May’s theme is the ’90s! Like any decade, a lot happened in the ’90s. Here are a few ideas for inspiration:
- MC Hammer released U Can’t Touch This
- Clinton was the US President for most of the decade
- The dot-com craze was in full force
- OJ Simpson led the police on a 50-mile low-speed chase before turning himself in.
- The Simpsons first season aired on TV
- Christopher Columbus discovers the New World (oh wait, that’s the 1490s. Still the ’90s, I suppose)
Need more ideas? Check out the Wikipedia entry about the 1990s.
Be safe, legal, and courteous (see How We Ride!). We share the road with other traffic. Helping cars move through smoothly makes the ride more enjoyable for everyone. Do your part to encourage good behavior! Also, please remember to turn down the volume when riding through residential areas late at night.
Information on the route and more after the drop …
BIRDs
BIRDs are our wonderful volunteers that attempt to keep everyone on our rides safe. Please be respectful of their directions and thank them for all of the effort they put into the ride. If you want to help out and make your mark on Bike Party, please join the BIRDs at the volunteer cicle prior to the start of the ride.
Volunteer Circle
Volunteer Regroups are now marked on the map if you want to get plugged in come by and introduce yourself
Ravens
Ravens are the elite group of BIRDs that make sure we leave no trace behind by cleaning up after the party at regroups. They are essential to keeping the party going. If you see any of them with a trashbag collecting your trash, please thank them and if you are so inclined please join them! They are a really cool bunch. Please bring trash bags and help us leave no trace.
How We Ride
If you follow these eight rules, Bike Party will be safe and a positive place for riders, drivers, pedestrians, and the community.
Route information
Feeder rides
Feeder rides are a great way to get to Bike Party They allow you to make great friends and get to know people who live near you. They also make it super easy to get back home as a group as most folks ride home with the group they arrived with. You save the planet and save on parking while getting a little bit more exercise. It’s all good.
- NSJ/Santa Clara — Led by Ian from Rivermark – Meet in front of Peets – Leaving at 6:45pm (please RSVP in the comments)
- La Dolce Velo — ??
- East SJ — ??
- SJ Downtown — Led by Alex Arzate from San Jose City Hall. Leaving at 7pm SHARP (see comments below)
- Campbell — Meet at Campbell Water Tower in Downtown Campbell. Leaving at 6:30pm. Approximately 9 miles to the start.
- Willow Glen — ??
- Los Gatos — ??
- Your neighborhood? (let us know in comments below if you want to lead a ride)
tony
May 15, 2012
So where at exactly is the meeting spot before departing for the bike ride ?
Ian
May 15, 2012
the only preride posted so far is mine and starts at the rivermark peets
Jared
May 16, 2012
I’ll be at Peets!
Ian
May 17, 2012
Cool see you there
Norman
May 18, 2012
I’ll be there!
Kellie
May 18, 2012
I will be at Peets
tony
May 15, 2012
Okay thank’s is this in down town not sure where that is at ?
moo
May 15, 2012
Tony, check back on Thursday. The full route and the start point for the main ride will be posted then.
Danny
May 16, 2012
This is my first time and a buddy of mine and myself are coming all the way from Sacramento. We was wondering where can we meet up in San Jose? We have no idea how this works so yea.
Cosmobile
May 17, 2012
You have yourself a very long ride before you get to us =D. Kidding aside, there is parking available at the start of the ride. Look for the route to be posted Thursday evening. It’s an easy pace and we try our best to leave no one behind. I find the easiest way to meet up at the rest stops is via cell phone. Look for the people with the Bird patches along the way.
Tyler
May 16, 2012
Can we get a little bit more various food trucks? Mogos is awesome and everything, but I would like a little change of scenery…..
moo
May 17, 2012
I think the food trucks come and go as they please. You might want to appeal to your favorite trucks to have them come out to SJBP. Lots of them have Twitter feeds for Facebook pages that you can use to suggest the idea to them.
Sam N.
May 17, 2012
Is anyone biking in from around the De Anza campus/ Stelling & Stevens Creek area?
Ian
May 17, 2012
Sam.. If you lead it they might come
johnny frado
May 17, 2012
I hope SJBP contacted as many food trucks as possible for this ride. Last ride had about 200 people in line for mogos, a hot dog guy, and some random fruit cart selling fruit for like $5. To make Bike Party enjoyable, people should be able to have a snack and not leave early because they are out of drinks and need to source out a convenient store away from the regroups. Must have a better relationships with as many trucks as possible- or groups such as Word on StreAts, Moveable Feast.
