Mark your calendars!
Find out about this Special Ride.
Are you a female biker? Do you love riding with San Jose Bike Party, or are you a newcomer to Bike Party? Want to meet other women cyclists and have a great time? Then come out and join us this summer for a Ladies Ride! Women and girls of all backgrounds and riding abilities are invited to participate!
This ride is designed by and for ladies. The goal of this ride is for women to get a chance to ride together. 
Guys, feeling left out?
While this is an event for female riders only, you can participate by helping us make this ride enjoyable for the ladies. Here are some ways that you can show your chivalry.
* Bring some food/snacks to the start to fuel the ladies on their ride
* Free bike tune ups before the ride (bring a pump and basic tools)
* Ride along with a music sound system to boost the party atmosphere
* Be a BIRD by giving directions, posting at tricky intersections, and encouraging safe riding
Invite your friends using facebook
Details:
Date: July 24th
Time: 5:00-9:30 PM
- Note time change, wheels on street ~ 6pm,
- Firefighter safety demo at 5pm, time at end of ride to get together
Start: Downtown San Jose
Distance: Around 16 miles
Specific Schedule:
5:00pm – Meet up at the start location: Parking Lot on the corner of Market and Saint James, across the street from the Firestation.
* The San Jose Fire Department will be giving a safety presentation. Thats right ladies, there’s going to be firemen!
* BIRDs/volunteers will be available for free bike tune ups and answering questions.
* There will be music, snacks, and fun! This is a good chance to meet some of your fellow riders before we start.
6:00pm – Wheels hit the street! The 16 mile route is designed for all riders, including beginners. The highlights of the ride include downtown San Jose, Willow Glen, downtown Campbell, and Santana Row.
9:00pm – Most should be at finish after looping around Cesar Chavez Park.
For those of you who are new to San Jose Bike Party, here is some information that will help your be prepared for riding with us:
Joanna
July 11, 2010
Do we know what part of downtown san jose will be the starting point?
[moderator/tr: the exact starting point and routes are given 24+ hrs ahead of the ride, sometimes earlier. it might/might not start downtown]
Jason
July 17, 2010
I’m a dude and I want to ride tooooo!
[mod/tr: the Ladies Ride coordinator has politely requested that we respect the intent of the LR and that if guys want to join they are welcome IF they are volunteering. if you'd simply like to ride, you're most welcome to join the monthly ride]
testrides
July 18, 2010
from the sj mercury news:
(Trace is next to our 3rd regroup)
sebastian
July 18, 2010
whats the attendance going to be like for the ladies ride?
the cat
July 18, 2010
My wife and daughter may ride with some other women friends (they rode the test ride) and if they ride then I will. We might have to bring our young son as well, if he hasn’t been pawned off to some other family.
A Ladies Ride might verge on a family ride where mothers want to bring their biking children, and by extension their husbands. That might not be in the spirit of the original vision but it reflects realities for many women and I don’t see a problem with this; the regular rides suffer more from a lack of responsible adults, not the presence of kids per se. My kids have ridden daily with and without their parents for most of their lives and ride better and further than most adults. I’m sure there are many other families in the same situation who would really enjoy this ride, if it were extended to them as an option.
On a side note:
SJBP is probably destined to become a much smaller and more informal occasion, due to the influence of irresponsible individuals destroying the larger ride. Their reasons for doing this are unimportant; they are as a group utterly lost. While I will miss the larger ride after it is gone, I don’t see that shift to a smaller group being a problem if it means the ride continues for the dedicated few. Perhaps the Ladies Ride is a way to shape the future of SJBP for families and communities. I certainly do see it that way, and if we are permitted to do so I and my family will support this ride.
Katie
July 18, 2010
To The Cat,
I understand the need for fathers to chaperone their daughters and young sons to accompany their mothers, and that’s no problem at all! The majority of the riders will still be female.
That said, I’d like to discourage guys from showing up by themselves or in a group of males. Unless the guys are coming to help out in the ways mentioned above, that is not what this ride is for.
Nicole
July 19, 2010
I LOVE the idea of a Ladie’s ride! Are there going to be more coming up? I am JUST learning how to ride a bike, lol, and did my first bike party Friday! This sounds like it would have been a MUCH better FIRST ride, but I had a great time!
john m
July 19, 2010
@ Nicole,
Bike Party is currently committed to organizing the monthly rides. We enjoy throwing together a special ride too but don’t have a set schedule in place for them.
If you are looking for a more regular small ride experience consider attending a test ride.
Lauryn
July 20, 2010
I’m psyched for the ladies ride. And I hope it is just that. This is an opportunity for women cyclists to take to the streets. Though we love our male counterparts, I’m thrilled to see an event that empowers women to take ownership over their bikes and community. I hope men will stay at home and I hope it stays a ladies ride…not a family ride (come now people if it were a guys ride surely it would not be synonymous with “family ride”). Far too often, women are restricted because family commitments take priority. I applaud those partners who will take the kids for the evening and let women hit the streets!
I also think it would be cool if us women built community by helping one another with tune-ups, food, entertainment etc. as opposed to encouraging guys to attend to help out. It’s hard to call it a “ladies ride” and discourage males to attend when thee are four different options for how they can take part. I’m really hoping for an awesome event on Sat. I’m hoping everyone will honor this smaller ride’s mission.
the cat
July 21, 2010
Oh Kay
sösh
July 21, 2010
a ladies only ride? I thought SJBP was all about bringing people of the community together, not separating them.
testrides
July 21, 2010
@sosh – we are also an ALL VOLUNTEER ride… and this is also a “SPECIAL” added ride just for the ladies. look at it this way, if more women join this ride, we may get more women on the normal monthly rides. so we’re looking out for you.
but seriously we do need more volunteers and this could be a good way to train new volunteers. if you were on the last ride, you can tell we really could have used 50-60 additional BIRDs… and 100-300 regular riders “cheering and chastising” good and bad behavior too… with or without the BIRDs around.
but if riders just want to “take” and not “give back” to bike party…. well, that’s just getting kind of old to those of us who volunteer and it is how we “share the road” that will continue to make bike party the unique ride that it is. are we perfect? hell no, but we gotta try, right?
so volunteering is a way to say thanks to bike party and “pay it forward”
we want ALL ages, rider types, speeds and yes, genders to volunteer. thanks.
sösh
July 23, 2010
very good point(s), agreed.
I really enjoy the SJBP. I have only been to a hand full of rides, but I love going as often as I can. It’s a lil’ sad to see so much negative response from people on the forums of this site from both participates and non. I will continue to ride the monthly ride as often as I can regardless, it is allot of fun and I have allot of friends who love going together. I was on the last ride, it was allot of fun as always, sure there are allot of people that dont obey the rules of the road, and this is always going to happen. With so many people in attendance there is always going to be that factor. It does help though to have the BIRDS and even riders like me help to assist in shouting ‘to the right’ or RED LIGHT PARRTY! as my boy david loves to shout at red lights. But as you said – ‘are we perfect’ hell no. so there will always be people not stopping at lights, and riding in all lanes as they see fit. I personally will stop at a red light, and will not ride in the left lane on main streets. It’s not a race, im there for the freedom of the ride, have fun with friends and the comradery and i just love bikes. I dont drive a car at all. but I respect the rules of the road.
thanks. BIKE PARTAY!
Diane
July 23, 2010
I am totally stoked about this ride. I’m wondering if the ladies will be swarming at the liquor stores as much as folks do at the regular bike party rides
Many thanks to you, Katie, and other Super Birds for getting this together for us. Bike Party is one of the best things in my life and I do thank you for it.
[mod/tr: 95% K]
b5125125
July 23, 2010
I’m guy and I’m going and I’m taking three beautiful ladies with me. When I said that my kind is not welcome they said f*** that if you don’t go we won’t go.
