e) parking lots.

Reply

scott

hey rr, clueless + well meaning herd = lost riders + messed up ride. ;-(

your plan sounds ambitious if it all can happen and still be simple.

Reply

My brethren, I want to offer special props and a positive shout out to one — un-sung — hero of Friday’s ride.
The cool dude with the music rig, who got all the folks around him to sing along to the Marley classic; “No Woman No Cry”.

That was a special Bike Party bonding moment of the night. And it created an ‘ear-worm’ that lasted all weekend long.
However, not wanting to slight any of the other awesome music rigs, I will state categorically, that this ride brought out the the best music mixes ever heard at Bike Party.
I don’t know how you guys are going to top the diverse and sustained quality of last Friday’s music mixes.
If you do, a large segment of folks will be attending Bike Party just to jam with the dueling music mixes… and that would be another Bike Party coup…

Everything’s gonna be alright
Everything’s gonna be alright
No woman no cry
No woman no cry
I seh little darlin’
don’t shed no tears
No woman no cry.

Peace and a joyeux noel BIKE PARTY!

Reply

Brian

One way the route could be marked could be to use blinky lights at each turning point. The light would be on the left or right side of the street depending on the turn diredtion. The problem is somebody has to set and retrieve all the lights but for a relatively small amount of money a system could be devised. The use of a map would still be beneficial and some of the people would still get lost because they are not completely present (read- stoned or drunk). I like the visual turn by turn that was put out this ride and handed out a half dozen to people before the ride. The only thing I would add to the visual is the stopping points because I couldn’t quite figure out were we were at the first regroup. But I did ask somebody that had a que sheet. I had made my own visual last ride. The visual map works for me but not everybody processes information in the same way.

Reply

squirtdad

Hi….I was one of the spectators, cheerers at Newport and Fairview. I havn’t done a ride yet, so here are my comments from a spectator point of view.

Overall great…..good vibes and fun to watch. My son was swinging chritmas lights (didn’t have batteries so the planned boom box christmas music was out) and wants to do a ride.

I was a little surprized at the relative few who had chritmas lights on there bikes (was hoping for more of an extravaganze) and at how spaced out the rides was.

The guys on the motorized bikes were a big negative….sound, smell and riding style…not a good reflection.

I was truly surprised at how many people had no lights at all…..bike ninjas. This could be a big bummer if the police ever wanted to crack down on the ride, as no front light is often enforced. Maybe getting a few donations and a bunch of cheapy lights from deal extreme might be good insurance.

Again cool and not as some repots I’ve had too out of hand….will take the kid on one soon.

Good job

Reply

Ryan Smith

This was easily the best bike party ride so far. All 23 or so miles were marked with the energy of the riders and the overwhelming positive reception by all the neighborhoods and communities we rolled through (plus all the cool lights).

Some highlights not yet mentioned:

As far as I can remember from previous bike parties, this is the most we’ve utilized downtown San Jose, and it went really well. Despite having a bit of a rough start and tying up traffic a bit on Santa Clara Street, the vibe from cars and pedestrians was awesome. And imagine everyone at Christmas in the Park and the carnival rides on Park Avenue, we had to make their night even more festive.

That goes for Willow Glen, too. Everyone outside of their beautifully decorated homes, sharing in the energy and excitement of our ride while enjoying the holiday atmosphere. There was so much going on in the neighborhoods with families checking out all the light displays, the cool brass band on Glen Eyrie, and people out on Lincoln Avenue. (Did anyone see the woman come out of Round Table Pizza, her eyes widen and jaw drop as she yelled, “no shit, is this bike party?” and then begin to shout and cheer for us?)

Riding on Dry Creek road- with our massive numbers, we can’t do things like this often, and I really appreciate the chance to have done it with approx. 1,000 people.

Santana Row- we haven’t done this since last Spring, and it was a lot of fun this time around. There was a planned route through it originally, and that got shelved immediately due to confusion as people just kind of went for it. But in a way, that confusion added to the fun. It added an element of spontaneity that this ride carried with it (all of the turns, while in heavy demand for volunteers, gave the ride a real feel of excitement). The regroup at the movies got all screwed up, but I’m really glad that we hit up Santana Row. The look of initial shock on people’s faces outside of the restaurants and hotels was priceless.

Police- despite the negative vibes I felt at the Pruneyard from Campbell PD, there were two memorable police moments that I really hope others caught. At Santana Row, on Winchester near one of the parking garages, there was a SJPD officer in his car with the window down. He had his arms folded behind his head, a giant smile on his face, and was nodding his head in rhythm with reggae coming from someone’s music trailer. On Santa Clara Street under highway 87, there was another SJPD officer with a big smile across his face, this time on his PA system, shouting, “yeah, Bike Party!” as we passed. Does this mean that SJPD is now seeing us in a new light, as the force for good in the community we so sincerely strive to be? I hope so.

A quick shout-out to some volunteers along the ride:

Sam for helping me lead the front of the first leg of the ride, tag-teaming with me on some of the rougher turns, and playing good music.

Whoever helped me do traffic control at Pine and Newport- that was a fun 25 minutes of getting cars and bikes to work together on the road.

Scott- for successfully getting us out of regroup 1, for coordinating volunteers for turns on the spot, and for being a super bike party advocate (and all of the other million things).

everyone who stepped up along the route to do what it took to make this night the best BP ever and what I hope colors future bike parties with a spirit of volunteerism and an even stronger sense of community.

Nick and our elected bicycling representative from Council District 6 for getting us all on track for the last minute route change.

all of my awesome friends who ride with me month after month. always makes the ride all the better.

can’t wait for the test rides!

Reply

JustinT

One of the best Bike Parties I’ve been to, although I’ve only been to about 7.
Somehow even my non-bicycling friends finished this one as opposed to the other ones that they bailed out on half way thru.

Route-
Some people complained about the route but I enjoyed the entirety of it; including the Santana Row victory lap that I did 2wice.

I didn’t even know about that 1st community we passed through, I think it was Palm Haven, how beautifully it was set-up.

One thing I wished I could have Cn more of was that one street with the hanging snowflakes and those around it (near the Gigantic Reindeer) But my fault for not attending more Pre-rides.

note: there most be a lot of presents for Santa to carry to need reindeer of those sizes… San Jose is on the nice list, I guess

As Usual, great job Birds …and San Jose.

@Ryan Smith – I do Believe San Jose in general are starting to recognize that the majority of SJBP are positive respectful participants.

Also A Big Respect to Ppl who take the social responsibility to stop their ride to give help w vague turns. I believe this is a sign of true community development.
Basically, Thank You because I was unsure at times for my own neglect to the well developed map.

Entertainment-
The Band playing at one of the corner stoplights before the first ReGroup was awesome. I really hope that this will spark San Jose sidewalk culture.

Although, I missed the BRASS BAND by the strip of lights i was able to get it via youtube.com here –> http://bit.ly/68B7uU

I also feel that the places we cross have great pedestrians. That crowd loves when we ride by. It gives me a feeling of psuedo-Celebrity.

@Garrett Birkel – Great pictures for this bike party PLUS a few other SJBP that i’ve seen on your blog. evryone check it to see if you can find yourself from this BP and Past BPs
http://garote.livejournal.com/174467.html

__

I’d like to thank everyone who supported the Autonomous Cycling T-shirts that we were promoting. We took great pride in designing them. I’d also like to thank Sauloman for Helping us get these shirts printed. He does a great job. Also, Thanks for the feedback
Special Shouts out to Patrick From Chain Reaction in Redwood City for showing us extra support
__

had an awesome cycle about conversation w/ Kenny From Portland (only the #2 cycling city of the world!!!) —> http://bit.ly/N7jZf (can we rank up there San Jose?)
we compared and contrasted San Jose’s cycling compatibility.
________

Also, A big Props to the girl who led a short cut by Dry Creek going up hill. She showed me the most awesome Spill I’d ever Cn. As she was going up the hill her sweater, that was hanging over her handlebars, got caught in the front tire spokes and she flipped in a straight line. Basically, her back tire became her front tire. Wow, I was amazed and commiserated by it. She showed persistence and courage as she got up and got back on the horse (bicycle) with a sigh and a smile . I handed her her dropped things and we chatted away. Good Effort. I Cn her finish later on.

Reply

@ Squirtdad — Post#28

Thanks for shedding “LIGHT” on our most egregious violators and soft under-belly.
Your made and excellent outside and objective observer’s opinion — if you will — that is a significant number of Bike Party attendees riding in the dark winter night without lights.

Lights, lights, lights! It is an extremely significant safety issue crying out for a resolution within Bike Party.

And the problem is magnified because those folks riding without lights tend to be the more aggressive and more prone to indulge in risky behavior involving willful traffic laws violations.

I am very uncomfortable seeing those riders without lights because I know just how tough it is, even for experienced bicyclists equipped with all the best safety features.

A significant number of the riders last Friday were literally invisible cyclists.
It is just a matter of time before one or several of those unsafe bicyclists run into one of the many weak and inefficient motorists that we all encounter on occasion on the street in the metro area.

We need to face-up to this problem my brethren before someone gets seriously injured or worse…

We need a smart campaign — tailored to the Bike Party community — to communicate the essential idea that proper lighting of bicycles after dark is:
a – THE LAW
b – It is required to participate in SJBP, and;
c – Bike Party will collaborate with the authorities to have you cited and removed as needed to insure the maximum safety of all bicyclists who attend the ride, and finally;
d – SJBP should declare zero tolerance for cyclists without lights. It should be non-negotiable and strictly enforced.

I bet you would see a 100 percent compliance within two months!

Let’s make it happen!

Reply

Lets keep this volunteer spirit going! sign up and help now… at a key intersection, as part of a team for inbound control at a regroup or helping move them out… or to help run the test rides program… other things are surely needed.

We’ve also got test rides coming up and an open meeting. Look out for announcements, especially on Facebook!

If you’re a vendor or retailer, it’d be cool if you could sell light sets at a great price!

Reply

Rapid Robert

December 22, 2009

I have to disagree with you, Spliffer buddy! “Zero tolerance” is a Reagan era concept following “Just Say No”, which also doesn’t work. “Zero tolerance” is probably OK for murder and violent assault, but nothing else. Lights on bikes, while an obviously great idea, hardly warrants such an extreme reaction. “Zero tolerance” suggests being at the end of the line for ideas about how to solve a problem. We’re not.

Also, “it’s the LAW” is no good reason either. So is smoking a joint. Big deal. So is riding through a stop sign with nobody else there. big deal. This entire ride is against “THE LAW”. So what? Argue FOR personal safety, FOR consideration of your fellow riders, FOR cooperation with oncomming drivers, FOR cheaper lights with adequate power, and FOR common sense. I think young and old will respond better to that than “it’s THE LAW”.

Reply

BikingLegend

December 22, 2009

I had so much fun on the bike ride! Loved the amazing brass band, and the guy who was playing the bagpipes, the drumming street band, and the parade of old cars that went by! By far the most amazing one of a kind things all happening in succession. I don’t know if it was planned to have all those things happen or if they just did, but it was definitely amazing!

Does anyone know who those people filming were? It looked like there were a few of them, they had a truck with a camera set up on it, and that one guy with the camera on his bike. Was that organized by Bike Party, were they shooting some sort of documentary/news deal, or were they just there to catch the excitement of their own volition?

Reply

December 22, 2009

Save the dates —

Fri, Jan. 15th: Next Bike Party – Fri, Jan 15th!
Wed, Jan. 6th: Open SJBP Volunteer Meeting

Vote here (for A, B or C) when you’d like to have Test Rides in prep for the Jan Bike Party…

(we’ll most likely only have two unless demand for 3rd)
A) Sat, Jan 2nd ~10:30am-2:30pm?
B) Tues, Jan 5th ~ 6:30-9:30pm
C) Sat, Jan. 9th ~11:00am-3:00pm?

We’re definitely looking for more volunteers for the Test Rides program.

Reply

Nick

@Spliffer – How do you propose to enforce the lights rule? Specifically, I’m hoping to know what YOU personally plan to do…this is a tricky issue and we need some good positive ideas & actions to come forward.

For everyone that thinks maintaining good neighborhood relations is key (and our mission is to build community, after all), shoot the District 6 City Councilperson a quick thank-you: Pierluigi Oliverio is at: Pierluigi.Oliverio@sanjoseca.gov

Reply

@Nick – Hey, In this instance I am just being like the canary in a coal mine — if you pardon the pun…
But I really don’t live me life that way tho’.

Riding without lights is a sore spot with me. I’ve seen too many friends and solid riders who do everything right and still end up leaving skin on the pavement, unnecessarily, because of accidental collisions with bicyclists riding without lights who can’t be seem in dark areas of our routes. They also cause many needless expensive repair bills because of these collisions.
I usually have close calls with those — appropriately labeled — “Bike-ninjas” on every ride.
Heck, if you recall, from our ride through Mt. View, one one guy was taken out by one of those unsafe bikes and sustained serious injury and ended up in the hospital.

I am a live and let live type of a guy and really enjoy being part of The Bike Party Community; however, I am just trying to bring this open sore within the ranks into “the light” — if you will.

I believe in being proactive and facing up to a threat instead of overlooking it — sweeping it under the rug — and then assuming a re-active state to a catastrophe that could have been avoided.
I beg that this situation be handled in an open forum where all of the “brain-thrust” within the SJBP Community candidly discusses the situation, make the risk assessment, and evaluate the various ideas and opinions going forward with eyes wide open to at least keep the debate and good ideas flowing toward a successful resolution.

Hey, Nick, how do ya’ like my protracted answer to your intriguing question, eh…?

If Bike Party handed out free lights will the targeted parties actually use them?

I think other than having a fund-raiser for SAFETY that would allow us to hand out free front/rear-lights, or getting a sponsor to bank-roll a Bike Party project, I have no better ideas other than the austere ones I outlined in my previous posting.

I DON’T KNOW!!!!!

Reply

Wuss912

What we need is for the Police to enforce the light laws… we should just run the ride through a police dui/light checkpoint and make sure we post a warning on the website first. then folks can ignore the website at their own peril….

Reply

squirtdad

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.10363

@nick
@spliffer

Since I sort of started this in my view as a cyclist observer/cheerer for the scarf ride.

this seems a lot like the drinking issue…. I’d heard very negative comments from some bike shops about the ride…due to excessive drinking. which made me wonder if ok bring my 12 year old along. overall the scarf ride did not seem to have issues that way. But there were a lot of posts about being responsible and dui checkpoints.

The underlying message seemed to be: this behavior is putting the ride at risk….chill.

Not using lights has the same potential for the ride. If some PD really wanted to shut it down, they could really easily by tickting the non light users and then using that as a base for public nuisance. I agree with Spliffers observation that the non light using rides tended to be less courteous

there is clearly a lot of political good will right now because of the responsibility of the organizers…that could change pretty easily.

Wuss912 suggestion has merit both in safety and in further goodwill with different PD…since San jose seemed cooler than cambell.

Perhaps a police safety check combined with the opportunity to buy even cheap lights before the ride so that people aren’t turned back may be a start. This does not preclude the people who just jump in….but it would show the ongong responsibilyt of the organizers

Also it is possible the San Jose City bike program might have access to or consider providing lights. Pier-Luigi is the city council sponsor of the bike program…..John Brazil is the go to guy. Perhap bike party could help with a city ciclovia in exchange?

cheap light example:

Reply

GZ

VERY EXTREME BUT GOOD IDEA WUSS912. THIS WAS MY 4TH BIKE PARTY IN A ROW AND I BELIEVE I FOLLOW HOW WE RIDE RULES. I WOULDN’T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THIS AT ALL.
HARD TO GET EVERYONE ON BOARD UNLESS THERE IS A STIFF PENALTY TO PAY! JUST MY
OPINION. 1 WILL BE THERE NEXT MONTH. THANKS TO ALL WHO HELP BIKE PARTY MOVE ALONG EACH MONTH IN A POSITIVE DIRECTION!

Reply

Bill

On the issue of people getting lost:

I’ve noticed a few people have found ways to attach the directions to their handlebars. They should share how they do that.

I still haven’t found a way to carry the directions except in my pocket, which means I can only check the directions when we stop for at least 30 seconds, and then I can only remember the next turn or two. I assume most who print the directions have similar issues.

People who have found better techniques to keep the directions handy could maybe post those techniques on the website.

Then again, the possiblity of getting lost may be part of the excitement of Bike Party.

Reply

Rapid Robert

Free Lights, Free Lights!!!

There’s a good cause to raise money for! LEDs are making that an easier proposition every day. I wonder what kind of deal someone could make for 1000 light sets? 5000? To be handed out? It would get people on bikes. It could save lives. I bet there’s an angel out there who could fund such a project.

At least cheap lights. A very large group buy. That’s the power of a group our size, we might consider exercising it.

Reply

JustinT

@RR Let’s do some fund-raising. Even if its a basic car/bike wash. I don’t have the money to fund but i have effort and ideas! It might B a lil lame and we probbly won’t make 1000$ worth but it’s a start.

if anybody would like to pitch-in ideas please let me know. I’ll research some resources and let you know.

@bmxer @bill getting lost is a fun experience but only if later you end up back on track w the crowd.

Reply

scott

If some folks want to spearhead this, that would be cool, but a background below:
(Before you start this, please contact the test rides/pre rides team: sjbp.prerides@gmail.com)

There are many things to consider in bike light giveaways, etc. We are working on different possibilites. The biggest issue logistically (among 8-10 issues) is enough trained volunteers. (not that it takes much training)

As it is…we do not have enough volunteers for key turns, regroups (in and out) and for helping self police the ride along the route. I’d hate to take away from that…

So even though it’s critical how do you think we can handle the logistics to hand out 100 lights, much less 1000++

We’d need 2-5 people just to spearhead this program. It is MUCH more intensive than you can imagine before the event AND during the handout. (i.e., how long will it take to install the lights on each bike?)

Reply

Rapid Robert

I was thinking more of finding a mega-millionaire who made it all in computers or telecom, who also rides a bike, to cover it. There are plenty of them! This area has more than any area on the planet. Helmets are given out free, why not lightsets? Lightsets PREVENT serious accidents, helmets do nothing to prevent ANY accident. So many people have sooooo much money, and this is a legitamate and obvious cause. Bake sales and bike washes won’t make a dent, I’m afraid, despite the great intentions and giving spirit.

Reply