JustinT
May 17, 2012
Hey Johnny,
Thats a good idea. Its seems you know a lil bit about the food truck game. Ill reach out to ones I know… Maybe hit up the ones you want and tell them they could get 200 ppl in line haha… We’ll get both angles yeah?
Thanks G.
Cameron
May 17, 2012
Does anyone know how to contact the guy with a taco truck setup on a cargo tricycle? It would be awesome to have him back.
Ian
May 17, 2012
google says he’s on Facebook
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bayareacargobikes/6068315318/ has a link and a picture
Susan
May 17, 2012
Greetings, I am an exceptionally new rider and don’t know San Jose, as I am down near Monterey. I don’t know if I am at a skill level to do a 20 mile ride. Should I train up and meet up at a later ride, or are there instances of riders doing partial rides?
jacky
May 17, 2012
Susan, I guess I would start by asking how new of a rider are you? Have you attempted a ride of at least 10 miles before? Most people find that they can do about twice as much as they have done before. Our pace is a casual pace for most of the ride and because of the company and music along the way it seems to go by pretty quickly. If you haven’t done at least 10 miles before I would suggest you ride with a buddy, so if you have to do a partial route you have some company. If you think you might have to do a partial route make sure you familiarize yourself with the route and identify bail out points.
janet
May 17, 2012
where is peetees ive never done one and am scared i wont be able to finish it? is anyone meeting in santaclara??
Justin T
May 17, 2012
Hey Janet, There will be tons ppl there. so if you need to go slow there will be ppl the go your pace. Jacky has responded appropriately to your question above.. please read it.
Bring a friend and/or a map. Challenge your self. Its fun and
Papaweely
May 17, 2012
Um…. I guess I’m old school, but we used to map out the routes so that it would “LOOP” back to the actual start spot. Not leaving people to wonder how to get back to their vehicles if the chose to drive. I see that there are directions back to that spot, but it still makes no sense to me as I am sure there will be plenty of people without maps wondering… WTF??? Not to bag on your efforts but it seems to be getting sloppy lately. Maybe it is time to get involved again…
Scott
May 17, 2012
There are instructions about how to get back to the starting point and there should be a lot of people. So you shouldn’t be too concerned.
Having the ride start and end in different points actually is old school. Most of the time that’s how it happened the first 2+ years and it was often from dt SJ to Campbell! So I thought this was a cool “throwback” moment to the early days of SJBP.
Justin T
May 17, 2012
I rmmbr OLD school when we would start on at Dicks Center and End at SJSU (another side of town)!
We should encourage ppl to get involved not blindly follow the bike in front of you. Get a map or make a friend who has one
All that a side, PapaWeely. SJBP would truly appreciate the help. It does take a toll. Besides Bike Party is just a huge social experiment, lets see how it pans out… who knows that lost crowd will hook up with a crowd who knows and BOOM a new relationship has spawned
mqmurilmi
May 17, 2012
Hello, is east SJ still meeting at Carls Jnr if so what time is take off?
Justin T
May 17, 2012
Im going to wait till the morning and If ALEX wants to lead from Carls Jr. If he hasnt claimed an ESSJ preride.. Ill lead ESSJ from Mexican Heritage Plaza… Ill confirm in morning.
San Jose Tweed Run
May 17, 2012
May the ride have smashing success!
nicole
May 18, 2012
where is the big stop this route? the one with the food trucks and the t-shirt sales? i want to make sure i get to it!
moo
May 18, 2012
Also note that the route map includes an elevation profile. After the first regroup point, the route is remarkably flat. As Jacky says, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the route, and it’s probably a good idea to bring a map as well. But don’t be afraid to ask for help for directions from one of the BIRDs.
Spliffer
May 18, 2012
What a beautiful day for this month’s Bike Party!
What I like about this route is that we runs through some great spots in San Jose and Milpitas.
It’s a clever plan, that will create great fun for bicyclists.
Let’s keep it totally safe my bicycling brethren, and please: “follow the rules of the road”.
Please don’t ride on sidewalks!
You become virtually invisible to cars and other motorists when you ride on sidewalks — and this is at all hours of the day — but worse in the dark of night.
Motorists “only sense, recognize and acknowledge” bicyclists when they are on the street.
A bicyclist lost his life in Santa Clara a few evenings ago in a collision with a car. He was riding at night without a helmet; with no lights, and was running a red light in a pedestrian cross-walk at a major boulevard.
Bike Party is a great place to learn how to ride safely on the street!