[mod/tr: that was never intended. it is guys alone and in groups wanting to crash the party that were not wanted. volunteers are welcome. stop by and introduce yourself to Bill and some other BIRDs. ask how you can help today. with or without the ladies. thank you]
LM
July 23, 2010
It’s really too bad this can’t live up to it’s original intention of an opportunity for women to bike sj. I love sj bike party but this is a different ride: a ride for women. Ladies if y’all can’t kick it w/out your men, maybe you should spend your night w/ them…somewhere else. Just sayin. Guys respect this ride. It’s not hard to understand- it is a bike ride for women.
[mod/tr: original intent? please check with K on that. it included some men, but only some BIRDs to my knowledge. please volunteer with the creation and execution for a 100% Ladies Ride II... with all women volunteers]
scott
July 24, 2010
Love that this Ladies Ride is happening… could there/should there have been a call for an ALL ladies ride and ladies to step up and volunteer? Maybe.
But this has been posted for well over a month. If you wanted changes, modification, input into the process you could have talked about it online, at two volunteer meetings and 2 test rides for the Ladies Ride… or even 2-3 other test rides.
So these late “coulda shoulda” comments are bothersome. If I offend you I’m sorry, but there’s a time and a place for it for making changes. And that has long since passed. IF you want to keep bike party vibrant and relevant… IF you love bike party… then you need to step up and act. Not with ideas. These are at best 0.2% of the effort. The 99.8% of the effort is in the executing of the ideas.
Like any ride, it’s ALL volunteers. So step up.
And to the men that are whining cuz they want to go. Please. Save it. I’m gonna puke already. Enough!
It’s been made clear. If you want to volunteer, great. But if you’re a guy or a group of guys that just want to go (not talking about spouses/parents),please don’t come to this ride. Come to the monthly rides that are mostly men. Does that make this exclusionary. Yes. Damn right!
“Special rides” are just that… special. To all those guys pining to go. Great. Volunteer. To those on FB that are sarcastic. Save it. What have you done for bike party? Sarcasm is cancerous. Positive passion is contagious. Change it, volunteer and see what a difference it makes for bike party and in your life.
To all the volunteers, men and women, that step up…. Thank you. Bike Party needs you.
Hopefully many of you will be volunteers on the main ride too. We need a lot more volunteers on the monthly rides… and the bike party culture overall to cheer good behavior and to boo/shame the bad behavior. We can peer pressure these jerks out of bike party.
Thanks!
Rockin Ed
July 24, 2010
Well said Scott, This ride was meant for the ladies so lets try to keep it that way. I am a BIRD and will be riding with my lady tonight. I have also volunteered my support to make this ride run smoothly.
That said, this should be a GREAT ride tonight ladies! I hope you are psyched up and are ready to rock and roll! The weather could not be better. Lets make this ride a blast. The count down to happy time has started. Hope to see a lot of you out there tonight. BIKE PARTY CONTINUES TO ROCK! :~]
Give the ladies some space.
July 24, 2010
I have 4 females close to me going to the Ladies Bike Party. I usually attend the normal BP, but I will not be going to this one. As much as I would like to ride with them, being all of there 1st Bike Party, I’m staying home.
I think the only guys that are going to show up should be embarrassed of their over-protectiveness. I see some guys have already been making excuses to go.
Of course there will also be some guys just going because there’s gonna be a bunch of chicks on bikes! OK so thats half of why I want to go also, but you guys should stay out of it. Let the ladies do there thing and we can all ride together next month.
[mod/tr: formatted to make more readable; BIRDs and volunteers are welcome. guys that are volunteering, please look for Bill and the BIRD patches (blue with white or yellow with green or black logos)]
Tian
July 24, 2010
That was a great ride! Thanks for being bike party!
Kaayten
July 25, 2010
Last night was a blast! Thanks Bike Party!
Townie Bill
July 25, 2010
Hey now,
The conceptual continuity of a Female centric ride was very well executed. Most impressive was how many women “owned it”. There is a special place in SJBP history for the first “Ladies Ride” and Katie, you made that happpen.
Much cudos and respect to SJBP women!
Townie Linda and I thank Katie for organizing this event.
Way to roll Ladies!