Last night was a great ride. Saw no fights, hardly any drinking, one or two losers usually ran a light when it was stale yellow or had just turned red.

Stopped to help with the guy that crashed on Santa Cruz. Directed people around him and there was an EMT onsite within 30 seconds even though there didn’t appear to be any serious injury.

Everyone walking their bike past the memorial on Lark was awesome.

Seemed to be less people playing music but I was more towards the front, thinking about building a stereo trailer myself.

I saw MOST of the riders continuing through red lights, spilling over into opposite-direction lanes, drinking, littering and being generally unruly. When traffic laws were obeyed, it was only because the police were in the immediate area.

Be an optimist if you like, and feel free to stick your head in the sand – but you’re ignoring what’s really going on. Frankly, if the MAJORITY of your attendees don’t change their behvior, your enemies will multiply quickly and your fun will end. First among your opponents will be civil cyclists who seek to avoid retribution from the drivers you have angered.

Please, please, please… SJBP has gathered extensive data on the “lunatic fringe element” that attaches itself to the monthly ride.
That “lunatic fringe” is reliably estimated at between 2 to 5 percent.

As the turn-outs for Bike Party get larger, so do the proportion of anarchists who show up to Bike Party, commensurate to the afore mentioned percentage range, just for the purpose of flouting the rules and disrupting the ideals of Bike Party.

Building community through bicycling where everyone is accepted and nobody is rejected is the primary founding tenet of SJBP.
SJBP stands steadfastly to its founding principles, but as you and onlookers from the broader community can see… it has its consequences.
Let me add that similarly justice is blind, but that too has consequences, because if the constable errs, the accused goes free, even if the crime is grave.

Also there are several independent ventures that do follow Bike Party’s route to snag bottles, cans and trash for recycling. So the comment by that independent bystander doesn’t tell the complete story.
However; there is no escaping nor dancing around the fact that SJBP has significant challenges that the community sees as opportunities.
That is why we remain perennial optimists in the belief that the journey towards perfection is worth the effort and that we are making a difference.

Please dont judge the whole, because of actions by the 13% element.