You get to practice, and master the rules of the road — over and over — until it becomes second nature.
Please be safe. Follow the rules of the road, and let’s Bike Party safely — together… FOREVER!
Alex Arzate
May 18, 2012
I WILL BE LEADING THE NORTH SIDE PRERIDE FROM CITY HALL.
MEETING TIME IS 6ISH
WHEELS HIT THE STREETS AT 7PM SHARP! SPREAD THA WORD. I WILL BE WEARIN A BRIGHT RED SWEATER LOL
John
May 18, 2012
Hope to see you there! SJ City Hall I assume! I’ll probably be wearing a blue jacket.
Craftsman
May 18, 2012
Thanks Alex, Will hook up with your ride. I have about 10 friends meeting me downtown.
Robin Q
May 18, 2012
I am visiting SF Bay area from NYC to ride in Napa this weekend visiting vineyards. My good friend suggested riding this fun ride at night. It sounds like a blast with hundreds of people! She told me about the rest stops with all the gourmet food trucks. Can’t wait to see this tonight and will bring my appetite!
Jay
May 18, 2012
Anybody confirmed to lead dash preside from Carl’s Jr or Mexican heritage plaza?
James
May 18, 2012
Where is the start point going to be
Susan
May 18, 2012
Jacky: I’ve never ridden for distance. I just go out and back, mostly depending on how much time I have. I roughly estimate that I average around 5 miles, but never feel tired or sore. I also wonder about pacing, as I have never timed myself. I have also never ridden in a pack before. I don’t seem to be able to round up anyone free to go with me for tonight. Should I come up and see what happens, or would it be better if I waited?
Susan
May 18, 2012
Jacky,
I’ve never ridden for distance. I just go out and back, mostly depending on how much time I have. I roughly estimate that I average around 5 miles, but never feel tired or sore. I also wonder about pacing, as I have never timed myself. I have also never ridden in a pack before. I don’t seem to be able to round up anyone free to go with me for tonight. Should I come up and see what happens, or would it be better if I waited?
jacky
May 18, 2012
Susan, It is really hard for me to say… I went to my first bike party and felt I needed to keep up with my son because I didn’t have a route. I had been riding just not that many miles, but I did it! If you come out tonight would love to meet ya! If not check out one of our test rides.
moo
May 18, 2012
Susan, I wouldn’t worry much about pace. You’ll find people riding anywhere from 5 mph to 15+ mph. The ride is usually very large and gets very strung out at times. On some of the biggest rides, you could stand on a street corner for an hour and still not see all the riders go by.
The pack can be a bit daunting right after regroups where things tend to bunch up a bit. But usually after scooting along for a little while, things tend to loosen up.
Craftsman
May 18, 2012
Susan,
Don’t worry. Its not as bad as it seems and with the meet ups, you will be ok. Hardest part is the long steady hill, but even that won’t be a big deal. You need to do this at least once to experience it… You will be hooked and come on some of the slow rides in between to build up your endurance. Its great exercise and great fun.
See you tonight!
Spliffer
May 18, 2012
I am at the office, and my pulse is racing.
It’s Bike Party Friday.
I am suffering from Bike Party anticipation!
I can’t wait to be out with the crowd; with the friendliest bunch of peeps’, with the awesome & cool positive vibe and sounds to boot.
I can almost taste my “MoGo burrito” that will make me chill until the 8PM start.
What a bonanza, to have “the best party on wheels in America today” right here in our backyard my bicycling brethren.
Hey, and it co$t you nothing!!
It’s as free as… good breath…
Grab your road ready bicycle, and come on down. I promise, that you will be smiling all weekend long. Jump out of bed tomorrow, and post right here, how fantastic the Bike Party Experience is!:)
It will even put an “extra-energetic bounce” into your step all week long.
Bike Party forever!
Townie Bill
May 18, 2012
Spliffforlife: You inspire me! Susan: Carpe de noche! life is short. You can do this. Make some new friends. Those of us who suffer from cruel and unusual employment find our monthly San Jose Bike Party positively therapeutic. The euphohria will carry you into Sunday. No pain all joy. Just ask Spliffer.
Luna
May 18, 2012
Where is the first and second re group?
Jill
May 19, 2012
I rode bike party last night and was disappointed in the bad behavior i witnessed! We don’t yell as cars on the road or flip them off. If this is your bad attitude stay home, it is not amusing. If your too drunk to handle your ride stay home, we don’t want to worry about cars and drunk people. stoners watch for cops, stop signs, and kids. Lets ride resposibly and have a safe time.