#36 - Participate in a Bike Party

Participate in a Bike Party

How fitting it is that my first bike party take place in my good ol' hometown of Hayward. The East Bay Bike Party Coalition plans massive bike rides called bike parties every month in different cities throughout the East Bay. The way that operate is not unlike Critical Mass in San Francisco or San Jose Bike Party in, well, San Jose. This particular bike party was the first to have ever been ridden through Hayward, so tonight had some sort of historical significance for the city.

The route started off at Bayfair BART station (which actually is in San Leandro, but who's keeping track anyway?). As you may have read in their blog post, the theme of the night was "Hillbilly Wedding," and people dressed up as so. It was an eclectic smorgasbord (oh how I've always wanted to use that word in context) of participants of all ages and professions. The bikes were adorned with colorful flashing lights, the riders adorned in colorful flashy costumes. Every now and then one of the riders would be hauling speakers behind them that blasted music to fill the silence of the quiet suburbs. It didn't matter who you were, where you came from, or what you were wearing, the love was spread and tonight, everybody was each others' buddy.

The ride toured us through parts of Hayward I had never seen before, despite the fact that I had grown up there. Considering Hayward is a suburb, I'm surprised the organizers were able to find 12 miles of interesting enough streets to ride through. The halfway point brought us to City Hall, where riders were given more time to mingle over contests, music, and a strategically hauled keg.

The last leg of the trip brought us back to my old hood around South Hayward, where the party finally convened at The Dirty Bird, the hippest joint to be at if you happen to be in South Hayward, supposedly. Needless to say, I think my first bike party experience was a good one, and I wonder why I never got into it before. Big crowds, strange costumes, drinking in public...definitely my kind of scene.

Oh, and as a reward for you for reading through this entire post, here's a few snippets of video I managed to catch throughout the night: